A funny thing happened to Arthur when he was on the way to work one day. As he walked along Park Avenue near the First National Bank, he heard the sound of someone trying to start a car. He tried again and again but couldn’t get the car moving. Arthur turned and looked inside at the face of a young man who looked worried.
Arthur stopped and said, “It looks like you’ve got a problem.”
“I’m afraid so. I’m in a big hurry but I can’t start my car.”
“Is there something I can do to help?” Arthur asked. The young man looked at the two suitcases in the back seat and then said, “Thanks. If you’re sure it wouldn’t be too much trouble, you could help me get these suitcases into a taxi.”
“No trouble at all. I’d be glad to help.”
The young man got out and took one of the suitcases from the back seat. After placing it on the ground, he turned to get the other one. Just as Arthur picked up the first suitcase and started walking, he heard the long loud noise of an alarm.
It was from the bank. There had been a robbery (抢劫)!
Park Avenue had been quiet a moment before. Now the air was filled with the sound of the alarm and the shouts of people running from all directions. Cars stopped and the passengers joined the crowd in front of the bank. People asked each other, “What happened?” But everyone had a different answer.
Arthur still carrying the suitcase, turned to look at the bank and walked right into a young woman in front of him.
She looked at the suitcase and then at him. Arthur was surprised. “Why is she looking at me like that?” he thought. “The suitcase! She thinks I’m the bank thief!”
Arthur looked around at the crowd of people. He became frightened, and without another thought, he started to run.
注意：续写的词数应为150左右。
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As he was running, Arthur heard the young man shouting behind, “Stop! Stop!” _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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The taxi stopped in front of the police station. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
My husband Andrew, a wise father, teaches our kids how to balance risk with freedom.
We have four chickens: Pecky, Buckbeak, Mayonnaise and Cornflake. My husband made their coop (笼子). It’s beautifully made.
Actually he made it with our sons and daughter. The kids and their father spent several weekends in the garage. He gave them tools because he believed it was important that they could actually make something. He slowly helped them and together, they made the coop. They also made the mistakes of learning — a board cut too short, nails smashed by hammers — but in the end, Andrew did some tricks and the coop looked perfect.
The chickens loved their perfectly imperfect home and we also gave them free range in the yard. Andrew encouraged our kids to provide the chickens with quite a big area and explained that to take risks was part of life, and that by giving chickens the freedom to wander around and dig for bugs, it was a better experience for them than the confines (范围) of the coop.
Yesterday, they ran around the lawn (草地). We needed to go downtown, knowing that chickens wouldn’t go very far. When we got back, my son, Gordon, ran to check on them. There were Mayonnaise, Cornflake and Buckbeak, looking a mess but still alive. Yet Pecky was nowhere to be seen.
With Andrew, we searched the yard and found some feathers by the trees. Then, we saw more feathers littering the yard. By this time, Gordon started to worry; Pecky was his favorite chicken and his eyes got watery.
Andrew picked Gordon up and held him. As we stood there, beginning to accept that we were now a three-chicken family, we heard it — a soft clucking (咯咯叫的) sound under a bush.
注意:续写词数应为150左右。
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Andrew put Gordon down and they looked under the bush.
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The next day Andrew had a discussion with the kids about what to do with the chickens.
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Super Lungs
I was always a huge fan of football, and watching a game at the stadium was definitely one of the best ways to be free from work and relax. Therefore, the minute I heard the news that there would be a game of our home team against the team from Mississippi, I booked a front row seat, excited about having a fantastic weekend.
I was satisfied when I got seated in the stadium. When the game began, however, I discovered that I was sitting directly in front of a Super Lungs. He seemed like a nice guy. But his idea of having fun at a football game was obviously nothing like mine, or most normal, well-behaved football fans. It consisted of standing and yelling non-stop, as loud as he could. He yelled at the coaches, at the players, at the officials and at the Mississippi State fans in the next section, always at the top of his lungs.
Super Lungs made an astonishing performance and kept it for us for the entire 45 minutes and never showed any sign of tiredness. He was so caught up in his world that he failed to notice he was ruining the experience of hundreds of others.
I felt that my ear drums almost got broken. His mouth was only two feet away from my ears. For a while I thought of shouting back and stopping him yelling. People around were turning to look at him, and I could read their thoughts: “Is he never going to stop?” And he seemed blind to those looks.
At half-time I escaped by walking for a few minutes outside the stadium. I was thinking of seeking an empty seat in the student section across the stadium but to my disappointment, the seats were all taken. I had no choice but to go back to Super Lungs.
To make matters worse, when returning to my seat, I missed my steps and fell heavily on the stairs. As I was struggling to stand up, a pair of huge hands helped me from behind.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
I looked back and saw
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Super Lungs kept his shouting for another 45 minutes.
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Christmas was hanging around. Six-year-old David was thinking what presents he could get from Santa. He wanted slippers; he wanted a silk tie; he wanted some toys. And school starting soon, he also hoped to get something about schooling. In order to get Santa to know what he needed, he thought he would write a letter to Santa, which he believed would bring him those presents. He found a sheet and made a list of the items on it, and then bent down to post the letter up the chimney, waiting for the draught to take it up.
David got up very early on the Christmas morning. He searched his room carefully, but to his disappointment, he didn’t find the presents he hoped for. Hadn’t Santa received the letter? Was he too busy to send him the gifts? Although feeling a little upset, David was convinced that Santa would not forget him and he was bound to receive the items.
Many years had passed and 2015 came. In an old house of the Reading Town, a young builder, Lewis Shaw was removing the fireplace with his colleagues when he suddenly uncovered a small piece of paper, which was still in perfect condition even if it had turned yellow. He picked it up and unfolded it. It was a letter written to Santa. The touching hand-written note read: Dear Father Christmas, Please can you send me a drum, box of chalks, slippers, silk tie, pencil box, any little toys you have to spare.
Love,
David
It was then signed off with lots of kisses.
This was the very letter written by David and the house was where he had lived during his childhood!
The note struck a chord with Shaw—it told us how simple Christmas once was—and still should be. David didn’t ask for much, just the things he needed modestly. But children today, like his own son and daughter, were ungrateful and would email Santa, asking for expensive things and taking it for granted.
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Shaw decided to find out the author of the letter,
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A greater surprise was waiting for David.
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James shook his money box again. Nothing! He carefully counted the coins that lay on the bed. $ 24.52 was all that he had. The bicycle he wanted was $90! How on earth was he going to get the rest of the money? He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was hard to hang around with people when you were the only one without wheels. He thought about what he could do. There was no need to ask his parents for he knew they had no money to spare.
There was only one way to get money, and that was to earn it. He would have to find a job. But who would hire him and what could he do? He decided to ask Mr Clay for advice, who usually had opinions in most things. “Well, you can start right here,” said Mr Clay. “My windows need cleaning and my car needs washing.’’ That was the beginning of James’ odd-job (零工) business. For three months he worked every day after finishing his homework. He was surprised by the various jobs that people found for him to do. He took dogs and babies for walks, cleared out cupboards, and mended books. He forgot the number of cars he washed and windows he cleaned, but the money increased and he knew that he would soon have enough for the bicycle he was dying for. The day finally came when James counted his money and found $ 94.32. He wasted no time and went down to the shop to pick up the bicycle he wanted.
It had been hard work for the money, but James knew that he valued his bicycle far more since he had bought it with his own money. He had achieved what he thought was impossible, and that was worth even more than the bicycle.
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He rode proudly home, looking forward to showing his new bicycle to his friends.
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Many years later, James succeeded in
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Suzy sat on her bed and gave a deep sigh. It was time to pack for Grandma's house. But what should she bring?
“I can't go without Teddy,” Suzy said. She put her little bear into the suitcase. Then she added her other animals. She might need them to play with, she thought. Her cousins would be visiting Grandma's house. But what if they didn't remember her?
Suzy was afraid she might get bored. “I'll need my books," she said, “and my beach ball, my baseball mitt (棒球手套), my building blocks.”
Mama came in to help. Suzy brought over her crayons and paints and colored paper. “What if there's nothing to do?” Suzy asked her. Mama smiled. She told Suzy about the fun things she did growing up on Grandma's farm.
“Teddy and the other toys will be fun to play with,” Mama said. “But let's pack your swimsuit-just in case you want to try something new.”
“I don't think I'll like swimming in a pond,” Suzy said.
Honk (汽车喇叭声)! Honk! “Let's go! Let's go!" Papa called from the driveway. “Last one in is a hairy bear!”
Mama helped Suzy close her suitcase and carry it to the car. “You're going to have fun!” Mama said.
Suzy felt very nervous. She had never spent the night away from home. She hugged her teddy bear tight as they drove to Grandma's farm. As their car pulled up the driveway, Suzy heard the sound of water and the laughter of some kids. She looked out of the window and saw her cousins swimming in the lake.
“Suzy's here!" called her aunts and uncles from the door. They were smiling and waving as they ran down the path. A colorful sign read “Welcome.”
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
When Suzy climbed out of the car, Grandma gave her a big warm hug.
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At the end of the day, Suzy could hardly wait to call her parents to tell them what happened during the day.
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