December 16 was an old man's 75th birthday. His health had not been good over the past few years and it was hard for him to run his family business. So he had to decide which one of his sons would take his place.
As they gathered to celebrate their father's birthday, he announced his retirement.“Dad,I can't imagine a day without you as the head of the business,"one said.
There was a silence. Surely the question playing on their minds was “Who would take his place?"The old man turned and walked toward the corner of the room where there were three empty boxes.“Come and take one box each. They are of equal size. On the first day of the New Year when we return here to celebrate, I want you to bring your box filled with what you believe to be the most valuable of this business, then I'll decide who will be chairman,” the old man said.
During the next fifteen days,the families and workers could feel a strong competitive spirit between the three boys.
One carried the box nearly everywhere he went.Another ran department to department asking for records. The third man simply left the box empty at his desk.
On January 1,the family gathered to celebrate. Right after dinner, the old man said,“Well, please share with men what you have placed in your box.” The first son pulled the business ledger(分类账本）from his box. Saying nothing, the old man asked for the second son to share. The son showed him to the safe,where he could see a box full of jewels.
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。
Disappointed,he said to the third son,“What valuables do you have to share?”
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Sitting on his chair, the old man waited for his third son's explanation.
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Humphrey and his wife Hildy had ten white sheep, eight black-faced sheep, and five long-legged lambs. Early every autumn, they would drive their sheep onto the ground beside the big, yellow barn（畜棚）. Then Humphrey would hold each sheep still while Hildy cut off the wool.
When they finished, there were twenty-three soft piles of wool on the floor, and twenty-three pink, skinny sheep jumping around happily as they were freed into the field. Humphrey and Hildy collected piles of wool and put them in the house.
The next few weeks were very busy. They finally finished on cold, fall evening. Twenty-three bright, woolly blankets lay in cheerful piles around the kitchen. They would sell the warm blankets when winter came. By the time the snow flew, the sheep’s wool would have grown long enough to keep them nice and warm. Humphrey and Hildy both smiled, content with a job well done, and went to bed early.
The alarm clock went off at 5: 00 a.m. Humphrey and Hildy listened to the local weather report. “The earliest cold air in history,” The announcer said, “has brought a freeze（霜冻）to our area! So put warm coverings, folks!” They stared at each other in horror.
“The sheep!” shouted Humphrey. They hurried to put on their clothes and raced outside. What a freeze it was! The golden autumn grass fell to the ground, and the sheep without wool were shaking with cold painfully. Their pink skins had turned blue.
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
“What will we do?” Hildy cried. “The barn can’t hold so many sheep.”
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Outside the messy kitchen, Hildy had a good idea, eyes falling on the blankets.
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A Run to Remember
Thirteen can be a challenging age. Not only did I have to adapt to my changing body. I also had to deal with my parents’ bitter divorce, a new family and the upsetting move from my country home to a crowded suburb.
When we moved, my beloved companion, a small brown pony(小马), had to be sold.
Feeling helpless and alone, I couldn’t eat or sleep, and I cried all of the time. I missed my family, my home and my pony. Finally, my father, realizing how much I missed my pony, purchased an old red horse for me at a local market.
My horse, Cowboy, was without a doubt the ugliest horse in the world. He was pigeon-toed and knock-kneed. But I didn’t care about his faults. I loved him beyond all reasons.
I joined a riding club and faced rude comments and mean snickers about Cowboy’s looks. I never let on how I felt, but deep down inside, my heart was breaking. The other members rode beautiful registered horses.
When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse is judged on appearance, we were quickly out of the game. I finally realized that my only chance to compete would be in the timed-speed events. I chose barrel racing(绕桶赛), an event in which a horse and its rider attempt to complete a triangular pattern around three barrels in the fastest time.
One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons. Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn’t need to. I came in next to last.
The bitter memory of Becky’s smirks(得意的笑)made me determined to beat her. For the whole next month, I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena(运动场地). We practiced for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home. On the way home I would be so tired; those five miles seemed twice as long.
All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the pattern of barrels, finishing the course with case.
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。
My turn finally came.
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No cheers filled the air when I finished my show.
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Last week, I watched an old couple when they walked through a local thrift (节俭) store. I had just dropped off a bag of clothes and a few other items I no longer wanted. When I got the opportunity, I stopped by just to look through the old records. Yes, I called them records, not CDs or MP3s, simply records, those round plastic things from ancient times that had music recorded on them.
Anyway, this couple moved slowly around me in search of items they had on a list they held tight in hand. They didn’t say much, but occasionally talked with the other and picked an item up. “No, it’s not suitable for her and she dislikes it,’’ one would say and move on.
My curiosity always got the best of me until I satisfied it by asking. “Can I help you find something?” I asked. They stopped, looking at me. Then the man said, “We are looking for old things that look new. Look, every new year in the past we tried to begin the year with new things. It was a goal to surround ourselves with things fresh and new so that we had new direction, new hopes and dreams for the year ahead. More importantly, we can give some gifts to Eva.”
“Eva? Who is she?” I asked. “She is a lovely 10-year-old girl we adopted three years ago. Her parents died in a serious traffic accident. She always wants to be a singer,” the man replied. When hearing those words, I felt sad and said, “I’m sorry for the girl. Can you tell me how does your search work out?” The lady sighed and said, “It took a long time for us to find a special gift, but we discovered it was in vain (徒劳的).”
I knew it’s difficult for the couple to solve the problem, so I decided to take action immediately. I said to the couplet can do you a favor. Please wait here for me.
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。
I turned around and ran out of the store.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I returned to the store, the couple sat near the counter (柜台).
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Nothing will ever be the same again,” Ally said to herself.
Ally's father died last summer. It wasn't fair, Ally thought. Dad was young and had never been sick. Why had his heart suddenly stopped? Ally sank slow into her father's favorite chair and looked at his picture on the bookcase. Ally smiled. “I miss you, Dad,” she said softly.
At this moment, she felt a hand smoothing her hair and looked up. “Why don't you come outside with me, Ally?” her mother asked. “The birds are nesting in the woods. By this time last year you'd already taken dozens of pictures.”
But her mother must know birdwatching wouldn't be the same this year. How could it be? Ally wondered. Ever since she could remember she and Dad had been a team, searching the woods for the special wood warbler (林柳莺). “I'll be out in while, I promise,” she answered.
After her mother left, Ally reached for the photo album she and Dad had put together. On the cover was a photo of a tiny yellow bird with blue-gray wings and black eyes. Dad cut it from a local newspaper. Ally smiled, remembering the excited look on Dad's face when he showed her the pretty bird.
“I can't believe someone spotted this little guy way up here in New Jersey,” he said. “Wood warblers are usually found in the south, not this far north. I bet if we search really hard, Ally, we'll see this little guy together someday.”
Ally closed her eyes. She loved thinking about the times she and Dad had spent searching the woods for the little bird. They'd never spotted the warbler, but her father had an amazing way of making each outing seem special. He was her best friend.
注意：
1.续写的短文词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
When they were together, Ally felt comfortable with her favorite blue sweatshirt on.
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Just then her mother came to her, carrying the old net.
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I grew up in a small town where elementary school was a ten-minute walk from my house and in an age, not so long ago, when we children could go home for lunch and find our mothers waiting.
Our lunchtime when I was in the third grade will stay with me always. I had been picked to be the princess in the school play, and for weeks my mother had painstakingly practiced my lines（台词）with me. But no matter how easily I delivered them at home, as soon as I stepped on stage, every word disappeared from my head. Finally, my teacher took me aside. She explained patiently that she needed a narrator (叙述者，旁白员) and had written a narrator’s part to the play, and asked me to play the role of the narrator. Her words, kindly delivered, still hurt me especially when I saw my part go to another girl.
I didn’t tell mother what had happened when I went home for lunch that day. But she sensed my upset, and instead of suggesting we practice my lines, she asked if I wanted to walk in the yard. It was a lovely spring day and the rose vine（ 藤 ）was turning green. Under the huge trees, we could see yellow dandelions（ 蒲 公 英 ） appearing unexpectedly through the grass in bunches (簇，串）, as if a painter had touched our landscape with small amounts of gold. I watched my mother casually bend down by one of the bushes. “I think I’m going to dig up all these weeds,” she said, pulling a blossom up by all its roots. “From now on, we’ll only have roses in this garden.” I immediately argued, “But I like dandelions. All flowers are beautiful — even dandelions.”
注意：
1. 续写词数应为 150 左右：
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已经为你写好。
Paragraph 1：
“Do you mean that every flower has its own beauty?”asked my mother thoughtfully.
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Paragraph 2：
Having learned what had happened, Mom patted me on the back gently and said,“But you will be a beautiful narrator.”
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At eleven years old, my main concern was money. Where could I get it? How much did I need to buy the new must-have thing my classmates either had or waned? I went to my mom. “Mom, I need more money,” I said, leaning against the kitchen counter while she cooked dinner. “You think you need a job?” Mom asked with a smile. The next day, she had an answer. “Your grandmother will pay you to help her deliver lunch each day to the elderly.” Yes! I pumped (挥舞) my fist into the air.
When my grandmother picked me up, I couldn’t wait to start my new job. “It’s simple. We pick up a large container full of hot meals in a nearby town and then we go on our delivery route.” After dozens of meals were arranged in the backseat, my grandmother drove us to our first stop. The first house didn’t look nice, but I shrugged and kept going. I didn’t have to live there, just deliver food there. This was how I would make money. I nearly jumped when I glanced over to see a tiny old woman in the corner looking at me. She sat hunched (缩成一团) over in a rocking chair and had more wrinkles (褶皱) than I’d ever seen in my life. “Who is this nice young lady?” She asked grandmother. I just stood there holding the food, unsure what to do. My grandmother guided me inside to place it on her kitchen table. The house smelled bad and old like the antique stores my mom liked to visit, but I never liked because even breathing in the dusty air made me feel dirty. I held my breath until we went out.
The next stop was much the same and the next. The houses varied in size and shape, some were nicer than others, but the same wrinkly people waited for their meals. Each person smiled at me and thanked me as I hurried to get out of there. I was sweaty and tired, and my clothes had captured the smell of the food and old houses.
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。
By the end of the day, it was obvious that I wasn’t very comfortable about the job.
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My eyes widened, and I turned to her. “Their only meal?”
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It was a very hot afternoon. My friend Leah and I were waiting for the rush hour train. We were tired and couldn’t wait to get back to the place where we were living.
When the train arrived, we got into the second carriage from the front. The air-conditioning wasn’t working at the rear (后部), so the front was particularly crowded that day. I sat by the window admiring the changing landscape.
Suddenly we felt enormous pressure pushing us backwards into our seats. The windows broke into tiny pieces and dust flew around violently. I could barely open my eyes.
The train was suffering from a crash, and it didn’t feel as if it were going to stop. I thought I would be dead. I thought about my husband Guy, who was supposed to receive the news first. I thought of my dear father and other family members, wondering how each would deal with my death.
Voices began to break through my thoughts. People were anxious. Strangely, I was totally calm. I wasn’t panicking; my heart wasn’t even beating fast. When the train finally stopped, we slowly stood up, pushing off the table that had fallen onto us; others stayed in their seats and many were injured and covered in blood. I could hear screaming. A soldier pushed the damaged door open for us to escape.
Our carriage had run out of rails and we were halfway home. We had a lot of blood on us and I searched my body for wounds, but I didn’t find any. My knees felt painful and my hips were black and blue, and Leah had her hand cut when jumping off the train, but that wasn’t serious.
Helicopters landed and we saw soldiers running in and out. All around us were ambulances (救护车) and people lying on the ground. Everyone was shouting for help. I rang Guy, who was very calm and said he would come and get us. Seeing all these brought me great emotional hurt.
Paragraph 1:
It was almost dark by the time we found Guy and he drove us home.
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Paragraph 2:
In the days that followed, I convinced myself I had internal bleeding.
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Jack still remembers that one morning when he was only ten years old. He was at home with his elder sister Lily. Jack was doing his homework when he heard raised voices. At first, he thought nothing of it since customers' voice in the motorcycle shop directly below their flat often became loud, but he soon realized this time it was different.
“Quick! Quick! Remove the motorcycles from the shop.” someone shouted.
Then a thick burning smell filled the air. When Jack opened the front door of their flat to investigate, a thick cloud of smoke greeted him. The motorcycle shop had caught fire and people were running and crying.
Lily, who had been playing the violin in her room, hurried to the living room. They rushed out of the door and along the corridor through the smoke.
They were heading towards the stairway at the far end of the corridor when Lily stopped in her track. She turned around and headed back the way they came. Jack had no idea what she was doing, but he followed her.
Lily had suddenly remembered the lady in her 70s who lived next door to them, who they called Makcik, Malay for auntie. Lily began banging on Makcik’s door, but got no answer. As the smoke thickened around them, Jack could see many of their neighbors — some still in their pyjamas — running for safety. The thought of fear crossed his mind.
“She might have run for safety like everyone else!” Jack cried. However, Lily refused to give up. “I know Makcik's still inside.” She said she was familiar with Makcik's daily routine and was certain she would still be sleeping. She pounded the door. “Go downstairs. Go now! Go!”
注意:1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右;
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Just at that time, Jack noticed the flame was reaching up.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Luckily, all the neighbors went downstairs and an ambulance came.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1.周末实行双休，不上课；2.每天的家庭作业量严格控制在一个半小时之内。
这一决定在学生、教师和家长中引起了较大的反响。假设你是该校一名学生，请给《英语辅导报》写一篇有关这场争论的报道，并陈述自己的看法。短文应包括下表中的内容。
| 赞成的理由 | 反对的理由 |
| 有利于培养学生自主学习能力 | 有些学生不能用好业余时间（例如上网吧） |
| 有益孩子的身心健康 | 家庭作业少，影响孩子得高分，孩子很难考上重点大学 |
| 你的看法：1.……2.……（至少两点，内容自己发挥） | |
2.词数150左右。文章开头已给出，不计入总词数。
3.参考词汇：身心健康 physical and mental health
In order to push ahead with quality-oriented education, our school has made the following decisions:
（1）Students have a two-day weekend every week.
（2）Homework is limited to one and a half hours every day.
This decision, which comes into force term, has caused a heated argument.
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