As an independent, self-reliant person who always handled everything by myself, I didn’t expect parenting to be hard. Oh, sure, it’s difficult for other people. I heard parents complaining all the time — kids are challenging; nothing is ever clean; there’s not enough time in the day to do everything. But that was “other people” and I knew I could handle it. How complicated could it be?
I’d always dreamed of adopting a child, and finally my dream came true one summer afternoon. Even though we had requested only one child, the worker asked, “Could you take another baby and his eleven-year-old brother?” Of course, we could. We had room to have all three boys together.
The first week after they moved in, I spent my days rushing from task to task, cleaning and making sure they had all they needed. I constantly organized our living room, which was suddenly full of toys, and picked up the path of destruction left in the boys’ wake. Cooking and cleaning after meals and snacks seemed to take half of my day. I hardly ever sat; something always needed to be done.
“I think we need a break,” my husband told me one evening as I was falling asleep on the couch as usual.
“No,” I refused. The idea of sending them to a stranger sickened me. However, with each passing day, I was growing more and more exhausted. Besides meeting the physical needs of the boys, there were medical and emotional needs. Both the little ones constantly clung (黏住) to me. It was never quiet in our house; I felt overwhelmed.
One night, my husband said firmly that he needed a break. Whether I “needed” one or not, we were going to take one. With tears rolling down my cheeks, I nodded, knowing it was true, although I didn’t want to admit my weakness.
I called my parents.
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Asking for help is something I must keep re-learning as time goes on, but it’s getting easier.
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My teacher gave us an assignment that should have been easy. “OK, class,” he said. “For the month of November, we will turn this wall into our Thanksgiving art gallery. For tonight’s homework, I want you to create a picture of one thing you’re thankful for, and we’ll hang it here.”
We were supposed to spend the last part of class figuring out an idea for our “thankful” picture. But the more I tried to think of the one perfect thing, the more panicked and puzzled became! Finally, the school bell rang, and it was time to pack up and go. “I’m going to make a picture about fishing with my grandpa,” my friend Imani said as we walked home. I told her that this project was making me nervous and that I was worried if I chose one person, everyone else felt left out.
Imani suggested that I should pick a random awesome thing instead. I was surprised and confused because I was thankful for a billion random things. How was I supposed to choose one? Imani smiled. “It’s the ‘just close your eyes’ trick.” I could write down a bunch of choices on separate pieces of paper, spread them out, close my eyes and pick one. I was still worried that I would pick the imperfect one.
“That’s the whole point,” said Imani. “There’s no perfection. Here, I’ll show you!” I followed Imani across the street to a giant tree with beautiful and attractive fallen leaves. So many leaves had fallen onto the grass that it looked like a rainbow-colored carpet. The orange one with green-and-yellow edges was incredible. Those fiery red ones were also amazing. She urged me to pick the very best leaf.
“There are too many,” I said. “It’d be impossible to find the very best.”
“Exactly!” she said. “It’s just like the thankful assignment. There are way too many choices. So just close your eyes and pick one.” I closed my eyes, picked up a leaf, opened my eyes -and we both started laughing our heads off.
注意：
1. 续写词数为150词左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
Looking at the rotten and sad little leaf in my hand, I was lost in thought.
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Paragraph 2:
The next day in class, when appreciating our pictures on the wall, everybody had questions about mine.
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“What will we be singing for competition this year?” a student from my high school choir asked eagerly. I was really worried about this moment. “I was thinking,” I said, “maybe we’ll skip the competition and just work hard on the concerts this year.”
“NO!” the kids disagreed. “We want to compete! For the First Place! It’s a tradition!”
This was true. Medals on the front wall of the music room were won by my former excellent students. But they had graduated, leaving me with only twenty-two young students, inexperienced kids who couldn’t read music, and could sing only a simple melody (乐章).
“Maybe we could win the Second Place this year,” I suggested. I knew even that would be a near-impossible task, thinking our competitors: two famous schools with fifty members each. “No!” the kids screamed. “The First Place!”
I shook my head. “First Place is extremely difficult.”
“We can do it!” they shouted. “We can do it!”
“I’ll think about it,” I said, hoping their eagerness would die off in a couple of weeks.
But that didn’t happen. Instead, the class became more determined. Every day they asked and begged. As a teacher, I couldn’t tell them they weren’t good enough. To cool their eagerness, I showed them a difficult piece of music from the competition list, but it simply ended with “It’s okay, Mrs. Pliszka. We’ll make it. ”
I struggled to make a decision. If I destroyed their hope, would I destroy their spirit? I remembered one of my college professor’s saying, "Every child will learn if the teacher is willing to try his or her best as the student.” I wasn’t afraid of hard work, and I enjoyed a challenge. But I wasn’t a magic worker. And so, I think seriously over this challenge.
注意：
1. 续写词数为150词左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
Finally, one morning I made the decision.
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Paragraph 2:
When my group stepped on the stage, I could clearly notice distrust from the audience saying my group was so small.
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In the first grade in senior high school, I was extremely shy, I had friends, but it just wasn’t in my personality to be very outgoing, even when I knew someone. I was afraid I would do or say something wrong, so usually I just smiled and listened to other people’s conversations.
I did well in school and I loved to write. However, I would escape into my writing, where I could be myself and never had to worry about what other people thought of me. In my stories, I was never shy, I often imagined that I was the main character in the story. My teacher, Mrs. Sather, always encouraged me to write more and be myself. She told our class to go after our dreams and dig in with great efforts. I thoughts he was one of the first people to see my inner strength.
One day, she showed us a play she had written and announccd that our class was going to perform it. “I’ll begin to choose all the performers tomorrow” she said, “I need someone who is not afraid to be onstage in front of a lot of people to play the lead part of Dorothy. Anybody wants to try?” A few excited hands shot up -mine, of course, was not one of them and Mrs. Sather smiled. “We’ll talk more about it later,” she said. Then the bell rang and my classmates slowly left the classroom.
“I will never do that,” I thought. But after rereading the play, I was deeply attracted by the story and couldn’t help imagining myself to be the main character Dorothy. There seemed to be a new person inside me, a much more daring, outgoing person who had been hidden all along, just waiting for the opportunity to appear. However, I still felt shy and could never picture myself acting in a play in front of two hundred people. Having struggled for a few minutes, I still did not know how to make the decision.
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 I was packing my schoolbag, Mrs Sather asked me to go to her.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One week later, it was time for me to perform on the stage.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________An Unforgivable Mistake
A few years ago, the company I work for sent my wife and me to live in New York for a year. I’ve always loved jogging, so I was really happy when I found the apartment they had rented for us was next to Central Park. This meant that every morning I could go for a run before I went to work.
Because a lot of people had told me to be careful of muggers (行凶抢劫者) in the park, I didn’t usually take anything with me. How could they rob me if I didn’t have anything? But one morning my wife asked me to buy some bread on the way home, so I put a $10 bill in my back pocket.
It was a beautiful morning and the park was quiet with very few people walking or jogging around. While I was running, another jogger bumped (撞) into me. He apologized and continued running. For a while, I didn’t think too much of it. However, when I noticed the wide path where I was running, I thought it was kind of strange. The warning of muggers in the park occurred to me. It could have been a mugger! I suddenly became alarmed, so I checked my pocket. The money was missing! I immediately started to run after the jogger. I finally caught up with and grabbed him firmly by the arm. I started shouting and demanding that he give me the $10 bill. I’m not usually a hot-headed person, but I really lost my temper at that moment. I couldn’t believe the robbery was actually happening to me. Filled with anger, I shook my fist at him. This seemed to frighten him. He quickly put his hand in his pocket and gave me the money. Then he ran away as fast as he could.
I bought the bread and went home. As soon as I got home, I couldn’t wait to tell my wife the story. “You won’t believe what happened to me,” I started with pride. She immediately interrupted (插话), “I know, you left the money for the bread on the kitchen table.”
注意：续写词数应为150左右。Paragraph 1:
Looking at the money on the table, I stood there, shocked.
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For several days, I waited at the same place.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________High-school sports were about the biggest thing that happened in the town of Verden. And sports were important in Lauren Wray’s family. Both of Lauren’s brothers were high-school athletes. Like others, she longed to be on the basketball team too. But the special point was, she had Down syndrome (唐氏综合症).
Mr. Wray and his wife never told Lauren that she was different. They treated her like their other children. They didn’t want her to feel disabled or different.
One day, for the extreme love of playing basketball, Lauren ran to her father and announced with great excitement. “I’m gonna play basketball. Daddy. I am joining the girls’ high-school basketball team.” Hearing that, Mrs. Wray and Mr. Wray were too surprised to believe what their daughter said. Lauren’s reflexes (反应能力) were slow. They knew how hard and unbelievable it would be for her to play basketball, let alone to be on the basketball team. But they decided to stand by her.
The next afternoon. Mr. Wray parked in front of the school gym. Inside, Coach Forsythe saw Mr. Wray, and he said, “I am glad Lauren came out for the team.” Lauren stood alone at the other end of the basketball court, shooting free throws. Other girls played together on the other side. After every shot, Lauren excitedly shouted, “Woo hoo !” At first, Lauren was in high spirits and so energetic. But things didn’t go smoothly. Her disability made her so clumsy (笨拙的) in the field. Having not made the basket for a long time, she was so discouraged. She gained nothing from the first training.
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。
Paragraph 1: Later that night, Mr. Wray found Lauren lay on the couch, downhearted.
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Paragraph 2: Mid November, the season’s first basketball game arrived.
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When I was little, I lived in a house with a beautiful garden full of all kinds of Bowers. There was nothing I enjoyed more than sitting in the garden with my mother reading stories to me. When I was old enough to read, I enjoyed reading stories aloud to her.
I would never forget one day when I was in the third grade. I bad been picked to be the princess in the school play, and for weeks my mother had rehearsed (排练) my lines so hard with me. But however easily I acted at home, the moment I stepped on stage, every word disappeared from my head. Finally, my teacher took me aside, explaining that she had written a narrator’s (解说员) part to the play, and asked me to change roles. Her word, kindly expressed, still hurt, especially when I saw my part go to another girl.
I didn’t tell my mother what had happened when I went home after school that day. But she sensed my pain. Instead of suggesting we practice my lines, she asked if I wanted to take a walk in the garden.
It was May and roses were blossoming and, under the trees, we could also see yellow dandelions (蒲公英) in the grass, as if a painter had painted our garden with red, yellow and green. I watched my mother casually bend down by one dandelion. ”I think I’m going to dig up all these weeds,” she said, pulling it up by its roots. ”From now on, we’ll have only roses in this garden. ”
“But I like dandelions,” I protested, “All flowers are beautiful-even dandelions.” “Yes, every flower is beautiful in its own way, isn’t it?” she asked thoughtfully. I nodded, pleased that I had won her over. “And that is true of people too,” she added. “Not everyone can be a princess, but there is no shame in that.” Relieved that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry as I told her what had happened. She listened and smiled to me gently.
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。
Para 1: “But you will be a beautiful narrator,” she said.
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Para 2: After the play, I took home the flower.
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I always wondered how people would react if I tried to approach a stranger for help in a busy place like a street corner or in a bustling mall. I personally have hurried past a stranger who tried to catch my attention in a busy place.
Yesterday I had a taste of being stuck in such a desperate situation where your only hope of help would have to come from a total stranger.
I was in a busy shopping mall buying a large piece of luggage. After the purchase in one of the large and expensive shops, I picked up my phone from my pocket to call my driver waiting in the parking lot and my phone was dead.
I then requested the shop assistant selling me the luggage, which was not cheap at all, if she could ring the number of my driver for me. She replied, still all smiles, “I’m sorry Sir, but it is the shop policy that we cannot use mobile phones while working in the shop.”
As I was wondering what kind of policy that was, I saw a nice-looking teenage boy coming toward me. Remember my wife’s interesting theory that beautiful people are more likely to give you a hand when you’re in trouble, I thought I might have a chance. But before I could say a word, he walked past me. It turned out he simply didn’t see me.
I waited in the mall but it seemed nobody bothered to look at me. Disappointed and tired, I got out of the shop on to the busy street in front. I stood there with people rushing by, looking at their faces to see if they will show kindness to me. I began wondering how many times I had reacted to strangers like the shop girl and the teenager.
注意：1. 续写的短文词数应为100左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
That was when I saw a young mother with her two kids.
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________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A Great Monday
Monday started out well. I woke up on time, ate breakfast and did some last minute studying for my math test later that morning. I was confident of getting good grades. I left my house and ten minutes later, I sat with my friends on the school bus. We were busy chatting about how we spent our weekend. At the next stop, a student named Ryan got on the bus. He was in a rush and tripped (绊倒) over someone’s foot. There was a loud noise as he fell to the floor.
Every one of us on the bus laughed. Ryan got up, brushed his jacket and went to an empty seat. He tried to laugh with us, but his face was red with embarrassment. The rest of the morning went by quickly. I did well in my math test. I read two more chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird in English class. Soon we heard the lunch bell. I met my friends from the cheerleading team in the dining hall. I noticed Ryan a few tables away, sitting by himself. He caught me looking at him. I smiled at him quickly and looked away.
When we finished eating, we went to the courtyard to practice a cheer we would do at that night’s football game. After much practice, we finally managed to do the cheer perfectly. We decided to practice it again one last time. Just like the rest of my day so far, the cheer was going great. I raised my leg for one last toe touch. That was when I felt my jeans (牛仔裤) split (裂开) down the middle of my backside.
I froze. I had no idea what to do. I heard people burst out laughing and I saw them pointing at my torn jeans. I tried to cover myself with my hands, I tried to laugh too, but I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
Then I saw Ryan running towards me.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________That night, after the cheer at the football game, I found Ryan.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Ali and his younger sister, Zahra, lived with their parents in a poor neighborhood. Their mother was very sick and their father was struggling to find a job, and they had only a little money with which to buy food. As they had not paid the rent for several months, the landlord was breathing down their necks.
One day, Ali took Zahra's shoes to a shoe repairman to be fixed, but he lost them on the way home. It wasn’t until he got home that he realized he had lost the shoes. He was afraid that his parents would be angry and disappointed, so he begged his sister to keep it a secret. Zahra agreed and the two decided to share Ali’s running shoes. Zahra's school hours were in the morning, so she would wear them first. After school, she would rush back and give them to Ali. He could then run to his school, which began in the afternoon. Although he ran as fast as he could, Ali often arrived late and was warned by the school.
Ali heard about a long distance race that was held for the boys in the city.When he learned that the third prize was a new pair of shoes, he decided to take part. He ran home excitedly and promised his sister that he would win her the new shoes.
The day of race arrived. Ali had a strong start, but halfway through the race he began to get tired and his legs began to ache. Getting more and more exhausted he thought only of Zahra and his promise to her. Dreaming of the new shoes he would win for his sister gave him strength, and he stayed right behind the two fastest runners, determined to finish third. Suddenly, as the finish line drew near, another runner collided(碰撞) with Ali from behind and he crashed to the ground.
Ali looked up and saw the other boys rushing ahead.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Filled with delight, Ali walked home quickly.
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