When I was in middle school, my social studies teacher asked me to enter a writing contest. I said no without thinking. I did not love writing. My family came from Brazil, so English was only my second language. Writing was so difficult and painful for me that my teacher had allowed me to present my paper on the sinking of the Titanic by acting out a play, where I played all the parts. No one laughed harder than he did.
So, why did he suddenly force me to do something at which I was sure to fail? His reply: “Because I love your stories. If you’re willing to apply yourself, I think you have a good shot at this.” Encouraged by his words, I agreed to give it a try.
I chose Paul Revere’s horse as my subject. Paul Revere was a silversmith (银匠) in Boston who rode a horse at night on April 18, 1775 to Lexington to warn people that British soldiers were coming. My story would come straight from the horse’s mouth. Not a brilliant idea, but funny; and unlikely to be anyone else’s choice.
What did the horse think, as he sped through the night? Did he get tired? Have doubts? Did he want to quit? I sympathized immediately. I got tired. I had doubts. I wanted to quit. But, like Revere’s horse, I kept going. I worked hard. I checked my spelling. I asked my older sister to correct my grammar. I checked out a half dozen books on Paul Revere from the library. I even read a few of them.
When I handed in the essay to my teacher, he read it, laughed out loud, and said, “Great. Now, write it again.” I wrote it again, and again and again. When I finally finished it, the thought of winning had given way to the enjoyment of writing. If I didn’t win, I wouldn’t care.
注意:1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
A few weeks later, when I almost forgot the contest, there came the news.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I went to my teacher’s office after the award presentation.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A MOTHER’S DAY SURPRISE
The twins were filled with excitement as they thought of the surprise they were planning for Mother’s Day. How pleased and proud Mother would be when they brought her breakfast in bed. They planned to make French toast and chicken porridge. They had watched their mother in the kitchen. There was nothing to it. Jenna and Jeff knew exactly what to do.
The big day came at last. The alarm rang at 6 a.m. The pair went down the stairs quietly to the kitchen. They decided to boil the porridge first. They put some rice into a pot of water and left it to boil while they made the French toast. Jeff broke two eggs into a plate and added in some milk. Jenna found the bread and put two slices into the egg mixture. Next, Jeff turned on the second stove burner to heat up the frying pan. Everything was going smoothly until Jeff started frying the bread. The pan was too hot and the bread turned black within seconds. Jenna threw the burnt piece into the sink and put in the other slice of bread. This time, she turned down the fire so it cooked nicely.
Then Jeff noticed steam shooting out of the pot and the lid starting to shake. The next minute, the porridge boiled over and put out the fire. Jenna panicked. Thankfully, Jeff stayed calm and turned off the gas quickly. But the stove was a mess now. Jenna told Jeff to clean it up so they could continue to cook the rest of the porridge. But Jeff’s hand touched the hot burner and he gave a cry of pain. Jenna made him put his hand in cold water. Then she caught the smell of burning. Oh dear! The piece of bread in the pan had turned black as well.
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。
As the twins looked around them in disappointment, their father appeared.
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________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A Special Gift
I always believe that there are certain gifts sticking in our minds for a variety of reasons.
The gift given to me that I treasured most was a doll named Patsy. I met her in a gift shop when I was nine. On holding Patsy I immediately fell in love with her and couldn’t even bear to part from her. At that time, my mother noticed it and at Christmas, as I received the gift from her, I was surprised to find my dream doll in the box. From then on Patsy became my baby and I loved her dearly.
A month later, I was on my way to the cinema when I glimpsed some lovely gifts in pretty boxes through the window of the gift shop. Seeing them reminded me that my mother’s birthday was a few months away. Wouldn’t it be nice, I thought, if I could give her something really special, just like the gift she gave me? I stepped inside and caught sight of a beautiful dress hung on the coat stand, which I was sure my mother would like. So I asked the saleswoman its price.
The lady must have seen my disappointment when she told me how much it would cost. But she had a suggestion which immediately lifted my spirits. She took out a notebook from under the counter and wrote my name as well as the item I wanted to buy on it, and in return I paid her five cents from my six cents pocket money. It meant no candies that day but I didn’t care. At the age of nine, I made my very first installment (分期付款)and felt like a grown-up. From then on, every Saturday on my way to the cinema, I went to the shop and paid a few cents which the lady dutifully recorded on her notebook.
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。
The day before my mother’s birthday, I paid the last two cents.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The special day finally came.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________要点包括：1. 该节日的具体日期；
2. 该节日期间人们的主要活动或该节日的特色。
Lunar Calendar 农历Spring Festive gala 春晚 firecracker鞭炮
注意：写作词数应为100左右。
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1. 课外体育锻炼情况描述；
2. 简单评论；
3. 你的建议。
1. 词数80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Physical Exercise After Class
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Once upon a time, there was a boy who always enjoyed listening to his mother’s story about the statue (雕像) standing beside their house.
The statue’s name was Miriad, who was the symbol of kindness. People who walked by the statue showed their respect through bowing (鞠躬) in front of Miriad’s statue. It became a tradition in their village that everyman who died due to helping others would be honored as Miriad, and would be remembered by all the people.
One night, the boy asked his mother how Miriad gained his respect from all the people in this village. “He was just a simple man,” his mother said. “He helped people selflessly, thinking others first.” “Well, I can also do that,” the boy proudly told his mother. His mother continued, “That is the reason why people made Miriad a statue, for you child to copy and not to forget.”
One morning, the boy saw a little girl crying under an apple tree. “Why do you cry?” the boy asked. “I was trying to get myself some fruit from this apple tree and suddenly I fell down from it,” the little girl explained. “Let me do it for you,” the boy said. He started to climb up the tree and picked as many apples a she could. After a while, the boy jumped down from the tree and gave all the apples to the little girl.
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。
The little girl thanked the boy for his kindness.
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One day, the boy met a homeless man who seemed hungry.
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Amy is good at making pies, which got her hired at the Good Times restaurant months ago. And she was often regarded as the best worker there. Recently, she became the supervisor at the restaurant. She was kind and friendly to all the other workers and the customers.
One morning, Amy was taking orders when she overheard a conversation. “What you did there was great, Mason! It was hard to carry the old lady safely out of the fire. For a moment, I thought you were gone, my friend,” one man said. To this, the other man replied, “Yeah, it was difficult, but that’s our job. And you were the hero today, Gordon. You carried that girl on your shoulder and her dog in your hand. It’s going to be on the front page tomorrow, I’m telling you.”
From their clothing and conversation, Amy knew they were firefighters. And she quickly realized that they had been talking about the previous night’s fire at the old motel on the other end of the road. Then the man named Gordon continued, “I don’t care about being in the papers. The little girl and her dog reminded me of my own daughter. She’s constantly asking for a dog, too.” Amy was moved by the courage and sincerity of the two men. She wanted to show her appreciation for their selfless service.
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“How about helping pay for their meal?” she wondered.
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Then she went to the cashier and secretly paid for their meal.
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The young boy saw me, or rather, he saw the car and quickly ran up to me, eager to sell his bunches of bananas and bags of peanuts. Though he appeared to be about twelve, he seemed to have already known the bitterness of life.“Banana 300 naira. Peanuts 200 naira.”He said in a low voice. I bargained (与……讨价还价) him down to 200 total for the fruit and nuts. When he agreed, I handed him a 500 naira bill. He didn't have change. So I told him not to worry. He said thanks and smiled a row of perfect teeth.
When, two weeks later, I saw the boy again, I was more aware of my position in a society where it's not that uncommon to see a little boy who should be in school standing on the corner selling fruit in the burning sun. My parents had raised me to be aware of the advantage we had been afforded and the responsibility it brought to us.
I pulled over and rolled down my window. He had a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts ready. I waved them away.“ What's up?”I asked him.“I ... I don't have money to buy books for school.”1 reached into my pocket and handed him two fresh 500 naira bills.“Will this help?”I asked. He looked around nervously before taking the money. One thousand naira was a lot of money to someone whose family probably made about 5 ,000 naira or less each year. “Thank you, sir. ”he said.“Thank you very much!”
When driving home, I wondered if my little friend actually used the money for schoolbooks. What if he's a cheat? And then I wondered why I did it. Did I do it to make myself feel better? Was I using him? Later, I realized that I didn't know his name or the least bit about him, nor did I think to ask.
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。
One afternoon in September, I went to a poor community.
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Joe led me into his home.
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One day, when I was a first-year student in high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home from school. His name was Kris. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, “Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd (书呆子).”
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a gang of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up, and I saw terrible sadness in his eyes.
My heart went out to him. So I jogged over to him, and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw tears in his eyes. As I handed him his glasses, I said, “They are bad guys! They really should be punished.” He looked at me and said, “Hey, thanks!” There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
I helped him pick up his books and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to a private school before. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before, but we talked all the way home, and I carried his books.
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。
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________We always hung out on weekends, and the more I got to know Kris, the more I liked him.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________During a vacation one year, my mom and I left our home. We went on a two-week trip to the countryside where my mother had grown up. I was excited because I couldn’t wait to see my grandparents. The last time I had visited them was when I was only three years old. I also wished to go sightseeing, ride elephants, and do many more things there. They must be very wonderful.
With great wishes, we arrived at my grandparents’ house in the countryside. During the first several days, I stayed in their house for fun. But soon, I got bored. I wondered what adventures were in store for me. One morning I said to my mom, “I really want to go outside to play.” My mom replied, “Stephanie, today we’re going to a school. The children there are studying in poor conditions. I decided to use some of my own money to buy some school supplies (日用品) for them.” Hearing that, I was a bit unhappy. “We can go out and play another day. Today we need to spend a little time helping these poor children,” Mom added. I had no choice but to agree.
A few minutes later, my mom drove me to the school. On the way, she said, “We’d first visit the school to know what kind of things these children want most. Then we’ll try to buy them.” I thought to myself: what a vacation I am having! I come here to go sightseeing, not do charity (慈善)work.
When we reached the school, I just couldn’t believe my eyes. There was only one small building, which looked as if it were a hundred years old. There was no playground, no parking lot... It was so small; the school I went to back home was a million times bigger. How unlucky the children here were! We met a teacher in the school, and my mom told him the purpose of our visit. The teacher was very glad and thanked us.
Paragraph1:Then the teacher guided us into a classroom.
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Holding the shopping list, my mom and I headed for a store.
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