Little Lola-Rose Raine had dreamed about being a flower girl for her older sister for months. But just two months before their big day, Lola had only hours to live. She suffered from acute liver failure (急性肝衰竭).
Full-time mum Jane recalled how Lola came down with the disease in March. Jane said, “One day, she came in to wake me up and said she didn’t feel well. I looked at her and was shocked to see that her eyes had turned slightly yellow.” She rang 111 straight away and was told to take Lola to hospital.
There, doctors found that the tests showed her liver function was not going well. Lola was kept in hospital for five days, but her condition started to worsen.
Doctors told her worried parents she had adenovirus (腺病毒) — which has symptoms (症状) similar to the common cold — but in Lola, it had led to the serious liver failure.
“The situation was worse than we could ever have imagined,” Jane said. “The doctors told us that her liver was no longer working to clear the toxins (毒素) in her body and the virus was causing her head to swell up. They told us that she didn’t have much time left. We were in complete shock. It didn’t seem real.”
Lola was put into the ICU and added to the urgent transplant (移植) list for a new liver, but Alan, Lola’s father, feared a donor wouldn’t be found in time.
Desperate to help their daughter, the couple asked doctors if they could give part of their own liver, instead of waiting for a match — and tests soon found out that Alan was a match.
Normally, it takes around six weeks for all the necessary health checks to be carried out on living donors. But Alan’s checks were rushed through in just 21 hours.
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。
Soon the transplant operation went ahead.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Six weeks later, Lola was back home and couldn’t stop talking about the upcoming wedding.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Growing up in a coastal town in San Francisco, Christian had a special love for the ocean and its creatures. He had always found joy in the rhythmic tides and the ocean waves against the shore. The salty wind and the cries of the seagulls (海鸥) had been like a comforting song to him during his childhood.
However, all these changed over the years. Every time he wandered along the familiar stretch of sand, his heart sank. The once charming beach was now littered with plastic bags, bottles and other wastes, a distinctive contrast to the natural beauty that had always absorbed him.
The sight was a painful reminder of the harm the locals were bringing to the very land where he was growing up. Christian felt a deep sense of loss and responsibility. Previously, he had seen the news reports about the severe effects of plastic pollution on the oceans, and the images of sea creatures stuck in plastic wastes haunted (萦绕于脑际) him.
Determined to make a change, Christian decided to take action. He knew he couldn’t solve this problem alone, but he could start something that might grow into a powerful movement. With the passion and belief of a young man who loved his ocean and his land deeply, he founded an organization called Waves of Change. The early days presented challenges in calling on volunteers.
He began by reaching out to the students in his school. He shared the shocking reality of the polluted beaches and the urgent need to reduce plastic litter. To his delight, gradually more and more schoolmates started showing interest in the organization and many were eager to join in the cause. They were all too familiar with the beauty of the ocean and were equally saddened by the damage they had witnessed. As high school students, Christian and other members properly allocates (分配) time to balance the cause and their academic work.
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。
Together, Christian and other members did a lot of things in their free time.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Their efforts finally paid off.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Learning motivation only accompanied by interest can last long. My grandfather used to be the director of a local museum. So since I was young, I had the opportunity to visit various museums with him. After entering high school, I became interested in history, and I constantly collected information related to museums.
When I was 17, I read a magazine article about a museum called the McNay, once the home of a watercolourist named Marian McNay. She had requested the community to turn it into a museum upon her death.
Do not miss your chance to see Texas’ first modern art museum—the McNay Art Museum. There are more than 20,000 different and significant works. With beautiful Spanish gardens and the amazing architecture of the building, the art within the walls isn’t the only wonder to see.
On a sunny Saturday, Sally and I drove over to the museum. She asked, “Do you have the address?” “No, but I’ll recognize it, there was a picture in the magazine.”
“Oh, stop. There it is!”
The museum was free. We entered, excited. A group of people sitting in the hall stopped talking and stared at us.
“May I help you?” a man asked. “No,” I said. “We’re fine.” Tour guides got on my nerves. What if they talked a long time about a painting you weren’t that interested in? Sally had gone upstairs. The people in the hall seemed very nosy (爱管闲事的), keeping their eyes on me with curiosity. What was their problem? I saw some nice sculptures in one room. Suddenly I sensed a man standing behind me. “Where do you think you are?” he asked. I turned sharply. “The McNay Art Museum!” He smiled, shaking his head. “Sorry, the McNay is on New Braunfels Street.” “What’s this place?” I asked, still confused. “Well, it’s our home.” My heart jolted (震颤). I raced to the staircase.
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 called out, “Sally! Come down immediately!”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Thirty years later, a woman approached me in a public place.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________During winter, Leo noticed that of all the houses on the block, there was one with a messy, dirty yard that looked unattended. One day, after all the snow had melted and the trees were starting to bloom (开花) just in time for spring, Leo couldn’t help but stare at his neighbor’s messy yard a little longer. The melted snow showed all the buried leaves and other trash.
He went back home and brought the tools he needed. It took Leo the entire afternoon to clear the yard. He moved the melting snow out of the pathway and swept the leaves from the ground. He also trimmed (修剪) the bushes and left them as neat as he could.
The following morning, the old woman, Abigail, opened her door with joy. She had quietly watched the young man clean up the yard the day before, much to her relief.
Abigail had not left her house in months. She relied totally on her caregiver for her basic needs and was eager to get fresh air. After sitting in her wheelchair in her front yard for a couple of minutes, her neighbors started to notice her. They walked toward her to say hi, and soon, the crowd grew.
“It’s so lovely to see you outdoors, Abigail! How have you been?” one of them asked.
“I’m so happy to be breathing some fresh air for a change. I couldn’t leave the house for months because of the snow. It was too deep, and I couldn’t afford to hi re someone to help me with it,” Abigail admitted.
“But yesterday, I saw a kind young man cleaning my yard the entire afternoon. I wanted to thank him, but I had no food to offer him because my caregiver had not arrived yet,” she shared. “He is such a blessing. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him!”
When Abigail praised the “kind young man” who helped her, they immediately knew it was Leo. The neighbors looked at each other, with guilty all over their faces. They realized they had been so blind to Abigail’s problems that no one thought to help her by cleaning her yard.
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。
They decided to thank Leo by visiting his house.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When he opened his front door, Leo was surprised to see his neighbors bearing gifts.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Desire Is Different from Wish
The last ray of sunlight sh one through the window. A small figure sat at the corner of the room surrounded by a cloud of misery (痛苦) as he had been forbidden to go out by his mother for a whole day but he didn’t make a serious mistake.
This young boy studied in the local school and dreamed to be an artist but his mother was against his dream. She thought the profession of artist couldn’t aid a person to meet his daily expenses. The boy didn’t want his mother to worry as he knew about the hard work his mother did in order to survive after his father died in an accident.
As each day passed his dream became more passionate and practiced more. One day the young boy wandered in the hill to gather inspiration from the nature. Then he stopped at a picturesque spot and watched those green grass at the bottom, but after a few seconds he fell asleep. In his dream he was creating a master piece of art that shook down the whole world. After some time he woke up and went back.
The following day he read about a painting competition that was being held in the town. He got the perfect opportunity to fulfill his desire but he didn’t have the courage to ask his mother for money to buy acrylic paints (丙烯颜料) and some brushes for the competition. In the evening when his mother returned from work, he saw that his mother had a few notes and that money would be enough for him to buy those materials.
The next morning before his mom woke up he quietly took the money and headed to the place where the competition was being held. As the competition began, he was quite nervous but he calmed down after a few seconds. He drew the place that he saw in his dream. He was so focused at his own work that he lost the track of time but he submitted his work just a couple of seconds before the end.
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 he went back home, he was frightened to see his mother.
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After a week, there was a call for the child from the competition.
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The Empty Pot
A long time ago in China there was a boy named Ping who loved flowers. Anything he planted burst into bloom. Up came flowers, bushes, and even big fruit trees, as if by magic!
Everyone in the kingdom loved flowers too. They planted them everywhere, and the air smelled like perfume.
The Emperor loved birds and animals, but flowers most of all, and he tended his own garden every day. But the Emperor was very old. He needed to choose a successor to the throne (王位的继承人). Because the Emperor loved flowers so much, he decided to let the flowers choose.
The next day a statement was issued: All the children in the land were to come to the palace. There they would be given special flower seeds by the Emperor. “Whoever can show me their best in a year’s time,” he said, “will succeed me to the throne.”
This news created great excitement throughout the land! Children from all over the country swarmed to the palace to get their flower seeds. All the parents wanted their children to be chosen Emperor, and all the children hoped they would be chosen too!
When Ping received his seed from the Emperor, he was the happiest child of all. He was sure he could grow the most beautiful flower. Ping filled a flowerpot with rich soil. He planted the seed in it very carefully. He watered it every day. He couldn’t wait to see it sprout, grow, and blossom into a beautiful flower!
Day after day passed, but nothing grew in his pot. Ping was very worried. He put new soil into a bigger pot. Then he transferred the seed into the rich black soil. Another two months he waited. Still nothing happened. By and by the whole year passed.
Spring came, and all the children put on their best clothes to greet the Emperor. They rushed to the palace with their beautiful flowers, eagerly hoping to be chosen.
Ping was ashamed of his empty pot. He thought the other children would laugh at him because for once he couldn’t get a flower to grow.
His clever friend ran by, holding a great big plant. “Ping!” he said. “You’re not really going to the Emperor with an empty pot, are you? Couldn’t you grow a great big flower like mine?” “I’ve grown lots of flowers better than yours,” Ping said. “It’s just this seed that won’t grow.”
Ping’s father overheard this and said, “You did your best, and your best is good enough to present to the Emperor.”
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。
Holding the empty pot in his hands, Ping went straight away to the palace.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When the Emperor heard these words, a smile slowly spread over his face.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In the summer of 2005, Kathryn Fumie graduated from university and moved into an apartment to start her career. She was learning how to cook for herself, and one day, she decided to cook a hard-boiled egg by putting it in a mug (大杯) of water in the microwave.
She let the egg cook for a bit, then pulled the mug out and looked down at it. And that’s when the egg exploded in her face, burning her skin and eyes.
It was a terrible injury, and the pain was unbearable. Luckily, a roommate was available to call her an ambulance. When it arrived, the EMT (急救医疗医生) who cared for her during the 45-minute drive to the hospital helped to keep her calm.
She was extremely uncomfortable. She felt everything burnt and everything just was on fire. She kept asking him if he could do something, and if she could have a cold pack. And she was just begging for a cure.
The EMT calmly explained that he couldn’t give her a cold pack—he said he wanted to save as much of her skin as possible, and that extreme cold could cause even more damage. She had to just bear it until they got to the burn unit.
He talked her through what he was doing to take her mind off the pain. They also chatted about her new job as a receptionist at a travel agency. Most importantly, he made her feel like she was going to be OK.
He had an amazing voice, and just was so calm. And he made sure that she got passed off to the right people at the hospital.
Fumie ended up staying in the burn unit for four and a half days. About two months later, she went back to work at the travel agency.
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 day, a man walked up to the reception desk.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was then that she realized he was the EMT from that ambulance ride.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I love to watch my father paint and I love to hear him talk while he paints. The words always come out soft. As a mason (泥瓦匠) , he doesn’t have a studio, and I’ve always felt a little sorry for him, having to paint in our backyard, which is not exactly picturesque. Dad doesn’t seem to see the backyard when he’s painting, though. It’s not just the canvas he sees either. It’s something much bigger. He gets this look in his eye like he’s gone beyond the yard, the neighborhood, the world.
“A painting is more than the sum of its parts,” he would tell me, and then go on to explain how the cow by itself is just a cow, and the meadow by itself is just grass and flowers, and the sun is just a beam of light, but put them all together and you’ve got magic.
I understood what he was saying, but I never felt what he was saying until one day when I was up in the sycamore tree (梧桐树) . I’d never seen a view like that! I got the feeling that I was flying above the earth. The view from the sycamore was more than rooftops and clouds and wind and colors combined. It was magic. It wasn’t long before I found the spot that became my spot. I could sit there for hours, just looking out at the world. Sunsets were amazing. Some days they’d be purple and pink, some days they’d be a blazing orange, setting fire to clouds across the horizon.
Then came the day. When I was sitting in the branches of my tree, I found two trucks parked right beneath me. Four men came out of the trucks, and started unloading tools, gloves, ropes and saws (锯子) .
Pretty soon they spotted me. One of the men called, “Hey! You’d better come down from there. We gotta take this thing down.”
I managed to choke out, “The tree?”
“Yeah, now come on down.”
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: My heart was crazy with panic.
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Paragraph 2: When I was locked up in my room mourning for the loss of the tree, my father came in with a painting.
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A Wise Way to Make Families Rules
All groups, of whatever size or nature, need standard operating procedures. Without them, groups may very well fall into confusion, chaos and conflict. The functions that rules can serve are indispensable. When it comes to parenting, making rules can make a big difference in our family as well. Actually, the issue is not whether our families need rules. We do need them. The real issue is how to motivate all family members to comply with (遵守) them.
At some time in our lives we all have felt unmotivated to comply with some rule or policy that we had no voice in making. Denied the opportunity to participate in establishing a rule, most people feel imposed upon and resentful of the new rule. But when people actively participate in setting a rule or making a decision that will affect them, they are more highly motivated to comply with it. We call this the Principle of Participation, and it has proven its effectiveness in families as well.
When children are given the opportunity to participate in setting rules or making decisions that will affect them, several good things happen. Children feel better about themselves — having more self-esteem (自尊心) and self-confidence. Such a good effect is due to their feeling that they have gained more “fate control” over their own lives. They also feel they are equal members of the family with an equal voice in making decisions and establishing rules — they’re part of a team, not second-class citizens. This means that families that function collaboratively and democratically will have closer and warmer relationships than those in which the adults act as bosses or authorities expecting the children to obey the rules made for them.
Another important reason for encouraging the full participation of family members in decision making is that it often produces higher-quality solutions to problems. Two heads (or three, or four) are better than one. Shared decisions will be based not only on the knowledge and experience of the adults but also on those of the children. The admonition (告诫) that father knows best should be challenged now.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“And that’s ‘The Ray of Hope’ for you!” Asta said as she ended her book review. She took a deep bow and was given thundering applause. I, too, gave applause. I was happy for my friend. Well, I was pretending to be happy for her. Deep down inside, I was rather feeling envious of Asta. She was always the one who makes speeches, debates and tells stories to others. Me? No! I had stage fright and was always the shy, quiet one who was never courageous to speak in front of others. I had never managed to do a presentation without stammering(结巴). Every time I saw someone making a speech, I would imagine myself in his or her place, receiving the applause and praise.
I was walking to the canteen with Asta. She, as usual, was looking at the script. She had been chosen to be the presenter for the National Day Celebration. I sighed to myself. Why could I not be like her, always loud and brave? If only there was a way to prove myself...
Just then, I caught a glimpse of a poster on the noticeboard.
“Minute to say it?” I read the poster out loud.
It was a competition where one has to prepare a speech about a particular topic and summarize it on the stage within one minute. This could be my big chance to overcome my stage fright! And the best part was, if I won the competition, I would receive a mini-trophy (小奖杯).
Without thinking twice, I grabbed a form and filled in it. I took a seat in the canteen with Asta and told her what I had done, after which she said that she had also signed up for the competition. Suddenly, regret hit me like a 20-pound hammer. I was competing against Asta who was the best speaker in the school! I was bound to lose! Why was I so ill-fated? I just wanted a chance to prove myself that I could overcome my stage fright.
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2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The big day finally arrived.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Next, it was Asta’s turn.
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