One of my teachers once asked my class what our favorite memory was. Some described grand awards; others described winning a tournament. My answer, however, invited giggles and hesitant smiles. Why? Because I felt the best when I first learned how to ride my bike—at thirteen. I didn’t mind my classmates’ stares and laughter, because I knew there was more to the story.

My sister and I shared a typical sisterly relationship: we couldn’t stand each other. Or, to be honest, she couldn’t stand me. I hero-worshipped her. Her taste was the type of charm, her personality the definition of cool. My clothes mysteriously looked like hers, and even my words tended to copy those I heard from home. Many times, I even wanted to literally follow my sister, sobbing every time I was banned from attending movies with her. Needless to say, I was a trouble and an annoyance to her. Any sort of conversation we had usually ended up fighting, and try as I might, my sister had an extra six years worth of insulting vocabulary (which meant she usually won). After a while, I stopped trying to impress her and learned to be totally indifferent; perhaps the silent treatment would get more approval. I was wrong. We soon fell into a sad pattern—I avoided her, she ignored me, and deep inside, it hurt. So that’s how it was between us. Indifferent or unfriendly, she was only a sister in name. I truly believed that we would forever be apart, two housemates without conversation, two strangers without warmth. And nothing more.

I still remember the day I learned to ride a bike. I had received the bike that Christmas, which was great, until I realized I had no idea how to ride it. My mom had long since abandoned any attempt to teach me; I had proved to be a panicky, frustrating student. I took it upon myself to learn, a little bit each day, but to no avail; I couldn’t ride my bike, and on that fateful day, it was no different. I was coming to the end of my daily one-hour suffering, and I was so frustrated that I threw my bike aside and began to cry.

I guess that was what caused my sister to come outside.

That was the day, however, I had a taste of what real sisterly closeness could be like.

A little boy almost thought of himself as the most unfortunate child in the world because poliomyelitis (脊髓灰质炎) made his leg lame and his teeth uneven and ugly. He seldom played with his classmates; and when the teacher asked him to answer questions in the class, he always lowered his head without saying a word.

One spring, the boy’s father asked for some saplings (树苗) from the neighbor. He excitedly told his children to plant a sapling each person. The father said, “Whose small tree grows best, I will buy a favorite gift.” The boy also wanted to get his father’s gift. But seeing his brothers and sisters carrying water to water the trees with great enthusiasm, anyhow, he hit upon an idea: he hoped the tree he planted would die soon. So watering it once or twice, he never attended to it any longer.

A few days later, when the little boy went to see his tree again, he was surprised to find it not only didn’t die, but also grew some fresh leaves, and compared with the trees of his brothers and sisters, his appeared greener and more vital. And his father kept his promise and bought the little boy his favorite gift.

Since then, the little boy slowly became optimistic. Nevertheless, again and again on his mind the little boy wondered why his little tree should grow so much better than others’, since he had never paid enough attention to the tree. Who should have done everything?

One night, the little boy lay on the bed but couldn’t sleep.

Decades passed.

Last Saturday, David was taking a walk in the park near his home when he noticed a woman with a boy of about eight years old. When David passed them, he heard the woman yell. “How stupid you are! You’re good at nothing.” David stopped and looked at the little boy. The boy said nothing. He just stood there, looking upset.

David was reminded of his English teacher Mrs Brown in middle school. After he entered a middle school, David lacked self-confidence because he was often made fun of by others. He was often told that he was good at nothing, which David behaved. But one day it all changed.

One day, in an English writing class, Mrs Brown asked them to read a novel. They were asked to write a new chapter of the novel after they finished reading it. A few days later, David handed in his story. He didn’t give it much thought. But the next day, to his surprise, the comment “well done” from Mrs Brown came into view the moment he turned to the page where the story was written. When David read that, he almost burst into tears. He never expected to be praised one day. He suddenly gained some self-confidence.

That day after he returned home, he wrote a short story and gave it to Mrs Brown the next morning. And again he was praised. David became very interested in writing. He often wrote short stories and asked Mrs Brown to read them improve writing skills. One year later, David joined the school newspaper and became an editor of it. He was no longer that boy who lacked self-confidence. He gained his confidence, and was hopeful about his future.

He succeeded in entering a college and kept writing. Several years after graduating from college, he had his first book published. With some more books coming out, he became famous as a writer in his country. And he owed his success to Mrs Brown’s encouragement. Without her encouragement, his life might be very different now.

Inspired by his own life story, David decided to do something for that boy.

The mother was ashamed when she heard that.

Jeff, my best friend in college, and I had many conversations during the year but I will always remember the time he told me about his family. His father, a successful physician, was cold and strict in Jeff’s words. His father had even paved the way for Jeff to attend the same college from which he had graduated.

However, Jeff had a strong passion for skiing. When he graduated from high school, he decided to decline his father’s offer and, instead, to work with a ski patrol (滑雪巡逻队). With pain in his eyes, Jeff told me he still remembered the day when he told his father he was going to give up college and take a job at a ski resort.

As Jeff recalled, upon hearing Jeff’s decision, his father looked off into the distance. Then came the words that still echoed in Jeff’s mind: “You lazy kid. No son of mine is going to work with a ski patrol and does not attend college. I should have known you’d never amount to anything!” The two had not spoken since that conversation.

At the age of twenty seven, Jeff became a successful business planner at a company, but without a degree. To further his career, he decided to come back to the area near where he grew up to attend college, but he certainly did not want his father to know what he was doing. He said he was doing this for himself, not for his father. He said it over and over again.

Jeff’s sister had always remained supportive of Jeff’s decisions. She stayed in contact with their father, but Jeff had made her promise that she would not share any information about his life with him.

The day when the graduation ceremony came, I, as the president of Students’ Union, took charge of seating the guests before it started. Suddenly. I noticed a man with a confused expression.   

“Excuse me,” he said as he politely approached me. “What is happening here today?”

“It’s graduation day,” I replied, smiling. “Well, that’s odd,” he said, “my daughter asked me to meet her at this address.” His eyes sparkled and he smiled. “Maybe she completed her associate’s degree and wanted to surprise me!” I helped him find a seat.

As I left him, he said, “Thank you. By the way, I’m Dr. Holstrom.”

Afterwards, the principal invited the graduates to step onto the stage to receive their diplomas.

“Wow, these trees are so tall!” William shouted excitedly, while walking with his classmates in a forest near his school. They were on a field trip to the forest as part of a science lesson.

Over there, they met the forester (护林人), Victor. When William learned Victor lived in a simple wooden house there for years, he laughed at him with his friends.

Then, they passed by an entrance to a cave. William wanted to explore inside the cave, but his teacher didn’t allow it. “I’ll come back here,” he thought. On the way back to school, he remembered the exact location of the cave.

The next day, William asked his four friends to the cave together. They told their parents they would go to the library and return home in the evening. None of the teenagers told their parents about their plan to visit the cave.

When the teenagers reached the cave, they left their school bags outside to reduce the burden. One by one, they entered the cave. Just when they took a few steps inside, some rocks from the cave wall fell and blocked the entrance.

“How are we going to get out now?” one of the teenagers Sarah shouted. William had an idea and said, “Maybe we can try digging through the fallen rocks with our hands to reach the entrance.” But realizing getting out of the cave only by their hands was impossible, they had great fear. The sun was about to go down. The teenagers started calling for help, but nobody could hear them. The teenagers were losing hope.

Victor happened to pass by the entrance to the cave, and five school bags caught his attention. He also heard some sounds coming from inside the cave. “Who’s in there?” Victor shouted.

“I’m William! We came here yesterday with our teacher!” William replied instantly.

“Help us, please! We are stuck! Sarah can’t breathe here because of fear.”

“Okay, calm down, children!” Victor said. “I’ll help you get out!”

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。

Victor immediately called the first-aid center and rushed home.

Soon, the teenagers walked outside the cave and took a deep breath in the fresh air.