I am a proud mother of three children, my last little one being delivered in the middle of this pandemic (疫情). She was born in August and her name is Aida.
Shortly after having Aida, my mother-in-law Ann showed me something she learned from her friend’s mother in an art class she attended weekly, She had showed me how to knit (编织) a scarf.
I spent a lot of time breastfeeding my sweet little girl, so I had some extra time to do something with my hands throughout the day. I enjoyed making the scarf so I purchased tons of yarn (线) since it was winter. I wanted to make scarves for my three children as Christmas gifts.
There was a new family that moved in down the street. The only daughter of the family was Jane, a shy girl, aged 14, the same age of my oldest son David. It seemed that she came from a financially disadvantaged family, for she always wore old clothes. Worse still, in such cold days, she had no more clothes to wear and trembled with cold.
Due to the pandemic, society was thrown into crisis mode. Schools were closed, food supplies and deliveries were suspended and children were stuck at home. In such discouraging time, however, they became good companions, talking and playing at home or around the houses.
It was dreadfully cold this winter. Every time David came back from outside, with red face, he always cried, “Mum, it is freezing outside!” Then, he came over to see whether I finished the scarf. I could tell how impatient he was to wear my scarf sooner! I had to speed the project to satisfy his expectation. But David comforted me by saying he could wait a few days. What a kind and considerate boy he was! Then my great art project finally was accomplished on the morning ahead of Christmas.
注意：1.续写词数应为150词左右；
2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语己为你写好。
Paragraph 1: I wrapped the scarf around David’s neck.
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Paragraph 2: Later that day David came back saying Jane also deserved a scarf.
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Michael saw the trouble coming. There standing in the hallway was Frank, the boy who enjoyed making fun of anyone at any given moment. Frank was tall and strong, so few of his victims stood up to him. Michael hated the idea that Frank always got away with his wrongdoing. Yet like most kids who were picked on, he just took it quietly and waited for the unpleasant to pass.
Frank walked up, his eyes locked on the books in Michael’s arms. When they met, Frank stopped unexpectedly, “Hey, let me see those books!” Some students watched as Michael held out the books he was carrying, trying not to give away his nervousness.
Frank took a book, looked inside for a second, and then threw the book at Michael, who dropped all the other books. “Hey, those are school property,” Frank barked, “Be careful!” Then he walked away, laughing loudly.
Michael, his cheeks turning red, half kicked the fallen books. Suddenly a hand picked up one book. “You look like you could use a p ally (盟友),” a friendly voice said. It was Ramon, the most athletic boy in the high school. Michael couldn’t believe Ramon was stopping to help him as they barely spoke.
“Thanks,” Michael sighed with relief. “It’s confusing. I don’t know what his problems is.”
“Well, as I see it,” Ramon said, “you need to find a way to end this.” Michael nodded, stuck for what to say. Ramon continued, “You know my grandmother used to tell me whenever I had a problem with someone. She’d say, ‘You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar (醋).’”
Looking puzzled, Michael asked, “What does that mean?”
“It means kindness may be more effective than anger,” Ramon explained.
“Can you just tell Frank to stop picking on me?” Michael suggested.
“That’s vinegar,” Ramon laughed as he walked away. “Try honey instead.”
Ramon’s words left Michael thinking.
The next school day brought Michael’s usual pain. There stood Frank, and Michael knew it would be just seconds before he had to face him in the middle of the hall. Frank came nearer.
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。
Then, suddenly, the unexpected happened.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Michael bent down and quickly picked up Frank’s books on the floor.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One year ago, when we were in the fifth grade, a new classmate named Jack joined us. He was often late for class and had a strange smell on him, which made the girls not want to be “neighbours” with him, let alone sit next to him. It is said that once, a naughty boy curiously opened his backpack and many crushed soda cans and empty drink bottles that we usually throw into the trash fell out. Therefore, the boys in our class mocked (嘲笑) him as the “trash king”.
Later, during a class meeting, our teacher, Ms. Zhang, told us about his story of using garbage to make inventions. It turns out that Jack is not an ordinary elementary school student, but a “garbage-inspired inventor” who has won the city invention award. According to Ms. Zhang, most of his inventions were picked up from garbage dumps (堆). During that class meeting, Jack showed us his invention of a“domestic wastewater separation system”.
Afterwards, some of us became deeply interested in these small inventions and started to admire Jack’s way of “picking up trash”. We even joined him in picking up trash on weekends and during holidays. From then on, we no longer called him the “trash king“. Instead, we formed a group of five boys and actively searched for usable materials in various garbage dumps around the city. Under Jack’s guidance, we learned that there are many uses for seemingly useless trash. Once, we stayed at school to process the collected materials. Jack mentioned that he was facing a problem with his latest invention—a small cart for buying vegetables that needed to be lightweight. All other materials were solved except for the wheels. How could we find a suitable material for the wheels? We racked our brains (绞尽脑汁) and came up with different ideas, such as using soda cans or taking off the wheels from suitcases. However, Jack reminded us that our group should focus on making inventions from waste rather than causing damage to create them. We were all deep in thought.
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 got home and drank a bottle of water, I suddenly had an idea.
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Jack indeed adopted my suggestion and fixed a row of bottle caps as wheels on his vegetable cart.
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When he was around 5-6 years old, my brother Ted, who is four years younger to me, suddenly found his legs unable to move one night. What followed was one of the hardest times of my parents'life. Months passed with them meeting various doctors, visiting different hospitals, and knocking at the doorstep of every possible chance — all the time with Ted in their arms, since he wasn't able to walk on his own anymore.
There were doubts of permanent paralysis（瘫痪）— the very mention of which was enough to break us down. From finding it extremely painful to walk, to not being able to get up on his own, and to not being able to stand at all, Ted's problem was worsening day by day. Most surprisingly, all this while, he was as strong as, perhaps, only children can be in such difficult times.
During this period, it was not unusual for my mother to have sudden breakdowns. Once, she burst into tears while watching Ted playing joyfully. He wiped off her tears, and said, “Don't cry, mummy. See, I can stand and even run on my own!” Saying this, he tried to get up, stood on shaking legs for just about a few microseconds and fell down, only to be safely caught in the arms of my mom, who hugged him dearly and cried some more.
This was the most heart-breaking thing that I had ever experienced. But it was also a powerful one for the simple fact that it was my little brother who taught us what life was all about—HOPE.
Witnessing my brother's strong will and positive attitude inspired me as well. As a brother, I could not stand by doing nothing at all. Hope was burning in my heart when I had the idea to train my brother to walk again. I firmly believe Ted could stand up and walk as he used to. Whenever school was over, I would put Ted into a pushchair and tell my mom that we'd just go to the park.
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。
In the park, I would put Ted one meter away from me, encouraging him to walk.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________We agreed to keep this a secret from our parents until mom's birthday.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jenny was the only child in her family. She had a quarrel (吵架) with her mother that afternoon and she ran out of the house angrily. She couldn’t help weeping sorrowfully when she thought of the scolding from her mother. Having wandered aimlessly in the street for hours, she felt a little hungry and wished for something to eat. She stood beside a stand (货摊) for a while, watching the middle-aged seller busy doing his business. However, with no money in hand, she gave a sigh and had to leave.
The seller behind the stand noticed the young girl and asked, “Hey, girl, you want to have the noodles?”
“Oh, yes, but I don’t have money on me.” she replied.
“That’s nothing. I’ll treat you today,” said the man, “Come in.”
The seller brought her a bowl of noodles, whose smell was so attractive. As she was eating, Jenny cried silently.
“What is it?” asked the man kindly.
“Nothing. Actually, I was just touched by your kindness!” said Jenny as she wiped her tears. “Even a stranger on the street will give me a bowl of noodles, while my mother drove me out of the house. She showed no care for me. She is so merciless compared to a stranger!”
Hearing the words, the seller smiled, “Girl, do you really think so? I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you thanked me a lot. But it is your mother who has raised you since you were a baby. Can you remember the times she cooked for you? Have you expressed your gratitude to her?”
Jenny sat there, speechless and numb with shock: she remembered her mother’s familiar face and weathered hands. “Why didn’t I think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel grateful. Why haven’t I thanked my mum for what she has done for me?”
On the way home. Jenny made up her mind to make an apology to her mother for her rudeness as soon as she arrived home.
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。
Nearing the doorway, Jenny took a deep breath.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At that time, her mother came back and touched her hair gently, which called her mind back.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________16-year-old Tim looked up to his father Roger, who worked as a firefighter. While the teenager always talked about his dream of joining the fire department, the man didn’t believe the boy was cut out to be a firefighter because Tim left the usual stereotype of a bookworm: a straight-A student who wore large glasses, and was physically weak.
It was a typical school day. Tim’s math teacher announced their weekly test results, and the boy was delighted to learn that he had scored the highest mark. His friend Harry, however, was upset because he got a bad grade.
Seeing him sit in a corner with his head resting on the table, he approached him and said, “Hey, Harry, I know you got a bad grade, but I can teach you these topics. You’ll grasp it in no time, I’m sure. And you can improve your grade next week. What do you say?” “That’s so sweet of you, Tim! Let’s meet at my house after school today,” Harry said with a smile. “Sure!” Tim replied.
Harry lived on the outskirts of town. It took Tim, who passed his driving test recently, half an hour to drive there. Once his car neared Harry’s estate, he was shocked to see a blazing fire. Upon driving closer, he realized his house was on fire. Frightened, he quickly picked up his phone and called 911.
Then, Tim took off his shirt, grabbed a bottle of water from his car, and poured it on the shirt. He wrapped the wet shirt around his face, as he had seen in movies, and entered the house. He started climbing towards the hallway window of Harry’s bedroom.
Tim found a baseball bat in the hall. It took him five whole minutes to swing it hard enough to break the window. Once the glass was broken, he rushed towards Harry’s room. He couldn’t see much because of the thick black smoke floating in the air, but he managed to locate him. He was lying unconscious (昏迷的) on his bed after breathing in the smoke.
注意：1.续写词数应为 150 左右；
2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答
Paragraph 1:
He knew he had to act fast before it was too late.
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Roger received an unexpected call from the hospital telling him of Tim’s heroic act.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The Pizza Encounter
As Mr. Anderson entered the cozy pizzeria, he couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement for the delicious pizza he was about to enjoy. Dressed in his best suit, he scanned the menu eagerly, his mouth already watering at the thought of the melted cheese. But as he made his way to the counter to place his order, his sense of excitement quickly turned to annoyance when he was rudely bumped into (偶然遇到) by a homeless man named Jack.
Mr. Anderson glared at the man, his eyebrows raised in a look of disgust.
"Watch where you're going! Do you know how expensive my suit is?" he snapped, carefully straightening his suit.
"Oh, I am really sorry," apologized Jack.
Mr. Anderson sniffed (哼了哼) in response, a look of superiority on his face. "Some people," he complained under his breath, as if to say that the homeless man was beneath him.
After ordering three slices of cheeses, Mr. Anderson sat down at a table, feeling annoyed. To his surprise, the homeless man followed and sat down across from him. Mr. Anderson's frown (皱眉) deepened.
When the pizza arrived, Mr. Anderson was about to take a bite, but the homeless man reached out and grabbed a slice. Mr. Anderson's eyes widened in disbelief (难以置信). He had never seen such rudeness.
“Great cheese, right?” said Jack.
Mr. Anderson shook his head. He reluctantly took a bite of his slice, while glaring at the homeless man. However, the man kept reaching for more slices, and Mr. Anderson grew increasingly angry. It went on like this until the last slice, which Jack simply took without asking and handed him half of it. Mr. Anderson exploded with anger, yelling at the homeless man loudly. Mr. Anderson slammed (砸) his fist on the table and continued to yell at Jack, demanding an explanation for his behavior.
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。
Just then, the waiter approached Mr. Anderson with another plate of pizza.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“But why did you give the last slice to me?” asked Mr. Anderson, genuinely curious.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was a 15-year-old girl when my beloved grandma Rosie was placed in a group home in Brookfield because of sharply declining memory. I can vividly remember the unpleasant environments inside the nursing home. That impression has ultimately impacted me in a very great way, even after I graduated from university with a degree in architecture.
Grandma Rosie was the heart of our family. Her little two-bedroom home was truly where all her children and grandchildren gathered. She was also an amazing cook and her specialty was fried pork steak. Most of my nephews and nieces were fans of her specialty. She lived alone after my grandpa passed away but was cared by many relatives and friends. When she was in her late 60s, we began to witness a significant memory impairment (受损) in her. Everyone started checking up on her. A frequent question that people would ask her, “What did you have for dinner?”, almost always brought the same answer — fried pork steak. Every day she would report making fried pork steak. One day a group of us went to her house secretly, and found she was making fried pork steak!
After some lengthy consideration, our family were concerned for her condition and ultimately decided to place Rosie in a group home in Brookfield. A year later, Rosie caught heart disease and her condition required her to be moved to a nursing home in Oconomowoc. Her memory also declined sharply and she no longer remembered our names. It was heartbreaking for our family to know that.
By that time, I was in high school and thinking about plans for college. Seeing the cold, sterile (呆板的) long hallways and unfriendly surroundings in the nursing home, I was determined to become a professional architect concentrating on senior care and health care design. I wanted to design living space where seniors can not only live but benefit from lovely environments.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
Bearing this goal in mind, I worked extremely hard.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Finally, Grandma Rosie moved into a senior living community I designed.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Alice had been optimistic and the heart of her family. Unfortunately, one day cancer attacked her brain. Although suffering from illness, Alice remained a source of encouragement, especially for Jenny, her 12-year-old daughter. Alice often read inspiring stories to her, helped with her homework, and cheered her up to solve difficulties bravely. When Alice’s condition worsened, the family’s daily life was enveloped in the shadow of uncertainty and sorrow.
In her final days, Alice made a video without letting Jenny know, and handed it to her husband John. She wanted Jenny to remember her when she grew up, not as the woman weakened by illness, but as the loving and optimistic mother she had always been.
After Alice’s passing, Jenny put her mother’s photographs in a box and locked herself in her own room. For her, going into the empty living room where she and her mother read together was heartbreaking. Even the routine of going to school, once a joyful activity shared with her mother, now became an unbearable pain. John tried his best to ease the pain left by Alice. He cooked Jenny her favorite meals, read bedtime stories, and even tried braiding (编) her hair, just the way Alice used to do. But Jenny, lost in sorrow, found little comfort in these efforts.
“Dad, I won’t go to school. I just want to be left alone,” Jenny shouted, her voice full of anger and hopelessness, when John asked her to prepare for school. John understood her pain but felt helpless. That was when he decided to show Jenny the video Alice had made. He hoped that hearing her mother’s voice might bring some comfort to Jenny. Gently walking upstairs and knocking on Jenny’s door, he entered with a video player. “Your mom left something for you,” he said, trying to mask his own sadness with a hopeful smile. Jenny, still teary-eyed, hesitated but eventually pressed the “play” button.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
Immediately, Alice’s smiling face appeared on the screen.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jenny stepped out of her room with a smile on her face.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The Chore Chain(家务大联手)
“Washing windows is the worst chore in the world,” Maddie complained. As she washed her towel again, Maddie noticed her neighbor Mr. Valdez was bending and holding on to a tree. “Mr. Valdez,”Maddie called as she walked through the leaves on the ground. “How are you?” “Well, Maddie, my back hurt when I raked(耙) these leaves,”Mr. Valdez said. “Raking is hard for me.” “I’ll rake them for you. Just take a rest,”Maddie volunteered. She knew Mr. Valdez didn’t have good health.
“Thank you so much,” Mr. Valdez said. “I think I’ll go to see my friend Mr. Iguchi across the street. He is a doctor and able to ease my pain.” Mr. Valdez’s trees lost many leaves. The leaves looked lovely for Maddie. “This will keep me busy all afternoon,” Maddie thought happily as her leaf pile grew. Well, almost all afternoon, she reminded herself she still had to clean the windows.
Maddie finally made her small leaf pile into one huge mountain. She stared first at her leaf mountain, then at Mr. Valdez’s clean yard. “I can’t put off cleaning those windows any longer,” Maddie thought. “I’ll bag these leaves later. It’s a pity that I don’t have time to play in my mountain.” She turned toward her house, and then stopped.
She unexpectedly found that Mr. Iguchi was facing her living room windows and washing the windows.“Mr. Iguchi, why are you cleaning my windows?” Maddie ran across the yard and asked. “And you almost finish it!” Surprised by Maddie’s arrival, Mr. Iguchi froze for an instant. Before he got a chance to answer, Mr. Valdez explained as he crossed the street from Mr. Iguchi’s house. “When I stopped to visit Mr. Iguchi, he was starting to cut some potatoes for a salad,” Mr. Valdez said. “However, I told by his troubled look that he disliked that work.”
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式作答。
“But how cutting potatoes turned into washing windows?” Maddie still wondered.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Maddie thanked Mr. Iguchi and ran toward the leaf mountain.
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