My wife, our two kids under 4 and I were in the post office a few weeks ago. We have to go there every month to pay various fees. I was being served when an old man in his eighties, with obvious, significant health issues, was waiting to pay his electricity bill. He was struggling to walk on a walking stick, and his hands and arms were shaking all the time. I knew by feeling that the old man was in trouble. After asking, I figured out that the old man's problem was that he was 20 cents short.
The lady behind the counter had the old man in such a state, looking for a further 20 cents, and he was shaking, obviously looking upset. But instead of letting the man go, she insisted that if his bill wasn't going to be paid in full, the electricity company would probably give a fine on his next bill for unpaid fees.
Hearing this, I got really upset. So I went over and asked the lady behind the counter to give ALL of his money back to the old man and I handed her my debit card and paid the bill for him.
The old man was asking “why are you doing this?” as he began crying. I told him because it was the right thing to do. He thanked me over and over and smiled at my two kids on his way out of the post office.
The best part of this event was that the old man walked out of the post office and straight to Woolies and bought a full basket of food, which he wouldn't have been able to buy had I not done that at the post office.
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。
It happened that we met this old man again in our community.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Our family decided to help improve the old man's situation.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Usual boring day!” This would be the answer from John if somebody asked him how his day was. These days he found everything boring, nothing excited him.
One day he was lying in his room as usual. After a while he felt it was rather hot in his room. Though he did not want to leave his room, he had to. Unwillingly, he left his room and came to the living room which was slightly cool as it had two huge windows.
His young brother was playing with his friend. They were rolling on the floor. He was looking out for the TV remote, but couldn't find it. He got up and searched for it everywhere, but the remote was nowhere. He looked at his brother who was still lying on the floor playing. He asked him, “Where is the remote?” “Under the sofa, ” his brother yelled.
He tried to look through, but it was dark. He put his hand under the sofa. He touched something, grabbed it and took his hand out. Oh! It was a snake in his hand!
After seeing that his brother started to cry, “Snake, snake!” Mom came as soon as she heard his shouting. She too was horrified to see a snake. She was so scared that she even couldn't speak a word. Two kids were trying to hide into each other's back. “What an old trick!” Roman thought and threw it to the kids.
As the snake landed on the floor near to the kids, it started moving from the left side to the right. Only then did John realize that the snake was real, not a toy. He threw the snake to the kids because he thought it was a fake snake and the kids were playing some tricks.
This time Mom almost got a heart attack. Now he was scared too. The snake was only 10 meters away from the kids and was staring at the kids. They even couldn't call a rescue team. There might be some deadly damage before their arrival. There was not much time to think. It was the time for a quick action.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
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As John was farther from the snake, he jumped to the window and grabbed the curtain.
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After the rescue team caught and took away the snake, everyone went inside the home.
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No More, No Less
Many years ago, in the small Polish town of Pińczów, there lived a trader named Leib. He worked hard, but times were bad. He couldn’t afford to buy any presents for his family. Sometimes he couldn’t even buy food.
One day, Leib made an important decision to leave home for the big city of Kraków. Maybe he could earn more money there. In Kraków, Leib poured all of his energy into his work. After twelve months, he earned six hundred zlotys. But he missed his family so much that he decided to go home.
On his way home, Leib stopped in the town of Rozka. Fearing robbers, he decided to bury his money before going to the hotel to rest. Near a seemingly deserted house, he dug a hole and buried his money. But the house was not deserted. The old man owning it was watching through his window. When Leib left, he dug up the money.
Next morning, when Leib found his money gone, he cried bitterly. Looking around, he noticed the nearby house. “Whoever lives in that house must have seen me bury the money,” Leib thought. “But if I accuse him of stealing it, he will call me a liar.” Thinking for a while, Leib knocked on the door. He said to the old man, “I’m a stranger here and need advice. I heard you’re the wisest man here. Will you help me?” The old man was overjoyed, saying “Tell me what I can do for you”.
“Fearing robbers, I buried my money — six hundred zlotys — in a secret place last night,” Leib said. “Now I have received one thousand zlotys. Should I bury it in the same place or in another for the greatest safety?”
The old man smiled, “Since you are a stranger here, I advise you have all your money in the same place.” “Thank you for your advice,” said Leib. “I will do as you suggest.”
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
As soon as Leib was out of sight, the old man took out the money he had stolen.
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Paragraph 2
When darkness fell, Leib went to the hiding place and found all his stolen money.
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Her name was Mrs. Thompson. And as she stood in front of the 5th grade class on the very first day she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. But that was impossible because there in the front row was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard. Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn't play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. She paid no attention to Teddy.
However, when she read his file, she was in surprise. Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around." His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates. But he is troubled because his mother has a deadly illness and life at home must be a struggle." His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him. He tried to do his best but his father doesn't show much interest." Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class.” By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She thought that she could make a difference.
She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful paper and tied with pretty ribbons, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson opened it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children stared to laugh when she found a stone bracelet(手镯)with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume.
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Mrs. Thompson, her voice choked up with tears, thanked her students for their presents.
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Ten years later, Teddy invited Mrs. Thompson to attend his wedding as groom's mother.
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There is a homeless (or at least very poor) woman who sometimes is sitting near where I am living. begging for money. Unfortunately, the “inner city places” are often being “strongly requested” by younger men and women who take over the space.
Whenever I see her, I make sure to give her something, and if I am out of money, at least I talk to her for a few seconds. When younger people are around, I often make sure to drop a few coins into her cup while passing her a note without anybody seeing it in the hope that they will leave her alone.
Today she surprised me. I was passing her again, giving her some money, and asked her how she was. She surprised me by saying that she wanted to thank me. Not for the money. Well, for that too, but for always taking the time to talk to her.
She mentioned how hard it is for her to have so little money that she has to beg. She often feels ashamed, but she now has prepared for several days to talk to me, and to thank me for treating her as a human being. Some people only walked by or sometimes dropped some money. But they never made eye contact or talked to her. which made her feel even more ashamed, almost non-human. She said she was looking forward to my walking by because she knew I would look at her and see a person. On hearing all this, I had tears in my eyes, and still do, when thinking of this.
I still don’t know why she is on the street. Maybe one day she will open up, but I will not ask her right away. But I will be even more on the lookout for her, making sure to talk to her as often as possible!
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 she mentioned her unhappy experiences to me.
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I felt sorry for her and decided to help her out.
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It was raining pretty hard on Halloween, but that wasn’t going to stop my little sister Kate and me from trick or treating. We decided to start at Miss Parson’s house. Miss Parson was loved by us kids who lived nearby because she often shared her self-made cookies with us. We usually finished them in a second, especially when we were hungry after class. Sometimes, when we visited her or did something for her, she always gave us a surprise.
Kate and I wondered what kinds of treats she’d offer. As we walked down the street, I held an umbrella, a bag for candy, and my sister’s hand. Jackolanterns gave soft light along the street. Spider webs hung in all the windows. Parents who were dressed up like monsters(怪物) stood in doorways. After we had walked a few blocks, we were wet from head to toes, and I felt Kate was trembling with cold.
There was a light on at Miss Parson’s house,but there were no ghosts,goblins(小妖精), or Jackolanterns. We climbed up the steps and saw Miss Parson through a window. She was drinking a cup of hot tea.
“Maybe she doesn’t celebrate Halloween,” Kate said with a sigh, disappointedly.
“Well, even if she doesn’t, she usually likes it when we visit her,” I said and knocked on the door.
Miss Parson seemed surprised when she opened the door and saw our dressing.“Is today Halloween?” she asked.“I completely forgot. I am so sorry.”
Paragraph 1：Miss Parson rushed us into her house.
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The next morning, a hot and sweet discussion about Miss Parson and Halloween spread among us kids.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I went to the beach nearby for some relaxing time myself. After a tiring week, all I wanted was a book, some loneliness, and a good snack. It was a lovely time watching people come and go for a warm weekend here in California. Kids were joyfully playing in the water, row boating, building sandcastles and sharing meals with their family.
After a few hours, I decided to walk along the waves to get to my car on the other side as I was leaving. As I was near the end and about to head off the beach, I noticed a girl playing by herself, maybe around 8 or 9. It looked like she built a little sandcastle with a moat (护城河) around it and was now trying to fill the moat with water.
Unfortunately, there was no container around to carry water or the usual sand toys. She was playing alone, unlike most of the other kids. She would go to the waves, cup her hands and then walk back to her little castle. Sadly not much of the water was making it to the moat. But she kept trying and was still smiling and hopeful. I so wished I could help her out, but I didn't have a container with me.
As I was standing there watching her, feeling helpless, I had an idea. I realized that I had a bottle of water in my bag that I had completely forgotten about. I quickly dug in, took it out, and walked over to hand it to her.
Confused at first, she smiled but shook her head shyly, saying no. I told her that it would make getting the water much faster. She smiled broadly and finally took it from my hands. Not wanting her to feel uncomfortable, I walked off the beach right away and watched her in the distance.
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 girl began to carry water using the bottle.
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Seeing this, I decided to carry more water for her with a bigger container.
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The river was dry. Clara could not remember the last time water had flowed along it. It had not rained for a long time and the tanks were almost dry. She would have to order water in again and that would cost money-- something she did not have a lot of. Ever since her brother Scott, decided he wanted nothing more to do with the farm and left, she had been struggling. Her parents were too old for farm work and it was difficult to hire help. People were leaving the countryside as jobs in the city paid more. Clara had no solution.
The following week, Clara drove to a town. On the way back, she saw a sign advertising a bed and breakfast. She knew that was the answer. She had read many stories about people living in the city wanting a countryside experience. Her family could offer accommodation(住宿) and meals at their farm at a reasonable price.“Maybe I can also charge an additional fee if guests are keen to experience farming activities,” she wondered. Now all she had to do was convince her parents.
“No,” Dad said. “This is a working farm, not a farm stay for people who can’t tell a horse from a cow.”
“I really don’t think we have a choice, Dad. Half the sheep are dead and the ones left aren’t that far behind. If we get paying guests, we can buy more feed and get more water brought in,” Clara said.
“If we don’t do this, John, we may not be able to keep this place running for much longer,” Anna, Clara’s mum said.
John nodded finally. “Just one condition—if the guests mess up my farm, this will have to stop immediately. “They prepared the house for guests. Clara placed the first advertisement. The day the advertisement appeared, they received three reservations. Then, Clara began worrying about their decision. What if the guests were unreasonable and demanding and the food was not good enough? Clara had prepared as much as she could. She just hoped the first guests would be nice.
注意：1.续写词数应150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Soon, the first group of guests from the city arrived.
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By the end of the third month, the bank balance(余额) was starting to look much better.
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The old man turned away sadly as his eyes filled with tears. “Poor Mr. Dev,” thought Indra sympathetically. Another day went past and there was still no sign of his family. Indra wondered how children could be so heartless as to abandon a parent like this.
Indra recalled the day the old man was admitted to her ward. He was thin and weak. He could not produce his identity card but he could remember the number. The hospital tried to contact his family using the phone number he gave them but it was in vain. He was treated for a lung infection and was now recovering. Soon, it would be time for him to be discharged. Where would he go then? He did not look strong enough to look after himself. Indra threw down the file she was holding as anger rose within her.
“What’s the matter?” asked Poh, Indra’s colleague.
“I’m just upset about old Mr. Dev,” she replied. Poh nodded with understanding. She had been a nurse much longer than Indra. She had seen many cases of abandoned old people and she had learned to control her feelings.
“Don’t worry too much, the hospital will contact the welfare department. Mr. Dev will be placed in an old folks’ home,” Poh said and patted Indra’s arm comfortingly.
Indra sighed. “I know. It’s just that the old chap really longs for his family to visit him. He cleans and tidies himself every morning and sits up to wait expectantly. You can see the eagerness in his eyes whenever the door opens. At the end of the day, he goes to sleep with tears in his eyes. It makes me cry inside.”
Poh shook her head sadly. “He needs a miracle (奇迹).”
Two days later, the doctor confirmed that Mr. Dev was fit enough to be discharged and that the welfare officer would come to take Mr. Dev to an old folks’ home.
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 after, Indra was informed that the welfare officer was waiting in the hospital lobby (大厅).
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Indra was pushing the wheelchair out of the lift when a woman’s voice cried out ‘Papa!’.
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Sometimes, we all need that one person to believe in us if we ever want to change our lives. Thankfully, one homeless man’s note was about to get found by someone willing to help turn his life around.
Anthony Johnson is a 36-year-old who had been living without a home in England. Sadly, his time on the streets meant that Anthony struggled to find work. He soon decided to leave a note at a bus shelter asking anyone to give him a chance so he could make his life worth living.
It turned out that Anthony had once got caught up with the wrong crowd. Although he has turned his life around, Anthony had no way of making money and couldn’t afford a home. To top it off, Anthony had also been battling his mental health in the last few years and just needed a chance to make it for himself.
It wasn’t until 16-year-old Charlotte Howard saw the note that everything started to change. Charlotte wanted to help Anthony in his quest to turn things around and decided to start a GoFundMe page. Here, the teen hoped to raise almost $400-$130 to buy a trailer and the rest to cover the cost of the repairs.
It didn’t take long for Charlotte’s post to take the nation by storm, and the page soon had more donations than the teen ever imagined. In just six days, Charlotte had blown her initial goal out of the water as the page had received more than $2,300 in donations. It was way more than either of the pair ever expected.
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。
Unbelievably, the generosity didn’t end there.
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Charlotte Howard came up with a new idea about how to use the rest of the money.
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