After dinner, Mrs. Quimby told the family that Grandma, who lived on a farm, had sent in a lot of pumpkins for jack-o’-lanterns (空心南瓜灯) for the neighborhood children. There was one in the basement waiting to be carved, she added. Ramona sprang to her feet and dashed down to bring it up, but it was too heavy for a second-grader. Finally Mr. Quimby gave a hand.
“Let’s make it smile like last year,” exclaimed Ramona.
“Hmm. Let’s see.” Mr. Quimby studied the pumpkin, turning it to find the best side for the face. With a pencil he sketched (素描) a nose-shaped nose, not a triangle. Then the mouth turned up on both sides. “smiling!” Ramona clapped her hands.
Mr. Quimby nodded with a smile, cut a circle around the top of the pumpkin and lifted it off for a lid. Without being asked, Ramona found a big spoon for scooping out the seeds. Picky-picky, the Quimbys' shabby old cat, came into the kitchen to see if something had been put in his dish. When he found that it had not, he paused, sniffed the pumpkin smell and angrily walked out with his tail twitching.
Mr. Quimby began to whistle as he carved with skill and care, first a mouthful of teeth, each one neat and square, then eyes and eyebrows. He was working on two ears shaped like question marks when Mrs. Quimby announced it was bedtime for Ramona. Unwillingly Ramona ran, took a shower and quickly returned. Now, Mr. Quimby had just carved a few C-shaped curls (卷发) around the hole in the top of the pumpkin. He reached inside and dug a candle holder in the bottom.
“There,” he said, putting down his knife. “A work of art.” Mrs. Quimby found a candle stub (残根), inserted it in the pumpkin, lit it and set the lid in place. Ramona turned off the light. The jack-o’-lantern was smiling with a flickering flame. “Wow!” Ramona threw her arms around her father before going to bed with great satisfaction.
注意：
1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4.续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
In the middle of the night Ramona awoke to a noise.
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Paragraph 2:
On the table their jack-o’-lantern no longer had a whole face.
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Marcus sat by his window, gazing at the blinking lights on other buildings. He thought of Papa who was visiting Marcus's sick grandpa in Jamaica. "I'll try to help Mama while you're gone." Marcus had promised his father.
His little brother, Peter, sat beside him. "When are we getting our Christmas tree, Marcus?" Peter asked. " I can't wait to decorate it with Mama's straw birds."
"We're not getting a tree this year, Peter”
"Why not?"
"Too many bills with Grandpa sick. Mama said we can't afford one."
Marcus walked slowly to his room and shook his piggy bank. Seven dollars in coin fell out, his tips them helping at the market.
With school out, he thought, maybe I can earn enough in two days to buy a tree and surprise Mama and Peter.
The next day, he stayed busy pushing cars to help shoppers. By the time he left, six more dollars jingled in his pocket. My lucky day, he though. Thirteen dollars should buy a small tree.
He whistled all the way to the lot. But even the smallest trees were $15 or more. Tomorrow will be busy with shoppers, he thought. I'll earn those extra dollars.
“Can you save this tree for me, Sir?" he asked the man in the lot.
“I can't, but come back tomorrow. It might still be here." the man said.
“I`ll be back." Marcus waved and dashed off.
The next morning, Mama came into his room. "The babysitter is sick. I'll need you to take care of Peter for a day." Mom said and gave Marcus a hug. I'll never get a tree now, Marcus thought. Later, Peter pleaded, "Can we go out?" After thinking for a moment, Marcus nodded. He took his brother to the tree lot. There, he saw that most of the trees were gone, including the one he had wanted.
Para l:
Then Marcus saw a very small tree in the corner.
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Para2:
They began placing Mama's straw birds on the branches.
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