It was now December twenty-fourth. So here we were, travelling about 2,000 miles and finally reaching our destination San Diego at last. We’d rented a room in a small, well-worn motel (汽车旅馆) near the beach.
Six-year-old Chat frowned. “There is no Christmas tree, Mommy! But it’s almost Christmas. How can Santa know where to put our presents without a Christmas tree?”
“Yes, a Christmas tree!” echoed (附和) his four-year-old brother Jay. “I want a Christmas tree!”
”Couldn’t we just get a small Christmas tree and set it up in this room somewhere?“ asked Chat. ”That way, Santa Claus will know where to put our presents.”
I sighed, looking around at our squeezed-in beds and bags. “But, honey, the five of us can barely move around in here with all our suitcases and everything. I’m sorry, but we just don’t have the room for something extra like a Christmas tree.”
Our oldest son, seven-year-old Robin, had been listening quietly. Suddenly, he grinned (咧嘴笑). “Yes, we do.”
I stared. “Where?”
He pointed to our motel room’s door. “Right there—on the back of that door. Please, Mommy, if we can’t get a real tree, can’t we make a pretend tree and put it up there? Then Santa will know we love Christmas just as much as he does.”
“And leave us some presents, too!” Chat added.
Make a tree? I looked at the newspaper that I had bought when I was searching for places to rent. If I taped some of those pages together, cut them out into a tree shape, and bought some poster paint and brushes at the store next door…
Now, I was grinning, too. “Okay, boys! Ready to make the very best Christmas tree in the whole wide world?”
“Yes!”
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。
So we bought some paint and then taped and cut and painted.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The next morning, I heard, “Mommy! Daddy! Look! Santa did find us after all!”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The Christmas I will never forget happened when I was 9. I believed in Santa with all my heart. How could I not when I received everything I wished for.
December 1st. Mom would announce, “It’s time.” Hearing those words, we all knew it was time to write our letters to Santa. One day I asked mom why we always wrote our letters on December 1st. She said because so many kids were writing letters to Santa, he needed time to read them and make all the toys the kids wanted. Once our letters were finished, mom would put them in her purse and mail them the next day.
Christmas Eve finally arrived. We were all so excited. We did our Christmas Eve traditions. Daddy read us The Night Before Christmas’ story. Then it was time for sleep. I had such a good feeling about Christmas this year. It was difficult to fall asleep. But sleep finally came and so did Christmas morning. I woke up hearing my brothers yelling. Jimmy came running and jumping on my bed. “Santa’s been here, sister! Let’s open presents!”
We ran down the stairs. Our eyes were glowing like wildfire as we eyed over the presents under the tree. My brothers and I quickly snuggled (依偎) among the packages. We all watched as each person unwrapped a gift. I kept watching as my brothers unwrapped gifts. My dad didn’t hand me any package. “This year you are going to be the last to get your presents because you are the oldest.” he declared. I didn’t think anything of it, so I whispered “OK.”
One by one all of the packages had been opened. There was none left. I couldn’t understand. I had been so good this year. Tears began sliding down my cheeks. I ran up to my room. My mom went up the stairs for me to come back down. Dad wanted to talk to me, sobbing, I slowly made my way back.
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。
Dad signed to me to follow him.
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The memory of that Christmas stayed with me all these years.
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内容包括：
1.你是怎样过这个春节的；
2.你的感受或收获是什么。
注意：1.词数100左右，开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Hello, everyone! I’m honored to share with you how I spent this Spring Festival.
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Thanks for listening!
I was four years old in 1993, when my family emigrated .(移民) from the United Arab Emirates to Toronto. Young enough to be changed by my new home, but old enough to know I was different from everyone around me. I was the only Arab and only Muslim in my junior kindergarten class. Beyond those obvious differences, Canadian life proved to be quite distinct in other ways. And I discovered another surprise that December.
Overnight, everything was suddenly covered in red and green. My classmates talked excitedly about cookies and what gifts they’d asked Santa for that Christmas. At some point, I must have asked myself, “What is Christmas?” There’s nothing quite like it in the Muslim world. The closest comparison might be Eidal-Adha, which translates from Arabic to “Festival of sacrifice”. While both holidays show the same spirit of sharing with the less fortunate and spending time with loved ones, Eid meant new clothes and a family dinner. And that was about it. No tree decorated with ornaments (装饰物), and no gifts covered in wrapping paper.
Christmas was completely foreign to me, but then my parents unexpectedly informed me that Santa would be paying us a visit on Christmas Eve. “But aren’t we Muslim?” I asked.
“Yes, but Santa loves all children equally and gets them all gifts,” my mother replied.
So on that first Christmas Eve in Canada, she hung oversized red and white stockings, each one customized with our names, off our bedposts. I have a distinct memory of the restless expectation that kept me awake long after bedtime and my joy when I got up on Christmas morning to find my stocking filled with gifts.
Still in my pyjamas(睡衣), I ran over to the kitchen to tell my parents that Santa had indeed visited us last night. I asked if they’d seen him, and Mom said, “Of course!” Mom offered Santa a cup of coffee, as is the Arab custom when hosting guests. He needed the energy for the long night ahead, she told me.
When I returned to school after the holidays. I had a story to share with my classmates. Santa had visited me too! I could show off gifts while other kids showed off theirs.
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。
My parents kept our Christmas tradition going for years, until I was too old to believe in Santa anymore.
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As an adult. I’ve come to realize creating a sense of belonging is joining in traditions.
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