Freddie Forbes stared in awe (敬畏) at the platform in the packed school hall. The headmaster marched onto the stage, followed by the captains of the school soccer team and rugby side. Freddie watched enviously (羡慕地) as each was presented with an honors jacket for their contribution to the school’s sporting success over the previous year. When the next presentation of honors jacket would come around, Freddie knew there was little hope that he would be the receiver of one of these treasured items of clothing.
“I wish you all a happy summer holiday,” the headmaster announced. “Although most of you will be going away to sunnier parts, there are others who will be staying near their home. The local council has asked the school to undertake a project over the next six weeks to help clear up litter around the area and separate it for recycling. If anyone is interested, come to my office and you will be supplied with a litter picker, bags and heavy-duty gloves.”
Freddie knew he would be at a loose end over the holiday, so he went to the office along with four other boys to pick up the equipment needed to gather up the rubbish which littered the streets around the school. When he arrived home, his mother looked at him curiously as he placed the equipment on the kitchen table.
“What is this all about?” she asked with a smile on her face. “Mum, I’m an average pupil and I’m not very good at sports,” he replied. “This waste recycling is one way I can contribute to the good name of the school.”
“Just as long as you don’t get fed up and stop half way through,” said Mum.
“I have made up my mind to stick this out through thick and thin,” Freddie said confidently.
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。
Over the next few weeks, the other boys dropped out of the project.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Hearing his name called by the headmaster, Freddie nervously made his way to the platform.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In a house far from the city lived John and his mother. John’s only hobby was wandering in the nearby picturesque forest. In its center was a shiny clear lake with schools of fish dancing in it. Lovely animals such as deer or rabbits were playing around and cute birds were singing in trees. Fascinated by the beauty and liveliness of nature, he desired to become a great artist and present all the breath-taking scenes to the world.
John studied in the local primary school. Life was not easy for John and his mom after his father died. Knowing what hard work his mother did to make ends meet, John really didn’t want his mother to worry. His mother knew the significance of education in life but she was against his dream of becoming an artist. “The profession of artist can’t aid a person in meeting his daily expenses,” she would say. But as each day passed, John’s dream became more passionate.
Due to the living circumstances, even buying some new colors would be a luxury. John only used the worn drawing file and limited colors for his daily practice. Though lacking fine painting materials, he never gave up drawing. He spent a significant amount of time staying in the forest, secretly perfecting his craft. With continuous hard work and a distinct gift for art, he drew beautifully.
One day John read about a competition being held in the town, whose deadline was only two days away. He got the perfect opportunity to fulfill his desire but he was in a dilemma (两难境地) as for the competition he needed special paints and some brushes. He didn’t have the courage to ask his mother for money as he knew her prejudice against art.
That evening his mom returned from work and handed him a few paper notes, saying, “This is for your lunch at school next month.” The money was enough for his desired materials! John’s face lit up.
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。
Early the next morning, John secretly left home with the money.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A week later, a phone call came to John’s home.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . A mother with cancer has been moved by the kindness of a stranger as she fights with the terrible disease. Jerina Edwards and her family were
In a touching note written on the bill for the meal, the
Ms Edwards
Although her diagnosis (诊断) was not terminal (致命的), Ms Edwards said cancer had
| A．resting | B．chatting | C．eating | D．singing |
| A．pay | B．see | C．share | D．check |
| A．boss | B．teacher | C．cook | D．stranger |
| A．described | B．reported | C．repeated | D．recorded |
| A．wife | B．child | C．father | D．parent |
| A．improved | B．focused | C．wrote | D．handed |
| A．easy | B．favorable | C．tough | D．wonderful |
| A．thanked | B．helped | C．noticed | D．misunderstood |
| A．photo | B．book | C．magazine | D．post |
| A．find out | B．put away | C．look for | D．ask for |
| A．note | B．dish | C．lesson | D．tea |
| A．tall | B．good | C．young | D．bad |
| A．sorry | B．grateful | C．hateful | D．concerned |
| A．left | B．cost | C．taught | D．benefited |
| A．never | B．then | C．still | D．hardly |
4 . In 1970, Alan Ayers was preparing for a skydiving competition in Gainesville, Florida. It wasn’t the first time he’d jumped out of a
Ayers would be jumping out of a Cessna 172, a small four-seat passenger plane. In
“I was
“And what happened next was
After landing, he wasn’t able to
| A．window | B．tower | C．plane | D．train |
| A．preparation | B．comparison | C．conclusion | D．reward |
| A．repaired | B．checked | C．decorated | D．removed |
| A．surviving | B．observing | C．remaining | D．practicing |
| A．treat | B．honor | C．turn | D．right |
| A．head | B．hand | C．chest | D．foot |
| A．eventually | B．completely | C．deliberately | D．constantly |
| A．visible | B．familiar | C．appealing | D．relevant |
| A．ambitious | B．innocent | C．impressive | D．desperate |
| A．complicated | B．incredible | C．reasonable | D．meaningless |
| A．twisted | B．freed | C．raised | D．cured |
| A．comfort | B．pay | C．find | D．aid |
| A．empties | B．crosses | C．changes | D．records |
| A．reaching out of | B．knocking at | C．breaking away from | D．lifting up |
| A．simplest | B．gentlest | C．smartest | D．bravest |
My teenage son, Jordan, always complained about having to be home earlier than all his friends. He would tell me that he was already seventeen, but still had a curfew (宵禁). He believed he was practically an adult. I pointed out that he was not an adult as he was still in high school.
“You don’t trust me!” he yelled. Before I continued, he rolled his eyes, slammed the door and walked away. I sighed. How could I make Jordan see that I only wanted to keep him safe?
I decided to go for a walk, hoping the December air would clear my head. I opened the front door and nearly stepped on her: a small black cat, just like a meatball. “Hi, Meatball,” I said, bringing her into my arms. I walked back in, touching her neck gently. Meatball seemed happy enough to come in the house, but after an hour or two, she sat by the door, meowing to go back outside.
“Why won’t she just stay in with us all the time?” Nathan, my youngest son asked.
I explained to him that she was happy here but she liked being able to come and go as she pleased.
“That must be nice,” Jordan muttered from the other room, complaining why the cat, not him, could come and go. He even asked me to give Meatball a curfew.
Meatball became a regular.
One night, temperatures were unusually low. Meatball stood at the door, meowing to go outside.
I shook my head at her, afraid that she might freeze to death. She stared at me and meowed again. I patted her head, “I know you’re not happy, but it’s for your own good.”
“Mom’s not being mean to you,” Nathan told the cat. “She’s just trying to keep you from turning into a frozen meatball.” We both laughed at his joke.
The next morning, I couldn’t find Meatball. I asked the kids if anyone had seen her.
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。
Jordan nodded, “I let her out last night.”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As I drove to the animal hospital, Jordan sat in the back, holding Meatball inside his coat.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . Charles Darwin was a very famous scientist who lived in the 1800s. His ideas about evolution (进化) completely changed the way scientists understand the natural world. He recorded his ideas in notebooks marked with letters of the alphabet (字母表), which have been considered extremely important for showing how he developed the evolution.
The Cambridge University Library had several of Mr. Darwin’s notebooks. The two that were missing were kept in a small box, and were last seen in 2000. In 2001, someone noticed that the box was missing. Luckily, the library had taken pictures of the notebooks’ pages, so the information wasn’t completely lost.
In 2020, the library made a huge effort to find the books. Workers searched through the 10 million books and other things in the library, but they didn’t find the notebooks. Finally, the library asked people around the world to help look for the books. They officially reported the missing notebooks as stolen so that the police around the world would search for them.
Nobody could ever have expected the way in which the notebooks were returned recently: in a pink gift bag with a note that said “Librarian, Happy Easter, X”. People at the library quickly recognized the blue box that the notebooks had been stored in. Inside a brown envelope they found the two missing notebooks, tightly wrapped in plastic. After the police had examined the package, library workers were able to open and carefully study the notebooks. They were pleased to learn that the notebooks were in good shape. They hadn’t been damaged and they weren’t missing any pages.
The timing of the return is perfect. The library was planning a show called “Darwin in Conversation”, which is set to open in July. Now the missing notebooks can be part of that show.
1. What did Darwin write in his notebooks?| A．Scientists’ ideas about society. |
| B．The stories of his family. |
| C．His thoughts of evolution. |
| D．The development of the alphabet. |
| A．The library wanted to turn to the police for help. |
| B．The library didn’t want to take on responsibility for the loss. |
| C．The library discovered a librarian stole the notebooks. |
| D．The library realized the notebooks couldn’t be found. |
| A．Proud. | B．Nervous. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Surprised. |
| A．They will be on exhibition. |
| B．They will be hidden forever. |
| C．They will be sold on a show. |
| D．They will be returned to the owner. |
7 . Like many young people, Jessica wants to travel the globe. Unlike most of them, this 25-year-old is doing it
They’re part of a new form of the
It’s not all sightseeing. The two travelers carefully
The couple has a high
| A．indoors | B．online | C．single-handed | D．full-time |
| A．game | B．service | C．vacation | D．procedure |
| A．safe | B．busy | C．helpful | D．affordable |
| A．local | B．private | C．sharing | D．agricultural |
| A．strangers’ | B．parents’ | C．co-workers’ | D．neighbors’ |
| A．favor | B．defense | C．honor | D．absence |
| A．plan | B．explain | C．compare | D．complete |
| A．buy | B．transport | C．choose | D．please |
| A．support | B．comfort | C．control | D．attention |
| A．cooking | B．staying | C．waiting | D．studying |
| A．success | B．survival | C．growth | D．unemployment |
| A．budget | B．abilities | C．expectations | D．understanding |
| A．admiring | B．donating | C．sending | D．borrowing |
| A．clean | B．open | C．simple | D．empty |
| A．guess | B．decision | C．response | D．impression |
As a young boy, I was carefree. Every vacation I looked forward to two things—seeing my grandpa and hearing his wonderful stories. My grandpa was a very good storyteller. He had worked various odd jobs when he was young and wove his adventures and misadventures into fantastic tales. These wonderful tales colored my childhood.
As I grew up, I had to admit that Grandpa’s stories went on a little long, even a little boring and gradually lost their magic. However, not wanting to upset him, my brother and I would sometimes take turns sitting in the living room, listening to grandpa tell his stories.
When my grandpa was approaching 91, he suffered from serious memory-loss. It was kind of what doctors called dementia (痴呆), probably the earliest stage of Alzheimer’s disease. Following the doctor’s directions, we moved him into a Sunrise Assisted Living Community, where he could get a better care. After that, grandpa hardly came to our house.
One weekend before my grandpa’s birthday, I came to visit him. Seeing grandpa sitting in his armchair, dull-looking, I was consumed with mixed feelings. I wheeled grandpa to the sunshine in the courtyard, talking to him. He couldn’t express himself clearly and spoke in short bursts, but I listened to him patiently and carefully just as I used to be a little boy.
It was then that I noticed a shadow box with some old and yellowish photos in it. I picked one up, in which my brother, several boys in our neighborhood, and I were playing basketball with grandpa cheering us on twenty years before. My mind flashed back to those beautiful memories. Back then, Grandpa was in good physical condition and we were all wearing basketball jerseys, playing and laughing with abandon. I presented the photo to my grandpa, pointing at each member and reminding him of their names. Incredibly, grandpa could speak out the name of every player. I even caught a soft light in grandpa’s eyes and a smile on his lips.
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。
A bright idea for grandpa’s birthday came to my mind.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Seeing “the same players” playing there, grandpa seemed to have thought of something.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Seeing this, I decided to carry more water for her with a bigger container.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
