It was several days before Christmas.Gray clouds covered the sky. The air was cold. The temperature was below freezing. It was snowing heavily. And the internet was out. Now I found that having the internet out could be a blessing for me. I decided to prepare my turkey meat for dinner, and get a few things done.
After the regular housework was done, I pulled the air conditioning units out of the windows and put them up for the winter. Next, I walked into the storage closet and pulled out the Christmas decorations and the artificial(人造的) tree. I unpacked my new picture and placed it lovingly on my old record player.
Then I set up my Christmas statues of Santa and Dickens’ books on the shelf along with the Christmas angel.Next I unpacked, fitted and put up the tree. After that I pulled out the lights, metal wires and decorations. I put each one on the tree gently and with great care while my son Marvin played Christmas music and decorated his own room.
In no time at all, everything was done. I looked at the tree and then outside again. This time, however, it didn’t seem so cold, gray, and gloomy. Instead, it felt warm and Christmas seemed to be in the air. Even the snowflakes floating in the wind felt more like a gift from Heaven. I heard “Away in a Manger" coming from my son’s CD player and hummed along (跟着哼唱).
This life certainly can seem full of pains at times. It is up to us, though, to make each one a blessing(祝福) in our life. Since there are benefits without the internet, we can turn it off for a while now and then.
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2.请按如下格式在下面作答。
I proposed to discuss how it felt to be without the internet at dinner.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________We made it a rule to have Sunday meal without the internet and we did it this weekend.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________There is a saying that we should all just mind our own business and let the chips fall where they may, because no good comes from doing good. This, of course, is not necessarily true.
In Hawaiian culture, aloha has many meanings. First, it is a greeting. However, it is also an expression of love and friendship. One man was a living example of “aloha”, for he had a story to unfold.
Amanda was shopping with her young son, and she was absorbed in picking up their groceries for their family reunion. She was in such a hurry that she even forgot her wallet in the shopping cart, which contained her driver license, credit cards, plenty of cash, and even a gift card that could easily be redeemed (兑换) by anyone . It was not until she arrived home that she found her wallet gone. The woman returned to the supermarket, and started her search for the lost wallet by watching hours and hours of security footage in the supermarket. After turning to several different cameras around the store, but in vain, she completely gave up hope.
Andy Jose was a security guard at the World supermarket. He moved to Maui 5 years ago, and worked as a security guard at the grocery store to support the family and put himself through college. He rode his bike to work and school every day because he didn’t have a car.
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2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Para .1: He was busy collecting the shopping carts when something caught his eyes.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Para.2: Amanda and her husband decided to do something big to show their gratitude .
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In a small town called Willow brook, there was a young woman named Emma who owned a bakery. Emma was really good at baking and her delicious treats could cheer up even the most tired people.
But Emma had a problem. Sometimes, she didn’t feel confident in herself and worried that her baking skills weren’t as great as people said. She thought maybe she was just lucky, not talented, so she longed for an opportunity to prove herself.
One day, Emma heard about a baking competition in town called the “Sweet Delight Contest”, Since she was a little girl, she had dreamed of taking part in such contests, so she quickly signed up for it. Feeling both excited and nervous, Emma was determined to prove herself and get rid of her doubts, She worked really hard, waking up early every day to improve her recipes and skills, Her bread smelled amazing as she baked tirelessly, showing how much she cared about her craft.
Finally, the big day arrived. The town square was filled with excitement, Tables were set up with beautiful treats made by all the contestants, Emma carefully prepared her creations, but she couldn’t shake off her doubts, “The judges tasted each dish, and Emma’ s heart raced with nervousness. When they tried her treats, their faces showed no excitement, Emma felt like her doubts were right, and she wasn’t as good as she hoped. Then came the moment of truth. When the host started to announce the winners, Emma listened with hope and curiosity, But when she heard the words, “And the last winner is,” her heart sank, her name wasn’t included, she tried to smile and clap for the deserving winners, but inside, she felt disappointed．
After the contest, Emma’s bakery lost its shine, People still came, but they didn’t seem as excited as before. Emma worried that they saw her as a failure, someone who couldn’t meet their expectations. Doubt took over, and her passion began to fade. But then, something unexpected happened.
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, a loyal customer named Mrs, Johnson approached Emma with tears in her eyes．
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With a renewed sense of purpose, Emma changed her focus.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________On a sunny day with no clouds, Sally sat on a chair in the garden, hemming (缝边) a handkerchief. All of a sudden, there came a little ant. It was in such a hurry. Finally it ran across the small stone table and stopped by her side. The sewing was not done, for Sally easily got a little bit distracted by this little ant. Suddenly, she dropped her thimble (顶针) over the little ant by accident while she was looking at it.“Can it mind? But it is only such a little tiny thing,”said Sally in doubt.
Then Sally ran away, for her mother called her to have lunch, and she forgot all about the ant under the thimble and the handkerchief outside. There the little ant was, running round and round in the dark place, with little horns on its head quivering, little perfect legs bending as beautifully as those of a racehorse, and it was very scared.
If Sally had remembered the ant, she would have heard this little ant say, “I can’t get out! I can’t get out! Is there anyone out there? Can someone help me out?” But unfortunately, till the bedtime, Sally failed to hear the little ant's silent calling and just went to sleep. In the midnight, there was thunder, lightning and heavy rain. The next day, when Sally woke up, she came to the garden, only to find the handkerchief was soaked (湿透的) as if somebody had been crying very much. When she was about to fetch it as soon as the sun shone, it suddenly came to her who was under the thimble. “Oh, how could I forget that little ant? I hope the little ant is doing fine,”said Sally, running with her worried face.
But when she lifted up the thimble, what came to her sight was the little tiny an t lay stiff and still. It seemed like this little poor thing was away from this world. “Oh, did it die of being under the thimble?”Sally said aloud with her trembling voice. “Why did you do that, Sally?”said her father, who was close by and looked unsatisfied.
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, I didn’t mean to,” said Sally.
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“Where is the ant in such a hurry to go, Sally?” said her father.
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Maya and her older brother Marcus lived with their grandma. Their parents, busy with work in another city, could only return home during the winter holiday. Grandma was good at paper-cutting, and she decorated the whole room with pretty shapes of animals and flowers, devoting herself to keeping Maya and Marcus happy. However, despite her grandmother’s love, Maya often felt deep frustration, complaining why she couldn’t stay with her parents.
As the days grew shorter and colder, Maya’s excitement came back. She knew that with the arrival of snow, the winter holiday would come, as well as the return of her parents. One day, the weather forecast predicted snow during daytime, so Maya eagerly rose from bed, pressing her nose against the window, and waiting for the first pretty snowflake to drop from the sky.
However, as it was getting late, Maya’s excitement turned into disappointment. Sensing her sadness, grandma comforted her, “Be patient, dear. The snow will come soon.” Marcus, too, tried to be an older brother, reminding Maya that the snow could fall at night. Yet, despite their efforts, Maya remained upset. Night fell and not a single snowflake was in sight. Sadly, Maya went to bed without eating anything, going to her dreams with tears in her eyes.
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。
To cheer Maya up, grandma and Marcus decided to make snowflakes themselves.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Maya rushed to the windows, and found snowflakes of all shapes and sizes on the glass.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Mother’s Day was around the corner. Everyone in the class was discussing what gift they should give to their beloved moms. Their teacher, Ms. Jenkins, was instructing them to make pretty postcards with a soulful message.
On Monday morning, Ms. Jenkins entered the classroom. Before she could say something to greet the kids as usual, 8-year-old Simon raised his hand as quickly as possible.
“Yes, Simon?” asked the teacher with a questioning look and the big smile often hanging on her face.
“Excuse me, Ms. Jenkins. What did you get for Mother’s Day?” he inquired.
All his classmates looked at their teacher and Ms. Jenkins smiled again, struggling to hide her sadness, which flashed across her face. “Sadly, nothing. Simon, I don’t have kids.”
Simon felt sorry for his teacher. He could not figure why. It seemed unfair that she didn’t receive anything for Mother’s Day when she was surrounded by kids all the time. She should have received something. Suddenly a good idea hit him.
That afternoon, school over, Simon flew home like a rabbit. After having finished counting the few dollars in his piggy bank, he asked his mother to take him to the flower shop nearby.
When they got in the car, Simon explained to his mother what he would do. Having understood the whole story, his mother looked at him with a loving expression.
The following day, Simon arrived at his classroom with a bunch of flowers and presented it to Ms. Jenkins with a bright smile. “I know you’re not a mother, but you treat us with kindness, affection and patience. You surely deserve a Mother’s Day gift, too,” he said to his teacher, whose jaw dropped in shock. The other kids applauded as Simon hugged Ms. Jenkins.
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。
Astonished and joyful, Ms. Jenkins stood there still.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The other kids came up one by one.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________By the time 18-year-old Amy Waldroop returned to her grandmother’s tiny house, it was nearly midnight and she was exhausted. After a full day’s work at a flower shop, she had put in another six hours waiting tables before heading home. This was her typical weekends.
Pushing the key into the lock, she quietly opened the door so as not to wake her younger siblings. She stepped into the front room, and froze. The house was a mess: plates of half-eaten food were scattered in front of the TV; clothes, shoes and exercise books were everyone.
Amy’s eyes welled with tears. “This is just too much for me.” she thought. Terrible memories began to race through her mind. Two years before, her parents lost their lives in an accident, leaving Amy and her siblings for their grandma, Helen, who had spent half of her life in a wheelchair. The life burden fell on Amy’s shoulders, which was too much for a girl.
Life moved on. One day, walking across the school grounds, Amy found a table littered with university brochures. She browsed through pictures of spacious campuses and happy peers, all of it looking unachievable for her, given the current situation and financial conditions. But her teacher gave her unexpected hope, saying“ You could attend university for free. It would take a scholarship, though, and for that you’d need much better grades.”
During her final year of high school, Amy diligently attended classes, then went to work after school, returned to her grandmother’s house, cared for her sisters and brothers and went through homework till the early hours of the morning, struggling for her dream university.
One afternoon, she walked home from school, holding a sheet of paper tightly. It was a letter from the University of California, informing her that she would be offered a scholarship and was admitted to the university. It was what she’d been longing for, a place where she could study to become someone special-a nurse, perhaps, or maybe even a lawyer.
注意：1．续写词数应为150左右；
2．请按如下格式作答。
Yet the letter only made Amy struggle inside.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The next afternoon, Amy spotted the wrinkled letter she threw into the dustbin on the table when arriving home.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One day a friend invited me to join gymnastics class that she had belonged to for many years. My mom got the needed information and within a few days I was ready to start!
When I got there, I was extremely nervous. The group wasn’t very welcoming so I was regretting signing up. It seemed they were comfortable with the team they had, and they didn’t want anyone to be added to it. But after working together for a few days, we all soon became friends. A month passed and I learned to do many things. I was excited and ready to learn back handsprings(手翻). Back handsprings are one of the main things you need to know for gymnastics because they are done so often. In my opinion, they are the hardest to do, but I was ready to try.
My friend was the queen of back handsprings, so she helped me understand each and every step. Our coach pulled out a handspring machine to help the kids who were learning how to do them for the first time. This machine is a block that has cushion(垫子) all around it. You basically sit in the mouth of the machine and push off with your feet and go backwards until you land on your hands, then feet.
Even with the handspring machine, I couldn’t get my feet right, so I had to try again and again. Impatient, some of the girls seemed to get angry. I was feeling like the new kid in the group again. The new kid that didn’t know what she was doing but everyone else knew it!
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。
Luckily, my friend, the queen of back handsprings, kept encouraging me.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One day, I finally got it right.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Casey Ryan works in a well-known newspaper as a famous photographer. After work, he likes to take an adventure in the wildness and take some photos. Whenever photographer Casey heads into the wildness, he brings along his drone (无人机) to take some photographs from a bird’s eye view.
Having the drone with him on a recent trip to the Willamette National Forest in the Cascade Mountain Range in Oregon saved his and another person’s lives.
That day, Casey was driving through the Willamette National Forest. When he arrived at his destination, he began to use his drone to take many photos, and the beautiful places made him excited. These photos made him feel a strong sense of achievement.
With a good harvest, he began to drive home. On the way home, he came across a stranger whose car was stuck. At that time, Casey was still in the deep forest. Casey volunteered to help get it out without hesitation. Unluckily, he got his own car stuck in a ditch (沟) while trying to help, leaving both people in trouble with no cell phone service for miles around.
“I am so sorry for making your car stuck here. What can we do now?” the stranger said with anxiety.
“Don’t worry! Let’s think it over! Maybe I can call my wife for help,” Casey said.
“But here is too out-of-the-way. It is surely no cell phone service. How can we call for help?” the stranger said disappointedly.
Just as they were wandering, Casey immediately recalled a movie he’d seen recently in which a character typed some messages in the phone and used a drone to lift his phone high enough to catch cell phone service in a similar situation. When the stranger heard the idea, he felt pleasantly surprised. Just right, Casey had a drone. Casey walked quickly to his car.
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。
Casey pulled out the drone and took out his phone.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Nearly an hour after the messages were sent out to his wife, the rescuers arrived.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Amy loved to draw, and her hands, always dirty from the pencil lead, moved on the paper, showing the pictures in her mind. She would sit for hours, lost in art. Trees on her pages seemed to swing in an unseen wind, and the faces she drew wore lifelike expressions. But Amy didn’t look like the art she made. Her clothes were old and had many patches (补丁) that her mother made with care. Amy’s family did not have much money, but they loved each other very much. Her mother worked hard at many jobs to take care of them after Amy’s father got sick and died.
Amy had her good times and hard times in school. She loved different corners of the school which were sources of her inspiration and expected the art lesson. Yet other kids’ laughing at her dress made her sad. She wanted to change the situation, but didn’t know how to go about it. Despite this, she would quietly help someone with a hard math problem or pick up garbage on her way home. She always found comfort in her drawing. In the middle of the term, an art contest on the theme of “My Dream” was to be held, which would select the top three winners, and the head teacher would award them prizes. This news thrilled the children, Amy in particular. They enthusiastically registered for the contest and, after thoughtful consideration, finished their own art pieces. The contest organizers gathered all submissions one week later and set up an exhibit showcasing every participant’s work in the school gym.
The school gym was filled with viewers as the walls displayed the efforts of the young artists. There were paintings of colorful landscapes where the sun burst through thick clouds. Some students had created portraits (肖像) of their heroes. In this sea of creativity, one painting stood out. In the painting, a community garden was drawn, a place where people from all walks of life were planting seeds together. The heartfelt work drew the viewers into a world where every detail had meaning. The exhibition would last a week and all the students and teachers could vote their favorite work.
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。
Finally came the day when the winners were announced.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The children who had laughed at Amy started to see her in a new way.
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