Long long ago, there was a little prince who was used to having everything he wanted. He was so badly behaved that he wouldn’t let anybody have a new toy if he didn’t have it first. If any child in the land wanted a new toy, they had to buy two and give one to him. Therefore, the little prince had no friends except for his toys.
One day a magic toymaker, who invented the most wonderful toys, came to the land. The little prince liked his toys so much that he invited him to spend an entire year in the palace, promising him great wealth if he made him a new toy every day. The toymaker set just one condition: “My toys are very special and need an owner who will play with them” he said. “Will you be able to devote a little time to each one every day?” “Of course, I will” the little prince replied impatiently.
From then on, every morning the little prince received a new toy. Every day the toymaker delivered a toy better than the previous ones. The little prince appeared very happy.
But the toy collection kept growing and, after a few weeks there were simply too many toys to play with all of them every day. So, one day the little prince put a few toys to one side, hoping that the toymaker wouldn’t notice. However, when it was night time and he was ready to go to bed. The toys that had been put away lined up in front of him and, one by one, demanded their daily playtime. The little prince couldn’t get to sleep until well past midnight because he had to play with every single toy.
Next day, tired after all his efforts, the prince slept very late. In the little time left of the day, he had to get to know a new toy and then play with all the others too. Once again, he finished very late and was so tired he could hardly stop yawning (打哈欠).
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。
Every day was a little bit worse than the one before, with the same amount of time but one extra toy to play with.
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The children saw the prince, wondering whether the prince would force them to hand over their toys just like before.
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An impossible peace
Once upon a time, on a piece of land there lived giants and dragons, who had been enemies for years on end. However, after years of bloody fights, they had learned a lot. They were no longer so foolish as to wage wars with terrible battles in which thousands died. Now, every year they held bowling matches instead. A giant competed against a dragon. Whoever lost would become the winner’s slave. If a dragon won, he could use the giant’s muscles for all that heavy lifting. If a giant won, he would have free flights and fire for the whole year.
That was how they prevented their deaths and yet with the match going round and round, they hated each other more and more. Every year the winners were so cruel to the losers, in revenge (报复) for the time they had lost. The losers would be at the mercy of the winners, giants tired from lifting loads while dragons worn out from constant flying and breathing fire. There came a time when what mattered most was not winning the bowling match, but not losing.
Yonk the Giant was the best bowler, and the most afraid. He had never lost. Many dragons had been his slaves and they were dying to see him lose so they could get their revenge. This was why Yonk was terrified of losing. Especially since last year’s match, when he missed his first ever strike, he had decided that something had to change.
The following year he won again. When he arrived home, his slave dragon feared the worst but Yonk did nothing bad to him, for he had a different idea in mind.
“This year you will not be my slave. We will go bowling and I will teach you all of my techniques and secrets. But you must promise me one thing: when you win your match next year, you will not be cruel to your giant. Do the same as I am doing with you.”
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 dragon gladly accepted.
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Much later Yonk lost his first bowling match but he was no longer afraid of losing.
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