Dude
The first time my husband Bart told me about his horse, Dude, I knew their bond had been something special.
Growing up on a family farm, Bart loved all animals. But Dude, a birthday gift Bart received when he turned nine, became his favorite. Years later when Bart’s father sold Dude, Bart grieved (悲痛) in secret.
One evening, as we took a walk, Bart suddenly asked, “Did I ever tell you Dude won the World Racking Horse Championship?”
“Rocking?” asked I.
“Racking, it’s a kind of dancing horses do.” Bart corrected, smiling gently. “Dude was the greatest and most intelligent racking horse ever. Whenever I whistled (吹口哨), he would run at me and dance.”
“Then why’d you let your dad sell him?” I asked.
Bart explained, “When I found a job away from home, Dad figured I wouldn’t be riding anymore, so he sold Dude without even asking me. Running a horse farm means you buy and sell horses all the time.”
“I’ve always wondered if that horse missed me as much as I’ve missed him. I’ve never had the heart to try to find him. I couldn’t stand knowing if something bad. . . .” Bart’s voice trailed off (减弱).
My heart ached for him. I didn’t know what to do. Then one day while walking through the pasture (牧场), a strange thought came to me — finding Dude for Bart. How absurd! I thought. I knew nothing about Dude, certainly not how to find him. The harder I tried to dismiss the thought, the stronger it grew.
One morning after that first “find Dude” thought, I met with our new neighbor, Mr. Parker, and started a friendly conversation. When he mentioned he’d once bought a horse from Bart’s dad, I interrupted. “You remember the horse’s name?” I asked.
“Sure do.” Mr. Parker said. “Dude. Paid twenty-five hundred dollars for him.”
I went wild with joy, barely catching my breath. “Do you know what happened to him?”
“I sold him for a good profit years ago.”
“Would you be willing to try to help me find him?” I asked. And then I explained the situation.
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。
Mr. Parker agreed to join the search, promising not to say anything to Bart.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Getting out of the car, I asked Bart to whistle as he used to do to Dude.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________On Saturday, the animal shelter is filled with voices. I can’t see the kitties because I’m blind. I listen hard. Do any of those meows sound like kitten meows?
“I don’t think I hear any kittens (小奶猫), Mom,” I say.
“You’re right, Annie. But there are lots of cats, fat ones, skinny ones…”Mom holds my hand. The shelter director, Mrs. Pat, takes us inside the cat pen. I sit down and stretch out my hands to pet the kitties. A big, warm kitty sits down against my side. “Sammy likes you, Annie. He’s the big one,” Mrs. Pat says.
“I like him, too.” I pet Sammy’s soft, furry coat, his loud purr rumbling under my fingers. “Will Sammy get adopted today?” I ask.
“Maybe,” says Mrs. Pat. “He’s an older kitty, and most people want kittens. But he’s so loving, maybe today will be his turn.”
My mom and I take a pregnant cat, Muffin, home with us. We’ll care for her until she has her kittens. And I can keep one kitten for myself!
One morning, I get a surprise! I can feel soft, mewing little bundles inside the box with Muffin! Mom told me there are six. They’re all about the same size, except for one. He’s big! “Like Sammy,” I say.
“Not quite that big,” Mom says with a laugh.
When I hold them to my cheek, they feel silky and smell sweet and oaty, like a field of summer grass. Their mews are high and tiny.
“So, do you know yet which kitten you’ll keep?” Mom asks me one day.
I bounce on my knees, saying “Oh! How do I choose?”
“Well, try to listen to your heart,” Mom says.
Should it be Jet-Jet, with the long tail? Or Mimi, with the tiny voice? Or should it be Mr. Motor, the one with the humming purr? A purr like Sammy’s, I think. All the kittens are fun. But which is the right one?
On Monday, the shelter is quiet. I still can’t decide which one to keep. Mom asks me to stay in the cat room and pick my kitty while she takes care of the paperwork with Mrs. Pat.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡相应位置作答。
I sit down and open the carrier.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When Mom and Mrs. Pat come back, Sammy is sleeping in my lap.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3 . The forest was full of shadows as Sylvie hurried through it one summer evening in June. The child hurried the cow through the dark forest to her grandmother’s home.
Suddenly the air was cut by a sharp whistle not far away. Sylvie knew it wasn’t a friendly bird’s whistle. She hid in some bushes. But she was too late.
“Hello, little girl,” a young man called out cheerfully. “I’ve lost my way. Can I spend the night at your house?” he asked.
Sylvie didn’t answer. The stranger began walking with Sylvie as she followed her cow through the forest. She was glad when she could see her grandmother standing near the farm house. The stranger explained his problem to Sylvie’s grandmother.
“Of course you can stay with us.” she said. The young man explained he was a scientist, who collected birds.
“Do you put them in a cage?” Sylvie asked.
“No,” he answered slowly, “I shoot them and preserve them with special chemicals.”
“I’ve been looking for a white heron(苍鹭),” he said, “It’s a very rare white bird.”
But Sylvie’s heart began to beat fast. She knew that strange white bird! Early the next morning, she quietly hurried through the forest. She finally reached a huge pine tree, and climbed to the top. Sylvie’s bare feet and tiny fingers grabbed the tree’s rough trunk. Sharp dry branches scratched her like cat’s claws.
Suddenly, a bird with broad white wings landed on a pine branch next to her. The white heron smoothed its feathers and called to its mate. She knew the wild bird’s secret now.
Were the birds better friends than their hunters? Who can know?
1. What made Sylvie hide in some bushes?| A．A young man. | B．A missing cow. | C．A sharp whistle. | D．An unfriendly bird. |
| A．She was scared by the young man. |
| B．The white heron might be in danger. |
| C．She was familiar with that white heron. |
| D．The man would spend a night with them. |
| A．The young man killed the white heron. |
| B．Sylvie kept the secret of the white heron. |
| C．Sylvie and the scientist became good friends. |
| D．The young man knew where the white heron was. |
For weeks, Eva Hachey had fancied adopting a golden Chihuahua with a white spot on its forehead. As a chiropractic(脊椎按摩疗法)assistant, she always believed that there would be a bond between them as strong as one’s spine. “Animals will pick us. ” she often said, “They will come to us. That’s the drive of nature.”
And there he was, at. her local Society for the. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals(SPCA), in Fredericton; New Brunswick. The small aninat had been abused severely by his previous owners and was timid. “He’d come to me, then back away and growl, then come back to me again, ” Hachey said. “After 15 minutes, the attendant picked him up and put him in my lap. He started giving me kisses. He stole my heart in that moment.” She adopted the ten-month-old puppy on the spot and named him Bruno.
Bruno lived happily with Hachey and her 28-year-old daughter, Angel Hutchinson, for five months. The two women loved him so dearly that they officially regarded him as a family member. They fed him, walked him and bathed him, who, at an incredible rate, grew bigger and rounder, with joy sparkling in his eyes. But to Bruno, the best part of living with the two women was the “action-and-response” game played between them. Whenever Hachey or Angel made a movement or sign1, Bruno would immediately know what that meant and responded happily, and it always worked.
Then one evening, Hachey, 52, returned home at 8 p. m. from her job. And as usual, she ate supper in front of the TV in the living room. Around 10:30, a friend called just as Bruno went to huddle in his customary spot next to Hachey’s feet, ready to sleep for the night. Hachey and her friend chatted a bit, and then Hachey felt dizzy and had difficulty breathing. A sharp pain struck from her heart and she lost her consciousness.
Obviously sensing something odd, Bruno felt alarmed. His ears standing up, his eyes wide, he rose to his feet.
注意：1．续写词数应为150左右；
2．请按如下格式在答题卡上的相应位置作答。
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。
Bruno began barking and jumping on and off the chair to wake Hachey.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When Hachey came to herself, she found the room was full of people.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Lunch hour. Escaping from my office, I fled down Main Street in pursuit of freedom from the routine of the day. An old bell clanged(叮当作响)against the door of a dusty used bookstore when I pushed it open.
Looking through the horizon of shelves and lots of magazines, my eyes suddenly met his and my heart began to race. They were the blazing(闪烁) orange eyes of an African lion on the cover of a National Geographic magazine. I hadn’t seen those eyes in thirty years, but their impact on me hadn’t faded. As a kid I used to dream about Africa, living with wild animals.
The opportunity of spending a “gap year” volunteering in Africa or joining the Youth Corps had long since passed. Or had it? Yes, it’s true I couldn’t go to Africa for several months, but maybe I could volunteer in Africa for a few weeks.
Over the next several weeks I began to budget and save, determined to make it happen. The big day came. I arrived and met my boss, a young South African ranger(护林员)named Gary. He said, “Let me guess, you’re here because you dreamed of Africa.”
“Yes!” I smiled.
“Well it’s time to wake up. This is a working game reserve. These are wild animals.”
“Okay.”
“You’re going to have to get out of your comfort zone, take some risks, Have the courage of a lion.”
The next morning when we began our patrol(巡逻)in an open-air jeep, giant African elephants appeared in the morning mist. I was no longer dreaming in the pages of a National Geographic magazine. I was living them.
Moments later Gary parked the jeep and handed me a heavy shovel(铲子) and said, “Time to shovel dung(粪).” Elephant dung. Mountains of it. It will be used as fertilizer in the reserves sustainable vegetable garden.
Within fifteen minutes my back was aching, and my new work gloves were stretched out and so slippery with dung and sweat that they refused to stay on my hands. This wasn’t the dream of Africa I had.
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。
Paragraph 1:
I began to question myself.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
But at that moment I remembered Gary’s words “step out of your comfort zone”.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Our Garfield became a mostly indoor cat. He used to wander outside but we discovered he had a terrible sense of direction, so now he has to stay inside. He does not enjoy being on the inside looking out, but it’s safer for him so that’s how it has to be.
When Garfield isn’t sleeping, he’s either sitting on a windowsill (窗台) or sitting with his wet nose pressed against our glass door overlooking the deck (木质平台), like a prisoner behind bars. As he ages, he earns back his outside rights an hour per day because he shows us that he will stay close to the back deck.
When we let him out last week, a thunderstorm arose out of nowhere. By the time we heard the crack of lightning and remembered Garfield was outside, we opened the door to see nothing but strong wind and heavy rain. My daughter Janette put on her rubber boots and raincoat to check around the house, but Garfield was nowhere to be found. The thunderstorm obviously had scared him into a run in the wrong direction. Who knew where he would end up?
It took me forever to fall asleep that night. I prayed (祈祷) someone would protect him and help him find his way home. As I continued praying, I realized that in my daily prayers for my family, I rarely included Garfield. Now that he was gone, maybe forever, I realized what an important part of our family he was. I prayed for his safe return.
My husband Peter was the first one up at 6: 00 a. m. He checked the doorstep, but no Garfield was in sight. I saw my neighbor Heidi taking her dog out for a walk, and I asked her to please keep her eyes open for our cat. Janette and her three brothers all walked around the house that day looking like they had lost their best friend. Peter decided to look for Garfield around the neighborhood.
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。
Peter and I drove around to search the neighborhood.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was saying to myself “Never say never” when I heard something scratching the door at 10: 00 p.m.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________7 . While ”televet“ services have been available for some years now, their popularity has exploded since COVID.
Televet consults can be done over the Internet through typed chats or video calls, or can be conducted over the phone.
There are a range of consults that can be safely and easily done remotely, including some post-operation checks, behavioral consults and weight clinics. Owners generally feel more relaxed when reporting from their home.
It is sometimes useful for owners to send photos and videos for the vet to assess. When possible, these should be uploaded prior to the consultation starting to ensure the vet has had time to view them. Photos must be taken in good lighting and the animal should be still to avoid blur(模糊).
As well as those services offered by an owner’s clinic, there are also online vets who ar not connected with clinics. This sort of service can be especially useful during non-working hours, when an owner needs advice but their regular clinic is closed.
| A．And it can save them time and trouble. |
| B．They have become an instant hit around the globe. |
| C．They were once seen as more of an American offering. |
| D．Otherwise, it might make the images trickier to interpret. |
| E．Televet services have both advantages and disadvantages. |
| F．Nevertheless, in-person consults will never be completely replaced |
| G．For owner and vet alike, remote consultation can be more convenient |
On a nearly winter afternoon, my dad and I decided to climb the Carpathian Mountains, about 4, 500 feet high. My dad said it would be an easy three-hour trip in a natural habitat. I couldn’t wait. Having spent spring, summer, and early fall climbing the mountains, I felt confident I’d have no trouble in climbing it.
The hillside we started was rather sloping (陡峭的). This side of the mountain was covered with a pine forest. The trees were incredibly high and thick; their knotted large roots cut the ground here and there, forming natural footsteps and making the climbing a little bit easier. The air was fresh and clean. After about 30 minutes of climbing, we heard the sound of a stream and rushed to it for a drink.
After about two hours of climbing, we found ourselves traveling over snow-covered ridge (山脊). The road became harder and more dangerous. It seemed that my dad had made a mistake — the trip was not that easy a she described. Watching the steep and rocky climb ahead, I knew I was finished. My original confidence gave way to tiredness completely. My knees were in great pain and my legs were trembling, reaching the point where I couldn’t move them at all. The peak (山顶) seemed unreachable. To make matters worse, snowflakes were starting to fall and strong winds were gathering around me. I hopelessly stared at my dad. “Dad, let’s go back. I can’t move an inch,” I said tiredly with tears pooling in my eyes.
注意：1.续写词数应为100个左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
“Just one small step at a time,” Dad encouraged me.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Eventually, we made it to the peak.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9 . Working Together to Save the Sea Turtles
Florida has some of the best beaches in the world. Thousands of people visit the state to enjoy the sand. But these beaches are also home to five species of sea turtles. A major problem is facing these interesting creatures.
Some volunteers and researchers in Florida take direct action to help the turtles. They look closely at the sand to find the fin (鳍) marks the mother sea turtles left there.
These are not the only Floridians taking action to help protect these creatures. Florida’s government has passed laws to save the turtles. One of these laws is “Florida’s Marine Turtle Protection Act”. This law prohibits anyone from disturbing or destroying marine turtles, nests, or eggs.
Another way Floridians work together to save these creatures is through organizations like the Sea Turtle Conservancy. The Sea Turtle Conservancy helps people take steps that will help reduce the threats that put sea turtles in danger. For instance, bright lights on buildings near the beach can negatively impact sea turtles. Baby sea turtles usually hatch on the sandy beach and head to the ocean. When there are bright lights coming from the other side of the shore far from the ocean, the baby turtles get confused.
| A．Many of them do not make it to the ocean and die. |
| B．Some of these turtle species are in danger of going extinct. |
| C．This helps them to locate where the sea turtles laid their eggs. |
| D．It also helps make sure that sea turtles’ natural habitats are protected. |
| E．Female sea turtles come from the ocean and onto these beaches at night. |
| F．They use their fins to move back across the beach and return to the ocean. |
| G．Every Floridian can do their part to protect sea turtles and their environment. |
Jane Brown sat carefully putting papers into a folder. She had been at the Gateway Nature Center’s office all morning and was tired of filing. She wanted desperately to work with the animals. She had been a weekend volunteer that whole school year and had done extensive research, reading books and websites on natural history. But her mom, who was the assistant director of the center, said Jane was still too young.
Suddenly, the quiet was broken by Amy bursting in. She had been a volunteer a bit longer than Jane and wandered around like she owned the place. “Hurry up, Jane,” she ordered. Jane willed herself to remain still and just smiled back.
Just then, Jane’s mother rushed into the room with Mr. White, the manager. “The hurricane is now approaching the Gulf Shore Preserve,” Mrs. Brown reported. “It needs help preparing for it. I have to go down there with the staff. We’ll take the bridge, so we shouldn’t be gone long. I need you girls to help Mr. White get the storm shutters (护窗) down in the aviary (鸟舍). Then, stay inside with Mr. White. Call me on my cellphone if there’re any problems,” Mrs. Brown directed as she rushed out. Jane was excited to have an opportunity to help the birds.
Amy announced she was now “in charge”. Jane smiled again, saying nothing. Mr. White and the girls worked quickly and were soon back inside. But when Mr. White called Jane’s mother, a worried expression crossed his face. “A storm has flooded the bridge, and they’re stuck there. Also, the storm is heading our way,” he said. Amy was frightened. After silently considering for a few seconds, Jane said calmly, “We should move the birds to the reptile house (爬行动物馆). It’s on higher ground.” Mr. White and Amy nodded. They rushed out of the building. Once inside the aviary, Jane watched Amy lunge (猛冲) from cage to cage.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1.
Jane told Amy not to jump around so much because the birds would be scared by her sudden movements.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2.
After several hours, the storm stopped, and Mrs. Brown was able to return to the center.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
