Brian sat on his front doorstep. He really wanted a new bike. Joe had just gotten one for his birthday, and Tyler’s was only about a year old. Brian had had his for five years. The seat was up as high as it could go, and his legs were still too long for his bike. Brian wanted a bike just like Joe’s and Tyler’s. Their bikes were perfect for popping wheels and cruising over bumps. If only he had 110 dollars. All he could come up with was 33.67 dollars. Where could he get the rest of the money he needed?
Brian thought and thought. His birthday was still five months away, and he was too young to mow lawns. What could he do to get the money? Maybe his dad would advance his allowance for the next few months. He got three dollars every Friday if he did all of his chores. His dad had agreed to do this once before, when Brian needed an extra six dollars. Maybe his sister would loan him the money. She had a lot of money saved up from baby-sitting. Baby-sitting! That was it! Brian could baby-sit. Oops! Wait a minute. No one would hi re Brian to baby-sit. He still was not allowed to stay home by himself yet. What could he do to get the money? Brian sat and thought.
注意：1.续写词数应为150 词左右；
2.请按如下格式答题。
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Just then, the phone rang.
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After chasing Fifi through three different yards, Brian finally got Mrs. Timmons’ dog.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My sister-in-law Carol said she’d already picked out a kitten for me. I agreed to go with her… just to look. I made no promise to take one home. After all, only two months had passed since I lost my beloved calico cat, Mandi. Maybe I needed to be pet-free for a while.
When we got there, three of the four kittens remained in the litter. Carol picked up one and handed it to me. The beautiful face and white fur on the right side of her nose reminded me of a clown-like mask. How could I resist? Then another kitten, with an evenly balanced white face, jumped into my lap and purred.
Driving home in my British sports car proved difficult with two mischievous kittens. One clung to my left arm and shoulder, watching the fast-moving scenery outside. The other paced back and forth from my lap to the passenger’s seat, making it hard for me to shift gears. Both mewed in a loud duet(二重奏) of protest. Of course, I hadn’t brought a cage. I had not planned to take home a kitten — or two.
The clown-like-masked female earned the name Squeakette with her tiny voice squeaking about each new discovery as she explored her new home. The male, lacking only a black tie in his formal clothes, took the name Sebastian for my favorite composer, Johann Sebastian Bach.
A few weeks later, a neighbor helped me carry down my six-foot artificial Christmas tree from the attic(阁楼). I thanked him with a batch of cookies, and then set up the tree in the comer of my living room.
Sebastian and Squeakette knocked it down before I opened the box of decorations. After setting it upright, I straightened the few bent wire branches back into place. As I checked for any other damage, a quick flash of black-and-white fur passed by me. Up they went, branch by branch. The tree danced around as the two kittens took turns climbing it together. Sebastian made it to the top a moment ahead of Squeakette.
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。
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He lunged at me from the top, paws stretched out like wings.
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Sensing their interest, I found a smaller Christmas tree for them.
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One spring, I was hired as groundskeeper at a Country Inn, a famous bed-and-breakfast located in Washington state. The grand house is in a beautiful place. Many famous people have visited and even had their own rooms there. The owners, Philip and Cecelia, have done a perfect job for the house. However, the gardens were very overgrown. Worse yet, there was another problem: a very persistent doe (母鹿).
Every day when I came to work, there was new evidence of the deer’s big appetite. I tried many preventives: spray, human hair, soap, you name it-but none of those things had effect. Often when I was weeding, I’d look over and there she’d be, munching some tasty pieces. Worst of all, she feasted on the roses, in which Cecelia took great pride. I became so frustrated that I named her “Dinner”— and wanted to serve her on plates.
One morning, I was on my hands and knees pulling out vines and bushes when I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. There was Dinner, not five feet away, munching a large leaf and staring at me. I felt a connection with this animal. We did have something in common-we were both mothers. I got the crazy idea of communicating with her and it seemed she wanted the same thing.
What’s up? I asked in my head.
I’m here because I feel safe, was the gentle reply I felt I heard. I have my fawns (幼鹿) bedded down nearby, and there is plenty to eat. When the twins are older after summer, I will move them deeper into the forest.
I understand that, I assured her. People come here too, from far away. I guess they’ll be interested to see you. I promise that nobody will harm you or your children. I don’t mind sharing the vegetation but Cecelia loves roses, too. She is very upset when they are all eaten.
A loud crash broke the magic. Our eyes met again briefly before she leaped off across the driveway, disappearing into the forest. Has I really communicated with the deer?
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I went into the kitchen where Cecelia was preparing the evening meal.
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Every day, I enjoyed watching Dinner with the twins and my presence never bothered them.
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A few years ago when I was looking for a small dog to add to our family, I contacted the local SPCA(Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and got the name of a woman who was fostering(领养，代养) some rescued Maltese dogs for them. I called the woman, and my husband and I drove to her home. As I looked around, I noticed a cute Maltese named Casper. My husband and I decided we would like to adopt him.
The foster mom asked us if there were any way we would open our hearts to Casper’s friend, Kato, as well. She told us that the two boys, who had only each other for comfort, had recently been rescued from a puppy farm, where they had spent the first seven years of their lives. When the local SPCA shut down the puppy farm and seized all the dogs, Kato and Casper had been put in her foster home.
She told us that when she first picked them up, their fur was in such terrible shape that they hardly looked like Maltese dogs. They were brown, whose fur was wet and dirty, and their paws were swollen. For seven years, they were locked in a dark doghouse and the only human contact these boys had was when they were thrown their food.
Hearing all this, I turned and looked down at the little Maltese named Kato. But he’s so ugly, I thought. And he isn’t even friendly. He barked angrily when we looked at him. When I reached for him, he pushed himself against the back wall of his doghouse, whispering. Still, I felt a tig at my heart and agreed to take Kato also. As we drove home, my husband and I worried that maybe we’d taken on too much. We’d never had dogs that had been so abused(虐待) for such a longtime.
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 first day at our home was very difficult for the two dogs.
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_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Every few years, humpback whales come to the water area in San Luis Obispo, California, for a few days while migrating, which attracts hundreds of visitors and whale lovers. In November 2020, over 20 whales were around, feeding on silverfish. Each one is huge, about 15 metres long.
At that time, I lived nearby and I was always crazy about whales so I invited my friend Liz Cottriel to go out on a ship to check them out the next morning.
“No way,” Liz hesitated. She was scared of whales and sharks, and was worried that the ship would overturn while we were in it. But I told her there was nothing to worry about and we probably would have an unforgettable experience.
Convinced, Liz joined me and we set off at 8:30 the next morning. For the first half hour we didn’t see anything. Then I spotted two pairs of whales, swimming towards us at fast speed. Though it was the first time we had seen the large creatures at such a close distance, we intended not to turn around immediately we met them. Instead, we chose to wait for their approaching.
One of the whales breached (跃出水面), then went down and hit the water really hard, leaving what looks like a layer of oil and also large waves.The boat started rocking wildly. At that moment, we realized it was too close.
All of a sudden, a large group of fish started jumping out of the water into our ship. Their movement sounded like cracking glass around us. I was terrified. Then I felt our ship lifted out of the water – about two metres, we later learned. I figured the whale was going to drag us down somehow, and I had no idea how deep we’d be sucked underwater.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
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What I didn’t realise at the moment was that Liz and I were in the whale’s mouth.
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It suddenly struck me that whales have huge mouths but tiny throats.
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For nearly 20 years, natural disasters yearly affected about 300 million people and destroyed more than 3 million buildings, causing great damage to China’s economy. Therefore, the disaster prevention and reduction is an important issue for China. To save lives and reduce losses, the Chinese government has taken the following effective measures.
As an important part, the management on disaster information has been strengthened. So far, China has realized the 24-hour monitoring (监控) of disasters all over the country and established an early warning system. These are particularly important to save lives, especially in the case of an earthquake. According to Chengdu High-tech Disaster Reduction Institute, even a three-second early warning can reduce deaths and injuries by 14 percent.
Besides, the Chinese government has been raising the public’s awareness of disaster prevention and reduction in an all-round way. Disaster-related knowledge has been included in school textbooks, and general education about disaster prevention and reduction has been given to the public. For example, in the wake of Wenchuan earthquake, the Chinese government decided to make May 12th “Disaster Prevention and Reduction Day”. Every year, a series of publicity activities is organized with rich content and different forms.
Apart from that, the Chinese government has improved social disaster relief system. Concerning relief efforts, the Chinese government has set up a social donation system. This encourages all industries of society to make donations. In addition, related volunteer service has been developed. Under the guidance of the Chinese government, non-governmental organizations, volunteers and social workers all actively join in the cause. They cooperate well with the government in rescue work, such as medical work and supply delivery.
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I was eight years old and wasn’t aware of all the arrangements being made for our journey as a family to London in 1950. My mother was in great pain and wished to visit specialists in London. My father reluctantly had to sell our property in Queensland. The day before we boarded the ship, Father unwillingly said goodbye to his five-year-old cattle dog, Spider, who was loved by us all. Father’s friend Sandy was to be his guardian while we were overseas, as he had been getting to know Spider for many weeks.
Six weeks later, an airletter arrived from Sandy, giving my father the news that Spider had run away just two weeks after we had sailed. Sandy had advertised constantly on ABC and other regional newspapers. Despite many “sightings”, the dog was never found. It seems Spider just kept running and searching for us. As he was cattle dog, my father thought he would shoe or dingo-trapped, because of his appearance. But our family thought that Father held a secrets hope that Spider was still alive.
We sailed back to Australia two years later and re-established our home. My father immediately began his own search for Spider. One cold winter’s Saturday morning eight months after our return, my father had a call from an elderly lady living on her own on the outskirts of the town. As she told my father on the telephone, it was “just glimpses of a dingo-type dog in the shadows” of her disused tennis court. That was enough for my father to interrupt my homework.
We set off in his blue and black Jensen car which he had brought back from England. It was hardly the right vehicle for the rough roads we travelled that day. Five and a half hours later, we found the run-down old property. Sadly, she told my father that the “dingo dog” hadn’t been around for a few days. My father had a strange look in his eye. He put two fingers to his lips and did his special whistle for Spider.
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。
Suddenly there was a sound in the bush.
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Once home we had the task of getting all the prickles (刺) off him.
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Are we greening our cities, or just greenwashing them?
Architecture and urban design is chasing a green fever dream. Everywhere you look, there are plans for “sustainable” buildings, futuristic eco-cities and aquaponic farms on the roof, each promising to add a green touch to the modern city.
All of these are surely good ideas at some level. They are trying to repair some of the damage our lifestyle has done to the planet. But, despite the rhetoric of reuniting the city with nature, today’s green urban dream is too often about bringing a technologically controlled version of nature into the city and declaring the problem solved, rather than looking at the deeper causes of our environmental and urban problems.
One of the most striking examples is Apple’s “spaceship” campus now under construction in Silicon Valley. Though it seems to be sustainable and energy efficient—80 percent of its 175-acre site is preserved for landscaping, it is by any measure a huge, expensive and massively resource-intensive project. As a suburban white-collar workplace, it must include vast garages for 13,000 Apple employees. Thus, it will leave no smaller environmental footprint than a traditional office park.
Designing a perfect green building or eco-city isn’t enough to save the world. Although our buildings, like our cars, have been inefficient environmentally, architecture isn’t directly responsible for humanity’s disastrous environmental impacts. An economic system based on the destruction of nature is the real problem. No green building can help us repair the ecological damage we have caused, nor can any number of aquaponic farms bring us back to the real nature.
Instead of adding “nature” to the urban lifestyle, architects may work to design better relationships between our cities and nature, and to promote just relationships between the people in them.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________If you want to hike alone in the woods, it’s always a good deal to bring along your best friend — the dog.
A hiker in Nevada recently learned that lesson the hard way. A 53-year-old man was hiking in the woods in Nevada County on the night of July 12 when he fell down a 70-foot embankment (路堤). He was badly injured, breaking his hip and ribs, but he managed to drag himself to a spot with cell service and call for help.
After getting cellphone reception, the wounded hiker, whose name was not released by authorities, phoned first responders at noon the following day asking for help and telling them about his broken bones. The man then covered himself in a camouflage tarp (伪装油布) and waited for help to arrive. His loyal friend, Saul, waited by his side.
Upon receiving the man’s emergency call, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection enlisted the help of the nonprofit Nevada County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue to locate and rescue the man.
Twenty-five members of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue organization set out to find the hiker, whose last GPS location was used to get to the general neighborhood, but with miles of huge wilderness around them, they worried it would take a long time to find him.
At about 7 p. m. on July 13, the search was still going on. “Having searching for the man for over seven hours, we were tired out and felt a bit disappointed,” said Dennis Haack, leader of the Search and Rescue team, “But I do put a lot of faith in our searchers because they’re extremely good at what they do.”
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。
Suddenly, a black dog came into the sight of a group of rescuers.
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The hiking victim was put into a helicopter.
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