I blame it all on my dad’s good intentions. You see, my writing career started when I was in elementary school, where there were various writing contests throughout the years. I’m assuming it was in the hopes of trying to get our young, little minds excited about the possibilities that writing could offer us in our lives. Then I’d come home, show my parents and my dad would say, “You did such a great job, honey! Wow, you must be a great writer!” I was probably a better writer in 5th grade than my average students at the time. I even went to the special advanced classes for the “gifted” kids for a few years.
And as I grew older, I remembered those experiences and what my dad was always telling me, and it just sort of stuck with me, and became part of my subconscious (潜意识) —that I was a great writer. I always did well in all my classes because I had this confidence. I didn’t like all subjects particularly, but I got good grades. I was pretty self-assured in my abilities as a student. Then, fast forward to my freshman year of high school. By this time, I had started to even out (相等) with the rest of my peers, in terms of intellect. And then, it happened, the day that I was shattered.
It was all because of my English teacher Ms. Moon. The year started out like any other. Jexpected to do well; I worked hard and knew that my dedication would pay off, like it always had in the past. But something started happening. I started getting Cs on my papers! I don’t think I’d ever even seen that letter, except in the spelling of my first name. And, not only was I not getting good grades in her class, but her comments were off the charts shocking. My papers were full of red marks, and I was being asked to re-do many assignments to even get a passing grade.
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。
One day, Ms. Moon handed my paper to me and whispered, “It’s still not good enough.”
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Very soon it was time for my final exam result.
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Lying in bed with my husband, Gary, we were reminiscing (怀旧). Having been together for 31 years, we were now proud parents to 5 children. Our four eldest kids had flown away to their own life, and Samuel, in his final year of school, was preparing to follow in their footsteps.
With six bedrooms, Gary and I wondered what we would do once we became empty-nest-ers. “Maybe we should sell the house,” Gary suggested. But over the next six months, we never got around to it. Plus, we were busy as foster carers (寄养照管), which we’d done for the past five years. Though I loved every child who stayed with us, we had no plans to have any youngsters for ever. After all, we’d raised five kids already. Then, looking through the Internet, I saw an article. Seven siblings (兄弟姐妹) in need of forever home, it read, beside a photo of the kids in their best clothes.
My heart went out to their hopeful smiles. Reading, I discovered the children—Adelino, then 13, Ruby, 11, Aleecia and Anthony, both six, Aubriella, four, Leo, three, and Xander, two—had been in a terrible car accident six months earlier. Their parents had died and the youngsters had been badly injured. It was a miracle (奇迹) they’d survived.
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。
Before Gary arrived home from work, I’d prepared a speech to present my request.
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I tried to help them feel safe with us.
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