I spent most of my teenage years in an old farmhouse in the Durham County countryside. That was more than 30 years ago, but life there dated back to an even earlier era. I spent my summer days doing stoop labor in tobacco fields and my summer evenings shelling (脱粒) peas in the backyard. My fall weekends were often spent cutting wood and splitting logs. Some of my neighbors still had outhouses. We had an indoor antenna (室内天线) which helped us tune into the few television stations we could receive.
Living where we did, we could see three or four other houses from our own, none of them within shouting distance. But we knew our neighbors, some of them elderly, and — mostly because my father wouldn’t let other folks do without when he had enough — we helped them out when they needed it.
Jimmy lived across the street, on the far side of a tobacco field. He was seventy years old and lived alone. He lost his wife two years ago. He had barely supported himself these last couple of years since his body condition was getting even worse. We went to visit him at his home. It was a small wooden cabin with stained windows and a curtain that had been mended countless times. The poor old man would sit in an armchair by the window, holding a faded photo, and with tears in his eyes, recall happy memories of his wife.
One weekend, my father went to check on Jimmy. But a rare heavy snow happened to fall. It was so heavy that he couldn’t get his old truck up Jimmy’s rutted, snow-covered driveway. Nobody could understand what prompted him to slog (跋涉) the 400 yards or so to Jimmy’s house. My brother and I were waiting anxiously at home. After a long time, he came home hastily and told us that Jimmy was sick and out of firewood.
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。
My father asked us if we would like to help.
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We knocked on Jimmy’s door, and he greeted us.
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2 . Gerry Keene was about 20 minutes into his caving tour in the Tom Moore cave system near Perryville, Missouri, when one of the kids with him spotted a dog ahead of them.
The dog, curled (蜷) up on the mud floor, looked rather
Keene called Rick Haley, another experienced
The channel in the cave was tight and upright in places, so it was a little
| A．lazy | B．weak | C．sad | D．frightened |
| A．excitedly | B．politely | C．basically | D．actively |
| A．essential | B．doubtful | C．apparent | D．crucial |
| A．left | B．brought | C．sent | D．provided |
| A．dog-trainer | B．pet-doctor | C．firefighter | D．caver |
| A．persuasion | B．emotion | C．brainstorming | D．argument |
| A．intended | B．common | C．heavy | D．risky |
| A．vital | B．technical | C．possible | D．reasonable |
| A．confirmed | B．insisted | C．suspected | D．estimated |
| A．medical | B．usual | C．quick | D．professional |
| A．side by side | B．foot by foot | C．hour after hour | D．one after another |
| A．mission | B．drill | C．team | D．plan |
| A．identified | B．saved | C．adopted | D．bought |
| A．traveling | B．running | C．hiding | D．missing |
| A．dog | B．pet-owner | C．kids | D．residents |
A New Addition to the Family
For the initial ten years of his life, Victor was the prince of the household. As he was an only child, his parents petted him and showered all their love and attention on him. Whatever toys his parents bought, they were always meant for him. Whatever food was in the refrigerator, there was no one to compete with him to polish it off first. Victor could leave his toys or books around the house with complete ease of mind, knowing that there was no one who would get their hands on his belongings and cause any damage.
However, all that was to change overnight when Victor’s parents brought back his new baby sister, Lina, from the hospital. With her rosy cheeks, wide open eyes and angelic smile, Lina caught the hearts of her parents, grandparents and relatives. Everyone focused their attention on the cute bunch of joy. Whenever she cried, her mother or father would rush to her bed. She simply cried because she wanted to be carried. There was little time left for Victor.
Now that Victor’s mother had his baby sister to take care of, she expected Victor himself to do most of the chores he can do. Victor was asked to clean his own room, iron his own school uniform and clean his own shoes. Before Lina’s arrival, he had never lifted a finger to help out with these tasks. The whole family also went out less because it was unhealthy to expose Lina to the bacteria(细菌) being in the outside world too often.
Victor felt neglected by his parents. He felt that they loved Lina more than him. As a result, he tried to attract his parents’ attention by becoming resistant. One evening, Victor’s parents were called up by his teacher because Victor had got into a fight at school. His teacher had noticed Victor’s behaviour and work attitude changing downwards in the past two months. Before that, he had been a model student.
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。
Upon hearing the teacher’s feedback, Victor’s parents got lost in thought.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Victor realized that his parents still cared for him.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4 . As an adult, I realized that I had no skills, so I went to trade school. I entered a cabinetmaking (家具制造) program. I didn’t think I would be good at building furniture. I’m not handy. Nobody in my family is.
I had great teachers, but making furniture is hard. There are so many steps and something can go wrong at each one. I couldn’t even get organized. My toolbox always looked like a hurricane had gone through it.
I didn’t fully know what I was devoting myself to at the beginning, but I kept going to class. I tried to wrap my brain around the math. The projects forced me to solve new kinds of problems. My brain started to build new connections. Working in this new physical manner and giving it 100 percent of my effort had huge benefits for my mental health. I got over fear of embarrassment and asked for help at every opportunity.
I spent that year truly learning. True learning is a humbling (令人谦卑的) experience, especially for those of us who are learning a new set of skills. I could understand exactly what was wrong with the furniture I made, but I couldn’t fix my mistakes. And yet, I kept trying. And failing. And failing again. Until I learned to fail better.
You’re going to be bad at anything when you start out, but I was pretty bad right to the end. Even so, I finished the program — with honors, no less! My grades were helped by my good written work. Having to constantly push beyond my comfort zone has made me a more well-rounded person. Maybe most importantly, trade school gave me a more realistic idea of my strengths and limitations. I’m stronger than I thought!
1. Why did the author sign up for the cabinetmaking program?| A．To make more friends. | B．To get more organized. |
| C．To develop new skills. | D．To become a handy designer. |
| A．Hard-working and confident. | B．devoted and determined. |
| C．Intelligent and creative. | D．Modest and flexible. |
| A．He got a poor grade on hand work. |
| B．He feared to socialize with strangers. |
| C．He was skilled in solving math problems. |
| D．He once got tired of the difficult lessons. |
| A．Practice makes perfect. | B．Failure teaches success. |
| C．Learning is more than a skill. | D．Skills will never be a burden. |
At noon that day, I drove back to my house after the performance. Just as I entered the living room, I heard a gentle sound coming from the bedroom upstairs—it was the sound of my favorite violin.
“Thief!”
I dashed upstairs. Sure enough, as expected, a boy of about 12 years old was petting my violin. The boy had messy hair and a thin face, his oversized coat seemingly filled with something. At first glance, I found a new pair of shoes missing. It seemed that he was surely a thief.
Then, I saw his eyes full of fear and despair. My anger was immediately replaced by a smile, I asked, “Are you Mr. Ram’s nephew, Michael? I’m his housekeeper. Two days ago, I heard his nephew living in the countryside will come. It must be you. You’re really like him!”
On hearing my words, the boy was first astonished, but then quickly said, “Has my uncle gone out? I think I’d better first go out for a walk and visit him again in a while.”
I nodded and asked the boy who was preparing to put down the violin, “Do you like to play the violin so much?”
“Yes, but I’m so poor that I can’t afford it,” the boy replied.
“Then, I give this violin to you.” The boy looked at me questioningly, but he picked up the violin. Going out to the living room, he suddenly saw on the wall my huge color photo I performed in the Sydney Opera House. He involuntarily trembled for a moment and ran out without looking back.
I was sure that the boy had understood what happened because no one would decorate the living room with the housekeeper’s photo.
Paragraph 1:A few years later, I was invited to be a judge at a music competition of senior high school students.
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After the competition, “Michael” ran to me, holding a violin box.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . When Mike Mushaw joined the national bone marrow (骨髓) registry three years ago, he never really gave it a second thought.
About six months after the sign-up, Mushaw did get a call that his bone marrow
Instead, after a few weeks, the doctors came back with
About six months after the procedure, Eleanor’s parents sent him an e-mail to thank him for saving her life. “When I was told it was a little girl, I
But their surprising
In January, Mushaw
| A．fitted | B．equaled | C．matched | D．resembled |
| A．count | B．impact | C．perform | D．work |
| A．other than | B．rather than | C．more than | D．less than |
| A．general | B．casual | C．ignorant | D．familiar |
| A．conditions | B．options | C．consequences | D．strategies |
| A．guarantee | B．hope | C．insurance | D．possibility |
| A．relaxing | B．terrifying | C．amazing | D．satisfying |
| A．failed | B．cured | C．bettered | D．lifted |
| A．relief | B．grief | C．celebration | D．expectation |
| A．picked up | B．broke up | C．cheered up | D．choked up |
| A．improvement | B．affection | C．connection | D．attachment |
| A．commonly | B．occasionally | C．regularly | D．scarcely |
| A．problem-solving | B．life-changing | C．heart-warming | D．body-building |
| A．considerate | B．generous | C．dedicated | D．passionate |
| A．reunited | B．returned | C．recalled | D．reacted |
