Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night, I took a fare (出租车乘客) at 2:30 AM. When I arrived to collect, sanding on the sideway was a small woman in her 80swith a big suitcase.
After I helped her into the taxi, she gave me an address and asked, “Could you drive through downtown?” “It is not the shortest way,” I answered quickly. “I don’t mind,” She said, “I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice (临终安养院).” I looked in the rear-view mirror (后视镜). Her eyes were wet. I quietly reached over and shut off the meter (计价器). “What route would you like me to take?” I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newly married. She had me stop in front of a shabby house where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she asked me to slow in front of a particular building and sat staring into the darkness, saying nothing. At last, she said, “I’m tired. Let’s go now.”
We drove in silence to the destination. It was a grey low building.
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。
“How much do I owe you?”she asked, reaching into her purse.
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I said goodbye to her.
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Jenny was the only child in her family. She had a quarrel (吵架) with her mother that afternoon and she ran out of the house angrily. She couldn’t help weeping sorrowfully when she thought of the scolding from her mother. Having wandered aimlessly in the street for hours, she felt a little hungry and wished for something to eat. She stood beside a stand (货摊) for a while, watching the middle-aged seller busy doing his business. However, with no money in hand, she gave a sigh and had to leave.
The seller behind the stand noticed the young girl and asked, “Hey, girl, you want to have the noodles?”
“Oh, yes, but I don’t have money on me.” she replied.
“That’s nothing. I’ll treat you today,” said the man, “Come in.”
The seller brought her a bowl of noodles, whose smell was so attractive. As she was eating, Jenny cried silently.
“What is it?” asked the man kindly.
“Nothing. Actually, I was just touched by your kindness!” said Jenny as she wiped her tears. “Even a stranger on the street will give me a bowl of noodles, while my mother drove me out of the house. She showed no care for me. She is so merciless compared to a stranger!”
Hearing the words, the seller smiled, “Girl, do you really think so? I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you thanked me a lot. But it is your mother who has raised you since you were a baby. Can you remember the times she cooked for you? Have you expressed your gratitude to her?”
Jenny sat there, speechless and numb with shock: she remembered her mother’s familiar face and weathered hands. “Why didn’t I think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel grateful. Why haven’t I thanked my mum for what she has done for me?”
On the way home. Jenny made up her mind to make an apology to her mother for her rudeness as soon as she arrived home.
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。
Nearing the doorway, Jenny took a deep breath.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At that time, her mother came back and touched her hair gently, which called her mind back.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Thomas and Christine Noctor have lived and raised their family in the home for three decades. They and their 12-year-old grandson Dean, who lives with them, had most of their personal belongings damaged or destroyed after a fire broke out in Thomas’ home office on Saturday evening.
Ally Noctor was in the home with her mother, father, nephew Dean, and brother James when the incident happened. “My mom has COPD (慢性阻寒性肺病) so I said ‘just get out the back’, and she took the dog out the back,” Ally recalled. “My brother came running down looking for a fire extinguisher (灭火器), and my dad was screaming, ‘Fire !’”
The fire started in the box room It’s Thomas home office. He’d just done it up. It was clearly an electrical fault but no one thought at the time to turn off the electricity. The room started filling with smoke quickly and they had to leave immediately.
The house is located just a short walk away from the fire station. But when neighbors called, the available trucks were already out — so nearly 20 minutes had passed before the fire crew arrived.
Thankfully, they managed to prevent the fire from spreading to the attic (阁楼) or to any more homes in the community.
The family then went back inside the house to investigate what had happened and survey the damage caused. Dean’s gaming PC was melted, toys were melted, and even the shower was melted. All their clothes couldn’t be taken out.
“The downstairs is okay, but there is smoke damage and water damage. And all of the upstairs is completely damaged. My mom is still in shock. She’s just staring into space,” Ally said.
But Ally was quick to praise her community, who were right there to help the Noctors get out of the house the moment they sensed trouble and every one of the family got timely help.
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上作答。
Ally ran out the door without shoes on when escaping.
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The temporary house is OK but New Year may be difficult.
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I was a bad boy in a village in India. At least I was labeled that way because I had no interest in school or studies. I used bad language, hung around with other “bad” boys, skipped school and ran through the fields. No one thought I would do anything worthwhile with my life. And I’d heard many people in our village talking. “Why bother going to school? These kids end up back on the farms anyway. He’ll never amount to anything.” My parents and teachers were disappointed with my average marks.
My mother envisioned a different future and knew the value of education to create a better life. By the time I entered the 12th grade, I had taken a good look at myself and realized the life I was creating. The bad boy image troubled me. I didn’t believe I was a bad boy. I didn’t want to be a bad boy. These realizations forced me to acknowledge that my mother was right — education was my only way out. I worked hard to finish my high school, and then I decided to apply for higher education in university. But this village bad boy faced too many challenges.
Firstly, my family had very limited money. In addition to that, my grades were not good. There was very little chance I’d gain admission to a university. Still, I took a chance and applied. The last day of admissions, I visited the university to check my result. I looked down the list, and there it was, “Parashram J. Patil”. Finally, I’d been admitted. Now, it was the last day to pay, so I had to find money to cover my fees.
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。
Helpless, I sat outside the department head—Professor Parth’s office.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________From then on, things changed.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________An Unforgivable Mistake
A few years ago, the company I work for sent my wife and me to live in New York for a year. I’ve always loved jogging, so I was really happy when I found the apartment they had rented for us was next to Central Park. This meant that every morning I could go for a run before I went to work.
Because a lot of people had told me to be careful of muggers (行凶抢劫者) in the park, I didn’t usually take anything with me. How could they rob me if I didn’t have anything? But one morning my wife asked me to buy some bread on the way home, so I put a $10 bill in my back pocket.
It was a beautiful morning and the park was quiet with very few people walking or jogging around. While I was running, another jogger bumped (撞) into me. He apologized and continued running. For a while, I didn’t think too much of it. However, when I noticed the wide path where I was running, I thought it was kind of strange. The warning of muggers in the park occurred to me. It could have been a mugger! I suddenly became alarmed, so I checked my pocket. The money was missing! I immediately started to run after the jogger. I finally caught up with and grabbed him firmly by the arm. I started shouting and demanding that he give me the $10 bill. I’m not usually a hot-headed person, but I really lost my temper at that moment. I couldn’t believe the robbery was actually happening to me. Filled with anger, I shook my fist at him. This seemed to frighten him. He quickly put his hand in his pocket and gave me the money. Then he ran away as fast as he could.
I bought the bread and went home. As soon as I got home, I couldn’t wait to tell my wife the story. “You won’t believe what happened to me,” I started with pride. She immediately interrupted (插话), “I know, you left the money for the bread on the kitchen table.”
注意：续写词数应为150左右。Paragraph 1:
Looking at the money on the table, I stood there, shocked.
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For several days, I waited at the same place.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My sister Josie and I wanted a dog more than anything else. We begged our parents many times but always got the same answer. One summer night, however, in our yard stood a big black female dog. We couldn’t believe our eyes!
Josie made a little kissing noise and held out her hand. The dog came to us slowly, taking a few steps forward, then a step back. She was so skinny and her coat was full of dirt. When she came closer, I was glad to find no tags around her neck.
Josie brought milk and several eggs for her. But when she finished them, she ran into the bush and disappeared. “Don’t go!” Josie cried, “Come back!” But she was gone. “I think she’ll be back when she gets hungry again,” I said.
The next night, we set the food in the driveway. Soon the dog appeared. We called her Lucky, hugged her gently and showed her the food. She sniffed it, drooling (垂涎) and licking her mouth, but for some reason she wouldn’t eat it.
The next minute Lucky did something unexpected. She grabbed the plate in her mouth and dragged it away. In the following nights it was the same scene. But the strangest thing was that even though Lucky kept taking the food, she didn’t seem to be putting on any weight.
On the fifth night, Lucky didn’t come as usual. We were worried. When we almost gave up, she appeared. She barked at us and ran back and forth. Then she ran towards the bush slowly, still barking. We chased after her. She ran and barked, turning to see if we were following. After about ten minutes, Lucky finally stopped, wagging her tail quietly. She looked at us, barked and disappeared through a dark hole in the wall of leaves and branches. I pointed toward the hole. “No way I’m going in there,” Josie said.
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。
However, after hesitating for a little while, we finally made a decision.
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Worried but excited, we went home with Lucky and her four little babies.
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We sat on the bus waiting while other passengers piled on. A blond-haired girl, about nineteen years old, took the seat in front of us. The bus driver followed behind her. He demanded her fare.
“You pay $40 or get off the bus!” the driver said.
“I paid already. Yesterday, online,” the girl insisted.
“No, no record of it!” the bus driver pointed to the paper in his hand and waved it in her face. “See. No pay! You pay, or you must get off.” He angrily pointed to the exit door.
“But I don’t have money. And I paid already. Please.”
The bus driver picked up his mobile phone and made a call to find out if there had been an error with the paperwork. After failing to get through, he was getting angrier with the girl. So he cut the call and didn’t try.
“No, you have not paid. You must pay.”
“But please, I don’t have any money on me. I must get to LA today. Please.”
Tears streamed down her face.
I had boarded a bus headed to Los Angeles. I was very excited about experiencing LA. My dream of visiting Disney Land was about to come true. But while I sat there comfortably in my seat, thinking about my next adventure, this young girl was in tears, with a man standing over her, demanding money.
I wasn’t sure what I should do. Was she telling the truth? It wouldn’t be the first time someone had extracted money by telling a sad story that turned out untrue. Did she really not have any money? Maybe the bus driver would show some sympathy and allow her to sort the payment out later?
But no, the bus driver continued to demand she pay $40 or get off the bus. The young girl insisted that she didn’t have enough money for the fare and had no one she could contact for help. It seemed the driver would throw her off the bus.
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, a messy grey-haired woman with a weathered face stood up.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At the next rest stop, I noticed that woman had no money for food.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________14-year-old Joe was a lazy phubber (低头族) who always needed help from his mom for everything. His father, Jack, realized how serious his son’s problem was, so he decided to make some changes.
One day, Joe would be late for school, but he still focused on his phone. He was so concentrated that he had no time to put on his socks and shoes, so his mom helped him.
With everything ready, Joe was waiting for his father to drive him to school as usual. To Joe’s shock, his father should let him go to school on foot instead this time. “What? No! I can’t do it. Please, Dad, give me a ride,” Joe yelled. But Jack insisted, “You’re a big boy now, Joe! Just walk. Get used to it,” he said.
Joe had no way but to walk to school. After what seemed a century, he finally arrived at school, out of breath. Having struggled to move into the classroom, he threw himself on the chair. It was suffering even for a few minutes. How lazy and weak Joe was!
When Joe was having a break, a boy in a wheelchair (轮椅) entered the classroom following Miss Li. The boy was Paul, who was new to the class and happened to live in the same neighborhood as Joe. He moved here with his parents recently after he lost his legs because of an accident. Despite the horrible experience, Paul never gave in to the bad luck, but was always willing to accept challenges with courage, confidence and independence.
New as Paul was in class, he received warm welcome from classmates. Joe failed to make a single friend all these years. Nobody liked him for his laziness. What Paul got that day made him even more upset.
The next day, Jack still refused to drive Joe to school, ignoring his begging. Quite disappointed, Joe had to walk to school again.
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。
On the way to school, Joe met Paul in his wheelchair.
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In the following days, Joe seemed to change into a totally different boy.
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9 . What is the most shocking about the heatwave affecting the Pacific Northwest is not that it has hit a usually mild area, nor that so many long-standing temperature records are being broken. It is that those records are being broken by such large margins (幅度). In Portland, Oregon, temperature reached 46.6℃(116°F) — making it one of several cities in the region where former records have been beaten by a full 5℃(9°F). At the same time, heatwaves are also hitting central Europe and even Siberia.
Heatwaves may become headlines, but less attention is paid to them. In 2018 about 300,000 people over the age of 65 died as a result of extreme heat, mainly in India, a 54% increase since 2000, according to a report in the Lancet, a medical journal. The report also shows that, unlike storms and floods, heat does not lead to dramatic before-and-after pictures or widespread damage to belongings. It is a silent killer. As many as 70,000 people died due to a heatwave in Europe in 2003.
Heat also kills by worsening health conditions such as heart problems, so not all the deaths it causes may be directly attributed (归因) to it. Climate change will make heatwaves more common and more extreme. Even if greenhouse-gas emissions (排放) are cut to zero by the middle of this century, temperatures will go on rising for decades. So other measures are needed to protect people against extreme heat.
Governments can set up early warning systems to alarm health workers, shut down schools and stop outdoor activities. They can provide the public with forecasts of coming heatwaves, explanations of the dangers and detailed advice on what to do. Improved facilities can also help. This includes providing shaded areas, water parks and “misting stations” to help people cool down, and get to airconditioned “cooling centers” where they can find shelter and sleep if necessary.
The world is, undoubtedly, facing a big health challenge right now. There is no excuse for ignoring heatwaves and their effects.
1. What shocks us most about the heatwave in the Pacific Northwest?| A．It has stricken a usually mild area. |
| B．It hits central Europe except Siberia. |
| C．Many temperature records are being broken. |
| D．Many records are being broken by large margins. |
| A．People have paid much attention to heatwaves. |
| B．Heat doesn’t cause widespread damage to belongings. |
| C．The damage of heat is as obvious as storms and floods. |
| D．About 300,000 middle-aged people died from extreme heat. |
| A．Provide some cool places. | B．Build nursing homes. |
| C．Organize outdoor activities. | D．Shelter the homeless. |
| A．Improving Public Facilities | B．Taking Heatwaves Seriously |
| C．Preventing Natural Disasters | D．Reducing Greenhouse-gas Emission |
“Hurry up you guys, or you will be late for school!” called Mom. We went downstairs and had a quick breakfast. I was eating my favorite — very sweet porridge, and Sara was. having eggs. When I rose to have my bowl washed, Mom whispered, “You know you need to be cautious today when you’re walking Sara to school. It’s your job to assure (保证) me she gets there all right.” Then she cast me. a very serious look. I thought to myself, wondering why Mom was making such a big deal out of this. It was Sara’s first day of Kindergarten, but I could manage it. I wish Mom would treat me like an adult.
Then Sara ran out of the house, and I went behind her, skipping down the front walkway to the sidewalk. Along the way, I could feel Mom’s gaze on us.
I grabbed Sara’s hand. “Are you eager and excited for your first day of school?” I asked, trying to sound like a grown-up. Sara smiled and nodded her head yes. Meanwhile, my mom was staring at us through the window. “When will she treat me like an adult?” I thought. “I will show you the way.” I said. I felt proud to be the elder sister. We walked past beautiful gardens and big, leafy trees. Suddenly, I heard a growl (低吼) and saw a dog walking towards us. He was big and fierce looking with long sharp teeth. “GRRRR!!!” the dog barked. I didn’t see its owner or anyone who could help us. My hand became sweaty and Sara stopped walking. “I’m scared, Julie,” she said. I didn’t want her to be scared. I wanted to appear brave. “Everything will be okay,” I said.
“GRRRR!!!” The dog stepped closer and we could see it was the size of a small horse — with red eyes and sharp teeth.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
I was trying to make my voice sound calm.
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I told Mom what had happened.
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