The easy way out isn't always easiest. I learned that lesson when I decided to treat my father to a special meal. I glanced through the cookbook and chose a menu which included homemade bread. Knowing the bread would take time, I started on it as soon as he left for work.
As I was not experienced in cooking, I thought if a dozen was good, two dozen would be better, so I doubled everything. As Dad loved oranges, I also opened a can of orange and poured it all into the bowl. Soon there was sticky dough (面团) covered with ugly yellowish marks. Realizing I had been defeated, I put the dough in the rubbish bin outside so I wouldn't have to face him laughing at my work.
I went on preparing the rest of the meal, and, when Dad got home, we sat down to Cornish chicken with rice. He tried to enjoy the meal but seemed disturbed. Twice he got up and went outside, saying he thought he heard a noise. The third time he left, I went to the windows to see what he was doing.
Looking out, I saw Dad standing about three feet from the rubbish bin, holding the lid up with a stick and looking into the container. When I came out of the house, he dropped the stick and explained that there was something alive in the rubbish bin. Picking up the stick again, he held the lid up enough for me to see. I felt cold. But I stepped closer and looked harder.
Without doubt it was my work. The hot sun had caused the dough to double in size and the. fermenting yeast (酵母) made the surface shake and sigh as though it were breathing. I had to admit what the "living thing" was and why it was there. I don't know who was more embarrassed by the whole thing, Dad or me.
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。
My dad tapped me gently on the shoulder, and we went inside.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At a party three months later, everyone wanted to try my bread.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was 8 o'clock on Sunday. Amy still stayed in bed, listening to the radio. Her mother, Hannah, asked her to switch off the radio and finish her homework, but she didn't listen. Her mother went out of the room with anger.
Next morning, Amy went to school cursing（咒骂）everyone possible for having to go to school. Even in school, Amy had a reputation（名声）of sorts for all the wrong reasons. She slept in class and did not finish her work. In playtime, Amy had to go out and play, but she tried to find an excuse saying that she was tired when someone caught her walking away.
She came home with leftovers in her lunchbox or other complaint almost every day, and that day was also no different.
"Who can help me to change my daughter?" Hannah wondered.
Hannah never believed in raising her voice or raising her arm on Amy or on anyone for that matter. She believed and wished that her love and patience would one day change Amy.
One day a new family moved into Amy's apartment. They were very friendly people. They wanted to acquaint（使…熟悉）themselves with all the neighbors, so their little girl , Mary, was sent all around the neighborhood to find friends. Soon, Mary carne to Amy's home.
It didn't take much time for Mary to understand Amy. However, she was not put off by Amy's behavior. She knew that she needed to help Amy to change. She told Amy an idea that her teacher had once told the class in her previous school. "Blow a balloon whenever you're angry or upset about something or someone.
At first Amy did not listen to Mary, but Hannah tried her best to tell her that it was fun and brought her a pack of balloons.
That day, Amy wanted to play a guessing game with her mother, but Hannah wanted to finish her chores（杂活）in the kitchen first. Amy got angry.
注意
1.续写词数应为150词左右；
2.请按照如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
She remembered what Mary told her and thought she would give it a try.
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Paragraph 2:
Amy is a changed person now.
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My parents and I had been planning my brother's birthday party since the beginning of March. Johnny would be six years old in two days. My mom was going to bake her special chocolate cake with white icing. As I watched her, I thought, Gee, I wondered what I can do to make my brother's birthday special.
I knew my parents had already bought a present for me to give to Johnny, but I wanted to buy him something I had chosen myself and with the money I had saved. After giving it some thought, I wanted to buy him the paintbynumberkit (数字涂色小套装) I had seen at the store around the corner, which I hope must make him delighted.
I decided to empty my coin jar and see how much money I had saved. However, I was disappointed to find there was much less than I had imagined. “Oh, no, I only have about three dollars,” I muttered to myself. The set cost more than I have saved.
Suddenly a “great” idea occurred to me. I slid into my parents' bedroom where my dad kept loose change (零钱) on top of the dresser. I stood on my tiptoes and saw some dime, nickels, and a few quarters. I carefully counted out what I needed to make up the difference. I'm sure Dad won't mind just this once, I thought.
However, I was soon overcome by guilt. Even though there was no one else in the bedroom, I felt like I was being watched. Mom was always telling us about the importance of honesty. Maybe my plan wasn't such a great idea after all, I thought. I jingled the change around in my pocket while wondering what to do.
I grabbed my jacket from the closet and headed toward the door. “Where are you going, honey?” Mom asked, “Oh, just up to the corner store,” I replied. “Well, don't stay out too long. Daddy will be home soon.” “Okay, Mom.” I ran out of our house.
Once I got to the store, I took the paintbynumber kit from the shelf.
“Can I help you, young lady?” the salesclerk asked.
“No. I'm just looking, thank you,” I said.
“That's a really nice paint kit. We sell a lot of them and, as you can see, that's the last one.” she said.
Paragraph 1：I nodded my head in agreement, with my mind racing.
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I would just have to wait until I saved the extra money I needed.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Better to Give than to Receive
When a special occasion arrives, a gift often finds its way to a doorstep or an office desk. But once in a while, a present arrives at an unexpected moment as a reminder that someone is thinking about us.
Wanda Anderson remembers such a gift.
The rosebushes were finally in full bloom that day. Seeing roses always brings to mind Wanda's childhood memories. To this young girl, those flowers were a luxury. "We never had money to buy extra things, so even a tired rose was something to cherish," Wanda said.
Nowadays, to have a backyard filled with many different roses is pure enjoyment. Wanda especially loves the very first blooms. Her husband, Dale, devotedly tends the roses and knows this little fact about his wife. So, on this particular morning, he picked the very first flowers of spring, fresh from the garden, just for Wanda.
But as Dale came back, he was met by a neighbor who had dropped by. As the woman turned to go, Dale graciously (有风度地)handed the roses to her. Even though their visitor insisted she didn't want to take them, she was repeatedly assured that the flowers were hers to keep.
“I told her I was happy for her to keep them, but I really wasn't," Wanda said, recalling the emotions she was feeling right then. Seeing her very precious first blooms go out of the door filled her with regret.
Throughout the rest of the morning, Wanda argued with herself, knowing logically it was “better to give than to receive. Nevertheless, she wished she could have kept the roses for herself.
Later that day, the couple just arrived at the post office, where they were about to park the car.
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。
Then, without warning, a bunch of multi-coloured roses appeared at the car's window.
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For the rest of the day, she was happy and moved.
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注意: 1. 词数80个左右;
2. 开头和结尾已经给出, 不计入总词数。
Dear Lucy,
I am glad to tell you about my favourite poem.
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Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours,
Li Hua
After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. It’s hard to imagine that the other woman was my mother, who has been living alone for 19 years, but I am too busy to visit her often. That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.
“What’s wrong? Are you well?” she asked. My mother always doubts that a late night call is a sign of bad news.
“It would be pleasant to spend some time with you,” I responded.
As I drove over to pick her up, I noticed that she seemed to be nervous about our date. But she smiled from a face that was as beautiful as an angel’s. “I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed,” she said.
We went to a restaurant that was very nice and comfortable. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. I saw mom sitting there looking at me with a smile on her lips.
“I used to have to read the menu when you were small,” she said. “Then it’s time to let me return the favour,” I responded.
During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation-nothing special but catching up on recent events. We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said, “I’ll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.” I agreed.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
When I got home, my wife shared her story about her mom who passed away years ago.
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Several days later, I received my mother’s invitation.
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It was one of the hottest days of the dry season. We had not seen rain in almost a month. The crops were dying. Cows had stopped giving milk. The streams were long gone back into the earth. If we didn't see some rain soon we would lose everything. It was on this day that I learned the true lesson of sharing and witnessed the best miracle I have ever seen in my life.
I was in the kitchen making lunch for the family when I saw my six-year old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. I could only see his back. He wasn't walking with his usual steps. He was obviously walking with great effort... trying to be as still as possible. Minutes after he disappeared into the woods, he came running out again, toward the house. I went back to make sandwiches, thinking that whatever he had been doing was completed. Moments later, however, he was once again walking in that slow purposeful long step toward the woods. This activity went on for over an hour: walking cautiously to the woods, then running back to the house. Finally, my curiosity got the best of me. I crept out of the house and followed him on his journey.
He was cupping both hands in front of him as he walked; being very careful not to spill (溅出) the water he held in them. I stepped close as he went into the woods. Branches and thorns slapped his little face but he did not try to avoid them. He might have a much greater purpose, I thought. As I came closer, I saw the most amazing sight. Several large deer stood in front of him. Billy walked right up to them, at the sight of which I almost screamed for him to get away. A huge buck (雄鹿) was dangerously close. But the buck neither threatened him nor even moved as Billy knelt down. And I saw a baby deer lying on the ground, obviously suffering from heavy loss of water and heat exhaustion, lifting its head with great effort to lap (舔) up the water cupped in my boy's hands.
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:
When the water was gone, Billy jumped up to run back to the house. I followed him back to the tap.
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Paragraph 2:
This time I joined him, with a small pot of water from the kitchen.
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Early one weekend morning, I was sleeping like a log when the telephone rang. When I answered I heard my Grandma’s voice “Hey, sweetheart. I have missed you so much lately. Why don’t you come to the countryside and enjoy some fine views?” she asked. “Dad, Grandma is inviting us to her home,” I shouted to my father who was busy in the kitchen. “Fine with me,” he responded in a casual tone. After a quick breakfast, we drove to Grandma’s.
Once we arrived, we were both thrilled by the breathtaking landscape. The plum trees in the backyard were ripe with fruit, while millions of wildflowers colored the valley. Grandma prepared delicious lunch including her special homemade apple jam, which was my favorite. Seeing my greedy eyes, grandma said “Take some when you leave, and I’ve got plenty stored in the cellar (地窖) .” Talking and laughing, we didn’t even notice that it was late in the afternoon, though somewhat cooler than it had been that morning. Grandma suggested that we take her homemade wooden boat for a tour along the nearby river.
Seated in the boat, looking up at the sky, I felt like the clouds were greeting us cheerfully from above. In the vast fields, the golden trees were like brides in the sun. The breeze skimmed over the surface of the field, carrying the sweet smell of the flowers. It was like a picture painted by one of the Dutch masters. “It is so nice to spend some quality time with family,” Dad murmured. “It feels like we’re on an adventure,” I added. “It’s been so much fun!”
While we were admiring the splendid setting around us, the weather started getting hot and humid again. At first, we ignored this change, but when dad looked up at the sky, he saw dark, low clouds were approaching us. Then a fierce gale (大风) sprang up. Lightning flashed within the black clouds, followed by a roar of thunder. “Row!” Dad shouted, trembling, “A tornado (龙卷风) is coming!”
There was no time to think. We rowed as fast as we could.
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Grandma opened the door for us.
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10 . The World Needs Zoos
ZOOS play an important role in the world for conservation and education. They are particularly important for endangered species. Many animals are critically endangered and may go extinct in the wild, but in zoos, they are going strong. Many others are already extinct in the wild and only survive thanks to populations kept in captivity (圈养). Even those critical of zoos often recognize that it is better to have species preserved somewhere than lose them altogether.
Take the ring-tailed lemur (环尾狐猴) of Madagascar for example. This animal is almost ubiquitous in zoos as they breed well in captivity and the public are fond of them. However, despite their high numbers in collections around the world, they are the most threatened mammalian group on the planet. A recent survey suggests that up to 95 percent of the wild populations have been lost since 2000.
Such trends are not isolated. The giraffe is another very common species in zoos. Unlike the lemurs, giraffes are widespread in the countries across much of sub-Saharan Africa. Yet giraffe populations have gone down by a third in the last thirty years. While less dramatic than the drop in lemur numbers, this is obviously a major loss and again, whole populations (which some scientists think are of unique subspecies) are on the verge of extinction.
There will, I suspect, always be resistance to the argument for keeping animals in captivity and I will not defend the zoos that are bad and in desperate need of improvement or closure.
| A．So we can see many endangered animals living in zoos. |
| B．This is a trend that is only likely to continue. |
| C．This means that the remaining individuals are at serious risk. |
| D．In fact, species that are common can also come under serious threat before people realize it. |
| E．But unfortunately that is not always the case. |
| F．But if we wish to keep any real measure of biodiversity on the planet, we may have to lean on zoos far more than many realize. |
