The Mystery of the “Unfriendly” Neighbor
Every morning, Mai would pass her neighbor’s fence with Chó, a German shepherd. For her, walking by Mr. Groll’s yard was the best part of their morning walk and also the worst. It was the best part because the roses along the way seemed to greet them through their scents, “Good morning, Chó,” “Hello, Mai!”. Then the worst part — the unfriendly shape nearby: Mr. Groll. Every time, Mai would offer a polite greeting to Mr. Groll, and Chó, being friendly, would thump (拍打) her tail. Typically, there was no response. Still, Mai knew he was there, watching behind his fence. He sounded out of breath, and the gate swung nervously in his hand.
“Why does Mr. Groll ignore me?” It remained a mystery to Mai. Was he afraid of her because she was blind? Disabilities sometimes scared grown-ups. Then Mai remembered: the previous day, she heard him playing with her friend Jimmy, who was in a wheelchair.
Maybe Mr. Groll didn’t like Vietnamese (越南的) neighbors. Some folks were said to dislike people from faraway places. No, that couldn’t be it. Every Saturday Mr. Groll and Mai’s big brother, Lien, helped each other with yard work. They were friends.
Well, then, Mai thought: “Maybe he doesn’t like me because I’m a girl.” Then she remembered her friend Jana. Mr. Groll would respond happily to her greeting. Mai’s heart twisted: “Mr. Groll likes Jimmy. And Lien. And Jana. But not me and Chó...”
“Me and Chó!” An idea brightened Mai’s mystery. Maybe she did know why Mr. Groll didn’t talk to her!
“Down,” Mai ordered, letting go of Chó’s harness (拴狗绳). Surprised, Chó flopped to the ground. Mai attached her harness to a post, and felt her way along the fence cautiously.
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；
3. 参考问题（无需作答）。
① Was Mr. Groll a real unfriendly neighbor? If not, how would he show his friendliness to Mai?
② How can you make your writing agree with the fact that Mai is blind?
Paragraph 1: The gate squeaked (嘎吱作响) open. “Mai! Be careful!”
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Paragraph 2: But being scared of dogs wasn’t funny.
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It all began when I moved to Dallasin the fourth grade, and I noticed that I was behind in my reading at School. Reading out loud, I had difficulty with half the sentences. My teacher, Mrs. Agnew, said my reading comprehension and ability to pronounce words was at a lower level than other fourth graders. I was scared every time she called on me to read aloud because, although I would try my hardest, she would always have to help me with the words. Mrs. Agnew suggested to my mother that I be tested for dyslexia (发育性阅读障碍) and seek a cure.
At first I didn’t understand why I was being tested. To be honest, I was in fear of facing failure then. Nervous and confused, I sat waiting in the hospital room, unsure of what Dr. Grady, the doctor who diagnosed developmental dyslexia, was telling my parents about the test results.
However, the final results showed that I did have developmental dyslexia. Knowing it, I froze. I had no idea what to do but stand still. My mother looked at me and said quietly, “Honey, don’t worry, and I’ll be with you all time. Are you going to let the obstacle get in your way? Say NO!”. Eventually, I became determined to struggle against my disability. I started to take speech treatments from doctors and some medical volunteers regularly. Dr. Grady told us to go to the hospital twice a week for treatment and my reading ability will get to normal after three years’ training.
Gradually, I even began to love reading, which I had once hated it so much. Several medical volunteers listened to me patiently and taught me patiently. I was deeply moved. Whenever I saw volunteers in white candy-striped (粉白相间条纹的) medical uniforms passing by me, I had a strong desire to give back by being a volunteer to help those like 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。
The time for retesting finally arrived.
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One day a little girl in a wheelchair asked me to read a book to her.
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注意：
写作词数应为80左右。
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“Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…”
Danny sang while his fingers pressed and pulled skillfully at the guitar strings, delivering a slow and peaceful tune. A circle of audience had formed, nodding and moving slowly to the song.
Lying at the feet of the street performer was his most adoring fan: One-Eyed, a white stray (流浪) dog with pieces of brown. Danny felt the name was suitable considering its physical disability. Usually, One-Eyed would bark loudly as Danny performed. Much to his annoyance, people often mistook the pair as owner and pet. At this time, Danny would reply, “My dog? No!”, eyes rolling at the idea. How he wished the dog would leave him alone instead!
On a snowy night, while Danny was performing, a bird flew downward, landing into the midst of the crowd. It cooed happily as if to harmonize with Danny. Unfortunately, that did not sit well with One-Eyed, which immediately bounced at it and the bird flew away desperately.
The unexpected chaos upturned Danny's hat, which could have been filled with notes and coins from his appreciative audience, leaving it ignored on the ground. "Argh! The hateful dog!” Danny broke down, thinking to himself, “Either the dog goes or I go!”
On the next night, Danny tried to find a new place and chanced upon the park. For a while his earnings were good unsurprisingly as there was a steady flow of visitors. However, that didn't last long. One-Eyed came along and appointed itself as Danny's guardian. "Argh! Here comes the hateful dog again!" That night, Danny hadn't made enough money he should have, all thanks to the troublesome dog.
Danny was almost mad with One-Eyed. “What should I do? Call an animal shelter?” Torn by this problem, he walked aimlessly by the lake of the park. With all his mind focused on how to get rid of the dog, Danny didn't watch his steps. Suddenly, he slipped and fell into the lake accidentally. Struggling in the icy water, he cried for help desperately, almost choking to death. Sensing the approach of death, Danny got into overwhelming panic.
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。
Just then, a familiar barking was heard in the distance.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“My hero! Thank you for saving me,” Danny said gratefully with watery eyes.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I had a problem. Talent Night was coming up, but I had no talents.
Kate can make anything using origami (折纸). Tommy creates breath-taking beats on overturned plastic buckets. Olivia trains her petty dog to do tricks. And those are just my friends. My grade also boasts four dancers, a gymnast, two bakers, a yoga expert, six singers, and five artists, among others.
Every day my teacher asked if I’d decided what to do. And every day I reminded her that I had no talents.
“Nonsense, Benjamin,” she said. “You’ll think of something.”
“I’ll just have to be sick the day of the show,” I announced to my friends one afternoon. “If you get a cold, be sure to cough on me.”
“You must have a talent,” said Kate. “Let’s make a list. What are you good at?”
“Eating,” I answered. “Watching TV.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “Benjamin, be serious.”
“Tormenting (捉弄) my little brother.”
“Are you kidding me?” Kate looked at our friends. “Come on, guys. What are Benjamin’s talents?”
“He’s good with dogs,” said Olivia. “My dog adores him.”
“Oh, great,” I said. “I can sit on the stage while he licks my face. Benjamin Belinski, Human Dog Toy.”
“Benjamin’s funny and humorous,” said Tommy. He turned to me. “You could do a comedy routine.”
“Yeah. Every joke could be about how I have no talents,” I said.
“Benjamin,” said Kate, “maybe you don’t know how to juggle (变戏法), but your birthday parties are the best.”
“Yeah,” agreed Olivia, “and you always get us together to do stuff. Like having game nights or riding bikes after school—or when we held that yard sale. The week you had the flu we didn’t do anything fun.”
“You’re like the glue that holds us together,” added Tommy.
“Oh, great,” I said. “Benjamin Belinski, Human Glue Gun.”
But their comments got me thinking. Lying in bed that night, I came up with a plan so exciting that it took me two hours to fall asleep.
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。
In the morning, I couldn’t wait to tell my teacher.
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On the night of the big event, I felt so nervous that I had to force myself to eat dinner.
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“There’s our guide,” I said to the bus driver. He stopped and opened the door to let me off. “You must be Becky.” she said.”My name is Anne.”
As the tour director for a group of forty-three. I quickly confirmed with Anne the sites we would like to see during the next four hours: the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the White House.Most importantly, we discussed when and where to let everyone have a break. It was not a simple matter for so many people. Then we climbed aboard to begin our tour of Washington D.C..
After introducing Anne to the busload of waiting tourists, I handed the microphone to her and made my way toward the last seat. The conversation with a guide usually ended there since she stayed busy engaging guests. My job was to ensure nobody got lost. But on that day, we managed a brief chat in the shade of a tree by the lawn.
“Where are you from?” Anne asked.” Alabama. Are you from Washington.D.C.?” “Well, I live here now, but I was born in Ohio,”she said.“ I was born in Ohio, too.” “Where did you grow up?” she asked in surprise. “ Middletown,” I answered. “Me too!”“Why did you leave home and come here?” I asked. “My father is an orthopedic(骨科的)doctor and he came here for further study……” “An orthopedic doctor? Sorry to interrupt you, but what’s your father’s name?”I felt like I couldn’t breathe at the moment. “Edward Cooper,” she answered. “ Mr.Cooper! My doctor’s name was Edward Cooper,”I said. “That’s really my dad!”Anne exclaimed.
My parents had told me a story. I was born without the left arm, and my left leg turned inward. Then an orthopedic doctor placed a cast from my hip to my tiny toes magically. Thankfully, my leg straightened out and grew strong. By ten months, I could take my first steps.
Paragraph 1:
At the time of the joy, however, my parents dreaded the final bill for the months of orthopedic care.
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Paragraph2:
The doctor who showed such great kindness to my family was Anne’s father.
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Would You Like a Cup of Tea?
The year when I turned 30, my friend Erin and I hiked part of Newfoundland's East Coast Trail-215 kilometers between Cappahayden and St. John's. There was one take-home I didn't expect: proof of the surprising kindness of strangers.
As a shy woman growing up in the danger of strangers, I'm not one to open up to anyone I don't know. But on that hike, I learned new ways to manage.
Over our first two days, we covered less than 30 kilometers, mostly in the rain. Then the rain changed into a downpour. Nothing dried overnight and everything was wet through. The trails were rugged, with deep muddy puddles. We struggled with every step.
As we emerged from one trail, looking like cats in the rain, a woman and her parents caught sight of us and took pity. "Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?" the woman asked. A brief break from the weather, a warm tea, chairs to sit on—it was all too good to pass up. We hurried to their cottage, and then learned more about our hostess—Jenny. Tea turned into an offer of a shower; the hot shower turned into an offer of a hot meal. After the meal, our boots and clothes were dried out over the oven. We sat on couches, listening to the radio, looking through magazines and talking casually and happily.
The rain stopped. We waved a reluctant goodbye and continued the rest hilly road with new energy.
注意：1. 续写的词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Back at home, I telephoned and told Jenny we'd made it.
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I knew that the trip would change me.
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Winter break was approaching, and all Scott wanted to do was go snowboarding. Unfortunately, Scott's parents had different plans. They had booked a weeklong tropical cruise (热带船游). Scott hated warm weather and asked if he could just stay at his best friend's house so he could snowboard every day at the local mountain. His parents didn't want to hear anything of it. He kept debating them about the topic, but they would not change their minds. Family time was important to them, and it was tradition that they spend winter break together.
The week of the cruise arrived, and Scott continued to mumble (咕哝) his complaints as he and his family left their house to head south. Scott's dad told him that he would only make the vacation worse for himself if he didn't change his attitude and open his mind to a new experience. Scott still couldn't stop thinking about all of the snow he was leaving behind.
When they arrived at the port to board the ship, Scott had a hard time admitting that he was actually impressed with the size of the ship. He had seen the brochures but seeing the ship in person was a whole different animal. Then he remembered that the brochure said something about a surfing pool. Maybe surfing would be somewhat like snowboarding. After all, it involved riding a board.
Scott climbed aboard the ship with his parents, and then they walked around to check everything out. He couldn't believe how fancy the accommodations were. The dining room looked like a royal hall; the game room had all of his favorite games; the ship's deck (甲板) had several different swimming pools for different purposes. Then Scott saw the surfing pool. It was incredible. It wasn't a big pool, but it had big waves, and the young man who was demonstrating how to ride the waves made it look like a ton of fun.
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。
Scott asked his parents if he could try surfing.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Gradually, Scott began to love the cruise.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Willie' s aunt sent him for a birthday present a little writing book. There was a place in the book for a pencil. Willie thought a great deal of this little book, and always kept it in his pocket.
One day, his mother was very busy, and he called his dog, and said, “Come, Caper, let us have a play." When Willie' s mother missed him, she went to the door and looked out, and could not see him anywhere； but she knew that Caper was with him, and thought they would come back before long. She waited an hour, and still they did not come. When she came to the gate by the road, she met Mr. Lee, Willie's father, and told him how long Willie had been gone. Mr. Lee thought he must have gone to sleep under the trees. So they went to all the trees under which Willie was in the habit of playing, but he was not here to be found. By this time the sun had gone down the news that Willie was lost soon spread over the neighborhood, and all the men and women turned out to hunt. They hunted all night. The next morning the neighbors were gathered round, and all were trying to think what to do next, when Caper came bounding into the room.
There was a string tied round his neck, and a bit of paper tied to it. Mr. Lee, took the paper, and saw that it was a letter from Willie, He read it aloud. It said, "0, father! Come to me. I am in the big hole in the pasture (牧场)."
Everybody ran at once to the far corner of the pasture； and there was Willie, alive and well in the shaft (通风井). Oh, how glad he was when his father caught him in his arms, and lifted him out!
Now I will tell you how Willie came to be in the shaft and the whole story. He and Caper went to the pasture field, and came to the edge of the shaft and sat down. In bending over to see how deep it was, he lost his balance and fell in.
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。
He tried very hard to get out, but could not.
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When he awoke, it was morning, and he began to think of a way to get out.
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1. 保持身心健康的重要性；
2. 结合自身实际提出你的建议。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数；
3. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! I’m glad to stand here to make a speech. My topic is
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That’s all. Thank you!
