Larry had butterflies in his stomach. Today was the day for him to meet his girlfriend Kate’s parents. He was planning to leave them a good impression, so he was in his finest suit. On the way, he secretly recited a few jokes he picked up online the previous night. His weird behavior caught Kate’s attention.
“What are you doing, honey?” she asked. Blushing, Larry told her what he was doing. She, on the other hand, actually found his eagerness to please her family quite cute. “Well, let’s hear your jokes.” she said teasingly.
They were so immersed in their chatter and laughter that before they knew it, they had arrived at the house of Kate’s parents, who gave them a warm welcome. As an orphan, that night, Larry felt the love and warmth he had always longed for since childhood.
The next day, they drove downtown to pick their engagement ring. Everything was working out just perfectly. However, on their way home, a truck driven by a drunk driver smashed into their car, sending it flying off the roadside down a steep hill before it got stuck between several trees.
Larry struggled out of his seat to save the then unconscious Kate. As he made every effort to wake her up, the car began to slip down again. With only seconds to act, he hastily removed her seat belt and pushed her out of the car before it fell downhill again with him trapped inside.
A rescue team finally arrived and drove them to a nearby hospital. Under the doctors’ treatment, Kate woke up the next day. She was only slightly injured, but Larry remained unconscious due to severe damage done to his brain caused by the heavy impact.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右了；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Para 1: The doctors were afraid Larry might never wake up again.
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Para 2: Larry told Kate to leave him and find someone else.
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Two months to save my girl’s life
As my feet pounded the pavement, sweat dripped down my forehead and back. “Just a little bit further,” I told myself, determined to push forward. Though I’d never been much of a runner, I had a crucial motivation to save my little girl, Bridie. Born in January 2017, she had beautiful big blue eyes. But shortly after her arrival, doctors pointed out that her head was measuring quite large. Within days, she was diagnosed with sagittal craniosynostosis. Doctors explained that she’d need surgery. They also noticed that her limbs and fingers were measuring quite short, so Bridie went through genetic testing to find out why. When the results came back, my wife and I met with the specialist. “Bridie has Mainzer-Saldino syndrome,” he said. He also revealed the rare condition would cause reinal (视网膜的) degeneration, meaning she could go blind and develop kidney (肾) disease.
So, when Bridie fell ill in 2019 with common flu, it caused a loss to her little body. Sadly, the medications she needed to help her recover weakened her kidneys even further. By December that year, her specialist revealed they were only functioning at 30 percent. “If it gets any worse, she will need to start dialysis (透析),” he admitted, adding that a transplant might be required sooner than we first thought.
It broke my heart, and I knew I had to step up to help save my girl. So I volunteered to give her one of my kidneys right away. After undergoing multiple tests, I was declared a match. But there were still several barriers I had to overcome before I had the all-clear to donate.
“You’ll have to lose 15 kilos before we consider you fit to transplant,” the specialist told me in June. He gave me two months to get into shape. At 96.5 kilos, I wasn’t overweight, but I needed to lower my BMI to be fit for the surgery.
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。
I was determined to do whatever it took to save my little girl.
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In November, the big day finally arrived.
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It was six o'clock when Breanna heard her mother’s phone receive a text message as it’s at on the kitchen bench. “Mum, I bet it’s Dad!” Breanna said and jumped up from the sofa, books spilling out in front of her. She had been deciding which story her dad would read in one of his funny voices for the night. Breanna’s mum rubbed her temples (太阳穴) and sighed softly. “Honey, would you mind seeing if that’s Daddy? I’ve got a bad headache but I want to start cooking a lovely meal for us to enjoy tonight.”
“Sure, mum,” Breanna skipped into the kitchen to check the phone. Her dad had been away for two whole nights working on a malfunction (故障) at his company’s warehouse that was at risk of theft. Breanna felt sure he’d been able to act like a superhero and save the day — but did it have to take so long? She picked up the phone and read the message, “Just leaving now — can’t wait to see you both.” Breanna confirmed excitedly, “It’s from Daddy! He’s on his way home!”
Her mother managed a weak smile as her daughter clapped her hands with joy. It had been four months since she’d lost her job and with only one income to support the family. Her husband had taken on as many shifts and extra duties as he could to make ends meet. Times were tough and he was working long hours, but it made the time Breanna spent with her daddy even more special. “Oh, that’s wonderful news. Now let’s see what I can find to eat,” her mother rose painfully from the sofa and added.
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。
“Great! Mum’s got a bad headache but I’m going to help her cook dinner. See you soon!” Breanna sent her dad a quick reply.
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Another message from her father drew Breanna’s attention.
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