One day, when I just attended high school. I saw a kid from my class walking home from school, whose name was Steve. It seemed he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself: “Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a bookworm (书呆子).”
As I was walking, I saw a number of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and throwing him flat in the dirt. His glasses went flying and landed in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I noticed this terrible sadness in his eyes. So, I went up to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw tears in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, he said, “Thanks!” There appeared a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. We talked all the way home, and I carried his books. He turned out a pretty cool kid. The more I got to know Steve, the more I liked him.
During next four years, Steve and I became the best friends. When we were seniors, he had the highest marks in the class and got chosen to give a speech at the graduation ceremony. I made fun of him all the time about being a bookworm. He had to prepare a lot, and I was so glad it wasn't I who had to get up there and speak.
On the graduation day, I saw Steve. I said, “Hey, pal, you'll be great!” He just looked at me with one of those looks, the really grateful one, and said “Thanks!”, smiling.
When he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. “Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those rough years. Your parents, your teachers, your brothers or sisters, maybe a coach. . . but mostly, your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best present you can give him or her. I am going to tell you a story.”
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，每段的开头已为你写好。
Paragraph 1
I just looked at my best friend with disbelief as he talked about the first day we met.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2
I smiled back in tears.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
My parents love the saying “If at first you don't succeed, try, try again" so much that they even bought a pillow with those words on it. But I was recently in a situation where I was SO ready to give up.
It started last week when my friend Ollie and I were helping his grandmother Mary to carry boxes from her garage to her car for the homeless shelter rummage sale (义卖).
At the sight of a big old trunk (行李箱)，we asked Mary what was inside. But she told us that as she had lost the key, she had to find a master locksmith to figure it out. "Let me have a try!" said Ollie. “I bet I can open that lock in two minutes flat! Maybe there's a treasure inside, like gold or diamonds or an ancient map!"
Mary smiled. "I'll tell you what. If you two treasure hunters can open this trunk, you can have it, along with whatever is inside."
Ollie got a tool kit and we set out to open the lock. But he definitely lost that bet. Those two minutes turned into two hours, with no luck at all. We had tried every tool in the kit, but the lock wouldn't move slightly.
“It's no use." Ollie sighed. "I guess we have to give up."
“But we can't give up!" I said. "What about 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again"?"
Ollie shook his head. "Unless you know a magical key fairy, we're never getting this unlocked."
Just then, my little brother Tex showed up. He showed great interest in the trunk. "It looks like an upside-down boat! Can I turn it over and pretend I'm sailing in the ocean?"
"Sure," Ollie replied. "It's no good for anything else."
“Ahoy!" Tex said, climbing on top after Ollie and I turned it over. “I’m the captain!” He giggled as he jumped up and down. And right then, a screw (螺丝) from a hinge (铰链) came loose and rolled to the floor.
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。
“That's it! I know how to open it!" said Ollie.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Oh! There were only lots of shoes in the trunk!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3 . How to Feel Connected
It's easy to feel disconnected from what is going on around you in today's fast-paced world.
Consider why you feel disconnected. Knowing what is making you feel disconnected can help you choose the best ways to address it.
Interact with people in person. Technology is a great way to stay in touch, but sometimes you need to spend time with other people in person.
Your loved ones could feel shy, so you may never know how to improve your relationship unless you ask the right questions. Asking them to open the doors can give you some insight on what you can do. Learning this information can help to strengthen your bond.
Show your commitment to them. Simply showing up and being there for your loved ones says a lot about how much you value your relationships. Putting in the time shows them that you are committed and want to stay connected.
Show appreciation. A simple “thank you” goes a very long way. Unfortunately, it is something that people who are close often take for granted. Telling someone you appreciate their time, love, and efforts can strengthen your bond and help you to become more connected.
| A．Ask others what they need from you. |
| B．Sometimes you can feel isolated and distant from the ones you love. |
| C．Be brave to express your love. |
| D．Reach out to people to schedule a time to get together. |
| E．Attending family events, or simply visiting someone once a week can help to strengthen your relationship and keep it strong. |
| F．Targeting your efforts toward those issues allows you to close that distance more effectively. |
| G．You can have a gift delivered to friends on special occasions. |
The story between Mr. Jordan and me was the most amazing story I wanted to share. Mr. Jordan was one of the teachers who I would never forget.
When I was young at school, I loved talking, a characteristic not always appreciated by Mr. Jordan, my 10-grade English teacher.
Mr. Jordan was a teacher whom no one liked because he was too strict. He stood about 5-foot-five, was very thin and wore his hair pulled back in a way that gave him a horsy look. He wore those half-circular reading glasses. Whenever he got upset, he would lower his head and look at you over the top of his glasses.
One day in his class I was busy talking. I didn’t realize he had stopped teaching and staring straight at me. “Sam, I would like to see you after school.”
Later Mr. Jordan explained in a low, but very firm voice that showed he expected me to listen when he was talking. For punishment he told me to write a thousand-word essay on education and its effect on the society. He wanted it in by the following Wednesday.
Well, I met my deadline. I was confident. It was a good paper. And I expected a sign of approval from him. The next day in class, however, he was looking at me over his glasses. He called me forward and returned my paper. “Go back and rewrite，” he said. “Remember, each paragraph is supported to begin with a topic sentence.” When he gave my paper back a second time, he corrected the grammar. The third time, the spelling. The fourth time, it was punctuation. The fifth, it wasn’t neat enough. I was sick!
The sixth time, I rewrote the whole paper slowly in ink, leaving generous space. When he saw it, he removed his glasses and smiled. He firmly accepted the paper. After that, I put the whole thing out of my mind.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
Paragraph 1:
One day after two weeks, Mr. Jordan came into the class and said，
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
I was amazed, thrilled and grateful.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
