My baby Reese started screaming as we watched my eight-year-old kick and hit while he was tested for his longing-for black belt. I struggled to hold him in my arms as we pushed our way through the crowd to the side of the taekwondo (跆拳道) studio.
I looked up, and that’s when I saw it. There was a woman on a flyer with a bright white smile surrounded by her daughters. “OUR MOM NEEDS A KIDNEY (肾脏),” it said above the photo. “My name is Vonchelle Knight, and I have kidney disease. I am a single mother of two girls and have been on the transplant waitlist for eight years,” it said below.
As I continued to read, I was attracted. My eyes couldn’t get to the next word fast enough. My eyes were filled with tears as I thought about how desperately this mother needed a kidney. And that’s when I felt deep in my gut, “It’s me. I’m going to be her donor.” In the middle of that busy taekwondo studio, I was called on to donate my kidney to a woman whom I had never met.
The drive home was not a typical Saturday kind of drive home. I trembled at the thought of speaking aloud what I was so convinced of just moments before. I glanced over at my husband who was driving.
“Hey, babe?” I asked nervously. “I need to tell you something.”
He looked at me, unsure and a little afraid of what might come out of my mouth next. After all, I do like to keep him on his toes. “Yeah, what is it?” he asked intently.
“I think I want to donate my kidney to a stranger.”
I thought he might drive right off the road. By the look on his face, he clearly thought I had lost my mind, I was a busy mom of two boys, working a full-time job as a sales account manage.
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 husband stood firm against my ridiculous (荒谬的) idea.
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I decided to donate my kidney to Vonchelle and persuaded my husband.
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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.
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Oh! There were only lots of shoes in the trunk!
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