Some kids play sports, some love attending parties and others are computer masters. Me? I have the spelling bee (拼词比赛).
The bee is my World Cup. I trained every day as soon as I returned home after school, the dictionary pages dancing softly in the light wind. I built up my muscle (once I spelled it m-u-s-u-1-e… so embarrassing!) carrying around my friend Oxford dictionary. I laughed in the face of difficult words in the spelling test. For example, “Serendipitous”. Please. That was so fourth grade.
As soon as I opened my eyes on Friday morning, I felt the hairs on my arm stood up. I looked at my alarm clock—it was only 6:27. I usually woke up at 7:01, which meant I had an extra thirty-four minutes to study before going to school to attend today’s spelling bee contest. My stomach felt like it was filled with a flock of flamingos (火烈鸟) dancing a fandango (f-a-n-d-a-n-g-o-h, I spelled wrongly a month ago). To calm down, I reminded myself that I was one of the best spellers in my class. Even though I was not ambitious enough to want to go to the National Spelling Bee—I just wanted to win the bee at our school. I could beat my arch-enemy (死敌), Nathan.
Nathan thought he was a better speller than me, but he didn’t even study words. He just read tons of huge science and math books. I could say safely that Nathan and I had nothing in common except being good spellers, but since he was a good speller without even trying, it didn’t count. I bet if you gave Nathan a literature word like “denouement” (it took me FOREVER to remember that one), he’d be out on the first round.
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。
I went downstairs, only to find Dad was already up, reading a newspaper.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Finally came the contest.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Our animal rescue volunteers set up a shelter in a town in reaction to floods there. While out looking for animals left behind, we met a man who had a dog, which he had no intention (意图，打算) of taking with him when he finally left. When we offered to shelter his dog, he said, “Alright!”
Soon, he went into his tiny house’s backyard, returned with the dog and put it into our truck. Amy, one volunteer, asked what the dog’s name was. “He doesn’t have one,” the man said and left, without saying goodbye.
We returned to the shelter. After reaching there, the nameless dog sat still in the truck. When we put him on the ground, he just lay there, remaining still.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. Amy replied that maybe the dog was timid (胆怯的) because of his owner’s long-term neglect (疏于照管). She determined to help the dog and named him Albert.
After that day, Amy often carried the sixty-pound dog around the shelter, since he still refused to stand up or walk. At night, Albert lay next to Amy’s bed. Luckily, six days later, Albert never stopped moving, always keeping up with Amy. Wherever she went, Albert would be no more than two steps behind her.
I began to notice, though, that Albert still didn’t have the energy of an eighteen-month-old dog. Later, a doctor found he had heartworm disease (心丝虫病), a deadly disease.
I called Albert’s owner. When I told him that Albert had heartworm disease and that it would cost at least $300 to treat him, I expected he’d say, “I don’t have the money, so you keep the dog.” But I was wrong. He wanted Albert back.
“If he isn’t immediately treated, he’ll die,” I said. “Yeah. I understand. That’s what happened to all my dogs. Although I don’t have enough money to treat him, I can’t let you pay the fee. I’ll be out shortly to pick up (接) my dog,” the man replied coldly and hung up.
In the distance, I saw Amy and Albert playing games.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150词左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
“How am I going to tell Amy we have to give Albert back?” I whispered.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________While he walked to Albert, I shouted, “Wait! Could I buy that dog from you?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was a single parent of four small children, working at a low-paid job. Money was always tight, but we had a roof overheads, food on the table, clothes on our backs, and if not a lot, always enough. Not knowing we were poor, my kids just thought was serious. I have always been glad about it.
It was Christmastime, and although there wasn’t money for a lot of gifts, we planned to celebrate with a family party. But the big excitement for the kids was the fun of Christmas shopping.
They planned weeks ahead of time, asking each other what they wanted for Christmas. Fortunately. I had saved $120 for presents to share by all five of us.
The big day arrived. I gave each kid a twenty dollar bill and reminded them to look for gifts of about four dollars each. Then everyone scattered (散开). We had two hours to shop; then we would meet back at the gate,
On the way home, everyone was in high Christmas spirits, except my younger daughter Ginger who was unusually quiet. She had only one small, flat bag with a few candies—fifty-cent candies. I was so angry, but I controlled myself and didn’t say anything until we got home. I called her into my bedroom and closed the door, ready to be angry again. This was what she told me:
“I was looking around thinking of what to buy, and l stopped to read the little cards on the ‘Giving Trees’. One was for a little girl, four years old, and all she wanted for Christmas was a doll. So I took the card off the tree and bought the doll for her. We have so much but she doesn’t have anything.” I felt so proud of my younger daughter.
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 gathered the other kids and shared with them what Ginger had done.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________We walked excitedly to the nearby children’s hospital.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Katie was jumping rope on the lawn in front of her home. It was a nice day, the sun was shining warmly, and she had all the time in the world to enjoy her jumping. She felt happy. Her thoughts were focused on her jumping: how to match the spinning of the rope in her hands and the jumping of her feet so they didn’t get tangled(缠结), causing her to fall. When her mind and muscles were working together, when everything flowed smoothly, it felt pretty good.
As she jumped, she remembered that her grandmother had given her the rope for Christmas. She knew that her grandmother didn’t have a lot of money and had to save up to buy the jump rope. Before Christmas, her grandmother had taken her to some toy shops to look at different things, hoping to subtly find out what Katie wanted. When Katie got not just a jump rope but the very jump rope she really wanted, she felt especially loved by her grandmother.
As she skipped, a boy rushed across the road. He ripped her special jump rope from her hands, shouting, “Give me that” and raced back across the road toward the park. “What a horrible boy,” thought Katie. At first she was shocked and upset; but when she thought, “He has stolen the jump rope my grandma gave me for Christmas”, she became very angry. Then, thinking she had lost her jump rope forever, she felt sad and found tears welling up in her eyes.
Driven by a mix of emotions, Katie chased after the boy and her heart was heavy with the loss of her treasured gift. However, as she pursued the boy, a scene unfolded (打开) before her eyes—a younger child had fallen into a nearby pond, struggling and in need of help. In that moment, Katie’s focus shifted from her stolen jump rope to the urgent need to assist the distressed child. Then she saw the boy ran to this kid hurriedly.
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。Paragraph 1：
The boy had thrown an end of her jump rope out for the child to grab.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2：
Thinking that it was nice of him to apologize and return the rope, Katie felt grateful.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I sat in the breakfast corner with my four-year-old son, Matthew, trying to ignore the ache in my stomach. I was still recovering from a surgery. I hoped for strength and happiness. But the future seemed so hopeless.
Matthew jumped up from his spot on the kitchen floor. “Bird!” he shouted, rushing to the sliding door. Sure enough, there was a white dove seated on a rubber tree. It sat there a few moments, and then flew away. I’d never seen one in our neighborhood before.
When I dragged myself to the kitchen the next morning, the dove was back. This time it was with a mate carrying twigs (嫩枝), “Look, Matthew,” I said, pointing to the tree. “They’re going to make a nest.” The doves flew in and out of the courtyard all week, building on the top of the rubber tree. Matthew could hardly contain his excitement. Every morning, he’d run into the kitchen and take his spot by the sliding glass door, talking to the birds while they worked. As much as I was grieving (感到悲伤), I couldn’t help but look forward to the doves’ visits too. We watched their progress as if it were a real-life soap opera unfolding before us. Gradually, my pain disappeared, replaced by joy.
Then it all went wrong. The courtyard was a safe enough spot for a nest, but the rubber tree’s broad, thin leaves were far from stable. One night, a strong wind blew through, throwing the doves’ nest to the ground. I heard the twigs break apart. Nothing good ever lasts. I wouldn’t blame the doves if they never came back. But they returned. And they paid no attention to the pi le of sticks that had once been their nest. They started again from scratch, though the wind destroyed all their hard work. The next day, and the next, they renewed their efforts, as if nothing had happened.
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。
Paragraph 1: I knew I had to do something for the poor creatures.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:“The birds were back!” Matthew announced.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“The package is from Uncle Aaron in Scotland,” Rylee told her father. Her uncle travelled a lot on business, so Rylee seldom got to see him. Her father’s only response was to raise an eyebrow (眉毛).
Rylee opened the box. She pulled out a large necklace (项链). One side of the necklace had a symbol of circles. It looked like writing on the other side, but Rylee did not understand what the words meant.
The box also had a letter from her uncle. He explained how he had found the necklace at a curious little shop. He described how the elderly storekeeper had told him that the necklace had special powers and warned him to be careful with it.
Her uncle ended the letter with “BE CAREFUL!!!” in big letters and a “laughing” emoji (表情符号). He did not seem to take the storekeeper’s warnings seriously. “Let me wear it to school today, Dad,” Rylee said. “Maybe it will bring me luck on my history test.” “Good grades come from studying, not from luck,” Dad said. “I did study, but everyone thinks this will be a hard test.” Rylee put her fingers around the necklace she still held, “I wish you’d let me wear it.” “Yes, you can wear it today.” That made Rylee stop to wonder, because her dad had never given in that fast before.
At school, Rylee heard a group of kids talking. Some said her necklace looked ugly, while others thought it silly to believe in good luck necklaces. She wished her classmates thought the necklace was as cool as she did. Without warning, all eyes turned to Rylee and her necklace. Students began to push to get a closer look. Everyone seemed to talk at once, telling her how cool it looked. All Rylee’s friends wanted to borrow her lucky necklace. That made Rylee stop to wonder why everyone changed their minds so fast.
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。
Sitting at her desk, Rylee watched the teacher pass out their tests.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Rylee looked down at her test and found that her score was one hundred percent.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A third-grade class knows exactly what will brighten an older neighbor's holiday meal — and it isn't a roast turkey. In October, I told the eight-year-olds I taught in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, about my Thanksgiving plan. "I'd like all of you to do extra jobs around the house to earn some money," I said. "Then we'll buy food for a Thanksgiving dinner for someone who might not have a nice dinner otherwise."
I wanted the children to experience that it's more blessed to give than to receive. I wanted them to understand that love of society and love of life is not just lip service; that people somehow have to make it come alive.
Early in Thanksgiving week, the boys and the girls arrived in class with their hard-earned pocket money and couldn't wait to go shopping. After pacing up and down in the supermarket, we put a turkey and decorations in the shopping cart (购物车). At last we headed toward the checkout, and then someone found a "necessity" — flowers. It was more reasonable to use any extra money to buy food. I pronounced, "You can't eat flowers." "But Mrs. Sherlock," the group replied, "we want flowers." I was defeated, and the children put a bunch of pink roses into the cart.
An organization had given us the name and address of Maria, a needy grandmother who had lived alone for many years. Soon we were driving along a rough road to her house. We finally pulled up in front of a small house in the woods. A thin woman with a tired face came to the door to welcome us.
My little group hurried to get the food. As each box was carried in, the old woman kept saying "Thanks" — much to the visitors' pleasure. When kids put the pink roses on the table, the woman seemed surprised. "She was wishing it was a bag of flour (面粉)", I thought. Having talked for a while, we returned to the car.
注意：1.续写词数应为150字左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
As we fastened (系上) our seat belts, we could see the kitchen window.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Upon seeing the moving scene, the children became quiet.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jenny was the only child in her family. She had a quarrel (吵架) with her mother that afternoon and she ran out of the house angrily. She couldn’t help weeping sorrowfully when she thought of the scolding from her mother. Having wandered aimlessly in the street for hours, she felt a little hungry and wished for something to eat. She stood beside a stand (货摊) for a while, watching the middle-aged seller busy doing his business. However, with no money in hand, she gave a sigh and had to leave.
The seller behind the stand noticed the young girl and asked, “Hey, girl, you want to have the noodles?”
“Oh, yes, but I don’t have money on me.” she replied.
“That’s nothing. I’ll treat you today,” said the man, “Come in.”
The seller brought her a bowl of noodles, whose smell was so attractive. As she was eating, Jenny cried silently.
“What is it?” asked the man kindly.
“Nothing. Actually, I was just touched by your kindness!” said Jenny as she wiped her tears. “Even a stranger on the street will give me a bowl of noodles, while my mother drove me out of the house. She showed no care for me. She is so merciless compared to a stranger!”
Hearing the words, the seller smiled, “Girl, do you really think so? I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you thanked me a lot. But it is your mother who has raised you since you were a baby. Can you remember the times she cooked for you? Have you expressed your gratitude to her?”
Jenny sat there, speechless and numb with shock: she remembered her mother’s familiar face and weathered hands. “Why didn’t I think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel grateful. Why haven’t I thanked my mum for what she has done for me?”
On the way home. Jenny made up her mind to make an apology to her mother for her rudeness as soon as she arrived home.
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，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Nearing the doorway, Jenny took a deep breath.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At that time, her mother came back and touched her hair gently, which called her mind back.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Every Sunday, June, a six-year-old girl, tied her sports shoes and walked to Grandpa’s house. Grandpa lived around the block(街区), and June was allowed to walk there by herself. Grandpa often told her stories. They also ate ice cream together while they talked. Sunday was June’s favorite day.
This Sunday, June got dressed. She put on one sports shoe, but she could not find the other shoe. “Mommy, where’s my shoe?”
“I’m sure it’s in your room. Look carefully until you find it. You can’t go until you have both shoes on,” June’s mother said.
June sat on her bed and looked around. Her room was quite messy. There were clothes on the floor and papers on the desk. She wasn’t sure where to start.
Then June remembered a story Grandpa told her. When he was little, he lost a coin that he planned to use to buy his mother a candy. He walked back over every place he had been to that day until he found it. He had to go in order so he wouldn’t miss anything.
June stood up. “I’ll start in the corner and go around the room in order,” she thought. “That way I won’t miss anything.”
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。
June began in the corner where her desk was.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________June quickly put on her shoe and ran out of the door to Grandpa’s house.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________On the weekend, I went shopping and after walking around for a while, I felt tired so I decided to get a cup of coffee. As I was making my way to the coffee shop, I noticed an older gentleman rather poorly dressed sitting on a bench nearby. I knew from first sight that he was in need of some kind of help. He had a little lunch put in front of him and was wholeheartedly enjoying it. It was also rather clear that he had a problem with his right eye and probably couldn’t see out of it. I wasn’t thinking about it any more, and then joined the line, waiting to be served.
Then it happened---one of the most beautiful gestures I have ever seen in my life.
There was a young man in front of me in the line who was also waiting to be served. As the young man approached the counter to place his order, he noticed the older gentleman sitting on the bench nearby. Without hesitation, he turned back to the cashier and asked if they could provide a free cup of tea for the elderly man. The cashier was surprised by his sudden request, hesitating for a moment and nodding in agreement.
The young man then went on to pay for not only his own drink but also another one, which he handed to the older gentleman with a warm smile. The older man looked up, surprised and grateful, as the young man sat down beside him on the bench. They began to chat, and I couldn’t help but feel touched by this simple act of kindness.
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。
As I received my tea, I decided to join them.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
As we continued to talk, more people heard about it.
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