My mum died on a cold and rainy December morning. The dark clouds and constant light rain over her Cape Cod neighbourhood fit our sadness as my brothers and sisters and I arranged with the local funeral (葬礼) home for Mum’s last departure from her beloved house on the edge of the river.
All five of us were there, having been alerted (警觉) earlier that week. As soon as we had gotten “The Call”, we had immediately flown or driven from our homes in California, Florida, Georgia and New York to the house by the river.
As I joined my brothers and sisters at the house on the Cape, I felt oddly peaceful. Though I was afraid to lose my mother, I wasn’t anxious about the process. I knew that Mum had prepared well for her death. All we had to do was be present for her and each other during this final stage. She had done everything else.
Mum was a born teacher and a natural organizer. When she had received the diagnosis (诊断) of incurable cancer that September, she had planned her death as practically as she had planned her busy life as a wife, mother and professional.
Mum did think fondly of her neighbours and friends. Even though she had declined to share her remaining time with them, she wanted to acknowledge their friendly care and express her lasting affection for them. So Mum had asked my older sister to purchase, on her behalf, a case of wine. The small bottles were to be decorated with ribbons (缎带) and delivered by us in person, after Mum’s death, to those neighbours who had been her favourite local companions.
Accordingly, in the early afternoon, as the cold morning rain gave way to a watery blue sky, all five of us set out to walk through the neighbourhood together, braving the cold air. Taking turns carrying the heavy boxes, we visited every house. Together, we carried the news of her death, that final gift of beribboned bottles, and her instruction to her friends: “Please use this Champagne to toast to our friendship.”
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。
We hugged, and cried, and laughed, with neighbour after neighbour.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As the five of us returned to the house, we saw, against the backdrop of the grey sky, a breathtakingly beautiful rainbow.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I was seven years old, my family moved from Mexico to America. In Mexico, I was a cheerful girl who loved making people laugh with my jokes and inventing fun games to play with my friends. However, when I arrived in America, I found it hard to fit in, and I became quieter.
We lived in a small house with a modest yard where we grew vegetables—my responsibility. While I took pride in watching them grow, there were times when I dreamed of having a beautiful garden like my schoolmate Luella’s, with its delicate tulips (郁金香). Although Luella lived in the same neighborhood as me, we barely knew each other.
It was after a tornado that Luella and I finally became close friends.
The tornado struck on a Sunday afternoon.The gentle breeze transformed into a strong wind, and thick gray clouds filled the sky. Gradually, the tornado took shape, starting as a thin rope and growing into a large black funnel (漏斗). My entire family gathered in the bathroom, seeking shelter from the storm. Terrified, I sat close to my mom, knees in my chest. After the storm had passed, our worries and fears were replaced by relief that we were unharmed and that our house had remained undamaged.
As I stepped outside, I witnessed the extent of the damage the tornado had caused to our neighborhood. Across the street, a tall tree had fallen, crushing Luella’s garden in front of her yellow house. We hurried over to check on it. Fortunately, her family seemed to be away at the time, and no one was injured. However, her once-beautiful garden was in ruins, with the fallen tree destroying the tulips and debris (碎片) spread everywhere. I could only imagine how heartbroken they must feel seeing this.
Then my mom’s usual words rang in my ear, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” and my family started to think about how we could help.
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 at that moment, Luella’s family returned in their car.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Even after the debris was cleared, I could still sense Luella’s sorrow for her lost garden.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________We have all heard the expression: “Remember to stop and smell the roses.” But, how often do we really take time out of our busy fast-paced life to notice the world around us? I have reflected back on one situation many times since it happened and have learned several powerful lessons from it.
I am as guilty as anyone of ignoring the world around in this manner, especially when I am driving on California’s overcrowded streets. A short time ago, however, I witnessed an event that showed me how being wrapped up in my own little world has kept me from being fully aware of the bigger world picture around me.
I was driving to a business appointment and, as usual, I was planning in my mind what I was going to say. I came to a very busy crossroads where the traffic light had just turned red. “All right,” I thought to myself. “I can beat the next light if I race ahead of the cars.” My mind and car were in auto pilot (自动驾驶), ready to go when suddenly my absent-minded state was broken by an unforgettable sight.
A young couple, both blind, was walking arm-in-arm across this busy crossroads with cars whizzing (嗖嗖掠过) by in every direction. The man was holding the hand of a little boy, while the woman, obviously was holding a child tightly in her arms.
Each of them had a white walking stick extended, searching for clues to guide them across the crossroads.
Initially I was moved. They were overcoming what I felt was one of the most feared disabilities — blindness. Suddenly, horror seized me. The couple were not walking in the crosswalk, but was turning directly towards the middle of the crossroads. Without realizing the danger they were in, they were walking right the path of oncoming cars. I was frightened for them because I didn’t know if the other drivers understood what was happening.
However, as I watched from the front line of traffic, I saw a miracle unfold before my eyes.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
Every car in every direction did the same thing.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
The couple adjusted their route as they followed the drivers’ guidance.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was in the middle of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park that Amanda Barrows carefully placed a wooden nightstand (床头柜) on the ground. She attached a big sign reading, “Take a poem, leave a poem.”
Out of curiosity, an endless stream of tourists gathered to take a closer look. “It’s completely unexpected,” said Barrows, a park ranger (管理员) by day and a poet by night. “I’m really taken aback by the outpouring of support. And even if poetry isn’t really your thing, you might find enjoyment in reading something with a humorous bent.”
Since childhood, Barrows has been fond of poetry and is able to recite many famous poems. Later, due to various reasons, she did not specialize in this field, but she remains steadfast in her love for poetry.
It is admirable that she insists on creating her own works and is willing to make friends through poetry. Barrows has always considered herself a writer, so she enrolled in a class called Poetry for the People. The final project of the class is to find a way to “bring poetry into the community”. In fact, Barrows expects to start a club about poetry because she knows that lots of kids love poetry.
At first Barrows struggled to land on an idea. Eventually, she realized that she could combine her love for parks and her love for poetry. A coworker gave Barrows a weathered nightstand. She thought it would be the perfect tool for her project.
The poetry nightstand reminded her of Little Free Libraries. That project features bookstands stationed across the city. People can leave and take books from little libraries. She only had a single nightstand to work with, so Barrows decided that she would leave it in a park for four days before moving it to a new location. San Francisco’s Recreation and Park Department manages about 220 parks, and Barrow’s goal is to bring the poetry nightstand to all of them.
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。
On the first day, Barrows made thorough preparations and arrangements.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Barrows was surprised by the positive feedback and engagement.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. 你对低碳生活的理解；
2. 你和家人是如何做的。
注意：
1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The Low-carbon Lifestyle Around Me
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Teachers are a gift, especially Troy’s teacher, Donna. She always goes above and beyond for her students, but what she did for Troy’s family is truly beyond selflessness but a miracle(奇迹).
Donna is one of those teachers who pay close attention to the students in their classroom. She began to notice something odd in one of her elementary students, Troy. He was not active in class like he had been. Troy used to be a passionate student in class, engaging with teachers and his friends. Being a helping hand to the teacher and classmates, Troy was always welcomed by everybody. However, he was all of a sudden so shut down and his behavior was simply not the same. He seemed to be silent all the time, and his eyes lost light of desire for knowledge and passion for any activities. Donna grew very concerned and wondered if there was something going on that affected his performance at school. So, she reached out to Troy’s mom to express her concerns.
And that was when she discovered something wrong. For the past year, his mom had been in stage-five kidney(肾)failure. She was in pain every day and desperately needed a new kidney. But she had a rare blood type, so finding a match for a kidney transplant was virtually impossible. Her condition had been a very long and anxious journey. It had been so painful for the family, and it had definitely made an impact on Troy. And in class, he had been silently carrying the pain his mom was going through at home.
The news broke Donna’s heart. She knew that she just had to do something. She was there as a loving friend to help Troy with his studies, but she was also there for his mom. Donna researched how to become a kidney donor and discovered that she had the same rare blood type as Troy’s mom. She got tested and, surprisingly, she was a match.
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。
When Donna told the news to Troy’s family, everyone was surprised.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Soon the kidney transplant took place.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My family had only recently moved into a new neighborhood. All of my neighbors have been very friendly and helpful since we moved in.
However, Mrs Davis, an elderly lady living in the last house on the other side of the road, escaped associating with us, or anyone else. When I asked around the neighborhood why, they warned me not to go after her because they thought she was insane (精神失常的) and preferred staying alone after losing her husband and only daughter in an aircraft crash. After that, she stayed isolated (孤立的) from all the neighbors, refusing all the care and help.
I often saw her on the streets during the evening, but she was always by herself. She appeared weak and I always wanted to help her, but after hearing what my neighbors had said about her, I wasn’t sure whether I should.
One day, when I was on my way to the supermarket, our paths crossed. I was walking past her and overheard her singing a tune. It immediately drew my attention because my parents used to sing the same song with me. I began to sing along with her, and she smiled at me for the first time. But when I smiled back, she quickly hurried her pace and went home.
She seemed very different to me that day. I refused to trust my neighbors’ claims that she had cut herself off from the rest of society because she was insane, so the next day, I knocked on her door. Mrs Davis was home, and instead of letting me in, she just looked at me silently through the window. I noticed her staring at me and was about to walk to the window when she quickly closed the curtains.
The next day, I revisited her house. “Hello, I brought you something,” I called out to her. “It’s the record of the music you were singing yesterday.”
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 door opened and Mrs Davis’ eyes widened in surprise at the sight of me standing there.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Several days later in the morning, the doorbell rang at my house.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With a knee in need of replacement, Cindy Tutko was facing a long and challenging trek (跋涉) through the Atlanta airport while heading home to Florida about a month ago. She had just left Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after visiting her son, Jamie, and his family. She arrived at Terminal C in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest, and needed to get to Terminal F for her next flight. But the trains were down.
So, she started walking.
“She had actually fallen that day.” said Jamie. “And she, like, put herself into tears with how much pain her knee was in. When I was taking her to the airport, I could tell she was hurting.”
“I had a big, heavy suitcase that I was carrying, and that’s what was weighing me down.” she said. “It was full and heavy, very heavy.”
Michael Wright, who happened to be from Lafayette, Louisiana, spotted Cindy limping (跛行) along. When he initially offered to help her, Cindy declined, saying. — Oh, no, no. I’m good.” But Michael wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He grabbed her suitcase, put it on, and said. “Let’s go.”
“Within seconds really, I realized he was genuinely being nice.” Cindy said. “He was just a nice guy. He was helping me out.” For 55 minutes. Michael carried Cindy’s bag and walked right alongside her, through Terminals C, D, E, all the way to F.
“Right before we got to the gate, he seized my hand, looked at me and said. ‘You looked like my mum,’” Cindy recalled and she responded with a hug and a little kiss on his cheek, telling him, “Your mum would be proud of you.”
Cindy texted her son to tell him all about that “nice guy” from Lafayette. Jamie immediately turned to social media asking for help finding him.
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。
It took just a little over a day to find him.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Michael was surprised to find that Cindy volunteered in the deaf community and she was a helper, too.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Daniel was the new boy in our school. The teacher assigned (安排) me to him. He couldn’t hear or talk. So he had an adult with him. She explained what professors were teaching in sign language (手语). Sometimes I got caught staring at him and my friends teased (嘲笑) me all day. I noticed him going everywhere all alone with no friends at all. Sometimes I felt worried, maybe even concerned.
We were assigned as lab partners and surprisingly he wasn’t as bad as I thought. We would both sit quietly and do our work. But when it came to communication and his translator wasn’t there.it was a mess. At first, I could barely understand what he was doing with his hands. I could see in his eyes that he was getting annoyed at me. From trying to communicate with sign language he moved to pictures and words. That worked well for both of us, but my drawing skills were not as good as his, so I stuck towards and gestures.
The second semester went by well and quickly. Daniel and I understood each other pretty well. I could understand some of his hand movements. I realized that Daniel was different from anyone. I’d ever met me included. When he saw that people couldn’t understand him, he came up with another way of communicating. His artistic (艺术的) ability was matchless (无敌的). Then he became my best friend and we both understood each other pretty well despite our differences. During the winter break. I tried to get Daniel to play some games with me and. to my surprise he was better than I expected (期待). I also learnt a lot from him.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
I decided to learn sign language secretly (秘密地) and planned to give Daniel a surprise.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Daniel was not close with me.
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