Learning motivation only accompanied by interest can last long. My grandfather used to be the director of a local museum. So since I was young, I had the opportunity to visit various museums with him. After entering high school, I became interested in history, and I constantly collected information related to museums.
When I was 17, I read a magazine article about a museum called the McNay, once the home of a watercolourist named Marian McNay. She had requested the community to turn it into a museum upon her death.
Do not miss your chance to see Texas’ first modern art museum—the McNay Art Museum. There are more than 20,000 different and significant works. With beautiful Spanish gardens and the amazing architecture of the building, the art within the walls isn’t the only wonder to see.
On a sunny Saturday, Sally and I drove over to the museum. She asked, “Do you have the address?” “No, but I’ll recognize it, there was a picture in the magazine.”
“Oh, stop. There it is!”
The museum was free. We entered, excited. A group of people sitting in the hall stopped talking and stared at us.
“May I help you?” a man asked. “No,” I said. “We’re fine.” Tour guides got on my nerves. What if they talked a long time about a painting you weren’t that interested in? Sally had gone upstairs. The people in the hall seemed very nosy (爱管闲事的), keeping their eyes on me with curiosity. What was their problem? I saw some nice sculptures in one room. Suddenly I sensed a man standing behind me. “Where do you think you are?” he asked. I turned sharply. “The McNay Art Museum!” He smiled, shaking his head. “Sorry, the McNay is on New Braunfels Street.” “What’s this place?” I asked, still confused. “Well, it’s our home.” My heart jolted (震颤). I raced to the staircase.
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 called out, “Sally! Come down immediately!”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Thirty years later, a woman approached me in a public place.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A boy called Mike Duncan came into my school one morning in oversized hand-me-down clothes and worn-out shoes. He was a black-letter sight, standing at the front of our second-grade class. He shifted (转换) from foot to foot as our teacher, Mrs. Lydia wrote his name in the roll book. We weren’t sure what to make of the newcomer in worn-out clothes.
“Attention! This is Mike Duncan,” Mrs. Lydia said with as much enthusiasm (热情) as possible. Looking around and smiling, Mike hoped somebody would smile back. Although nobody did, he kept on laughing from ear to ear anyway.
Unfortunately, Mike had found a firm footing at the bottom of our school’s social ladder (阶梯) by the end of his first week. In fact he was pleasant to be around and was by far the most energetic boy I knew. After lunch each day, we joined forces to conquer (征服) the playground, moving from monkey bars to swing set to sandbox. As we lined up behind Mrs. Lydia for the march back to class, I made up my mind that Mike would remain friendless no longer.
I said one night as Mother pushed me into bed, “Mum, tomorrow is his birthday; and he’s not going to get anything. Mike’s mother worked all day in the orchards (果园) . His special day would go unnoticed.” “Don’t worry,” Mum said as she kissed me good night.
I wished Mike a happy birthday in the next morning; and his smile showed me that he was glad I had remembered. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a terrible day after all. By mid-afternoon I had almost decided that birthdays weren’t that big a deal. Then, as Mrs. Lydia was writing on the blackboard, I heard a familiar sound coming from the hallway.
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。
A voice I knew was singing the birthday song.
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Mike generously shared his cake with the class.
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I was not sure why my dad and my uncle always disagreed with each other in the beginning. They spent many Sundays sitting at opposite ends of the table, arguing about everything. I didn’t think they got along well.
When I was eighteen, I got a call in my college dorm that my dad was having a health problem. My mom picked me up at midnight, so I could be there the next day when my dad was scheduled to transfer(转移) to a better hospital. I didn’t sleep that night, not a while. I was nervous and almost crazy when we arrived at the hospital early the next morning before the transfer.
That morning, as my mom and I walked down the hallway of the hospital, we could see straight into my dad’s room. A tall man wearing a stylish suit stood beside my father’s bed with his back to us. In surprise, my mom said to me, “How nice it is for a doctor to come by to see your dad so early in the morning.” The man was quiet and still, looking down, but he was holding both of my dad’s hands in his own. It seemed not to be a typical doctor’s behavior.
“It’s not a doctor,” I whispered softly to my mom. When the man turned around, we found that it was my uncle. However, little did I know I would continue to reflect on that quiet moment for decades. And it would be the beginning of something truly wonderful.
The hours that followed were some of the most hardest time of my youth. My dad had a serious stomach problem and had to be in hospital for quite a long time. My uncle stayed with us the entire time. For one thing, my uncle tried every way to get my dad to eat something. For another thing, he brought me healthy snacks and made sure I actually ate them even though I had no appetite. When my mother and I were scared that my dad’s illness would get worse, my uncle was always by our side.
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。
Throughout those difficult days in the hospital, I watched my uncle in a new light.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________From then on, the relationship between my dad and my uncle became closer.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I chewed on my pencil as I walked back and forth across my bedroom. What was I going to do? It was bad enough that I was the new kid. But now I was sure to get laughed at by my classmates. How could my first homework be such a disaster?
“My name is Anna, and this summer I...” I stopped. How could I stand in front of my class and say that I’d spent the entire summer handling something that most people don’t even like to talk about? Poop (粪便). I’d spent three months shoveling (铲), collecting, and analyzing cow poop on my grandparents’ farm. I tried to think of a different adventure I could share. Maybe I could say I’d spent the summer on the Weather Control Team preventing floods.
“Time for dinner,” my mom called.
I walked slowly down the stairs and slid into my chair.
“You’ve been in your room since you came home from school,” Mom said. “What are you working on?”
I sighed. “I have to tell the class what I did this summer.”
My younger brother, Seymour, began to laugh uncontrollably. “No one will want to sit next to you after they hear you were covered in cow poop all summer!”
“OK, that’s enough, Seymour,” Dad said.
“Anna,” said Mom, putting green beans in a bowl, “be proud of the work we did this summer. Our planet would be in sad shape without scientists like your grandfather.”
It’s true that my grandfather does important work. He developed an easy way to use poop as a source of fuel. Using the poop is now easy, economical, and environmentally safe.
“I know, Mom,” I said, staring at my meatloaf. “But it’s not exactly something people want to hear about before lunch.”
That night I dreamed about more splendid adventures: cave diving in Mexico, hiking through the Amazon rainforest . . .
At school the next day, I bent over my desk, listening to each kid speak. My palms were sweaty, and the knot (结) in my stomach grew tighter.
“And that was my journey to Mount Everest,” Ember Adams said, finishing her report. She bowed and look her seat.
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’s your turn, Anna,” the teacher said.
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After class, some of my classmates approached me.
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The little bird perched (栖息) itself on the tree branch outside Vanessa’s bedroom window. It sang an energetic song as the first pale yellow rays of sunshine emerged from the horizon.
“Oh, what is that noise?” Vanessa complained to herself, pulling her bed sheet over her head in an attempt to block the sound from outside. It was no use, and she knew it because the loud birdsong signalled the coming of the day. A few moments later, Vanessa’s mom knocked on her door, and then came in with a smile. “Time to get up, Sleepyhead,” she whispered. “The early bird catches the worm, you know.”
“Ugh, what does that even mean?” asked Vanessa, with a pillow covering her face. “It’s just an expression, honey,” her mom replied. She gave Vanessa a kiss on the cheek and urged her to get out of bed. Vanessa rolled over and slept for a few more minutes.
Vanessa walked slowly downstairs, had breakfast slowly and missed her bus. When she finally got to school, she had to get a late pass. She missed the first part of math class, so she didn’t understand the lesson and had to get extra help. Her teacher gave her extra homework to make sure she knew it. This day was no fun.
The next morning, Vanessa was woken up by the same birdsong. Instead of ignoring it, Vanessa walked over to the window and opened the curtains. Soft light filled the room. “Well, hello there, little fellow,” she said when she saw the pretty bird outside, still singing happily. Suddenly, the bird flew down to land on the fresh grass. As she watched, the bird picked up a worm for breakfast. Vanessa seemed to instantly understand what her mother meant when she said “the early bird catches the worm”.
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。
She raced through breakfast and caught the bus.
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At lunchtime, Vanessa finished her lunch early and had time to go to the library.
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The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read beneath a willow tree. It must be as sick, for the branches were kind of yellow and dry. I was a deserted girl. Endless quarrels with my parents had left me nowhere to go but this desolate (荒无人烟的) corner of the park. As I sat on the bench, things that happened recently began to flash through. Days seemed months to me recently. No cozy home to stay. No happy memories about my life. No considerate family members to talk to. Even the book I was reading was no fun. Not content with life, I had a good reason to frown, for the world was intended to drag me down.
And if that were not enough to ruin my day, a young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play. He stood right in front of me with his head tilted (倾斜) down and said with great excitement, “Look what I found!” In his hand was a flower. What a pitiful sight, its petals (花瓣) were all worn—not enough rain, or too little light. He must have picked the flower from somewhere shady and sunless, just like where I was staying these days. I couldn’t help being self-pitying. Wanting him to take his dead flower away and go off to play, I faked a smile and then looked away. “Why couldn’t everyone just leave me be!” I thought to myself, upset and gloomy.
But instead of leaving, he sat next to me and placed the flower to his nose and declared loudly with certainty, “It sure smells pretty and it must be beautiful, too. That’s why I picked it; here, it is for you.” The “weed” before me was dying or dead, not vibrant with colors, orange, yellow or red—anyone having eyes can see that clearly! But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave. So I reached for the flower, and replied, “Just what I need.” Strangely, instead of placing the flower in my hand, he held it in mid-air without any reason or plan.
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。
Casting a curious glance at the boy’s eyes, I was hugely shocked.
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“I had to make a change,” I thought to myself.
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My mother’s gift
A dandelion (蒲公英) in my dictionary always reminds me of my lunchtimes with my mother.
When I was in the third grade, I was picked to be the princess in the school play, and for weeks my mother had painstakingly (费力地) practised my lines with me. But no matter how easily I delivered them at home, as soon as I stepped onstage, every word disappeared from my head. Finally, my teacher took me aside. She explained that she had written a narrator’s part to the play, and asked me to switch roles.
I didn’t tell my mother what had happened when I went home for lunch that day. But she sensed my unease, and instead of suggesting we practice my lines, she asked if I wanted to walk in the yard.
It was a lovely spring day and the rose leaves were turning green. We could see yellow dandelions popping through the grass in bunches, as if a painter had touched our landscape with a little bit of gold.
I watched my mother casually bend down by one of the dandelions. “I think I’m going to dig up all these weeds,” she said, suddenly pulling a flower up by its roots. “From now on, we’ll have only roses in this garden.”
“But I like dandelions,” I protested. “All flowers are beautiful — even dandelions.” My mother looked at me seriously. “Yes, every flower gives pleasure in its own way, doesn’t it?” she asked thoughtfully. I nodded, pleased that I had won her over. “And that is true of people too,” she added. “Not everyone can be a princess, but there is no shame in that.”
Relieved that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry as I told her what had happened.
“But you will be a beautiful narrator,” she said, reminding me of how much I loved to read stories aloud to her. “The narrator’s part is as important as the part of a princess.”
Over the next few weeks, with her constant encouragement, I learned to take pride in the role. Lunchtimes were spent reading over my lines and talking about what I would wear.
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。
Backstage on the night of the performance, I felt nervous.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After the play, I took home the flower I had placed in the pocket.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I like staying overnight at my Gramma’s house — that is, until Gramma starts telling me how wonderful my cousin Maya is. Then it’s Maya this and Maya that until I don’t ever want to hear another word about her.
That’s why I wasn’t too excited when Gramma called me on the phone to “come on over and bring your pajamas.” When I got there, it was worse than I’d expected. There, in Grandpa’s big leather rocker, sat Maya, all dressed up and formal-looking and wearing fancy shoes as if she’d just been to a party.
“Surprise, Kristen!” Gramma said. “Your cousin Maya and her parents have traveled in from the East Coast on business. Maya gets to stay with us this afternoon.” Gramma chattered away about how excited she’d been for this surprise get-together, and how cousins ought to get to know each other better.
I hung my baseball cap in the closet and set my backpack by the stairway, all the time smiling and nodding as if I’d been waiting forever for this chance to spend an afternoon with Maya. Grandpa’s chair squawked (咯咯叫) as Maya rocked back and forth. It’s the chair I like best in the house, the one I usually sit in. I sat down on the sofa across from her.
Shortly, Gramma went off to the kitchen to “see about some lunch,” she’d said. That left me stuck in the living room with rocking Maya.
She was still small but taller than I’d remembered her from her last visit four years ago. She was good at small talk, though, and was chatting away about how nice it was to see me again. But I could tell that she didn’t really think so. The last time she was here, we’d had hours of fun together building caves out of Gramma’s sofa pillows.
After that, I’d heard about her only through Gramma’s tales. Maya taking piano lessons. Maya learning math. Maya, Maya, Maya. Now Maya was here, looking great with the latest haircut and a fancy dress.
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。
Glancing down at my jeans and my old sneakers, I wished I hadn’t come.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“How do you know all these things about me?” I asked.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1.活动目的;
2.开展情况;
3.活动反响。
注意：1.写作词数应为80左右;
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Spring Sports Meeting
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It was Friday, and I was at my daughter’s place in Manhattan. My husband and I had gone out for breakfast with my daughter and son-in-law and their child. After breakfast, we took a taxi to Central Park. The plan was to take my 2-year-old grandson on his first horse and buggy(小马车)ride，pick up our bags from my daughter’s house and drive to my friend’s home in Flatbush, Brooklyn, for a visit.
The horse ride went well, and we all had a great time. My grandson was filled with joy and excitement all the time. We arrived back at my daughter’s apartment, picked up our bags and then I said to my husband, Moishe, “Where is your phone?” Usually, I will check everything before we leave a taxi since things can fall out, but this time, I guess I didn’t, and we could not seem to find it.
Maybe we left it in the buggy, or it might have fallen out in the taxi? I wondered. Or perhaps we left it in the restaurant at breakfast? I was in a state of panic, wondering what the one with the phone could do with it. Moishe was evidently at a loss as to what to do. My sensible son-in-law, Leon, had a clever idea of calling the phone to see if anyone would answer it.
With butterflies in my stomach, I watched as Leon dialed and got through. He turned the loudspeaker of his phone on so that we all could hear but what we heard was a lady’s poor, broken English. The person on the other side of the phone obviously had difficulty communicating with Leon. Leon was very patient and was speaking very slowly but I could see that he didn’t get much useful information before he had to hang up.
After some discussion, we decided to send a text message to the lost phone saying, “We will pay money to get our phone back, please tell us where you are.” This idea worked out well. Soon we got a reply message saying “119 Ocean Parkway, Mrs. Hichens”.
注意：1．续写的词数应为150左右;2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
In no time, we all got into our car and headed for the address.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With Laura’s help, Mrs. Hichens was able to explain to us what had happened.
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