I grew up in southeastern Michigan. I was a fan of Detroit Tigers, a famous baseball team, as a young boy.
My childhood dream was to be like my hero, Al Kaline, and someday play for the Tigers. My Dad would take me to Tiger Stadium several times a year and my hero Al Kaline would never let me down. We never attended a game that he didn’t get at least one hit.
I was crazy about baseball. If there was a game in my high school, I was never absent. I kept practising so that I could achieve my dream of playing for the Tigers, and I was doing well at each level of play. Later, I got a chance to sign up for a strong American Legion baseball program. There I met our coach, Bob Ohm, who knew a lot of baseball and taught each of us the basics as well as more advanced baseball skills. With Bob Ohm’s help and my hard work, I had set new records in many baseball championships.
My dream to be like my hero seemed to draw near. One summer, I went up to play the final season in Marinette. There were scouts who came to find the best players. This was it! My big chance!
Well, as the game progressed I hit the ball very well getting five hits in the game. Unfortunately, I also made four mistakes. The final mistake actually drew laughter from the crowd.
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。
After the game, I knew my dream of playing professional baseball was lost.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Today, I teach baseball in a high school.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After his wife died, Ramu was left alone in this world. He was sixty-five years old. With time going by, Ramu’s sadness increased. The more he thought, the stronger his belief became that it was useless to live in this world anymore.
One morning, he went out for a walk and didn’t return to his home. His steps took him out of city and there he saw a bus. He took that bus. After a few hours, the bus was passing through a thick forest and stopped there for a break.
Ramu stepped out' of the bus and headed in a direction. After a while, he heard a voice from the bus calling for passengers to return but he decided not to return. He wanted to get lost in the thick forest.
In the thick forest, even during the day there was slight darkness. Ramu was walking as if he was not conscious (有知觉的). While walking, he went towards the side of a mountain. His steps suddenly stopped at a place where the mountain opened towards a valley below. There he saw the path was blocked by two sticks and a sign written in big letters—DANGER.
He couldn’t understand who would write this in such a thick forest. While looking around, Ramu walked a little further towards the valley, seeing a deep ditch (壕沟) ahead. At that moment, his heart trembled (颤抖).He sat aside, thinking how a moment ago he wanted to die but now he was scared.
With a calmed mind, he started wandering, looking for the person who did this. While wandering, he saw many signs. He saw DANGER/ BEWARE sign at many dangerous places and POISONOUS FRUITS sign was written on many trees.
He realized that if those signs were not put up, anyone could have fallen into one of those deep ditches and lost his life. Seeing all this, Ramu called out loudly, “Brother, who saved my life? ! I want to see you.”
Just then, from behind the leaves, an old man appeared laughing and said, “I have been watching you for a long time. Tell me how did you come here?”
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。
After telling the old man his story, Ramu asked, “What are you doing here?”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It got late, so the old man invited Ramu to his place so that he could return home the next day.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Mom, I’m ready to go,” called Jason.
Every Saturday, Jason looked forward to going to Chinatown to shop for food because his mom let him pick his favorite snacks: roast pork buns and bubble tea.
The streets in Chinatown were crowded with cars and pedestrians. His mother could not find the same exotic vegetables in the local supermarkets, so they always came here to shop. What fascinated Jason was tasty roast pork, even the whole pigs hanging on big hooks in the windows, their skins roasted to a glistening brown. Jason’s mouth would water just looking at them.
As they passed the newsstand carrying Chinese newspapers and magazines, Jason spotted an old man sitting on the sidewalk. His hair was long, white, and messy. The face beneath was lined, dirty, and unshaven. Frayed and torn clothing wrapped around his thin frame, and in this kind of cold weather, he even wore sandals, his feet blue with cold. He banged an empty can against the sidewalk. As Jason walked by, he could smell a musty odor and pinched his nostrils together. The old man reached out and touched Jason’s left leg. Instinctively, Jason gathered all his strength to jerk(猛拉) his leg away and kick the old man’s hand heavily. Frightened, he hurried to catch up with his mother without looking back.
“Mom, the old man touched me,” he cried, “He touched me with his dirty hands. It’s disgusting! And he smelled too.”
Jason’s mother glanced back at the man with a look of understanding and said gently, “Jason, he can’t help it. He’s homeless. He didn’t mean any harm.”
Mom’s words made Jason look back at the old man with regret, who now was looking up at other passersby, still banging his can.
On their way home, Jason asked, his voice filled with concern. “Why is that old man homeless? Where does he sleep?”
“I don’t know. It’s tough to be homeless, especially in this cold weather. He did look quite weak,” his mother replied.
Mom’s words made Jason’s regret deepened. He confessed his heavy kick to his mother, who reminded him that it was crucial to acknowledge his mistake and try to make up for it.
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 next day, with his mother’s help, Jason decided to do something.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Hearing this, the old man looked at them with watery eyes.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________If you are constantly lack of confidence and worried about what other people think about your shortcomings, you will never get to where you need to go in life. This was what I learned from my own experience.
My name is Peter. Before I was born, the doctors examined my mom and found there was something wrong with my face, and actually it was worse. With my “weird” face, I knew I was not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I had never been to a real school before, not because of the way I looked, but all the surgeries I had. Mom homeschooled me. I became stronger, though. So maybe it was time for me to go to the real school.
One day, I happened to hear Mom and Dad talking about me quietly. “We can’t keep protecting him.” Mom whispered to Dad, “We have to help him learn to deal with it. We can’t just keep avoiding situations that… ”, but she didn’t even finish her sentence because she saw me. “Go back to sleep, Peter,” Mom said softly.
“Everyone will stare at me at school,” I said, suddenly crying.
Mom came over, putting her hand on mine. “Honey, you know if you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to. But we spoke to the principal (校长) , Mr. Green and told him how funny and smart you are. When I told him about all your surgeries, and how brave you are, ‘Wow, I have to meet this kid.’ ” Mom smiled at me.
“He is really a nice man. Besides, a real school is really good for you. Peter, you will make lots of friends and learn things you have never learned with Mom.” Dad added, raising his hand as if to swear.
“But… I don’t want to go. I am afraid... ” I said in a low voice.
“How about at least meeting Mr. Green before you make up your mind?” Mom asked.
I nodded, unwilling to accept the arrangement.
注意：
1. 续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
We arrived at the school a few weeks before the start of the school.
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Paragraph 2:
After taking a tour of the school and hearing Mr. Green’s words, I realized it was time to make a change.
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“Bang. . !” Sara pushed the door open. She threw her school bag onto the floor and called out, “I’m home!” No answer. The house was silent. It sounded empty, but she knew it wasn’t. Her mum and dad were working upstairs.
Sara got a glass of orange juice, went into the conservatory (玻璃房) and sat down in her favourite chair. The garden was still in the dark afternoon. On one side, her mum’s garden was neat and tidy with boring short grass, boring straight flowerbeds and boring straight paths. But on the other side, Sara’s Nature Garden looked wild and exciting with big dead sunflowers and tall grasses.
“Nobody is interested in me. Mum and dad only think about their work,” she thought sadly.
Then she recalled: One month earlier, she learned in a magazine that many dogs were abandoned because their owners got bored with them; One hour earlier, she saw a cute dog wagging its tail and licking her friend’s face.
Sara knew today was special. Today things were changing. She couldn’t wait any longer. It’s time to talk to her parents.
So Sara got up from her chair and climbed all the way to the loft (阁楼). “Mum, I want a talk.” said Sara. “Just a minute!” Her mum clicked on the keyboard, took off her glasses and turned to her daughter. Sara coughed, took a deep breath, and told her mum that she wanted a dog. “No, Sara. That’s impossible,” her mum said firmly. Sara went to her father but got the same answer. She rushed into her room angrily and slammed the door shut.
Later, Sara’s mum knocked at the door and went in. “Darling, we know this is important to you. You can have a dog if you take the responsibility. But look at your Nature Garden, your school bag, your bedroom! What a mess! Do you think you can take good care of a dog?” said her mum.
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。
Sara was lost in thought and decided to make some changes.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With the dog’s company, Sara began her busy but joyful life.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Alex was a friendly boy, but he had a bad temper and often found it challenging to control his anger. Whenever something didn’t go his way or if he felt upset, a fiery anger would build up inside him like an angry monster.
One sunny afternoon, Alex went to the playground with his friends, Sarah and Ben. They were excited to play on the swings, slide, and monkey bars. As they started playing, Alex’s turn on the swing was interrupted by another child who cut in line. Alex felt his anger rising inside him, and without thinking, he shouted at the child very angrily, demanding his turn back. Sarah and Ben looked at Alex with surprise, scare and depression. They didn’t like it that their friend lost his temper like a monster and yelled. They stopped playing together.
Alex’s anger not only ruined his own mood but also spoiled (破坏) the fun for his friends and the other children at the playground. Feeling ashamed and realizing the consequences of his actions, Alex slumped (跌坐) down on a nearby bench. He saw his friends playing happily without him, and he felt upset at losing control.
Alex’s memories flooded back when his friends and family were often taken aback by his outbursts. When his best friend, Emily, wanted to play a game he didn’t like, he would shout and throw a tantrum (发脾气), refusing to play with her. His little sister accidentally knocked over his tower of blocks, he would explode in a fit of rage, yelling and stomping his feet.
He had lost a lot of fiends and hurt his family because of his anger. Now he might lose these friends too. He realized that his mean words constantly hurt the people he cared about. He didn’t want to be like a monster anymore, so he decided to find a better way to handle his anger.
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 evening, Alex told Grandma about what had happened.
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Alex made up his mind to change.
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Most boys coming to our ranch (大牧场) were living around animals for the first time. Sent by educational systems, they were boys in trouble; they had no family, lacked love, often broke the rules, and were lonely. Our ranch created a “boy-horse communication program” for them, hoping to heal their broken spirits and help them behave well through their communication with horses. I was the program’s head.
15-year-old Martin was a new arrival. He appeared cold and easily angry and had no experience with horses. He seemed to consider a horse only a vehicle for speed and thrills. He always pushed his way to the front of the line every day, knocking down smaller children to get on the horse. And then he started moving fast. We tried to communicate with him, but he only cared about his excitement.
One morning, when I was upset about Martin’s behavior in my office, one worker told me that a female horse was ill. Then, I ran to its stable (马), and within an hour she was dead. We felt sad about her and also concerned about the young baby she had recently delivered (分娩). The baby horse’s first need was to be fed.
We prepared some milk in a bottle and offered it to her. But she wouldn’t accept the bottle. We had to put our hands in the milk and let her suck (吮吸) the milk off our fingers. It was a painfully slow method of feeding, but we had no choice if we wanted the baby horse to survive.
At that moment, Martin finished his daily riding and found us. Pushing his way through the crowd of kids who were watching us feed the baby horse, he got to the front, shouting, “I want to feed it!”
After I showed Martin how to do it, he put his hand in the milk and then put his fingers towards the horse’s mouth. When the baby horse closed her mouth around his fingers, Martin was surprised and drew back, shouting, “Hey, it bit me!” But knowing the little horse wanted more food, he immediately re-wet his hand.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150词左右；
2. 请在答题卡相应位置作答。
And he gently put his fingers near her mouth.
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Watching the horse sleep, Martin cried, “I’ll be her mom and care for her.”
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I didn’t know the lady, but I saw her often around town with her two small children. She appeared to be shy, always looking down, trying not to make eye contact. She often wore the same clothes, and so did her children. I felt her discomfort when I saw her at the supermarket checkout. She reminded me of myself years ago. We had to go through a tough time.
Back then, I couldn’t afford a new winter coat for my daughter, and I didn’t know what I was going to do. Luckily, my three younger children could wear hand-me-downs. One night, I said to myself in my heart that I wished someone to offer me help. I did it for the first time since my husband’s unemployment.
The next morning, a neighbour came into the place where I worked. “I know you must feel unbelievable, This morning, I had an overwhelming (无法抗拒的) feeling that you needed this,” she whispered. She insisted on giving me twenty dollars. My eyes started to tear as she continued, “I also have a box of clothes in my car that I was going to donate. Please take what you need.” It was really a shock of getting her help. Was this the response to my word the night before?
Going through the large box of clothes, I found several winter items for my children, including a dark purple jacket that looked like it would fit my daughter. Although grateful, I felt embarrassed. The woman must have sensed my discomfort. She raised my chin so I could look at her. “We all need help at one time or another, “she said. “One day, you’ll be the one helping someone in need.”
I thanked her and promised I would always try to pay it forward.
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。
Looking at the lady at the supermarket checkout, I knew perhaps it was the proper time.
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To my surprise, she said, “Yes.”
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At one table by the window, a lady just finished up her lunch. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a sandwich and some salad, with a cup of tea to wash it all down. She seemed to be in her own little world, staring out the window every now and then, like she was waiting for something. After a bit, she got up, paid for her meal at the counter and left.
Her table was still a mess, with bits of her meal left behind. It wasn’t a big deal—this happens all the time. But today, something different was going to happen. A young boy, who looked like he’d had a pretty rough time, had been watching her from the table around the corner.
This boy was in rough shape. His clothes were too big and looked like they’d seen better days. His hair was all over the place, and his face had streaks (条痕) of dirt on it. He had that look of someone who hadn’t had a good meal too long. When the lady left, the boy saw his chance, He quickly sat down and started wolfing down the leftovers (吃剩的食物) like it was the best meal he’d ever had.
But then, the waiter walked over. He was an older guy who’d probably seen everything. He didn’t say anything at first, just watched the boy for a second. The boy got scared, stopped eating, and tears started to fill his eyes. He thought the waiter would kick him out for sure. Instead, the waiter took away the half-eaten plate, and the boy’s heart sank.
The boy got up to leave, but before he could get far, the waiter came back and asked the boy to wait for a moment. The waiter gave him a full and fresh meal.
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 whole cafe went quiet when they saw what was happening.
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The boy, with a full stomach and a happy heart, looked as if he couldn’t thank the waiter enough.
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I spotted my neighbor, Monica, working in her garden one day when I returned home from school. It was sunny, and the smell of cut grass made me feel refreshed. I popped my head over the fence, and Monica and I got talking.
“I’ve seen you’re very good at using a lawn mower(割草机) and gardening tools,” Monica said. “There’s a hedge(树篱) growing over the pathway near here. It’s so overgrown that it becomes a head ache for the passers-by. I was planning to cut it back myself. Would you like to help out?”
I loved the idea of helping Monica and our community. We agreed to cut the hedge the following Sunday. My brother Ivan, aged 10, also came along to help us. We wheeled Monica’s garbage can down to the hedge, which the community council was responsible for. All three of us cut it with shears (大剪刀) until a trouble-free pathway came in sight. Mr. Brown, a wheelchair user, was grateful that he didn’t have to make a detour(绕行) any more to pass the hedge. Encouraged by his words, I suggested doing more for our community, to make it a better place.
When we first started, we just made the best of the equipment we already had in my parents’ garage. But as time went on, donations came in from the local community. Our garage got filled up quickly with brushes, gardening tools, and even donated power tools like leaf blowers. With everything ready, our first project was to beautiful park near our houses, which looked a bit run-down. Ivan was in charge of painting the fence around, Monica cleared the lawn with a leaf blower, and I was responsible for repairing the benches where our neighbors usually sat at their leisure. After two weeks’ hard work, we felt stunned when stepping back and appreciating the clean and brand new small park. My heart swelled with pride because our efforts paid off.
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 posted photos of our hard work on our local Facebook Group.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With more neighbors joining in, we headed for the flower bed near the community center.
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