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.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was in the afternoon before the end of the Second World War that Antonio Black, who was twelve, caught sight of a beautiful brooch (胸针) in a shop window. The brooch is so beautiful that he was unwilling to leave the store until he had purchased it. But it was too expensive — $5. His family was very poor and his parents struggled to make ends meet. Five dollars would buy almost a week’s food for his family.
Antonio couldn’t ask his father for the money. Everything his father made through fishing went to his mother, Susan. Slim and beautiful, his mother was the center of the home and the glue that held it together. The housework was never-ending, and she struggled to feed and clothe their five children, but she was happy as her family and their well-being were all she cared about.
Nevertheless, he opened the shop’s door and went inside. Standing proudly and straight in his flour-sack (面粉袋改做的) shirt and washed-out trousers, he told the shopkeeper what he wanted, adding, “But I don’t have the money right now. Can you please hold it for me for some time?”
“I’ll try,” the shopkeeper smiled. “People around here don’t usually have that kind of money to spend on things. It should keep for a while.”
Antonio respectfully touched his worn cap and walked out. He would raise the money and not tell anybody, for he thought Mum would be surprised when she saw that brooch. On hearing the sound of hammering (锤打) from a side street, Antonio suddenly had an idea that he could raise money by selling the used nail bags. People built their own homes in Bay Roberts, using nails bought in bags from a local factory. Sometimes the used bags were thrown away at the construction site, and Antonio knew he could sell them back to the factory for five cents a piece. That day he sold two nail bags and hid the money in a rusty soda tin.
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。
Every day after school, Antonio started his plan.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The day finally came!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Holidays are not necessarily for fun or rest. Doing something meaningful can also gain special pleasure. When the final bell rang, the students were reminded that there was no school on Monday—the Labor Day. “Enjoy your extra day off” said the teacher to her class.
An extra day off unsuited Kayla just fine. She loved breaks. She wanted to go out to play with her friends. When the school bus dropped Kayla off, she ran into the house happily.
“How was school, Kayla?” asked her mom.
“It was great, Mom. I am excited about no school on Monday.”
“You just started back to school two weeks ago. Already in need of a break, huh?” asked Kayla’s mom with a laugh.
Kayla slept in the next morning. Saturday was her favorite day of the week. I trained most of the day, so Kayla enjoyed playing videogames inside. On Sunday, her friends came over and they played basketball for several hours.
Then it was Labor Day, you know, the extra day off that Kayla was so looking forward to. But Kayla was awakened early that morning by her dad. He told Kayla that in honor of Labor Day, the family would be cleaning both inside and outside the house. Kayla couldn’t believe it. This was a holiday. A day when she was supposed to be enjoying freshly squeezed lemonade while playing in her tree house. As Kayla wiped here yes, she began to wonder if this was just a bad dream.
“Kayla, your breakfast is ready. We have a lot of work to do today. Let’s get a move on,” said Kayla’s mom. As she sat down at the kitchen table, Kayla asked her parents，
“Are you serious about working today? Isn’t Labor Day a holiday?”
“Yes, Kayla. It is,” replied her dad. “But your mom and I thought working hard today would make you appreciate why Labor Day was observed in the first place.”
注意：1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右;2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
At first Kayla felt disappointed at her parents’ plan for the holiday.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________But things began to change as she was doing the chores.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Birthdays are typically the occasions for delight and feasting. Family and friends get together on the occasion and convey their regards with the beautiful presents they bring with themselves. I am personally a big fan of birthdays and wait for my birthday approximately a month prior to the day.
This year, my birthday came off on last Monday. I didn’t know that my parents had arranged a special party for me. At eight o’clock in the evening of my lucky birthday, I was alone at home complaining and frowning, and pitying myself for my misfortune. I thought it was going to be a special day filled with presents and fun, but all I received was a “Happy Birthday”.
All of a sudden, the electricity was cut off and there was a complete darkness in the house. I couldn’t do anything. Therefore, I decided to go to sleep and end this unlucky day.
Out of the blue in that quiet night, I heard a sudden noise coming from downstairs. Startled and terribly shocked, I suspected that someone broke into the house. Immediately, I tried to phone my parents, but no one answered.
After a couple of minutes of fear, I started to calm down. Although in the meantime I heard more noises of people talking, I summoned up some courage and started heading for the basement. As I slowly drew closer to the basement, I guessed there were more than one person, but I found it hard to believe. There couldn’t be a lot of people in our basement!
Courageously, I opened the door of the basement. There was a complete darkness. There wasn’t a single noise. However, as I approached, I heard some laughter and confirmed that there were people. Suddenly, the lights were on and there stood my parents and friends cheering at me with the beautiful presents they had carefully prepared for me.It was a surprise party! The room was beautifully decorated with colorful balloons. Tables and chairs were laid and covered with white and contrasting red sheets. A gigantic birthday cake was positioned on the innermost table.
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。
Paragraph 1: Now everything was ready and the party was set in motion.
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Paragraph 2: The party was over and the guests began to head off.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
With a wide smile on her face, 15-year-old Sirin eagerly rushed to her mom to show off her new painting. But Mom raised her eyebrows with eyes wide open, and spoke impatiently, “No time, baby. Right now I am busy with an important talk. Just wait for some time, OK?”
Holding her oil painting, she frowned (皱眉),and then searched for her dad. “Dad, see what I have done,” Sirin exclaimed cheerfully. Her dad turned around while adjusting his tie, grinned at her, and showed his thumbs up!
Immediately, Sirin replied angrily, “Dad, you haven’t seen it yet.”
He smiled at her saying, “No time, baby. I will see it later.” He just patted her back lovingly, kissed her forehead, and rushed for his office.
She was not a kid to be pleased with simple gesture or smile. She stood there for a few seconds, and then stormed off to her own bedroom. Hot air was blowing from her nostrils (鼻孔) ; her face turned into apple red. She threw the painting on the table, slammed the door and threw herself on her bed.
“Why is everybody so busy?” She recalled thousands of incidents that hurt her in preschool, middle school and even in high school too! She assumed at least her own family members would give some values to her thoughts, but they were no exception. Unconsciously, her eyes were filled with tears.
The knocking sound on the door put a sudden stop to her thought. Her mom was calling her for dinner. Sirin deliberately (故意地) came late to join them. She kept silent and didn’t look at anyone, scratching the table mat with her nail. Her mom was puzzled at the unusual behavior. Suddenly the morning incident came to mind. Softly, she asked, “ Honey, did I do anything wrong? ”
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。
At this very moment, Sirin could no longer resist her anger.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When back from school the next day, Sirin was surprised to see her beautifully-decorated paining on the wall.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus (马戏团) . Finally, there was only one family between us and the ticket counter (柜台).
This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of twelve. You could tell they didn’t have a lot of money.
Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean. The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly talking about the clowns. elephants, and other acts they would see that night with their brothers or sisters in a low voice.
One could sense they had never been to the circus before. It promised to be highlight of their young lives. The father and mother were at the head of the pack, standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband’s hand, looking up at him as if to say, “You are my knight (骑士) in shining armor (盔甲).”
He was smiling and responding in pride, looking back at her as if to say, “You got that right” . The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly responded, “Please let me buy eight child tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus.”
The ticket lady gave the price. The man’s wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, and his lips began to shake. The father leaned (倾斜) a little closer and asked. “How much do you say?”
The ticket lady again quoted (报价) the price. The man didn’t have enough money.
How was he supposed to turn around and tell his eight children that he didn’t have enough money to take them to the circus?
Actually we were not wealthy in any sense. So I understand how the kids would feel. I felt sorry for them.
注意：续写词数应为80左右。Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________That day my father and I went back to our car and drove home without any tickets.
A Little Boy
A little boy selling magazines for school walked up to a house that people rarely visited. The house was very old and shabby and the owner hardly ever came out. When he did come out, he would not say hello to his neighbors or passers-by but simply just glared at them.
The boy knocked on the door and waited, sweating from fear of the old man. The boy’s parents told him to stay away from the house, and a lot of other neighborhood children were told the same thing from their parents.
Dusk found the boy lingering on and hesitating what to do. As he was ready to walk away, the door slowly opened. “What do you want?” the old man said impatiently. The little boy was very afraid but he had a quota (定额) to meet for school with selling the magazines. So he got up the courage and said, “Uh, Sir, I am selling these magazines and, uh, I was wondering if you would like to buy one from me.”
The old man just stared at the boy without a word. The boy could see inside the old man’s house and saw that he had dog figurines (小雕像) on the fireplace mantle. “Do you collect dogs?” The little boy asked. “Yes, I have many collections in my house. They are my family here and they are all I have.” The boy then felt sorry for the man, as it seemed that he was a very lonely soul.
“Well, I do have a magazine here for collectors. It is perfect for you. I also have one about dogs since you like dogs so much.” The old man was ready to close the door on the boy and said, “No, boy. I don’t need any magazines of any kind, now goodbye.”
The little boy was sad that he was not going to make his quota with the sale. He was also sad for the old man being so alone in the house that he owned. The boy went home and then had an idea. He had a little dog figurine that he got some years ago from an aunt. The figurine did not mean nearly as much to him since he had a real live dog and a large family.
注意:1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
The little boy headed back down to the old man’s house.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________From that day on something changed inside the old man.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My mouth felt dry as I followed my mother into the doctor’s office and sank into a chair next to hers. This doctor had a room full of gadgets (小装置) and gizmos (小物件) to analyze the learning abilities of failing students. That day he had analyzed me. “I’m sorry to tell you this, Mrs. Dow, but Peter has dyslexia (阅读障碍). A fairly serious case.”
I swallowed and tried to breathe. The doctor went on. “He’ll never read above the fourth-grade level. Since he won’t be able to complete high school requirements,I suggest you enroll (使登记) him in a trade school where he can learn to work with his hands.” I didn’t want to go to trade school (职校). I wanted to apply at Bible College in our town to be a preacher (牧师), like my dad. I forced my tears back. A twelve-year-old was too big to cry. “Thank you, Doctor.” We drove home.
Dyslexia? I’d never heard it before. Sure, I was always the slowest kid in my class. I had a special hiding place where I would cry because I couldn’t do my lessons however hard I tried. Of course, I never told my mom about that. I was too ashamed. I didn’t want to worry her, either. She had enough on her mind with teaching school full-time and taking care of Dad and me.
On reaching home, my mom looked into my eyes with tears running down her cheeks. Seeing her cry was too much for me. Before I knew what was happening, I was in her arms crying. A few minutes later she said, “Honey, I want to talk to you.” I waited, sniffling (抽泣). “You heard what the doctor said about your not finishing school. I don’t believe 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。
I stopped sniffling and looked at her.
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A ray of hope shone through the uncertain future.
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10 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。
Ada looked through the observation window at the kids below, all waiting in line to get into the pool. She turned to her mother with an angry expression on her face. “Mom, they’re all little kids! I’m 15 already! This is ridiculous, isn’t ?”
“I know, Ada,” replied her mother, “but you’re a beginner, too, and you have to start somewhere!”
Ada had never been to a swimming lesson in her life. Between schoolwork and helping on her grandfather’s farm, she hadn’t had time for lessons. The closest swimming pool Ada had been to was the inflatable (充气的) alligator pool her mother bought her when she was five. Now that Ada was older, her mother had found a new job in the city, and Ada faced a new challenge — school field trips to the local pool.
The first day that Ada went with her class to the pool, she had no idea what she was in for. What could be so difficult about swimming? Ada confidently slipped(溜) into the water and held onto the side of the pool, expecting to be able to touch the bottom with her feet. But when Ada let go of the side of the pool, she slipped under the water—the whole pool was one big deep end! Ada threw her arm toward the side of the pool and grabbed (抓住) the ledge (池壁), out of breath. “I really can’t swim! Everyone’s going to laugh at me!” she thought to herself in a panic.
On the next field trip to the pool, Ada sat on the side of a bench, frozen with fear. She huddled (蜷缩) with a towel over her shoulders, too embarrassed to try again. When she came home, her mother noticed right away that Ada was upset. “Honey, I want you to take Bella’s swimming lessons at the local pool. Soon you’ll learn how to swim just like everyone else,” she convinced Ada, showing photos of Bella with her prize-winning students. Ada felt doubtful whether the lessons would help, but she had to overcome her fear.
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。
Then came the time for Ada to take her first lesson.
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Soon Bella came over to where Ada sat and introduced herself.
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