I was never “that girl” — the one who had charming appearance, and who enjoyed a colorful social life. I was another girl entirely, one who was considered “nice girls”, and the top student in class. Not that I didn’t care about friends or fun, I just didn’t think it was worth putting lots of time and effort into changing how I looked, how I acted, even as I started high school.
Marissa was “that girl” — fun to be around, good to know. We are different, but our friendship began the first time we met at an exciting soccer match, on the second day of freshmen year. The excitement of the game and our shared interest in soccer connected us, I was deeply impressed with her enthusiasm, while she admired my calm. Our conversations went smoothly, and our relationship quickly turned into a close bond.
However, as the school year progressed, Marissa’s outgoing personality began to conflict with my reserved nature. She stood out in social situations, constantly asking me to attend parties and social events. While I appreciated her efforts to include me, I felt awkward and uncomfortable to be forced into unfamiliar surroundings. Our once harmonious friendship started to crack, I tried to turn down her invitations, but in vain.
One evening, Marissa persuaded me to attend a large party at a classmate’s house. Surrounded by loud music and strange faces, I felt uneasy and upset. Marissa was the queen of the party, leaving me feeling extremely lonely. Her personality attracted others to her, creating a barrier between us.
注意:1.续写词数应为150个左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
At that moment, I realized the growing divide between us.
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Since then, we worked together to find a balance of our personalities.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Alvin Bamburg, 66, was deep in the woods in Grand Cane, Louisiana, last December when something caught his eye. Among the fallen branches and leaves, it looked like litter. But Bamburg was attracted and picked it up.
“God just told me,” he later recounted.
As he drew closer, he saw that it was a broken balloon. Attached was a piece of paper decorated with sparkly star stickers. It was a child’s Christmas wish list.
“Dear Santa,” the handwritten note read. “My name is Luna. I am four years old. I live in Liberal, Kansas. This year I have been nice. I would like candy, Spider-Man ball, Frozen doll. With love, Luna.”
Bamburg’s heart hammered in his chest. Ever since he was a child, he had dreamed of this very scenario. “Years ago,” he says, “classes at school released balloons with notes. I’ve always wanted to find one.”
He believed this was his childhood wish coming true. And he knew he was going to make Luna’s wish come true too.
However, the task seemed impossible, as Liberal, Kansas, is more than 650 miles from Grand Cane, Louisiana. But Bamburg’s wife, Lee Ann Bamburg, didn’t mind the distance. As an enthusiastic Facebook user, she had seen other people find all sorts of connections through the site and thought it might help her husband find Luna.
The next day Alvin posted a photo of the balloon and the Christmas list on his Facebook page, asking for help locating the sender.
At first, he wasn’t confident the strategy would work. But as he saw the number of shares and comments on his post climbed into the hundreds, his hope grew into expectation. “I knew we were going to find Luna.” Alvin said.
And indeed, they did.
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。
One day Luna’s mother came across the post.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When they arrived at Luna’s home, the entire family was surprised.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The summer finally came. That afternoon, the hot sun was shining brightly, making the tree leaves almost burn and making people’s bodies seem to be on fire. Having nothing interesting to do at home, I decided to go to the pool to enjoy the coolness instead of going swimming. The reason was simple — I still couldn’t swim. I was impatient, and I always failed to do something and suffered losses. So the swimming lesson was put off again and again.
Upon arriving at the gym’s pool, I was greeted by a lively scene. Some people just jumped into the water, with hands entering first and the body following in a smooth motion. Some were kicking their legs rhythmically below the surface. All were happy. That was infectious, and I couldn’t help but feel deep admiration. Then I made a decision!
Taking a deep breath, I followed their example, closing my eyes and jumping into the “vast water” with a plop (扑通声).
At this moment, my head was pointing to the ground and my feet to the sky. When I “plopped” to the bottom, my whole body was swinging hard and my hands and feet lost their ability to feel. I just felt water rushing towards me, and my nose was filled with water. It was very terrible. Suddenly, I was hit by something. I struggled out of the light blue water bit by bit as if being dragged.
“That’s horrible!” I shouted 1oudly, and while I was complaining, I suddenly realized that I couldn’t swim in the first place, so why should I be shocked? Just when I decided to stay away from water, someone gently patted my shoulder and said, “Don’t be discouraged, little girl. Look, swimming requires...” The lady introduced herself as Allison. She gave me a “1ecture” on how to hold my breath, how to kick gently, and how to start with floating with the help of a swimming ring, being patient while giving me a demonstration.
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。
“Why not try one more time?” said Allison.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As the day drew to a close, I still could not swim very well.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1.软件使用情况描述；
2.分析该现象的原因；
3.简要谈谈你的看法。
注意：
1.词数80左右；
2.短文开头已为你写好，不计入总词数。
As is shown in the survey conducted by our school’s English newspaper,
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1. 简要描述图表；
2. 你认为教师是否会被人工智能取代；
3. 你的理由。
注意：
1. 写作词数应为80个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
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Last weekend, I was standing at the finish line of the St. Francis Franny Flyer 5K (五公里赛) route, waiting for my nine-year-old son Kade to pass by.
Kade, though a fourth-grader, was already an experienced runner. He had been a part of a cross-country club since he was six years old. He had loved to run for as long as he could remember. He had been working hard to improve his endurance and running skills as he was determined to be a professional runner and compete in national and international races when he was older.
There were two St. Francis Franny Flyer races happening at the same time that day. The 5K race weaved through neighborhoods, from the church to Pinecone Road and back while the 10K followed the same route but extended north on Pinecone Road. Race volunteers were available on Pinecone Road to show runners the way, and there were also signs directing the two different courses.
I signed Kade up for the 5K race as a way to train him for the Junior Olympics. He had never run a 10K, not even in training, so the 10K race was never an option.
Kade was pretty fast and he set a 5K record for his age group at last year’s race, so I was surprised to see slower runners crossing the finish line before him. “This is weird. He should be ahead of them. He might just be having a bad race,” I thought to myself. But as the minutes passed, my worry intensified. My heart raced at the thought that Kade might be lost or injured.
Anxious and worried, I drove along the 5K race route in search of Kade, but he was nowhere to be found. A surge of fear and despair overwhelmed me, causing a flood of tears to pour down my face. I turned to race officials and volunteers for help, and people started looking for 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。
Later, a volunteer told me he had spotted Kade on the 10K course.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Finally, Kade appeared and crossed the finish line.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________On April 8, Mike Krugman, 74, had let his dog Riley out for a predinner walk on his 36-acre property. Krugman got its kibble (狗粮) ready, waiting for it. Sometimes Riley liked to go down to the barn and barked at the horses. When Krugman went to the barn and couldn’t find the dog, he became concerned and decided to take a ride around the property on his ATV. The five-foot fence that surrounds his property was buried in snow, leaving Krugman to wonder whether Riley climbed on the snow and walked over the top of the fence.
There was another possibility Krugman was worried about. Krugman thought that maybe Riley had gone looking for Rose, his wife, who had died of a heart condition in January. She and Riley, who would sleep on her pillow every night, were extremely close. “Then when Rose passed away, it hid behind the bed for several days,” Krugman said. “You could tell it really missed her.”
After Riley went missing, Krugman began to look for it. He tried to find Riley’s tracks in the snow but failed.
Zach Hackett, on May 14, was up 12,000 feet hiking on a mountain in Colorado when he thought he heard a faint yip from a dog. As he walked through a clearing, he saw it: a black and white Shetland sheepdog, visibly shivering behind some fallen pine trees. “Hey buddy,” he called out, then whistled, “Come here! Do you want a treat?” The dog let out a pitiful groan with pain, getting stuck under tangled (乱糟糟的) branches. He was a little startled, because dogs shouldn’t have been up there so high. Hackett realized the dog was too weak to move. It was freezing cold. The dog looked like it was near death. Hackett believed what he’d heard was the dog’s last cry for help, and that if he hadn’t come along the dog would have died there. He tried to call 911 for help but there was no signal. He knew he was going to have to carry him down the mountain.
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。
He took action immediately.
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Hackett dialed the telephone number on the tag around the dog’s neck.
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1. 图表描述；
2. 简单评论；
3. 你的建议。
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。
How to manage after-school time
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“You don’t want that one,” the shelter volunteer said. “He’s broken.”
“Broken?” I asked. Had I heard her correctly? The minute I’d walked into the animal shelter’s cat room, the little black creature had been one step behind me, my shadow. I wasn’t an expert, but he seemed friendly.
“He’s been a stray (流浪的动物) since birth,” the volunteer explained. “He doesn’t like anyone—not other cats, not people. It’s nearly impossible for him to be fully domesticated (驯养).”
“I want to adopt him,” I said.
“Really? But why?” she asked, obviously confused.
“Because he needs a home,” I said. Then under my breath, “and because I’m broken too.”
I filled out the paperwork and left with him that afternoon. Back at home, I let him out of the carrier so he could explore. I watched as this little cat smelled every inch of the house. Eventually, his curiosity satisfied, he settled in my lap. I reached out a hesitant hand to pet him. He purred (猫发出呜呜声).
“Look, I’m going to be honest with you,” I said. “I’ve only been able to love two people in my entire life—my brother and one friend.” Though he wasn’t looking at me, the cat’s ears were pointed in my direction. I knew he was listening. “You shouldn’t expect me to love you. I don’t know how.” I continued. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, his body growing heavy. Then he drifted (进入某种状态) off to sleep.
It took me a week to come up with a name for him. I finally settled on Mr. Bojangles —Bo for short—after the song about a homeless man who, even after being arrested, remained happy and optimistic. The name fit this cat. Even when he was “behind bars” at the shelter, Bo had been meowing and purring, like he was trying to cheer me up.
As he adjusted to life with me, he got more talkative. More often than not, I found myself talking back:
“Meow!”
“Good morning, Bo.”
“Meow!”
“Yes, I’m home.”
“Meow. Meow!”
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。
By the time a month passed, we’d settled into a routine.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The word “love” seemed too big for Bo—until the day I came home and collapsed into bed, weeping.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Sarah had unspeakable pain because she had to raise her children alone. But over time, she changed too much, looking skinny in the mirror, with dark bags under her eyes. She knew she had to stop burning herself out before it was too late. So she emailed her manager that she was taking an urgent day off.
It had to be the best day ever. Sarah hated instant coffee but didn’t have time for anything else. But not now. Sarah placed her favorite coffee maker on the stove and walked to the kitchen windowsill, enjoying her company when her phone rang loudly from her bedroom. “Yes?” “Hello, Sarah! How are you doing?” “Natalie? Oh, my goodness! Is this really you?” …Natalie was Sarah’s friend, but they’d lost touch after Natalie and her husband moved to Europe. Unfortunately, Sarah got so carried away by the conversation that she completely forgot about her coffee on the stove. The weather turned harsh, and strong winds blew the window curtain toward the stove, causing it to catch fire. Sarah put the phone down immediately when she smelled something burning and the smoke caused her to cough.
Sarah’s house was reduced to a pile of charred wreckage (残骸). Her neighbors looked at her pityingly and offered to shelter her until she could find a place to live. But Sarah couldn’t take their favor. She knew no one wanted to see a swarm of children at home, especially in the current economy. Sarah and her children had been dragged to a shelter in the street.
A few months later, it was Sarah’s birthday. She decided to take her children out for a good lunch and then get back to her work. But they didn’t want to and had a strange request. They blindfolded (蒙住眼睛) her, guiding her out of the house. Sarah had no clue what her children had planned for her. She knew they were heading somewhere far from the homeless shelter since they were on a bus at some point.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
As Sarah did remove the blindfold, her hands went to her mouth in shock.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Her neighbors had actually built her a new home.
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