Most nights, there was a light coming from the tiny, windswept island on the other side of the lake. I always thought that was strange because, supposedly, no one lived there anymore. That’s why people called it Ghost Island. Stranger still, one night, the light was flashing on and off.
“There’s the light again,” I said to my brother, Dale, who is 16.
“Yeah. Strange,” he replied, looking carefully across the water.
“Take a look, Ben,” Dad said. He had set up his telescope to view the planets, but now it was aimed at Ghost Island. I squinted (眯眼) through the eyepiece. There’s a spotlight, and it’s flickering (闪烁) — like there’s something in front of it.
Dale looked too. “I bet it’s a tree branch, blowing back and forth in the wind.”
“You’re probably right,” Dad said. “Now check this out.” He pointed his telescope toward the sky and showed us the stars. While we took turns looking, I asked Dad what he knew about Ghost Island.
“Mr. Mori has owned it since I was a kid, so he must be quite old by now,” Dad said. “He used to spend summers there, but I wonder if he still comes up at all.”
Later, Dale and Dad lay on the ground watching for meteors (流星). I wasn’t having much luck, so turned my attention to Ghost Island. But it had gone dark. I looked across the lake, which was smooth as glass. “Huh,” I said. “There’s the light again.” And the flashes appeared in a definite pattern. “It’s an SOS distress signal (遇难信号)!” I cried out.
Dale laughed. “Morse code? No one uses that old stuff anymore.”
“No, watch,” I insisted. “It goes dot-dot-dot, dash-dash-dash, dot-dot-dot. That’s SOS.”
“How do you even know that?” Dale asked.
“Boy Scouts (童子军). When I was in it, I had to send and receive messages using Morse code to get one of my merit badges (功绩徽章).”
“Maybe you two should check on Mr. Mori,” Dad said. “If he’s at his cabin (小屋), that is.”
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。
Dale was skeptical we’d find anyone, but we set out for Ghost Island.
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Mr. Mori gestured to a wall switch and managed a weak smile.
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I had run away from home after finishing high school. My parents had insisted I go to college, but I was tired of school. I hated it. I was determined not to go. And, besides, my father was too strict. I had too many chores to do around the farm. I haled the work!
There had been a quarrel between my father and me. I threw some things into a bag and left angrily, as my father shouted after me, “If you leave, don’t come back!” My mother cried openly, and I had seen those tears during a hundred sleepless nights.
Then it was time to write a letter to my father.
Dear Dad,It’s been more than a year now. I’ve traveled east to west. I’ve had dozens of jobs. None of them amounted to very much. Always the same questions: “How much education have you got?” It seems they always want college men for the good jobs.
Dad, you and Mother were right about everything. I know now that the work on the farm didn’t hurt me, and I’m convinced I need college. I’m also convinced that both of you loved me.
Dad, I’ve learned a lesson. I want to come home. I know you said if I left, I couldn’t come back, but I’m praying you’ll change your mind. I want to come home and be a part of the family again.
Give my love to Mother and the girls.
Love,Your son
As I folded the letter and put it into an envelope, I felt a refreshing relief. It was as if a heavy load had been lifted from my shoulders. And I had to be on my way home.
I started down the desolate road—the long road home. Fortunately, a car picked me up, and it was good to have someone to talk with. The driver was a salesman and very pleasant.
“Where you going, boy?” he asked good-naturedly.
There was a long silence before I said, “Home.”
“Been away from home long?”
I smiled, a little self-conscious, and said, “One year, one month and two days.”
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。
Having heard my story, he expressed his support for my final decision and told me something surprising.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Finally, I arrived home when. it was completely dark.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The snowstorm was supposed to hit the evening of Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. I was working from home, but I had to leave that afternoon and go to my office at First Nations University in Regina, Saskatchewan, so I could sign an emergency financial aid check for a student. As director of finance, I wanted to get it to him as soon as possible, snowstorm or not. Besides, I wasn’t worried. I figured I had more than enough time to make it to the office and get back home.
The route to the university takes about 30 minutes along the Trans-Canada Highway. After I finished my work, it was just past 4:30 p. m. I started heading back home.
Not soon after I left office, the snow started and it was coming down fast. Within minutes I was in a whiteout. The storm was a “snownado,” or what the TV meteorologists call a Saskatchewan screamer, because it comes in fast and so windy that it screams.
The road condition was horrible, forcing me to slow down. The windows were fogging up and getting covered with snow, so I rolled down my driver’s side window, thinking I could better follow the edge of the road and keep to a straight line. But really, I didn’t have a clue where I was or even which side of the road I was on. At one point, I don’t know exactly when, I stopped because I was afraid of driving into a farmer’s field. The Trans-Canada Highway was in between two farms, each 500 yards away, I remember. I kept the car running to stay warm and called 911. They told me to sit tight and wait things out for the night, saying nobody was coming to get me until morning, at the earliest. It was now 6:30 p.m., I had to do something for 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。
I posted my situation onto my Facebook (网络社交工具), hoping anyone might read it and help.
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“I can’t drive,” the old farmer replied, “I walked here after my son phoned me about everything.”
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One day in 1964, my mother came home from work and announced that she had found a pet for the family. My sister asked what it was. My mother said it was a poodle dog named Pepe.
I couldn’t believe my sister wanted a poodle dog — especially one with such a strange name. But she had made up her mind.
Pepe arrived the next night, his short tail bobbing (摆动) happily. I remained distant, thinking poodles should have stayed in France. My sister played with him until bedtime, and he begged for more attention. I ignored him.
He was a skilled digger, so our backyard fence wouldn’t hold him. We tied him; he pulled out of his collar (颈圈). We drove stakes (木桩) into the ground; he dug them up. We put a harness on him, staked the ground and tied him to the laundry pole; he was still waiting for me at the front door at the end of the day, smiling happily.
Every day, he asked me with his eyes to play with him or take him somewhere. At night, he would wait until I fell asleep, leave his bed by the wall heater and jump onto the end of my bed.
One night, I was in a half dream state. Suddenly, my throat and my eyes hurt, and some animal was whining (哀鸣) in my ear. I opened my eyes and saw fog in my room. I wondered who left the window open. Pepe whined and nibbled (咬) on my blouse. Then I woke up and realized that it wasn’t fog in my room — it was smoke.
I couldn’t breathe standing up, so I got down on the floor and crawled (爬行) beneath the smoke. Pepe followed my every move, his curly-haired stomach struggling on the ground. If I hadn’t been so scared, I would have laughed.
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。
We finally arrived in the kitchen, where the smoke was very thick.
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I turned off the burner (炉子) and crawled to open the back door.
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At the end of my junior year, election for student body officers caused quite an excitement among students. It appeared that Debbie would run unopposed for president. Talking among a group of dissatisfied girls, I whispered, “There must be someone who’d run against her.”
Suddenly Liz focused her attention on me. “Why not you?”
“Me? No way. I work after school. I can’t stay for all those meetings. ”
My closest friend, Linda, smiled, “Why not? Just think how great our senior year would be! You could get a real senior trip approved and get better bands for the dances. ”
My little group continued to ignore my protests as they imagined the wonderful changes I could make. By the end of the week, they’d gotten enough signatures to put my name on the ballot (选票).
Debbie and I had very different campaign styles. Because I was always skipping around, I earned the name “Rabbit”. Signs soon appeared around campus with the slogan (口号) “Make your votes count with Rabbit!” My platform aimed for more fun and less restrictions. We wore uniforms and I advocated more free dress days and a broader interpretation of what was acceptable on regular dress days.
My opponent, on the other hand, avoided any implication of silliness on her posters. Catchy slogans had no place in her serious campaign. What she offered was the opening Lawn to all students and a reformatting of the yearbook that would mix ninth through twelfth graders rather than highlight seniors in oversized photos. Gone would be the yearbook with seniors’ quotes and many exciting activities. Lowerclassmen (低年级生) loved Debbie’s idea; would-be seniors, however, were angry.
My classmates supported me and were confident they could persuade enough lowerclassmen to vote my way. Each day I got reports of a few more of lowerclassmen coming to my side.
On election day, I felt fairly confident. I was even looking forward to quitting my job and focusing on school politics.
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。
However, by the end of the day, the votes were counted and Debbie was declared the winner.
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That’s when I noticed my teacher Mr. Laskey, who turned to me and smiled. “Congratulations!”
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We moved to our new place, and everything was new and unfamiliar. I didn’t have new friends, so most of the time when I was free at home, I stayed with Socky, my cat and friend. One morning in winter, it was very cold outside and people mainly stayed indoors to keep warm. Before going off to my high school in Ouyen, Victoria, I called our pregnant(怀孕的) cat to be fed, but she didn’t come. I thought she’d probably found somewhere to have her kittens and would turn up later. But she didn’t.
When Socky still didn’t come at dinnertime, I anxiously asked my mum, “Where is Socky?” But she didn’t know either. The next day, Socky still didn’t appear and I really started to worry. Socky had kept me company for years, and she was just like my family member.
Socky had given birth to some lovely kittens before. She had a habit of having her kittens in strange places, so first I checked all her hidey-holes where she used to stay but she wasn’t in any of them. I became extremely anxious. What could have happened? “Where are you, dear Socky?” Having waited for hours again, I couldn’t sit still. The next day was Saturday and I had the whole day to search for her. Thinking over all the possible places where she could shelter herself, I rechecked under the house, then in the garage under and behind old books, every place I could think of, but still no Socky.
After lunch I took some food scraps(剩饭) with me in case I found her, then began searching the back shed, which was huge and filled with cardboard boxes full of junk and empty tea-chests(茶叶箱). After about an hour of moving cardboard boxes from one place to another and back again, I was tired out. I sat down on an upturned tea-chest to have a rest when I heard faint mewing(喵). I put my head up against each of the tea-chests, pressing my ear against the plywood(夹板) so I could catch the faint sounds. I had to move each one carefully before I could look inside.
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。
Finally, I found Socky and her three tiny kittens.
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Socky was very pleased to see me and purred(发出呼噜声) as loudly as she could.
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我们中国人非常重视除夕夜的家庭团聚。请用英语介绍一下除夕前的准备活动和除夕夜的庆祝活动。
要求：词数100左右。适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
A precious family reunion
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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.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I’ve always known that I’m very quick with my hands. If someone throws something, I catch it almost before I’m aware it has been thrown. When I was young, I had no idea how useful this skill would become.
Last week, I was going to visit a friend with her newborn and was on my way to a toy store to buy a gift. I’d once lived in the neighbourhood and I decided to head back to my old cupcake shop for a coffee. Sitting alone at a table outside with my drink, I was approached by an older man, who in a calm and very matter-of-fact way told me to call 911, because there was a baby on a fire escape.
I jumped up to see where the baby was. I was so surprised to see it, wearing a little onesie (连体衣) and lying on the fire escape railings (栏杆) between the second and third storeys. I was nervous, so the baby boy became my only priority.
As I was on the phone to the emergency services, I made eye contact with the child, keeping him calm, telling him to stay there. Some people were going up the stairs to find the parents, who were apparently sleeping through the whole drama.
I just wanted the child to feel safe. I hoped he’d stay there until somebody could rescue him. Apparently he had slipped through pieces of cardboard placed next to an air-conditioning unit in the window, and without bars to protect him he’d crawled (爬) out and up the fire escape towards the next storey. He was only 16 months old. For him to even climb up and balance in that position was incredible.
Then he slipped. Instinctively (本能), he grabbed on the railing as he fell, hanging by his arms. I knew he couldn’t hold on, 25 feet above the street, for long. I sensed people had gathered behind, but my attention was purely focused on my intention to catch the baby.
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 made sure I was positioned to catch him.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The moments after he was saved were exciting.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Katie was happily jumping rope on the grass in front of her house facing the expansive city park just across the road. The neighborhood residents often enjoyed walking around the lake in the park, and on this pleasant day, with the sun casting its warm light, Katie spent the unhurried moments devoted to her jumping routine.
Her thoughts were focused on her jumping: how to match the spinning of the jump rope in her hands and the jumping of her feet so that they didn’t get mixed, causing her to trip. When her mind and muscles were working together, and when every move flowed smoothly, all of it felt pretty good in the afternoon sunshine. While jumping, she remembered that her grandmother had given her the jump rope for Christmas. She knew that her grandmother didn’t have a lot of money and had to save up to buy the jump rope for her. Before Christmas, her grandmother had taken her to some toy shops to look at different things, hoping to find out what Katie wanted. When Katie finally got the gift, it was not just a jump rope but the very jump rope she had wanted for a long time. She felt especially loved by her considerate grandmother.
The warmth of the afternoon sun enhanced the joy Katie felt as she skipped along. Suddenly a boy rushed across the road to her. Without any warning he robbed her of her jump rope, shouting, “Give me that” and raced back across the road towards the park.
Empty-handed, Katie was left in confusion. It took her a while to recover from the shock. When she came to her senses and realized the theft of her grandma’s gift, tear swelled up. A wave of anger and disappointment swept over her. But in that moment of upset, something unusual in the park captured her attention.
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。
Following the boy quickly, she spotted a group of kids crying anxiously by the lake.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After making sure the drowning girl was okay, the boy walked up to Katie with the jump rope.
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