When I was young, I always dreamed of playing the piano and giving performances to a large audience in a concert hall. However, I struggled to understand the musical notes and the theory. Despite my parents’ encouragement and offer of piano lessons, I pretended not to be interested, too afraid to try.
Many years passed until one day, at 25 years old, I heard that a new piano studio had opened in my neighborhood. The teacher was recruiting (招收) new students. My childhood dream came flooding back.
I remembered I had initially feared becoming a teacher after graduation. However, I overcame those doubts. I refused to let fear hold me back any longer, so I walked into the studio.
The teacher, Deb, welcomed me warmly. I was relieved to find we were contemporaries (同时代的人) and expressed my desire to play the works of Bach and Beethoven if I could overcome my fear. Deb understood and seemed sincere, so I signed up for 3 months of classes. Still doubtful about my commitment, I bought a small, tabletop electric organ to practice with at home. It wasn’t the same as a real piano, but enabled me to learn some basics.
Week by week, I attended lessons in Deb’s studio. I often passed young students on their way out from their lessons before mine. One day, noticing the textbooks in my bag, a child stopped me and asked, “Where’s your boy?” After some hesitation, I finally answered I was the student. The children then welcomed me and I sat in the studio and listened to a piece a child was working on.
Soon, I gained confidence and upgraded to a full-size piano at home for daily practice. After three rewarding years of lessons with Deb, she announced it was time for me and other students to prepare for a recital (钢琴演奏会) on stage. I was thrilled at the chance to finally fulfill my childhood dream, yet also anxious at the thought of performing before the audience. But Deb believed in me. “Look how far you’ve come,” she encouraged. “It’s time to share your gift with others.”
Paragraph 1:I shook my head and told her, “No, thanks.”
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When I finally finished my performance, I faced the audience and bowed.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Already Perfect
Each one of us struggles with self-worth to some degree. I spent much of my time attempting to achieve perfection in every aspect of my life. What I didn’t realize was that in my efforts to be perfect, I almost lost my life.
During my childhood, I wanted everyone’s praise and acceptance. After I graduated from high school, my struggles with self-worth increased. I began to put pressure on myself to succeed in the adult world. Meanwhile, I wasn’t feeling very confident and successful. I started to believe that my difficulties and “failures” in life were caused by my weight. I had always been a thin-to-average sized person. Suddenly, I was convinced that I was overweight. In my mind, I was FAT!
Slowly, I began to control my food by trying to diet, but nothing seemed to work. I continued to reduce what I ate each day and told myself that I would succeed, and in turn, I felt good about myself.
People around me began to notice my weight loss. At first, they weren’t alarmed; maybe some were even envious. But then the comments showed some concern. “You’re losing too much weight.” “Elisa, you’re so thin.” “You look sick.” “You’ll die if you keep this up.” All their words only made me believe that I was on the right path, getting closer to “perfection.”
My poor nutrition (营养) began to cause me to lose sleep. I found it hard to concentrate on my work or to focus on anything for a long time. I was pushing myself harder and harder at the gym, struggling to burn fat. My parents tried to stop me but I disagreed that I had a problem. None of my clothes fit, and it was hard to buy any, since I had become too thin!
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 one night, I couldn’t sleep again, and my heart beat its way out of my chest.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I lay on the hospital bed, I began to rethink what I did to my body.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4 . 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。
Catherine was the coolest kid in her class. Whenever she went, she was in the spotlight, with a bunch of kids following her and doing everything she did.
Her deskmate, Landy, however, was not in the cool kids’ group. Being the tallest kid in her class, she was teased by her classmates, who were always chanting “Landy, Landy, long as spaghetti (意大利面 )”. Every time Landy heard those silly chants, she could feel her face burst into flames. God knew how she wished the ground to crack and swallow her!
Catherine didn’t really like it when the kids chanted “Landy, Landy, long as spaghetti”. But she never told them to stop either, and nor did she ever talk to her. She liked being popular.
One weekend, Catherine went over to her grandfather for Thanksgiving. Her grandfather lives on a farm at the opposite end of town, where he keeps chickens. While helping to feed the chickens, Catherine noticed a peculiar one. Curling in the corner, it looked smaller than the others and was almost half-bare!
“What’s the matter with it?” She asked her grandfather, with a puzzled frown on her face. Her grandfather told her how chickens could act. “They have a pecking (啄) order,” he explained, wrinkles of concern spreading around his forehead. “If one chicken is different, the others will push it away and keep pecking it. Sometimes they peck it so much that it dies.”
“Oh, what a poor little thing!” Catherine let out a sigh as she scooped the frightened chicken up in her arms, whose heart was beating fast in the bony little body. Suddenly, she thought of Landy, the girl being “pecked” by her classmates. “I’m going to take it home and take good care of it,” she said with a determined look.
Back in school, Catherine told the cool kids about the chicken. “It’s looking healthy,” she said proudly. “It’s fatter and its feathers are growing. Even the cat likes it. She carries it around the garden, and...” Everyone was entertained by Catherine’s story of her lovely chicken, laughter lingering around the classroom.
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. Then Catherine spotted Landy sitting by herself in a corner.
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Paragraph 2. But Catherine walked directly toward Landy, regardless of what they said.
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Mike insisted the bed must be made every day. He and Linda were newly married, so Linda played along. Linda figured he took after his mother rather than his father.However, she took after her parents, who had the girl make the bed. Linda and Mike had no child, of course.They were young and poor and they made the bed in the apartment early in the morning on weekdays before they went to work.
Their habit of faithful bed making continued through the birth of their three children.Linda learned from her mother that even when she was in the hospital having a baby (which Linda did three times in three years), Mike made the bed without fail.
Finally Linda and Mike made the “Big Move” and arrived in California. When they were invited to neighborhood dinner parties, Linda found most Californians just pulled a quilt (被子) over their messy bed, but she always had a proper bedspread (床单), which she folded neatly over the pillows.
Once, when Linda and Mike were having a quarrel, she refused to make the bed. Without saying anything at all, Mike did the job alone.
Of course, years later the children grew up and moved out. There were a lot of changes. Still, Linda and Mike stood on both sides of their bed every morning, neatly making the bed. Whenever Linda wanted to give up their daily routine, Mike would ask her to help him make the bed with determination. It seemed important to his peace of mind.
After they celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary, it occurred to Linda that the way they made the bed was like a symbol of their marriage. Their style had always been both of them working as a team. Mike painted walls, created vegetable gardens and fixed everything that broke inside the house and out.Linda prepared meals and did most of the childcare. This system worked well for them for many a year.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
However, as they were getting old, Mike’s legs began causing him trouble.
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They celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary, and everything slowed down.
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Sports Day was getting close in the school. All the children were very excited and were practicing for the big race. John, one of the fast runners of the school, was confident that he would win for he was not doing anything at all. “You have to work hard to come first in the race John. You are not practicing at all,” said John’s mother.
“Mom, you know how fast I am! Why should I waste my time running? Only I will win; no one else will win!”said John. “John, you may be right but talent (天赋) without hard work is not good at all. This laziness of yours will cost you greatly,” his mother warned him. John just laughed. He was so confident that he would win the trophy (奖杯) as no one else in his class was as fast as he was!.
Tim, a classmate of John, was also participating (参加) in the running race. He was not a fast runner. However, he practiced till late at night and had developed great endurance (持久力) to run the race.
There were a few days left for the Sports Day but John did not practice at all. On the other hand, Tim practiced day and night.
The Sports Day was almost around the corner but John was confident that no one could beat him and had not practiced at all. But Tim with his hard work had become a very great runner.
At last, the Sports Day arrived. All the students showed up on the ground to cheer their favorites. The coach blew the whistle (口哨) and everyone began to run toward the finishing line. It was so exciting. John and Tim left all the racers far behind. Both of them were neck to neck.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Suddenly, John went ahead of Tim.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________John’s mother came up to Tim and praised him for his hard work.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I was little, I lived in a house with a beautiful garden full of all kinds of Bowers. There was nothing I enjoyed more than sitting in the garden with my mother reading stories to me. When I was old enough to read, I enjoyed reading stories aloud to her.
I would never forget one day when I was in the third grade. I bad been picked to be the princess in the school play, and for weeks my mother had rehearsed (排练) my lines so hard with me. But however easily I acted at home, the moment I stepped on stage, every word disappeared from my head. Finally, my teacher took me aside, explaining that she had written a narrator’s (解说员) part to the play, and asked me to change roles. Her word, kindly expressed, still hurt, especially when I saw my part go to another girl.
I didn’t tell my mother what had happened when I went home after school that day. But she sensed my pain. Instead of suggesting we practice my lines, she asked if I wanted to take a walk in the garden.
It was May and roses were blossoming and, under the trees, we could also see yellow dandelions (蒲公英) in the grass, as if a painter had painted our garden with red, yellow and green. I watched my mother casually bend down by one dandelion. ”I think I’m going to dig up all these weeds,” she said, pulling it 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.” “Yes, every flower is beautiful in its own way, isn’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. She listened and smiled to me gently.
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。
Para 1: “But you will be a beautiful narrator,” she said.
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Para 2: After the play, I took home the flower.
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Ali and his younger sister, Zahra, lived with their parents in a poor neighborhood. Their mother was very sick and their father was struggling to find a job, and they had only a little money with which to buy food. As they had not paid the rent for several months, the landlord was breathing down their necks.
One day, Ali took Zahra's shoes to a shoe repairman to be fixed, but he lost them on the way home. It wasn’t until he got home that he realized he had lost the shoes. He was afraid that his parents would be angry and disappointed, so he begged his sister to keep it a secret. Zahra agreed and the two decided to share Ali’s running shoes. Zahra's school hours were in the morning, so she would wear them first. After school, she would rush back and give them to Ali. He could then run to his school, which began in the afternoon. Although he ran as fast as he could, Ali often arrived late and was warned by the school.
Ali heard about a long distance race that was held for the boys in the city.When he learned that the third prize was a new pair of shoes, he decided to take part. He ran home excitedly and promised his sister that he would win her the new shoes.
The day of race arrived. Ali had a strong start, but halfway through the race he began to get tired and his legs began to ache. Getting more and more exhausted he thought only of Zahra and his promise to her. Dreaming of the new shoes he would win for his sister gave him strength, and he stayed right behind the two fastest runners, determined to finish third. Suddenly, as the finish line drew near, another runner collided(碰撞) with Ali from behind and he crashed to the ground.
Ali looked up and saw the other boys rushing ahead.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Filled with delight, Ali walked home quickly.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old highly educated son. Suddenly, a crow (乌鸦) rested on their window.
The father asked his son, “What’s this?” The son replied, “It is a crow.”
After a few minutes, the father asked his son for a second time, “What’s this?” The son said, “Father, I have just now told you, it is a crow!”
After a little while, the old father again asked his son a third time, “What’s this?”
At this time, some expression of anger was felt in his son’s tone when he said to his father with a firm reply. “It is a crow, a crow.” A little while later, the father again asked his son a fourth time, “What’s this?”
This time, the son shouted at his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again, although I have told you so many times ‘IT IS A CROW’. Are you not able to understand this?”
A little later, the father went to his room and came back with an old diary, which he had kept since his son was born.
On opening a page, he asked his son to read the page.
When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary:
注意：
1. 续写词数应为120左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
Today, my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa.
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Paragraph 2:
After reading the diary, the son cried, feeling sorry for what he had done to his father.
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With only a week before New Year knocked on their door, Faith sat at her old sewing machine—a special gift from her late mother apart from her sewing skills—secretly sewing new clothes for her father and three younger siblings (兄弟姐妹) and preparing them for Easter.
Faith was the eldest daughter in the family and responsible enough to shoulder her disabled father’s responsibilities. Faith’s father, George, lost his arm in an accident. Despite his disability, George did his best to raise his children, but money was tight, and there were a lot of mouths to feed.
When George couldn’t afford new beds for his children as they grew taller and older, he made new furniture with one hand. It took him several restless nights to arrange the supplies and complete the work. Out of gratitude, Faith decided to do something for him a week before Easter.
“Let’s have a festive dinner, Dad!” she told George. “We haven’t celebrated anything since Mom’s death. Let’s make a change this New Year! Please!”
“Honey,” George said helplessly, “I barely have any money left, and I’d hate to see my children go to bed starving.”
But then George looked at the sadness in his children s eyes and realized he shouldn’t have said that.
“But,” he added, “I guess I can try, can’t I? I can get some eggs and flour, and let’s get your mother’s cookbook from the attic (阁楼). She had these inexpensive and delicious recipes in there. How about that?”
“Oh, perfect!” Faith cheered. “You’re the best, Dad! We’ll finally have a proper dinner!” she shouted to her younger siblings, and the joy on his kids’cheeks made George realize that nothing was more important to him than the happiness of his children.
The next day, George could take his kids to shop. The single father rolled his shopping cart through the aisles (过道), picking up a large bag of flour, a dozen eggs, and cheap sliced ham. After they finished shopping, George and his children decided to walk home because the grocery store was only a few blocks away.
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。
Suddenly, the bag slipped, and George knelt to pick it up when a young lady, Emma, stepped out of her car.
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When getting home, George invited Emma to his home for the festival dinner.
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