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.
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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!
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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.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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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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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Every Saturday afternoon, Jimmy and his dad would go to the park to play baseball. They always walked past a homeless man who always sat at the same street corner. Jimmy’s dad always gave the man some money. “Someday, I’ll pay you back, John!” the man said. “Sure, Wayne,” Jimmy’s dad replied.
One day, Jimmy held his dad’s hand, asking, “Dad, how does that man know your name?” John answered, “Oh, when I was in college, I knew Wayne. He was on the brink (边缘) of a big discovery that could bring him a patent. Anyway, things didn’t go well for him. So whenever I see him, I give him some money. And he tells me he’s using it for lab supplies. I don’t think it’s true, but I pretend I do. And when he tells me he’ll share the profits of his discovery, I tell him I believe it, too.”
Jimmy didn’t understand anything his dad was saying, but he felt the compassion(同情) in his voice. So he stopped his dad and gave him a big hug. Jimmy didn’t know it was his last hug. That night, while Jimmy’s dad was out for his evening run, his heart stopped beating.
The only person Jimmy was living with was his grandmother, Wendy. And they ended up living in an old small house. Life got very tough for them. Although Wendy was old, she found a cleaning job. But her health started to fail and Jimmy was very worried about her.
Jimmy became very quiet. To cheer him up, one Saturday, Wendy went to the park and threw the ball around with Jimmy. After that, they came out. And there at the corner, Jimmy saw his dad’s homeless friend, Wayne.
“Wait, Grandma!” Jimmy cried. “There’s something I have to do!” Jimmy walked up to Wayne and turned his pockets inside out. He said to Wayne, “Sorry, but I only have twenty cents.” “That’s okay. Every cent helps!” Wayne said. “How’s your dad? I haven’t seen him for a while.”
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’s dead!” Jimmy cried.
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On year later, Wayne drove to Jimmy’s house in a pretty car with a check for $5 million.
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8-year-old Evan was standing by the sidewalk when he noticed Mrs. Carter opening her shop again.
Several days ago, when Evan was passing by her store, he saw a closed sign on the store’s door. When the shop remained closed for not just two days, Evan was worried he’d never be able to get his “dream job”.
85-year-old Mrs. Carter was a woman selling flowers for a living and Evan had befriended her when he helped her cross the street one day.
Now seeing her again, Evan ran up to her and greeted her. “Can I help you today, Evan? Do you want flowers?” Mrs. Carter asked. Evan smiled, “I’m looking for a job! Can you please hire me?”
“A job?” the elderly lady laughed, thinking Evan was too little for that. But Evan proudly replied he knew many things, like making sandwiches and helping his mom get grocery bags from the car. Mrs. Carter laughed and asked Evan how much money she would have to pay him if she hired him.
Evan shook his head. “All I want is a big bouquet (花束) for my mom. Her name is Stacey and her birthday is one week away. Mom says we should work hard for what we want. I want to work hard for that bouquet. Can you hire me?” Evan asked. Mrs. Carter was impressed and nodded.
Then for a whole week, Evan would come to Mrs. Carter’s store in the evenings and help her, and having Evan around relieved Mrs. Carter’s boredom while she was working. Some customers thought Evan was lovely and entertaining, so they bought more flowers. Mrs. Carter’s business became better.
A week later, on Evan’s last day on the job, Mrs. Carter was emotional. They had grown close for working together, and Evan had become like a grandchild to her. While making a huge bouquet for Evan’s mother, Mrs. Carter secretly placed one envelope into the bouquet. The envelope contained $200. When handing him the bouquet, she said, “Will you come to see me someday, Evan? I’d be delighted to have you here.”
“I will!” Evan smiled and waved goodbye to Mrs. Carter.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
Paragraph1:
Carrying the flowers, Evan rushed home to surprise his mom.
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Paragraph2:
Then, Evan and his mom hurried to return the money to Mrs. Carter.
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It was a cold winter Monday morning. Manu an eight-year-old was sleeping comfortably in his bedroom upstairs, at the Khagal house. Mondays are usually very difficult for him after a weekend break from his school. “Manu, wake up! It’s school time!” shouted out Manu’s mother Akhila, from the kitchen. Manu pulled the blanket over him and ignored his mother’s repeated attempts to wake him up. “Manu! It’s already 6 o’clock and your school bus will be here by 7. So please wake up and get ready. Manu continued sleeping.
Finally, after much pestering and pampering (纠缠和纵容), Manu got out of bed and started getting ready for school lazily. The school bus was already honking (按喇叭) in front of his house while Manu was brushing his teeth. Akhila requested the driver to wait for a few minutes. She quickly helped Manu get ready and helped him get to his school bus.
“Phew! Manu didn’t miss his bus today” Akhila sighed. She was really concerned about her son. Manu couldn’t do anything on time, waking up in the morning or any of his daily tasks. Akhila thought to herself “need to work out a plan to teach him a lesson in self-discipline (自律). Repeated advice and warnings haven’t changed him.”
The next day it was the usual scene at the Khagal house except that there was no effort from Akhila to wake up her son. The time was 7. The school bus honked and Akhila, unlike her usual self, asked the bus driver to leave. There was unusual confidence on Akhila’s face. Manu finally woke up at around 9 o’ clock. He ran down to the kitchen and cried out “Mom! Why didn’t you wake me up? The school bus has already left and I am really late for school today.” He couldn’t stop crying. “I have a math test today and Mrs. Mangat will punish me if I miss her class and the test.” The calm face of Akhila made Manu feel more anxious.
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2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
“Mom, what should I do now? Please help!” said Manu weepingly.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The scene the next day at the Khagal house was a little different.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“What’s this — Ben is trying out for (参加试演) Mr. Zuckerman? What if he ruins the whole party? He’s never acted before.”
My ears burned at hearing my name. It was Lindsey, the most popular student in our school, talking to her friends. She would be playing Charlotte. Obviously, she had no idea that my locker was next to Mrs. Stevens’s room where the tryout schedule was posted.
Lindsey was right. I’d never been in a play. At lunch, with a heavy heart, I told my best friend Trevor that I’d changed my mind. I’d just be backstage (在后台). Trevor shook his head, but he didn’t try to shake my determination.
Rehearsal (排练) started, and I spent Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at school. It was fun to watch the actors from backstage. By the third week I’d learned everyone’s lines (台词).
And then, only two days before the performance, Josh, the student who was supposed to play Mr. Zuckerman, fell off his bike and broke his leg.
Mrs. Stevens called us together. “We can’t get someone ready in two days. We’ll have to put off the play,” she said sadly.
For once everyone was silent. Then I heard Trevor’s voice. “Ben can do it. He knows all the lines.”
Suddenly, everyone looked at me.
Mrs. Stevens asked, “Is that right?”
I nodded.
Lindsey spoke up, “Are you sure?”
I looked at her and spoke out Mr. Zuckerman’s longest line.
When I finished, everyone clapped (鼓掌). Mrs. Stevens said, “All right, Ben, you’ve saved the show. That’s all for today. Ben, Lindsey — can you stay?”
Mrs. Stevens started and directed us on the first act, and then the second. Sometimes I spoke my lines too quickly; sometimes my movements were too awkward. It seemed as if my performance was far from satisfactory.
The next day, Mrs. Stevens helped me during lunch. She taught me how to take control of my voice and take deep breaths so that I’d stay relaxed onstage. I could tell she was worried.
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。
With so many students watching me at rehearsal, I forgot everything Mrs. Stevens had said.
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It was opening night, and I stood backstage, shaking with fear.
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It was just another busy day until I met the boy on the bus. He was not a passenger like me. He was, what we call a street child, an 8-10-year-old kid with a worn T-shirt. These poorly dressed kids were seen almost everywhere in Dhaka city. But what was special about that boy was his face. There was “something” in him that caught my attention. That was an angelic(天使般的)baby face with little care.
He got straight into the bus as it stopped at a traffic light. The bus helper shouted at him in the first place. But instead of talking back, the boy kept silent and started handing out a piece of paper to all the passengers. What was written in the paper was, in short, that his father died a couple of years ago. His mother worked at houses. He badly needed money to help his family, so he wished someone warm-hearted to buy chocolates from him.
This was nothing new to people who took a bus every day and I was no different. I had my earphones on, listening to some relaxing music to kill time. When he came to me to get the paper back, I casually gave him some money. Thankfully it brought some smiles on his face. He was about to give me ten chocolates in return for the money I gave to him when I stopped him.
“I don’t like chocolates, brother. So there is no need of chocolates. You can have the money,” I said.
All of a sudden, the smile on his face disappeared.
“I’m not a beggar. Please take the chocolate, or take your money back.”
His straight answer greatly surprised me. I even felt he was slightly angry. I had given money to many kids before, without taking their chocolates. But this time something seemed different. I realized his angelic baby face was not the only thing special about 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。
The boy put ten chocolates on my seat and got off the bus.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Having got the boy’s name, I decided to help him.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Gemma jumped off the school bus feeling thoroughly miserable. Today had been one of the worst days of her life. How could she show her face at school ever again? It was a total shame. She would not face her classmates at all next Monday morning.
Gemma walked slowly up the tree-lined hill toward the park. She needed time alone to think and cry. Her mom wouldn’t be home from work for another hour or so and she needed fresh air and sunlight after being in school all day. She needed so much more than that; what she needed was a brain transplant. Reading out loud in class today had been terrifying, annoying, embarrassing; she hated every moment of it. She was sweating, her voice shook, her face flushed red, and her heart pounded uncontrollably. Breathing normally was simply impossible in the fear and panic she felt. Gemma wished the ground had opened up and swallowed her whole, which would have been preferable. She stood before the class feeling like a fool. She had heard the whispered comments between her classmates, and had seen the look on her English teacher’s face as she went back to her seat.
Gemma headed for the bench in the walled rose garden that she often visited, as far away from people as possible. She took off her heavy backpack and put it down heavily on the hard seat. The backpack was full of school books and she was glad to get it off her shoulders. She never wanted to go back to school. She sighed deeply, buried her face in her hands, and began to sob in despair. She was sure other kids didn’t have this problem. Some of her classmates even looked like they were enjoying reading out loud and took great delight in being the center of attention. Gemma didn’t know what she was going to do.
“Hello, are you alright, dear?” Startled (惊吓), Gemma abruptly pulled her hands away from her face and looked up in the direction of the voice, embarrassed that someone had seen her crying.
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:
Unexpectedly, her English teacher came up and watched her with kindness and concern.
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Paragraph 2:
Gemma walked home feeling like she was walking a little taller and there was a spring in her steps.
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