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!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________There are all kinds of enemies, and one of the arts of living is to learn to tell them apart. But consider the kind who never meant to be an enemy at all, and doesn’t want to be an enemy, really. He’s not mad at you; he’s mad at the world, and if you are wandering around on his lonely battlefield, you get shot, which is not meant for you at all.
Let me tell you about one of them. She was the dark-eyed daughter of our town barber: a big, stormy Gina Lollobrigida. Years ago, I brought my two little girls home from South America and put them in school down the road. They talked a very peculiar language that was neither English nor Spanish, and their classmates gave them a hard time. Especially Gina, who was older and the ringleader (元凶) of the terror of the tiny kids. She had an air of anger with her fiery eyes, which seemed to pierce through anyone who dared to cross her path. Her words were hurtful, and even in moments of silence, the tension surrounding her was evident, like a thick wall built between her and the rest of the world. When my daughters were misunderstood and teased because of an unfamiliar language, Gina proved to be the most troublesome among all the students, dominating the younger children and causing chaos whenever she pleased.
Pat and Peggy came home crying almost every day, so I decided to cheer them up. “Let’s have a party,” I said. Pat’s and Peggy’s tears dried magically. Right away they got creative: “Ice cream! Cake, big red balloons!”
“And friends?” I said. The tears started again. “We haven’t got any friends,” Pat cried. Peggy howled, “Nothing but enemies.” Then I had one of my rare inspirations. “Let’s have an enemy party. Let’s invite all your enemies – and we’ll fill them up with ice cream and cake and give them red balloons to take home.
Little Pat and Peggy exchanged knowing looks, and one of them said in Spanish, “Qué passa al Viejo?” (“What is wrong with dad?”)
It turned out that the “Enemy Party” was a mad, merry success.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Another bonus of the party was that Gina seemed a different person afterwards.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I was young, I lived in a small village in Melaka. All the people who lived there helped each other. The village had a variety of trades to meet the needs of the villagers. There was a barber, a tailor, a coffee shop owner, a grocer (食品杂货), and so on. All of us were quite poor but we got by. However, one family which was poorer than the others was the Lim family, who lived in the bicycle shop opposite our house.
Mr. Lim, who mended bikes, had many children — six to be exact. My mother was a kind-hearted soul. Often, she would say that Mr. Lim’s children were dressed in poor clothes and looked hungry. My family was one of the richer ones in the village. My parents would take whatever food we could spare to the Lim family.
I remember one particular year when times were very hard. Even my family had to make do with two meals a day, so we stopped the practice of giving food to Mr. Lim. One day, I noticed my mother looking troubled. She had learned that the Lim family had not been eating for the past two days. She decided to give some of our meals to the family, despite the protests from my brothers that were too hungry. Fortunately, the difficult time did not last long, and the children in our family went back to three meals a day.
As time went on, the number of customers at Lim’s shop increased, which was delightful. Business took off like a rocket, as the Chinese bikes he sold were very useful and popular. The family became much better off than before.
It was at this time that my father’s health was worsening. We were confused by the strange illness he was suffering from. Because he was unable to look after his food store, business got worse. My father had to sell our family car to pay off the increasing bills. My brothers and I had to stop going to school because we could not afford the fees.
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。
When Mr. Lim learned of our difficulty, he said it was his turn to help.
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With the help of Mr. Lim, the situation in my family took a turn for the better.
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注意：1. 续写词数应为 150左右;
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Mike took the last bite of the chocolate ice cream and jumped into the car with his parents. They headed off to the Olympic sized pool for the big swim competition.
When his race came up, Mike was confident. He was strong and swift and won first place, making him the fastest boy in his age group.
One day, his mother sat down at the table with him and said, “Mike, we know you love ice cream, but maybe it’s not health y for your body to eat so much of it. Your father and I think it is making you gain weight. Is it OK for us to quit the sweet treats for a while, especially before you go for the final competition? In order to strengthen your muscles, your father will go running with you three days a week. We think it will help you feel better.”
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。
Mike unwillingly agreed.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Finally the big competition of the season came.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A boy named Ali had a large and harmonious family, happily living with his sisters, parents and grandmother. His grandmother loved everyone a lot and was respected by all family members. She was very old, but sometimes she would recall things from her past and share with them. Sometimes they would believe her but at other times they would think that Granny might be mixing up the facts due to her old age.
One day, when Ali was in school, suddenly while knitting (编织), Granny remembered something and she couldn’t contain her emotions so she got up to tell her son — Ali’s father. She walked as fast as she could to his room and said, “You always asked about my birth date, but do you know today is the day when I was born?”
She looked at her son with an excited expression, expecting an immediate response. However, her son wondered how she could remember her date of birth in this old age when she forgot so many other things, so he didn’t pay much attention to this. Disappointed at her son’s reaction, Granny then went to Ali’s mother and Ali’s sister, but like Ali’s father, nobody believed her.
Sadly, she went and sat in the terrace (庭院). When Ali returned from his school, he found his grandmother sitting alone with a sad expression. Ali asked his granny about the matter, but she said there was nothing to worry about. After a lot of persuasion she finally told him what was troubling her — nobody seemed to care that it was her birthday today!
After hearing what Granny said, Ali thought of a plan. Purely by chance, some of Ali’s friends were playing nearby so he shared his plan with them.
His friends were all willing to help Ali achieve what he planned.
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Ali was so happy to see his granny with tears of joy shining in her eyes.
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Dave had loved basketball for as long as he could remember and he had never had a day without playing it. At primary school and junior high school he joined basketball clubs, attended training programs and watched basketball games, from which he learned the moves of the star players, wishing to play in a professional team like them and shine on the court.
Now as a senior high school student, however, his dream of becoming a professional player was dimming (变暗) because he was only of average height. He had to give up the hope of joining the school team. The guys on the school team were all tall boys who played matches and won honors for the school. They were like heroes. Dave watched them play and cheered them but he knew he would never be one of them.
Dave felt it a pity not to be tall enough, but this didn’t stop him from pouring his passion into basketball. He just played for the love of the sport. He played in the school gym with other boys or by himself every day, even during holidays and weekends, when it was open for two hours in the morning. He enjoyed every minute on the court making every effort to play better.
It was one Saturday morning. Dave was playing in the gym by himself, as all the other boys were busy with other weekend affairs. Then he noticed a tall boy approaching. It was Lankas. Everybody knows him as captain of the school basketball team. “Hi, Lankas,” Dave greeted him. “My name is Dave.” “Hi, Dave,” Lankas replied as he got closer. “Nice to see you here. Do you need an opponent to play against?” Dave was shocked, frozen right there, unable to believe his ears but somehow, he answered, “Why not?”
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。
So, a game of two players began.
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The next Saturday, when Dave was playing in the gym, Lankas appeared shouting, “Dave, I have good news for you.”
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Peter woke up early in the morning. He went downstairs in a hurry and started to have his breakfast as quickly as possible.
“Why are you in such a hurry, early bird?” Mum asked him. “We will have an English spelling test today, Mum,” Peter said. “Mr. White promised to offer prizes to those who get 100 scores. I’ve been studying the word list since last week. Although the words are difficult, I am well prepared for them.”
Peter reviewed the spelling of each word once more carefully when Dad drove him to school. At last, it was time for the students to have a test. “Responsibility,” Mr. White started. Peter wrote it on his test paper quickly and confidently.
“The second word: contribution,” Mr. White said.
“So easy,” Peter thought. He quickly wrote the word down.
Thirty words later, the test papers were collected by Mr. White. “I am to mark your papers now,” he told the class. After marking the test papers, Mr. White said, “Three of you won a prize today for excellent test scores. Peter, David and Mary got full marks on the spelling test!”
Mr. White praised them. Meanwhile, he gave the three students each a dictionary. Peter’s was an English-Chinese dictionary—the one he liked best. Peter was so excited that he held it high when his classmates cheered. “This is my happiest moment,” Peter thought.
After Mr. White gave the test paper back, Peter had a look at the words, feeling proud of his spelling. All of a sudden, the word “contribusion” confused him. It didn’t seem right. Peter began to compare them after taking out the word list. “C-O-N-T-R-I-B-U-S-I-O-N,” he whispered. He spelled it wrong.
“What am I to do?” Peter said to himself. “I expect my classmates to think I’m a master at spelling. If I tell Mr. White one of my spelling words is wrong, I’ll have to give my prize back, or I will become an example for telling a lie.”
Staring at the full marks written on his test paper, Peter was lost in thought. After a while, he remembered a lesson Mum used to teach him, “We ought to be an honest person.”
Paragraph1:Slowly,Peter raised his hand.
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Peter looked around.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The whole class burst out laughing as Bruce rushed into the classroom. He was a strange sight. His half-buttoned white shirt revealed a red pajama top(睡衣上衣) underneath and instead of white school shoes, he had on a pair of bright green shoes that were two sizes too big.
Bruce said quietly, “Sorry teacher”and walked to his seat. Mr. Tan looked at the rest of the students. The laughter quickly turned to silence. Bruce’s classmates always looked forward to Mondays. Nine times out often, they would be entertained by Bruce’s late arrival and his odd appearance which usually included inappropriate clothing.
Bruce lived just a street away from the school. He walked to school daily. Students passing by in buses would shout his name together just to see him jump and stop in his tracks. When he spotted the merry bunch in the bus, he would wave good-naturedly. Although Bruce was likable, he was too lost in his own thoughts to make friends. His classmates found him amusing but they ignored him most of the time. Only Tom, who sat next to Bruce, tried to be his friend.
The following Monday, Bruce did not turn up at school. His classmates were a little disappointed but quickly forgot about him. After school, Tom decided to walkover to Bruce’s house to check on him. As he approached the gate, he could hear violin music. Bruce must be listening to music, he thought. The gate was not locked. Tom let himself in. He called Bruce’s name a few times but there was no response. The music played on. Tom looked in through a window. His eyes widened in surprise. In the middle of the living room, Bruce was playing the violin. His eyes were closed in concentration as he drew the bow (琴弓) over the strings expertly. He played beautifully, so much so that it sounded like a recording. Tom left quietly.
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。
When Teachers’ Day came around, Tom had a plan.
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When Bruce started to play, the audience fell silent.
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Melati and Isabel deeply love their home on the island, surrounded by tropical rain forests, green fields, and a vast ocean. Enjoying a swim at their local beach was once a daily pleasure for them. But when Melati was fifteen, and Isabel just ten, the sisters started to lose their enthusiasm for swimming in the waters near their borne. More often than not, plastic bags would be around them as they swam and some were scattered on the beach. They got really upset about that.
Melati didn’t think much about it until one day her teacher gave a lesson on some world heroes. Each of those people had sparked movements of positive changes in the world. They believed in the impact they could have and they did inspire more people to do something meaningful. After school, Melati walked home slowly in silence, concerned about the vast amount of plastic rubbish on the beach. The heroes crossed her mind. If they could do it, we could do it too, she thought. The idea lit her up. She couldn’t wait to share what she thought with Isabel and quickened her pace.
“So many plastic bags around! The beach is dirty and messy! It’s so terrible! We have lost the clean and beautiful beach. Can’t we do something to get it back?” Melati said heartily. Isabel felt a bit puzzled at what to do, but she also had a strong desire to do something. Picturing a beach as fascinating as before in mind, the pair jumped with joy.
They talked a lot, anxious to know how Dad and Mom would respond to their ideas. That night when the family sat by the dinner table, the sisters eagerly got their ideas across. While Mom and Dad listened to the girls carefully, their eyes shone. “How amazing that would be! We are so proud of you!” Dad exclaimed. Mom came up, gave them a thumb up and hugged the sisters.
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。
Melati and Isabel decided to make a positive impact straight away.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One month later, Melati received a call from the local newspaper.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Thirteen, for me, was a challenging year. I moved to a now town with my father, far from my old family and friends, I was terribly lonely and would cry myself to sleep each night. To ease my sadness, my father purchased an old horse for me at a local auction. I named him Cowboy.
Cowboy was undoubtedly the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn’t care. I loved him beyond all reason.
I joined a riding club and suffered rude comments and mean snickers about Cowboy’s looks. I never let on about how I felt, but deep inside, my heart was breaking. The other members rode beautiful, registered horses.
When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse is judged on appearance, we were quickly shown the gate. No amount of preparation and love would turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the speed events. I chose the jumping race.
One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons. Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn’t need to. I came in next to last.
The stinging memory of Becky’s smirks(得意的笑) made me determined to beat her. For the whole next month I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena(竞技场). We practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home totally exhausted.
All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the course and finish in first place.
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。
My turn finally came.
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As we crossed the line the crowd way shocked into silence.
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