Jason was a 10-year-old football player who lacked a little speed, yet he made up for it through his good attitude. Jason never missed a practice, even though he was a substitute (替补队员) on my team and had few chances to attend the game. Even so, Jason was never discouraged, and always made a sincere effort.
One day, he didn’t come to practice. When he didn’t show up on the second day, as his coach, I called his home to check on him. One of his out-of-town family members informed me that Jason’s old grandfather had passed away and that the family was making funeral (葬礼) arrangements. When his grandfather was alive, he never could see Jason play; it made Jason feel bad. Now his grandfather had gone; I felt sorry for Jason.
Two weeks later, Jason returned to my team, ready for practice. Only three days of practice remained before our next game. This was an important game because we were against a very strong team. And we only had a one-game lead over them. This was a critical game at a key point in the season.
When the big day rolled around, my top players were ready to rush onto the field. It was a summer evening and the sky was filled with beautiful shiny stars. Before the game, Jason and other players lay on the grass to relax. Jason, who lay beside me, stared at the sky all the time. Suddenly, he whispered to me with excitement, “Coach, look at that shiniest star! My grandpa is on it. He said he would be on the shiniest star in the sky after he was gone.” Touched, I said, “Sure, boy!”
Minutes later, the game started and my top players ran to the field. Jason together with me and a few other substitutes watched on the bench. To my disappointment, my team didn’t perform well.
注意：1.续写词数应为 150 左右;
2.请按如下格式作答。
When the other team scored two goals while my team scored none, I was so anxious.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Motivated by Jason, my team played with more enthusiasm.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________There was a story that all the kids at my school told. I don’t know if they believed it but some of them certainly acted as if they did. On the way from my home to school there was a little old cottage. You could only just see the cottage, as if it were trying to hide itself behind the trees and bushy garden. At times the children had seen a little old woman make her way along the leaf-covered path from the front door to the mailbox. Her fingers were twisted in funny shapes, her body was bent over and her back hunched (弓背). If she lifted her head to look at you, her face was all wrinkly. “The witch at Number 97” was how most kids spoke of her. “Don’t look in her eyes,” you could hear them say. “She’ll capture you in a magic spell (魔咒), take you into the house and never release you again.”
In the mornings and at the end of the day, my friends and I would pass Number 97 in a group. We felt safer and more secure in numbers. But now, I played the recorder so well that I was asked to join the school band, and that meant staying after school one afternoon a week to rehearse (排练), so I had to walk home all by myself.
I set out as I normally would but as I began to approach the little old cottage it looked scarier than ever. For a while I hesitated, not knowing what to do. I wanted to run but felt I really needed to just walk my way as usual. I took some deep breaths and tried to think of something different: Home, supper and my bed. When I started thinking about the witch again, the cottage appeared big and frightening in my thoughts. “No,” I said to myself, “concentrate on how good it will feel to get home,” and with that I started to feel easier.
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。
But as I reached the front gate to Number 97, my heart almost stopped.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________From then on, I visited her after every rehearsal and gradually knew her sad story
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I live in a poorer quarter of my small Maine town, but I like it here. It’s pretty and I know all my neighbors.
Some years back I returned home to find that my house had been broken into. As I said, I know all my neighbors and therefore I had a pretty good idea who the burglar was. I spoke with the police and when I made my suspicions (猜想) known, they rolled their eyes. “He’s got quite a record already,” they told me. “If you accuse Jared (not his real name), he will go to the youth center.”
I asked the police to hold off until I could speak with Jared. In the interim (期间), I went to his high school and told the principal what had happened. I also came up with a way that wouldn’t involve the law.
My next stop was Jared’s house. When he saw me, fear filled his eyes. “It’s OK, let’s take a walk.” I said as he walked beside me. I asked why he had broken into my house. “If I take you to court, you will stay in the youth center for six years.”
A look of regret appeared across Jared’s face and I caught the moment. “Look,” I said, “and listen carefully. I spoke to the high school. I’ve offered to mentor (辅导) you for one school year. This means you have to meet with me for one hour every week. We will spend a half hour on homework and a half-hour talking about anything you like. But you must repay the money you stole from my house. “He took the offer. To Jared’s credit, he showed up in a quiet, dedicated (专用的) space in school every Friday morning.
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。
I learned about his broken family.
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I held out my hand to Jared and said, “That’s it.”
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One sunny Saturday morning, I got ready for a hike with my classmates. I was so excited about it since it was my first time to go hiking. I ate a light breakfast just a few slices of bread and an egg. After that I grabbed my backpack and hurriedly ran out of my house and then met my classmates at the school gate. At that time I didn’t think that there would be a terrible disaster ahead.
The jungle (丛林) that we are going to was far from our area. Its name was Salymbia Jungle. The drive was 3 hours long but it was not a dull ride as we were all eager about the hike and we bad each other’s company. We appointed a guide and his name was Thomas. He said that he had hiked in the Salymbia Jungle lots of times, and he was familiar with the pathways. When we arrived, Thomas allowed us to begin. There were a wide variety of plants which I had never seen before. The smell of the jungle was so earthy. All of us were amazed by the beauty of the scenery and the sound of the creatures.
After a while we were walking and then I looked at my wrist (手腕) to check the time but then I realized my watch had fallen off. Then I walked back without telling anyone. I did not worry about getting lost since there were other persons behind and I thought I would have been able to catch up with my classmates. I went back searching the pathway and I lost track of time and lost sight of my classmates. I immediately realized that I was alone.
After I realized I was lost, the first thing I did was to check my phone to see how far away I was from my companions. However, I was having no luck because there was no network in my phone, which made my phone practically useless.
Paragraph 1: The sky started to become darker.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2: As I was falling asleep, I heard a human voice.
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It was a painful time for me. At 42, I was slowly coming to terms with the idea that I might never be able to have a child due to my health condition. Up until that point, I never really gave much thought to being a mother and suddenly I could think of little else. My husband and I had been together for ten years before we decided to get married because neither of us was in a hurry to do so.
Motherhood just wasn’t part of the plan. As my 40th birthday approached, I began, for the first time, to notice babies and their happy, smiling mothers wherever I went. The voice inside me cried out, “It’s too late! You missed your chance to be a mother! You wanted an all-consuming career, and now you’ve got one.”
One day I headed to a café. An elegantly dressed, slightly older woman was seated a few stools (凳子) away at the half-empty counter.
“Would you like to see a picture of my daughter?” she asked me.
“Sure,” I said. She handed me a photo of a smiling Chinese girl. The child was about seven years old and was wearing a Snow White costume.
“That’s Melanie. She’s in the first grade,” she said, introducing herself as Jill. I could hear the motherly pride in her voice.
“She’s pretty,” I said.
“I love her costume.”
“What made you decide to adopt her?” I asked.
“I didn’t want work to be my whole life,” she said.
I’m not sure if she saw the tears welling up in my eyes as I replied, “I don’t either, but I’m afraid it’s too late.”
“I was 51 when I adopted Melanie,” she said with more than a hint of reassurance in her voice. “And it’s the most rewarding, exciting thing I’ve ever done.”
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。
A few days later, I told my husband that I wanted to look into adopting a girl from China.
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We recently reconnected on Facebook with Jill.
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Mark grabbed his keys. He needed to get out of the house quickly. He had been trying to save as much money as possible from the government assistance he received due to his disability, but it was harder and harder with prices rising daily.
Unfortunately, he lost half his right arm in a car accident several years ago, and it was hard to find a new job in his town in Tampa, Florida. He lost his previous job recently when the company went bankrupt (破产). For now, he only had those government checks keeping him fed, but he was tapping into his savings for everything else, and they were running out fast.
One of his friends had gotten him an interview and he was on his way. But after closing and locking his door, Mark turned around and got the shock of his life. A pregnant (怀孕的) woman was lying on his lawn, and/he had no idea how long she had been there.
He grabbed his phone and called 911 quickly, and suddenly, it started to rain. Finally, it came, and he explained to the doctors that he had to move her because of the rain.
“Don’t worry, sir. She’s cold, so it was good that you moved her. Do you know this woman?” asked the doctor. Mark shook his head.
“Can I give you my phone number? If you don’t find her family or anyone, can you call me? My name is Mark Higgins.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” the doctor said, noting down his number and leaving with the woman.
Mark closed his door and sat down on his couch, hoping his heart would stop beating so fast. Suddenly, he remembered his interview and looked at the clock. He was late for it. He dashed to his car, praying they would wait for him.
注意: 1, 续写词数应为150左右；2, 请按如下格式作答。
He got no calls, which meant his interviewers probably didn’t like him due to his being late.
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Seeing his lost right arm, David came up with an idea to reward Mark.
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A Chair for My Mother
My mother works as a waitress in the Blue Tile Diner. After school sometimes I go to meet her there. Then her boss Josephine gives me a job too. When I finish, Josephine says, “Good work, honey,” and pays me. And every time, I put half of my money into the jar (罐子).
It takes a long time to fill a jar this big. Every day when my mother comes home from work, I take down the jar. My mama empties all her change from tips for me to count. Then we push all of the coins into the jar.
Sometimes my mama is laughing when she comes home from work. Sometimes she’s so tired she falls asleep while I count the money. Some days she has lots of tips. Some days she has only a few. Then she looks worried. But each evening every single shiny coin goes into the jar.
We sit in the kitchen to count the tips. Usually Grandma sits with us too. Often she has money in her old wallet for us. Whenever she gets a good bargain (划算的交易) on tomatoes or bananas or something she buys, she puts by the savings and they go into the jar.
When we can’t get a single other coin into the jar, we are going to take out all the money and go and buy a chair. Yes, a chair. A wonderful, beautiful, fat, soft armchair for Mama and Grandma. When Mama comes home, her feet hurt. “There’s no good place for me to rest my feet,” she says. When Grandma wants to sit back and cut up potatoes, she has to get as comfortable as she can on a hard kitchen chair.
So that is how come Mama brought home the biggest jar she could find and all the coins started to go into the jar.
Paragraph 1:
Now the jar is too heavy for me to lift down.
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Paragraph 2:
Finally we find the chair we are all dreaming of.
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When I was about ten years old, my brother and I received a wonderful gift — tennis rackets and balls. We had never had the opportunity to play tennis, so this was exciting. However, there was one problem — the small town we lived in did not have a tennis court.
One Sunday morning my brother said, “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Let’s take our tennis rackets and balls to the school and hit the balls against the school building.”
“Great idea! Let’s go,” I agreed, not realizing what a lesson we would learn before the experience was over.
When we got to the school ground, no one was around, so we began hitting our balls against the side of the two-story brick building.
“I’ll hit it the first time,” my brother suggested, “then you hit it the next time. We’ll hit it back and forth to each other.”
So we began taking turns hitting the ball, getting more confident with each stroke. Actually, we became pretty good at returning the ball and we were hitting the ball higher and faster each time.
Suddenly, the unthinkable happened — the ball got out of control and went crashing through one of the upstairs windows.
We looked around and no one was in sight — except there was an old man stting on a porch halfway down the block.
Quietly, I asked, “Now what should we do? Our ball is inside the school.”
“Well,” my brother responded, “no one will know whose ball it is. And no one saw us, except that old man down there. And he probably can’t see this far.”
“He probably doesn’t know who we are anyway,” I added.
“Let’s go home,” my brother suggested.
“Okay,” I agreed. “Should we tell Mom and Dad?”
“I don’t know,” my brother answered.
Then we picked up the rest of our balls and headed for home, keeping silent all the way with our heads drooping.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式作答。“What happened?” asked my mother, seeing us in low spirits.
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The following morning my brother and I went to the headmaster’s office.
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“Will you do me a favor, Achenyo?” Mama called as she looked up from her weaving. Beside her was a pile of wild-grass stalks (秆). Mama took a stalk, laid it along the length of the half-finished bag, and began to weave (编织). In the corner were pots of dyes (染料) she’d use to paint the finished bags. “Will you get me some water for the dyes?” “Of course, Mama!” Achenyo picked up a pot as she ran outside. She didn’t like weaving, although it was a tradition for a mother to pass on the trade to her daughter. Outside, Achenyo called to her neighbor Ajuma. Both girls, with pots balanced on their heads, made their way to the river.
Achenyo and Ajuma soon arrived at the water’s edge, and they found a huge surprise. The river was gone! In its place was a blanket of dark green leaves and lavender-colored (淡紫色的) flowers. “Oh no!” Achenyo cried. “Mama won’t have water to mix the dyes for her bags.” When the adults arrived at the riverbank, they shook their heads, saying “They’ve struck again!”
Last year, the rainy season had brought an invasion (入侵) of water hyacinths. The plants had covered the river and left no room to dip a pot to get water. And now they were back. The adults walked into the water. They began pulling up water hyacinths and throwing them onto the riverbank. When they’d cleared enough plants, the girls filled their pots with water. A pile of water hyacinths lay on the riverbank. What a shame to waste such pretty flowers, Achenyo thought. She picked some for Mama, and then the girls headed home. Each day, they found the river covered by water hyacinths as if no one had cleared the waterfront (水边地) the day before. To fill their pots, they again had to pull up and throw water hyacinths onto the riverbank. The pile on the sand grew taller.
One day, as Achenyo moved an armful of dried water hyacinths out of her way, she had an idea. Carrying the plants under her arm, she ran home.
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。
3. 参考词汇：weave vt. & vi. (wove, woven) 编织
“Mama, will you teach me to weave?” asked Achenyo eagerly.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One afternoon, Achenyo held up her finished work made from water hyacinths.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Allen was playing in his room. He heard a familiar chirping and rustling from the cage in the bedroom corner. It was his beloved Blue Finch, named Mary. The boy had cared for the bird since he was six, a gift from his mother for graduating from kindergarten and entering primary school. Now, at 12 years old, Allen had just recently celebrated his primary school graduation and was about to take another step in his life journey toward junior high school. For the past six years, Mary was his constant companion and closest friend.
As he grew up, Allen found it difficult to make friends or be close to others. Having had to move around many times and transfer schools due to his father’s work in the military, Allen never felt like he truly belonged in any one place. He always knew it wouldn’t be long before he would have to move yet again. The stress and pressure of a constantly mobile life also led to strain and pressure at home, leading to loud arguments and fights between his mother and father which he could hear from behind closed doors.
But, throughout all of this. Allen’s closest friend and companion-the true source of stability in his life — was Mary, his finch. But Mary was more than just a simple, calm pet: whenever Allen felt sad, the bird would always be singing and chirping, almost as if she sensed how he felt and wanted to lift his spirits. And when Allen fed the bird, Mary always moved across her branch to rest against his finger, never failing to bring a smile to Allen’s face. Yet, one summer day after Allen had come home after a walk at the park he found the window of his bedroom open and the door of Mary’s cage open-the-bird was gone. Suddenly, Allen realized that he must have left the cage open after cleaning it and forgot about the window being open on such a hot day. Upset, Allen fell down to the floor sobbing.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150词左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Upon hearing the noise, Allen’s mother rushed upstairs and asked what had happened.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Filled with anticipation, Allen and his mother went outside to look for Mary.
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