When Mary entered the south Pole Penguin Research Lab, she saw her friend Tom gently stroking (轻抚) a penguin in his arms. As children of the lab scientists, Mary and Tom often observed the emperor penguins that were studied to understand how they adapted to extreme temperatures —insights that could aid human survival.
“We’re thirteen, Tom. It’s time to grow up and stop playing with the lab penguins,” said Mary as she started cleaning. “They’re research animals, not pets.”
“But the birds listen to me1” insisted Tom, his breath forming a cloud in the freezing air. “You’re just trying to be a penguin whisperer again,” Mary replied, shaking her head with a gentle smile. The penguins seemed playful as they walked, dove, swam and chased their live fish for sport before eating.
Suddenly , an alarm rang out and red lights flashed , signaling a problem. The kids rushed over to look into it. “It’s colder than before —there’s ice forming on the water,” noted Tom. Though always cold, Mary had never seen ice here before. She checked the habitat monitor and found that the temperature had gone down a lot. “The heater must be broken!”
Mary quickly sent a message to their parents’ research team, who were conducting outdoor studies. With the adults away, the kids would have to deal with the freezing conditions until help arrived.
Time dragged as Mary and Tom anxiously waited. The increasing cold caused them to shake. “I wonder what emperor penguins do in extreme cold, since they stay in the Pole all winter instead of going somewhere warmer,” asked Mary. “They huddle (挤作一团), ” Tom answered. “They huddle together tightly so that the birds in the middle will be warm enough.” “What about the ones on the edge?” Mary asked. “They push their way towards the center, and then move back out to the edge, and struggle back again. Scientists in the early 21st century recorded it.” He replied as he stared at the large crowd of the penguins in the lab.
注意：1.续写词数应为150 左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
”I have an idea to stay warm1" Tom shouted excitedly.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Two and a half hours later , the parents returned with help.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My 16-year-old daughter. Lin, had always been a cheerful girl, full of laughter. Her transition (转变) to senior high school was originally met with great enthusiasm (热情). She would come home every day, sharing with us tales of her new experiences, her friends and the fun news of high school life. But as weeks went by, she became quieter and something seemed to be troubling her deeply.
My husband and I realized something was wrong. but we decided to wait until she was ready to open up. One evening, I prepared her favorite jiaozi for supper, hoping it would cheer her up. However, that night, it was different. She seldom touched it, lost in thought. After the meal. we gathered in the living room. a space where our family had shared many heart-to-hearts. The air was heavy with unspoken words. My husband and I exchanged a quick look before I decided to break the silence. I gently brought up the subject, “Lin, you seemed worried lately. Is everything okay at school? You know you can always open up to me and your dad.”
Lin looked up. her eyes reflecting a mix of frustration (沮丧) and hopelessness. “Mom, I’m really struggling with physics. No matter how hard I try. I couldn’t understand it a little bit. I feel so lost.” she admitted, with her voice trembling slightly. My heart sank as I saw the sadness in her eyes. Physics had always been a challenging subject for her, but this time it seemed to go beyond the usual difficulties. Then I reached out, holding her hand and trying to offer comfort and said, “High school is a big step. and it’s okay to take some time to adjust (调整). The most important thing is that you’ve been honest about how you’re feeling.” My husband cut in, “We can work through this together. step by step. Remember, we are always here for you.” Then we offered her some practical advice.
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。
Over the next few weeks. Lin followed the ways we discussed.
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Finally came Lin’s final-term physics exam.
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Brianna Kemp’s father had to move her entire family from Chicago to a small town in Maryland after his business went bankrupt. He didn’t lose faith in life, though, and decided to start his family’s new life there.
Along with the move came a new school for Brianna, who was 14 years old. She had a difficult time accepting the move, as she was a popular cheerleader at her school in Chicago. She also had a good set of friends, and she didn’t exactly like meeting new people.
When it was time to go to school, her father drove her there to wish her well. “Good luck, sweetheart. I know this is going to be difficult for you, but you can do it. I know you can!” he said, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
“Thanks, Dad,” Brianna said quietly before leaving the car. While she was sad, Brianna didn’t want her dad to worry even more, so she put on a brave smile and waved before her father drove away.
When she got to the school, she was greeted by the school secretary, Mrs. Keppler. “Hello, welcome to Chester Middle School! I’m going to give you a quick tour of the school,” she said.
“Thank you,” Brianna responded shyly and nervously.
Mrs. Keppler showed Brianna around, pointing her to the cafeteria, the school auditorium, and the gym. They also passed through the art and music rooms, the science laboratories, and the kitchen.
Finally, Brianna was led to the classroom and started her suffering first school day. Faced up with so many new faces, she made a brief self-introduction, still nervous. Then she was guided to sit in the back row alone. During the breaks, all the students seemed so familiar with each other. Brianna found it hard to start a conversation with any one of them, as they were always busy with their own friends. She felt like she was an outsider and didn’t belong. What a suffering the first school day was! So were the following weeks.
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 the day was finally over, Brianna shared her day with her father.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Over the next few weeks, things changed beyond Brianna’s imagination.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Have you ever felt so embarrassed (尴尬的) in your life that you wanted to simply disappear? Well, I have.
My worst day began on a hot Monday morning when I was in the second grade. My class would choose some players for a baseball team on that day. For some reason, I had overslept that morning. And in my hurry to get dressed, I took the first white shirt I could find. I hurriedly put it on, rushed out of the back door and headed for school. Unfortunately, my mistake didn’t show itself until we were all on the baseball field.
Earlier, I had noticed a few of my classmates looking at me and talking among themselves. A few others were laughing. But I knew they weren’t mean kids; maybe they had just found something funny. So I didn’t think their behavior was directed at me and I didn’t give it much thought at the time. But as we were all standing around and waiting to be chosen for a team, one of my friends finally told me what all the talking and laughing were about.
I could hardly believe it! In my hurry to get ready for school, I had accidentally taken one of my sister’s shirts. There I was, waiting to be chosen for a team and wearing a girly shirt known to all. The shirt was complete with beautiful little blue flowers, heart-shaped buttons down the front, and many other features that showed it was a shirt designed for girls.
I was so embarrassed that my face was burning red. When I finally calmed down a little, I realized I had to do something — this situation called for quick action. Knowing I couldn’t leave school, I rushed to the school closet (壁橱) and crazily searched it to see if I could find any clothes. Finally, I was lucky to discover a piece of clothing. It was an old heavy coat that I left there the previous winter.
Paragraph 1:
I quickly put it on to cover my shame and embarrassment.
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Paragraph 2:
Seeing I didn’t want to go to school, my mom asked me the reason.
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1. 互动不积极的原因；
2. 你的建议并说明理由。
注意：1. 词数 100 左右；
2. 可适当增加细节， 以使行文连贯。
Respectable teachers, boys and girls, good afternoon!
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That’s all. Thanks for your attention.
One day after school, Susan’s eight-year-old daughter Liz went home with disappointment. She cried sadly and told her mother that she failed to be chosen for the school basketball team. And Liz kept saying that she was an unlucky girl. Susan knew that her daughter enjoyed playing basketball and had been practicing hard for the chance, so she must be terribly sad.
After knowing about the situation, Susan decided to cheer her daughter up. She went over to Liz, asking, “ Would you like to come with me to the supermarket and be my helper ?” To Susan’ s surprise, Liz agreed at once. Susan then gave Liz twenty dollars and a shopping list, saying she could use the change to get a treat for herself. Liz was excited and rushed away to get ready.
When they arrived at the supermarket, Susan advised Liz to put the twenty-dollar note in her pocket. Liz helped her mother collect goods and fill the shopping cart (购物车) while keeping an eye out for the things she wanted. She worked out how much change she would have, and then chose an apple pie as her treat.
With all goods collected, Liz went to the checkout counter (收银台) happily. Just then, she found her twenty-dollar note was gone! In tears, she rushed to her mother and told her about that. “What a bad day! I’ve met so many terrible things today!” she cried. “Take it easy. We’ll go to the help counter and see what the workers can do,” Susan comforted her.
The workers at the help counter made an announcement (公告) over the loudspeaker, “We have a little girl here who’ s very sad because she lost the twenty-dollar note her mother had given her for shopping. If anyone finds the money, please kindly bring it to the help counter.”
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
Moments later, a worker gave Liz a twenty-dollar note, saying a lady just handed it over.
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“Well , actually I didn’t find the note. I gave away my twenty-dollar note,” the lady said.
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When I was in middle school, my social studies teacher asked me to enter a writing contest. I said no without thinking. I did not love writing. My family came from Brazil, so English was only my second language. Writing was so difficult and painful for me that my teacher had allowed me to present my paper on the sinking of the Titanic by acting out a play, where I played all the parts. No one laughed harder than he did.
So, why did he suddenly force me to do something at which I was sure to fail? His reply: “Because I love your stories. If you’re willing to apply yourself, I think you have a good shot at this.” Encouraged by his words, I agreed to give it a try.
I chose Paul Revere’s horse as my subject. Paul Revere was a silversmith (银匠) in Boston who rode a horse at night on April 18, 1775 to Lexington to warn people that British soldiers were coming. My story would come straight from the horse’s mouth. Not a brilliant idea, but funny; and unlikely to be anyone else’s choice.
What did the horse think, as he sped through the night? Did he get tired? Have doubts? Did he want to quit? I sympathized immediately. I got tired. I had doubts. I wanted to quit. But, like Revere’s horse, I kept going. I worked hard. I checked my spelling. I asked my older sister to correct my grammar. I checked out a half dozen books on Paul Revere from the library. I even read a few of them.
When I handed in the essay to my teacher, he read it, laughed out loud, and said, “Great. Now, write it again.” I wrote it again, and again and again. When I finally finished it, the thought of winning had given way to the enjoyment of writing. If I didn’t win, I wouldn’t care.
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。
A few weeks later, when I almost forgot the contest, there came the news.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I went to my teacher’s office after the award presentation.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Eric was a nine-year-old boy who lived with his single mother, Stacey and sister, Lily. They lived a hard life. Eric felt bad for their situation but worse for himself, especially in school.
Eric’s leather boots were worn out. They didn’t protect his feet from the rain, and his socks became totally wet as water went through the holes in his shoes. Stacey attempted to fix the holes but it was no use. Eric still walked to school with that pair of broken shoes. How much he wished he could also have new comfortable and expensive shoes his classmates wore!
One day, Eric returned from school and complained to Stacey, “It was raining today. Water has leaked into my shoes again. I hate my boots! Why can’t you get me new ones?” Stacey was sad and helpless. “I spent our last savings on your sister’s medicine. She’s sick. Eric you know that. You need to act like a responsible big brother!” she answered. Tears welled up in Eric’s eyes. “I hate you!” he shouted. “You only care about Lily! You don’t love me!” Then he cried and ran to his room.
After preparing dinner, Stacey went to his room with his dinner plate. “I’m sorry, Eric,” she whispered to comfort him. “We’re going through a very tough journey recently. But I’ll get you new shoes in the future.” However, Eric refused to listen to her.
The next day, when Eric went to class, he took his seat quietly and hid his feet under his chair, as usual. He was embarrassed to show his boots. As the math teacher Mrs Fletcher entered the class, all the students greeted her. “Today, we have a very special friend with us,” she smiled. “Everyone, please welcome Ben, your new classmate.” Soon after, a boy with a pair of crutches(拐杖)entered. The new boy only had one leg. Eric was shocked. He and all his classmates thought how unlucky Ben was and that he must be very shy and sad.
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: At that moment, Mrs Fletcher asked Ben to introduce himself.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: Inspired by Ben, Eric realized he should appreciate what he had.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My husband Erik and I had promised the kids a Labrador puppy.
I’d seen the ad at the local hardware store. “Thirteen puppies in all, “Sally, the owner, said when I called. ”There’ re only three left. “I decided to take a look the next day. The boys jumped and shouted excitedly as I copied down directions and hung up the phone.
Early the next morning, still discussing names, we wound our way through the mountains to meet our family’s new best friend. Our boys had simple names: Ike, Sam, Ben, and Dom, so they Preferred simple names like Rosy ,too. Finally, we met the sweet little dog. ” Rosy, “the boys called it softly. Our little puppy cocked her head. ” She likes it,“they cheered and set about making Rosy comfortable for the long drive home. They offered her a chew toy and lifted her up so she could see out the window. They took turns holding her in their arms lovingly and offered her a snack.
Though small, Rosy grew strong and healthy beneath her shiny black coat. And, just as I’d hoped, she was a calming addition to our houseful of noisy boys. But something was wrong. “It’s like she doesn’t know how to play,” Sam commented one day after school. “Dogs have different personalities, just like people,”I said. “Besides, she’s still very young. ” “But her legs aren’t very long, and one eye is smaller than the other,”Ike added, trying to make sense of why Rosy was different from other puppies he’d met.
I looked across the room to where Rosy sat between the boys. The last golden rays of autumn sunshine shone brightly on her face. Sure enough, one eye was misshapen. Not only that, it didn’t glint (闪光) in the afternoon light. I drew in a breath. Rosy, our puppy with a name as short as her four little legs, was blind in one eye.
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。
Everyone in the room became serious and sad.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Surprisingly, the boys refused to give the little puppy back.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Sandy and Jane came to see the jobo tree on the hilltop again. Jobos were their favorite fruit, but the tree belonged to a lady who lived in the house by the hill. They heard she was difficult, but that sometimes she would give fruit in return for an errand(差使)
The girls finally gathered their courage to knock on her door. An elderly woman with a fierce look answered, staring down at the girls. “We heard …”said Sandy, her voice shaky, “that you give jobos in payment for running an errand.”
The lady raised one eyebrow, then went into the kitchen and took two baskets. She pushed them into the girls’ hands.“Go fill these with jobos, and come right back.”
The girls raced up the hill to the tree and filled the baskets with the ripest jobos. Back at the house, the lady filled a bag with rice and handed it to Sandy. “Take this bag and one basket of jobos to the Brown family. And ask them for the payment,” the lady added with a tight smile.“If you return without the payment, you won’t get the fruit.”
The girls struggled all the way with the bag and the basket. When they were there, Mrs. Brown answered the door. Inside on the floor were three little children, each painting something on papers.
Mr. Brown was lying sick in bed.Times were hard.
The girls handed her the food.“This is from the lady with the jobo tree, ” said Sandy.
“She asked for the payment, too.”Jane said awkwardly.
“The payment! The payment!” The children repeated, waving the paper in their hands happily.
Sandy and Jane looked at each other strangely. With a smile, Mrs. Brown handed Sandy a large sealed(密封的)envelope so full that it was almost starting to break open. The girls said goodbye and left quickly. “I wonder,” Sandy murmured, “whether Mrs. Brown can afford to pay for that food.”
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。
Worried, the two girls discussed what was in the envelope as they walked back.
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The lady opened the envelope, took out a pile of papers, and smiled.
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