Sports bring us together
Sports are more than competitions.I used to be very shy and often felt lonely. Although I did well in all the academic subjects, I was afraid of physical education. Even kids in the neighborhood would laugh at me. “Look at that girl,” they said. “Her feet don’t leave the ground when she runs!” Their words embarrassed me. At school, whenever the teacher organized some competitive games, no one in the class would choose me as their partner or team member. As a result, I often ended up looking at others enjoy their games.
Things would go on like that if not for a sports meet in my high school. By mistake, my name was put on the list of those who would compete in the women’s 1500 meters race. By the time people found the mistake, it was too late to change.
My deskmate, Mary, was a natural athlete. She said to me, “I couldn’t run that race in your place, because I have signed up for three items already.” I nearly broke down. 1500 meters! Running against the best runners in front of the whole school! It would be the worst nightmare I’d ever have!
“You still have time to catch up because there is still one month before the sports meet,” Mary patted me on the shoulder, “That is cool! You will run for our class! And we will do training together.” Yes, this is not just for myself, but for my class. But still, 1500 meters to me was like Mount Everest (珠穆朗玛峰) to a beginning climber. I had no idea even how to start my preparation.
Mary invited me to join in their training. Every afternoon after class, several of us ran together. When the fear of being laughed at flooded over me, I saw others running right beside or stand by the tracks cheering for us. They gave me strengths.
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。
Before I could realize how fast one month went by, I was standing behind the start line of the sports meet.
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As expected, I was almost the last to cross the finish line.
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It was time for the annual Potato-Salad Contest in Russet Park. After trying for the third time, Alexis shook her head sadly. There was no way she would win the Golden Potato again because Grandpa wasn’t here this year.
Memories of how Grandpa taught her to make potato rose in her mind. She sighed and missed Grandpa so much.
Alexis cut the potatoes and mixed the boiled potatoes, some sauces and a little salt and peppers in a bowl. But it didn’t taste right. Alexis tried a bite of the salad mixture, wondering what was missing. Seeing her frown, Mom suggested, “What about something spicy? Your Grandpa loved spicy things.”
“You’re right! Maybe he put a jalapeno pepper in it,” Alexis said, cutting up a bright green jalapeno and adding it to the bowl.
It was closer, but it still didn’t taste right. Alexis was drooping her head, disappointed. “Should we look in a cookbook?”
“Grandpa was never one to follow a recipe,” Dad entered the kitchen and said.
It was true. People loved Grandpa’s potato salad because it was one of a kind. Alexis remembered posing with Grandpa for a photo while they were making the salad.
Photo! That gave her an idea. Alexis hurried to the bookcase and found an old photo album. She immediately flipped it open, expecting to find clues in the photos there. Lots of photos showed Grandpa and Grandma cooking together. Dad laughed, “He and Grandma loved to tease each other but he always called her Honey.”
“Do you think he put honey in the potato salad?” Mum asked.
“It is worth a try,” said Alexis. She stirred some honey into the bowl.
But it still wasn’t quite right. Alexis’ heart sank, on the verge of giving up. Dad kept flipping the album. At the end of the album was the picture of Grandpa and Alexis making the salad together.
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。
It looked like Grandpa was crying in the photo.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With hesitation, the family tasted the potato salad with onions in it.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My dad and I had been looking forward to the Stale cross-country race of my senior year of high school, which would be the climax (顶点) of my existence.
I was the fastest runner on my team, and I was supposed to make it into the top fifteen. We had been working towards this race for three years. It was everything to me, and it was everything to my dad. He was a runner and was wild with joy by my success in running. He made it to every race, even flying home early from business trips to see me run. I always listened for his voice, which rang above the crowd-telling me to relax my arms, calling out my time. He pushed me. He cheered for me. He believed in me. We spent countless hours on the sandy canals of Arizona. Breathing in the dust of the desert, the blossoms of the orange trees, and the terrible smell of the dairy farm, we made our way across the city. We pounded miles and miles into our running shoes, marking with every step the path to greatness. It was a journey that was just ours. A dream passed on from one generation to the next.
Then the big day came. It was hotter than normal - too hot. My throat felt like a field of cotton, cracked with the summer heat, as I waited for the gun to fire. I gazed out at the crowd; dozens of familiar faces from church and school flickered across my view. They had come for me. They were counting on me. I saw my dad set his watch, worry and excitement etched across his face. With the sound of a gunshot, the race began.
For the first two and half miles, I felt great. I had never before been so ready for something. The weeks leading up to the race were filled with hard practices and a strict diet. The scorching sun beat upon my back, blinding me with its brilliance. Nothing was going to stop me, though.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
However, without warning, my strength was running out.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I whispered, “I’m so sorry I disappointed you, Dad.”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I was in middle school, my family moved to Seattle, where my parents started their new business — a small grocery store downstairs my house. As a girl of shy and reserved nature, I had to take a fresh start to fit into the sophisticated city life.
One sunny day, my school announced an exciting event, a talent show for the local food bank. Students were encouraged to showcase their unique talents in front of the public in the city hall on National Day. A buzz of excitement fed the school as everyone began preparing for the big day. Deep down, I felt a spark of curiosity and a desire to participate. However, my self-doubt held me back, “I don’t have any special skills to share.”
Days turned into weeks, and the talent show drew closer. I couldn’t shake the upsetting feeling until one day, Emma, one of the most popular girls in my class, came to me while I was helping in the grocery store after class. “How about singing together in the talent show?” She grinned, “I heard you singing a tune, along the way back home. I can’t help following you here.” Gosh, I couldn’t believe my ears. Emma, with personality and popularity, acknowledged my little talent. Since Emma had the world’s prettiest voice, I felt like being favoured by fortune.
“You two? The talent show for the food bank?” My mum bent towards us and her face lit up. “A big occasion.” Then a light bulb seemed to go in her head. “Why not practise right now upstairs? I bet you’ll be a perfect match.” Winking at us, she seemed to know we were thinking alike.
Emma and I embarked on rehearsing almost every single day after school. We brainstormed, exchanged ideas and rehearsed the scene. As the days rolled by, I was feeling pretty good about our act. But the day before the performance, Emma called that she had an acute stomachache and was not in any shape to perform.
注意：1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
I was completely knocked out by the news.
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Finally came the big moment.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In the first grade in senior high school, I was extremely shy, I had friends, but it just wasn’t in my personality to be very outgoing, even when I knew someone. I was afraid I would do or say something wrong, so usually I just smiled and listened to other people’s conversations.
I did well in school and I loved to write. However, I would escape into my writing, where I could be myself and never had to worry about what other people thought of me. In my stories, I was never shy, I often imagined that I was the main character in the story. My teacher, Mrs. Sather, always encouraged me to write more and be myself. She told our class to go after our dreams and dig in with great efforts. I thoughts he was one of the first people to see my inner strength.
One day, she showed us a play she had written and announccd that our class was going to perform it. “I’ll begin to choose all the performers tomorrow” she said, “I need someone who is not afraid to be onstage in front of a lot of people to play the lead part of Dorothy. Anybody wants to try?” A few excited hands shot up -mine, of course, was not one of them and Mrs. Sather smiled. “We’ll talk more about it later,” she said. Then the bell rang and my classmates slowly left the classroom.
“I will never do that,” I thought. But after rereading the play, I was deeply attracted by the story and couldn’t help imagining myself to be the main character Dorothy. There seemed to be a new person inside me, a much more daring, outgoing person who had been hidden all along, just waiting for the opportunity to appear. However, I still felt shy and could never picture myself acting in a play in front of two hundred people. Having struggled for a few minutes, I still did not know how to make the decision.
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 I was packing my schoolbag, Mrs Sather asked me to go to her.
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One week later, it was time for me to perform on the stage.
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内容包括：
1.你身边的环境问题;
2.相应的解决办法。
注意：1.词数80左右;
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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Catherine was a mother of three and after her husband died three years ago, she had to step out and earn money to make ends meet.
In the beginning, she worked as a sales clerk at a store. But as her children grew older, she knew she must find a new job which could pay a higher salary (薪水). One day, Catherine was walking home after her shift (轮班) at the store when she spotted a construction site. Realizing that the money she would make by working there was more than her current salary, she thought she might be able to work there. She then approached the manager. After learning about her circumstances, the manager hired her on the spot. Then she left her job at the store and worked full-time at the construction site.
However, Catherine kept her new job a secret from her children. She thought they would feel embarrassed after learning their mother worked at a construction site. Every morning, Catherine would wake up and make breakfast for her children before dropping them at school. Then, she would go to the construction site and work until her shift ended. She would pick up heavy bricks on her shoulder to transport them from one part of the site to the other. One weekend, Catherine’s son, Peter, told her about an upcoming contest in school that required mothers to participate. In the competition, students would wear blindfolds (眼罩) and have to recognize their mothers without looking at them. “That sounds like such a cool event, Peter!” Catherine said. “I won’t go there with you, Mom,” Peter replied. When asked why, Peter said that he would have to touch Catherine’s hands to recognize her. “Everyone would look at them, but your hands are so ugly. They’re so hard and rough,” he added. Catherine felt terrible after hearing her son’s excuse for not participating in the competition, but couldn’t say anything in her defense. She had to stay quiet and keep working at the construction site to make ends meet.
Paragraph 1: A few weeks later, when Peter was returning home earlier one day, something unexpected caught his attention.
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Paragraph 2: Later that night, Peter decided to apologize to his mother.
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In 1989, fresh out of high school, I had the difficult task of choosing a career path before college started in three months. In those days in Pakistan, there were limited options (选择): becoming a doctor or an engineer, or entering the financial world after getting a business degree. I wasn’t interested in engineering, so I was left with medicine or business. I couldn’t decide.
My uncle, an influential person in the family, suggested that I do a work placement to experience it for a month in an international company followed by a month in a hospital. After that, I could make a decision.
It seemed like a brilliant idea. I was accepted for a month’s placement at a foreign bank in Karachi. I got a feel for how the world of finance functioned, made new friends, and generally enjoyed the mostly easy-going work surroundings.
The month passed rapidly, and soon I began working at a leading hospital in Karachi. The experience couldn’t have been more different. The hospital had an intense (紧张的) environment. The days started early (at 7 am, compared to 9 am at the bank), and were heavy with endless duties. And the night calls! This was crazy, working all day, through the night, and again the next day.
I began thinking about my two experiences. The bank had offered a more relaxing atmosphere (氛围), better working hours and less stress. The hospital was full of excitement and unpredictability, but the studying and training was difficult. It seemed that the business option was going to win out.
Near the end of my month at the hospital, I was driving home after an especially busy night call. In front of me was a public bus, with college students sitting on the top. As the driver weaved through (穿梭) traffic, I could see the boys shaking from side to side.
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, a boy fell off the back of the bus.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The next day, when I went to hospital to see the boy, all his family got up, with grateful smiles on their faces.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One day, my brother and I were alone in our apartment. The reason was that my parents had both gone for a ball party and had left me in charge of everything. I was doing my homework while my younger brother was watching TV. All of a sudden, the doorbell rang. DingDong! DingDong! My younger brother had rushed to the door before I decided to answer the door. We both thought that our parents had come home. As a result, he unlocked the door and opened it.
Outside of the house stood a man who wore a black raincoat and black rubber boots. He looked no different from other people and he said that he was a salesman and asked politely if our mother or father was at home so he could talk with them.
Without any thinking, my brother said, “No.” He asked if we would like to buy some comic books, which he was selling. I quickly explained to him that we were not supposed to buy anything without our parents' permission. However, it seemed that he was not willing to follow my advice and he had an intention to enter our house.
Then, I realized something terrible would happen. As I was about to close the door, he forced his way into our house. He took out a knife and forced me to tie up my brother's hands with some rope which he took out from his pocket. I tied up his hands but I tied it in a special way so my brother could untie himself as we often did. The man then tied my hands up and locked both of us in the kitchen.
Soon, he went upstairs to search the bedroom for something valuable. I managed to teach my brother to untie the rope on his hands. He then untied me. I rushed to the telephone to call the police, but the line was dead.
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。
The doors were all locked from the outside and what's more, I did not have the keys.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Just at the same time our parents came back home.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was a chilly autumn evening. Sarah, a tired businesswoman, left her workplace and drove home. When she turned a corner, she spotted a puppy in the middle of the road. The dog was muddy and trembling. His eyes held a glimmer of both hope and despair. Sarah couldn’t ignore the poor puppy. Approaching him cautiously, she coaxed (哄) him and brought him home.
Over the next few days, Sarah tried her best to look for the dog’s owner, but in vain. It seemed that the dog had been abandoned, with no collar or tags to identify its owner.
She determined to take care of the dog, which she named Max. She kept him in the backyard, feeding him, providing water and watching him chase his tail in the yard. The puppy trusted in her slowly with Sarah’s gentle care and patience. Sarah had a happy feeling she never had before.
As days passed, Sarah became more comfortable with Max’s presence. When she was working, Max would sit calmly by her side. When she woke up in the morning, Max would sit near her bed with a playful bark, demanding his daily walk. The early morning air was cool, and the rising sun cast a warm glow on them. Sarah realized that Max had been a great comfort to her.
As days turned into weeks, Sarah grew more attached to Max. She found herself looking forward to coming home every day, excited to see her furry friend waiting at the door. Then, she would lovingly prepare Max delicious meals. His eyes, once filled with sadness, now sparkled with gratitude. He would eagerly follow her around the house wherever she went. Max became more than just a pet; he became a loyal friend and a source of happiness for Sarah, who had discovered a newfound balance between her career and personal life. They became inseparable.
One evening, as Sarah and Max were out for their regular evening walk, something unexpected happened. A social media post attracted her attention. A lady named Emma was anxiously looking for her missing dog, Buddy.
注意：
1．续写的词数应为150左右;
2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Her heart sank as she saw the photo of a dog.
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Sarah arranged the bittersweet reunion.
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