“Don’t forget to study for the European history test on Friday,” Mrs. Beville announced to her students before the class was over.
Julie shut her book and sighed to herself: “Why couldn’t the test be on poetry?” Julie loved poetry and its rhythmic expression of feelings and ideas. Yes, poetry she could understand. But history? “What if I fail? I’ve never been good at memorizing anything for a test,” she thought.
That night, Julie sorted out her notes. She flipped open her textbook to the end of the first chapter, where she found a list of practice questions for the test. “Need some help?” asked her older brother, Joey, who poked his head into her bedroom to see what she was doing. Julie handed him her textbook and said: “Quiz me.” Joey took the book and read the first question. “In what year did England defeat the Spanish Armada?” Julie frowned and pursed her lips. Her left eye ticced (抽筋).“Dates are the worst! Ask another one.”
Joey’s eyes traveled to the bottom of the page. “Who took the throne following the death of Queen Mary I?” “Oh! It’s on the tip of my tongue. It’s —it’s—I don’t know!” Julie shook her head. “Looks like you didn’t study,” Joey said. Julie grabbed her book back and glared at Joey. What did he know about her study habits? She could read a chapter a thousand times, but no matter what, getting her brain to hold on to information was like getting a rock to absorb sand.
The following day, she decided to use library time to study. She found a table in a quiet corner. With her textbook open in front of her, she tried to make sense of all the facts and dates. But it was useless. She dropped her head to the book and buried her face in the pages. “Impossible!”
“Psst, Julie!” Julie heard someone calling her and looked up. Maria from her class was seated at a nearby table.
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。
“Want to study together?” Maria asked, nodding to an empty chair.
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On the day of the test, Julie and Maria both felt nervous.
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In a small village called Brightville, there lived three friends: Kimberley, John and Alicia. They were all students at Brightville High School. Kimberley was a hardworking and determined girl; John was a curious and creative boy; and Alicia was a kind and helpful girl. They shared a common dream of achieving their goals through education.
On a sunny day, the three friends gathered at their favorite spot near the village river. They often met there to discuss their dreams and motivate each other. Kimberley always emphasized (强调) the importance of studying and setting goals. John loved exploring new things and finding creative ways to learn. Alicia, with her caring nature, always supported and encouraged her friends.
One day, they came across an old abandoned library in the heart of Brightville. The library was filled with dust-covered books. Kimberley saw this as an opportunity for their dreams to come true. She suggested turning the library into a learning center for the village.
The three friends spent months cleaning, organizing and renewing the library. They reached out to the villagers, and soon, volunteers joined them to set up the learning center. They created a friendly and welcome environment where students could come to study, read books, and seek help.
Word about the learning center spread throughout the village. Students from all ages and backgrounds started attending. Kimberley, John and Alicia devoted their after-school hours to tutoring (指导) the students. They understood that education was not just about memorizing facts but also about nurturing curiosity and passion for learning.
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。
As days turned into months, they saw the effect of their hard work.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The success of the learning center in Brightville caught the attention of the local government.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________We sometimes think we can take care of things on our own. However, sometimes we need to use the strength of our groups to get things done.
Ray Drake knew this better than anyone, because he was moved to tears when he understood how good it was to have good neighbors when he needed them.
In 1989, Drake lost the use of his legs. The Iowan man did have family, though. His two older sisters were there to help him get his life back on track and deal with his new situation. The plan worked for years, and their love helped him through hard times.
In August 2020, a strong windstorm stopped everything in Iowa. There was terrible damage, and 40% of the crops in the state were lost. People lost their electricity. Businesses were a mess and homes were all broken. So many people had a hard time.
The storm caused Drake to have a specific trouble. There were broken trees all over his yard, and he couldn’t move them. His sisters were also too small to clean up the trees. The three people really needed help.
After about a week, Drake’s sisters decided to ask for help because the power lines were still down and people were still trying to get their lives back together. They called some of their brother’s old high school friends to see if anyone had a chainsaw (链锯) they could bring over to start cutting up the fallen trees.
Doug Applegate, a friend, looked at the damage and realized that just a chainsaw wouldn’t be enough to clear the fallen trees from Drake’s yard and that the family would need more. He made a call for help in the area to see if anyone there could give a helping hand.
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。
Soon, the call for help was answered.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The collective effort turned a seemingly impossible task into a manageable one.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One day, a hare (野兔) and a tortoise (乌龟) decided to have a race to see who was faster than the other. They agreed that the one who first got to the bid tree in the distance was the winner. So they started at the same time.
The hare thought, “My legs are much longer than the tortoise’s. I’m sure to be the winner.” Of course the tortoise was much slower than the hare, but he never gave up and kept moving forward as fast as he could.
As the hare ran a few kilometers, he found the tortoise far behind him.
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In the spare time, Mrs Green always asked her sons, Alan and John to help their neighbor, Ms Maud, to clean her house because she was too old to do it herself. They helped Ms Maud throughout the spring.
Summer vacation just began. The two brothers planned to play tennis with friends every day, so they could make the freshman team. However, Alan’s racket (球拍) was lost, which disappointed him a lot.
As usual, Alan and John came to Ms Maud’s house to help her. They went down the block to the Ms Maud’s and got started. Before cleaning, John put boxes that were thrown around the garage (车库) floor on shelves. When John put a big box on a shelf, he found a tennis racket in the box. It was a new racket, which was exactly what Alan wanted.
“You’ve got to see this.” John took out the tennis racket and showed it to Alan.
“Whoa, where did you get that?” Alan asked. John pointed to the shelf, “It was just in the box over there.” Alan continued to say, “It is so beautiful. My tennis racket was missing. If we take it, I believe no one will ever know.” He looked at the garage door, which was closed.
But John didn’t think it’s a good idea, “Well, we do a lot of things for Ms Maud and don’t get paid. It’s not really stealing. It’s a kind of payment for our hard work,” said Alan. Without hesitation (犹豫), John looked at the racket, took it from Alan’s hand and put it back in the box.
“Hello, boys.” At that time, Ms Maud walked into the garage, surprising them. “I’ve made a cake. Can you come in for a piece? I really appreciate all the things you do for me.” “Ugh... sure, Ms Maud,” said John. “Let us finish up and we’ll be right in.” Ms Maud went back to her house.
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。
Then, John told Alan that Ms Maud always rewarded (奖励) them for helping her.
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After Alan and John finished the cake, Ms Maud walked in and handed Alan a new tennis racket.
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I watched my dad scowl (绷着脸) as he listened to the voice coming through the telephone receiver. I heard him say, “Yes, Miss Beisner,” and “I understand what you’re saying, Miss Beisner. I appreciate you sharing this information. We’ll see what we can do about the situation. Thank you for calling. Goodbye.”
Miss Beisner was my first-grade teacher, and I loved her. I thought she felt the same about me, but now I was beginning to wonder. The tone of Dad’s voice, the redness in his cheeks, and his repeated clenching. And unclenching of fists made it pretty clear. This was not a warm and fuzzy good news-from-the-teacher call.
As I was deciding whether I should lock myself in my bedroom for the rest of my life or run away from home, Dad hung up the phone. “Jacquie, come here and sit down. We need to talk.”
Uh-oh. When Dad said, “We need to talk,” it meant he needed to talk, and I needed to listen.
I shuffled (拖着脚走) over to the well-worn brown chair in the corner of the living room, plopped down, and waited to hear the nature of my crime.
Dad told me that Miss Beisner thought I was bright but not working up to my ability. She said I had strong verbal skills but weak study habits. Translation: I never closed my mouth, and I seldom opened a book. Apparently, my failure to memorize the addition facts, or even attempt to, was more than she was willing to put up with. Hence, the telephone call.
Dad ended our one-way conversation with a verbal outline for his plan of attack. Bubbles, our Toy Manchester Terrier, was going to teach me math. Silently, I thought, No way is any dumb dog going to teach me how to add, not even our beloved Bubbles. Out loud, I said, “How?”
Dad summoned Bubbles from her bed near the stove and commanded her to sit. “Bubbles,” Dad said, “how much is five plus three?” Bubbles let out eight loud, crisp barks.
I was incredulous (满腹狐疑的). I couldn’t understand how a dog could add, and I was more than a little embarrassed by the fact that the family dog was smarter than me.
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: After that, I threw myself into math with newfound determination.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: One day, I asked Dad whether Bubbles really knew how to add.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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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I had all the usual child fears. I couldn’t go to sleep unless the light in my bedroom was on. I dreaded that someday when my mother was distracted, Crazy Betty (our local small-town oddball) would grab me in the grocery store. On the hottest summer nights, my feet had to be wrapped tightly in my bed sheets; if one of them hung bare over the side of the bed, who knew what might grab it in its cold, slimy claw.
But all other frights paled in comparison with the Great Fear, the Titanic of my childhood terrors. That fear — and I admit, I feel a tightening in stomach typing the words even today — was that something would happen to Monk-Monk, my beloved toy monkey. That was the deepest fear of my childhood and I learned from it the lesson of cherishing what’s important in my life.
Looking at Monk-Monk today, you wouldn’t see what I see. You’d see a torn, discolored sock monkey, very much past his prime, stuffing leaking from his stumpy tail, holes on his sock-body inexpertly stitched up with thread that doesn’t match. I see my dearest childhood friend, my companion of a thousand nights. When I was only two and very ill, an aunt made him for me and delivered him to the hospital. I bonded with him fiercely and rarely let him out of my sight. When no one else was around, Monk-Monk played endless games with me, soaked up my tears, and listened to my secrets.
And then Uncle Ken came to visit. He lived in Ohio and occasionally he would come and stay with us for a couple of days. I didn’t know Uncle Ken well, and I didn’t like him very much. I had the feeling that he didn’t really like me, either. He clearly thought it was pretty silly that a big first-grader was dragging a sock monkey around, and he teased me by saying he thought he’d take Monk-Monk home to Ohio with him. His words almost scared me to death. I clutched Monk-Monk more tightly.
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 was at school a few days later when Uncle Ken left.
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Finally Monk-Monk was found jammed behind the sofa.
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Jane Brown sat carefully putting papers into a folder. She had been at the Gateway Nature Center’s office all morning and was tired of filing. She wanted desperately to work with the animals. She had been a weekend volunteer that whole school year and had done extensive research, reading books and websites on natural history. But her mom, who was the assistant director of the center, said Jane was still too young.
Suddenly, the quiet was broken by Amy bursting in. She had been a volunteer a bit longer than Jane and wandered around like she owned the place. “Hurry up, Jane,” she ordered. Jane willed herself to remain still and just smiled back.
Just then, Jane’s mother rushed into the room with Mr. White, the manager. “The hurricane is now approaching the Gulf Shore Preserve,” Mrs. Brown reported. “It needs help preparing for it. I have to go down there with the staff. We’ll take the bridge, so we shouldn’t be gone long. I need you girls to help Mr. White get the storm shutters (护窗) down in the aviary (鸟舍). Then, stay inside with Mr. White. Call me on my cellphone if there’re any problems,” Mrs. Brown directed as she rushed out. Jane was excited to have an opportunity to help the birds.
Amy announced she was now “in charge”. Jane smiled again, saying nothing. Mr. White and the girls worked quickly and were soon back inside. But when Mr. White called Jane’s mother, a worried expression crossed his face. “A storm has flooded the bridge, and they’re stuck there. Also, the storm is heading our way,” he said. Amy was frightened. After silently considering for a few seconds, Jane said calmly, “We should move the birds to the reptile house (爬行动物馆). It’s on higher ground.” Mr. White and Amy nodded. They rushed out of the building. Once inside the aviary, Jane watched Amy lunge (猛冲) from cage to cage.
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.
Jane told Amy not to jump around so much because the birds would be scared by her sudden movements.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2.
After several hours, the storm stopped, and Mrs. Brown was able to return to the center.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Several days ago, local News Channel reported a story between a mother and her son. The mother was a single woman who had been feeling a great deal of anger and bitterness due to her financial and psychological problem, causing her emotions to be unpredictable. Occasionally, she may not pay enough attention to her son or couldn’t respond to his requirements timely. Sometimes, she would even pour her negative emotions onto her child, which made him feel helpless. In fact, this child is a very outstanding and caring boy.
That day, the mother directed her anger towards her child again because of some small matter. Although the child did not resist, the mother still drove the child out of the house, slammed the door shut and left the child outside to reflect (反省).
It was when the mother became calm and a little regretful that she opened her door and found her child missing. Anxious and scared, she searched everywhere, but the child was nowhere to be found. Her anxiety was gradually increasing.
The worried mother thought of seeking help from the police. Quickly, she went to the police station and explained the situation to the officer on duty. The police officer explained that, as a general rule, they couldn’t file a case for a missing child within the first 24 hours. However, they could provide assistance in other ways, such as posting the child’s photo on social media platforms to expand the search area.
After expressing gratitude for the police officer’s kindness, the mother continued searching for her child. Despite trying various methods, the mother still couldn’t find the child. Unexpectedly, the child was wandering in the streets, he felt lost and alone, not knowing where to go or what to do. He felt the tears forming in his eyes but refused to let them down. He didn’t want to show weakness in front of anyone, and it made him feel even more alone.
注意：
1. 写作词数应为150词左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Exhausted and hungry, the child kept walking aimlessly until he finally came across a bench along the street.
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Soon after, the mother arrived hurriedly.
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