The newfound team, now officially known as the Wildcats, started their basketball journey with a mix of eagerness and anxiety. The community center’s basketball court became their arena (竞技场), a place where failures were just stepping stones to success, and every dribble (运球), pass, and shot was a lesson in disguise.
Under Mr. Jordan’s guidance, practices became more than just learning how to play basketball; they were about discovering the strengths within and the power of unity. He had an approach to seeing the potential in every player.
One afternoon, as the team gathered around Mr. Jordan, he introduced a new drill that focused on passing and communication. “Basketball is a language,” he explained. “If you can’t communicate, you can’t win. This drill will help you understand each other without words. ”
The drill was a disaster at first. Passes went wrong, and frustration mounted. Jasmine’s quick passes were too swift for Mia, and Lucas’s attempts at humor during the drill only led to more confusion. Eli, ever the observer, noticed the tension and suggested a simple system of hand signals they had discussed in a previous practice. Gradually, the team began to find their rhythm, learning to anticipate each other’s moves and communicate more effectively.
It wasn’t just basketball skills that the Wildcats were developing; it was a sense of belonging and trust in one another. Each practice ended with a team gathering, where Mr. Jordan shared stories from his coaching days, emphasizing the lessons learned from losses more than wins.
注意：(1)续写词数应为150左右；(2)开头已给出。Paragraph 1: Soon came their first real game against a more experienced team.
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Paragraph 2: The second half saw a different Wildcats team.
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I am not a gamer. I’ll be honest: video games and I don’t really see eye to eye, and I have no ambitions to become better. I never have the experience playing against my kids and winning. And that’s okay. Board games, on the other hand, are a different story. At least there, I stand a chance of victory.
One day, my 12-year-old son begged me to play a game with him. He held out a game controller and begged, “Just one game with me? You can use it to control the game through your movements.” His eyes were full of anticipation and I could see the excitement welling up within him. How could I possibly resist such a sincere and heartfelt request? “Just one game.” My son’s face lit up. In a matter of minutes, we were standing in our living room, virtually bowling away.
My son’s amusement at my lack of gaming skills was evident. I could see the struggle on his face as he fought to hold back his laughter. The game controller felt awkward and unfamiliar in my hand, but I did my best to copy my son’s movements and follow his lead. At one point, my son said, “No, Mom. You really have to put some force into it. Like this.” With that, he threw his arm back, stepped forward, and with plenty of force extended out his arm that was holding the controller. Instead of sending the virtual bowling ball flying, the controller went off his hand and broke the TV screen. The impact was immediate and destructive. The screen cracked, sending a crazy mosaic (马赛克) of colors dancing across its surface. It looked like something straight out of a dream.
The air stood still at that moment. The look on my son’s face was a funny mixture of horror, disbelief and guilt. He stayed absolutely frozen for a long moment. Then, slowly, he turned to me. “Mom...” with a weak smile, “Did I just... break the TV?”
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Surprisingly, I wasn’t angry at all.
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____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________For more than 20 years I have been traveling the world, preferring often to spend a year or two in different countries rather than to just visit as a tourist. It has become an important part of my personality as I grew older and shaped the way I saw the world and myself.
My little taste of this amazing life was when I was 19 years old. I was selected among a small group of college classmates to spend a year abroad. This was long before people could travel the world through social media like Facebook and Twitter. In order to see a place, you had to go there and experienced it.
I was raised in a middle-class family and couldn’t afford to travel around the world the way I wished I could. The only way I knew about the world outside was through letters I wrote to pen pals from over a dozen countries as a kid, and from television. Growing up, I always loved the very funny British comedies that were shown on local public television every Saturday night. So when I got the chance to apply for a study abroad program, I chose London.
Living abroad can be exciting, scary and challenging. I thought it would be easier because I spoke the same language as the local people did. But I also like to relish (享受) the little differences between the British and American culture and language. I also learned that in England, they spell words differently than in the U. S. In British spelling, they put a “u” in words like favor to make it “favour” and an “s” in words like analyze to make it “analyse”. I was able to adapt quickly to this new way of writing since I was submitting papers all the time for my classes.
Academically, I got to take classes that weren’t offered at my college back home. For example, I had a course in sociology and learned about the native people of Papua New Guinea.
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: But there were also challenges that year too.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: Sometimes the difficult times made me sad and homesick.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________All my life, I’ve had this dream that causes me to wake up feeling strange. In it, I am a little girl again, rushing about, trying to get ready for school. Deep inside I know where the dream comes from and what it means. It is. God’s way of reminding me of some unfinished business in-my life.
I loved everything about school, even though the school I attended in Springfield, Ohio, in the 1920s was very strict. I loved books, teachers, even tests and homework. Most of all I longed to someday march down the passage to the music of “Pomp and Circumstance” (毕业进行曲). To me, that song was even more beautiful than “Here Comes the Bride”.
But there were problems. With seven children, Mom and Dad had no money for things like fine school clothes. But as long as I could go to school, I didn’t mind too much how I looked or what I lacked.
What happened next was harder to accept. My brother Paul died of an infection. Then my father died. The shock of these losses gave me a blow, and I fell behind in my schoolwork. At fifteen, I dropped out of my beloved school and went to work in a bakery. My hope of walking down the passage to “Pomp and Circumstance” was dead, or so I thought.
In 1940, I married Ed, a machinist, and we began our family. With the coming of children went the dream of schooling. Even so, I was determined that my children would have the education I had missed. All our six children eventually got some college training, and one of them is a college professor.
But Linda, our last child, had health problems. Now Linda was nineteen, and still she did not have her high school diploma. She was repeating my own experience.
I prayed about this problem, and I began to see an answer. I drove to the local high school to check it out. On the bulletin board, I spotted an announcement about evening courses.
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2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
That’s the answer, I said to myself.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________To my surprise, both Linda and I thrived in evening school.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Kids with cerebral palsy (脑瘫) join race.
Thanks to the efforts of some high school student athletes, who helped the physically challenged, the smiles on the faces of 9-year-old Lucas Myrick and 8-year-old Elsa Dent were a little bit brighter.
Lucas and Elsa had cerebral palsy (脑瘫), a condition that limited their physical ability, and couldn’t walk as fast as their peers who were free to walk everywhere. However, they had bright spirits and always held positive attitudes towards adversity and life in all aspects. Impressively, they participated in the Park Lane Elementary School’s annual Fun Run. They wanted to demonstrate that they could participate in the race as the normal kids at school. They were convinced that they could fight prejudice against the disabled in their own way.
When Lucas’ mother, Janell, mentioned their passion for the Fun Run to the athletic director of the school, he was more thanr delighted to assist them in taking part. At last, two members of the high school team showed up to push Lucas in his wheelchair. It was not just the football team that turned up to support the event. Members of the high school cross-country team (越野队) joined in the activity aimed to build up the strength physically and cultivate perseverance in face of difficulties mentally. They ran alongside Elsa who participated in the Fun Run using her walker.
The run was about 1.07 miles. But the athletes did much more than simply pushed Lucas in the Fun Run-they formed an emotional bond with him and even came up with a team name. “The team is called the wheelies!” Lucas said with a satisfied smile on his face. The players pushed Lucas at a steady pace and at the last part of the course, Lucas got out of his wheelchair to give running with his new friends a try. “I was beating one of them on my legs,” Lucas yelled at the top of his voice excitedly. “I was running ahead of him. he couldn’t even keep up with me!” Lucas wheeled himself proudly and gave the audience a triumphant (欢欣鼓舞) smile. He waved his hands wildly to cheer Elsa on.
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 Lucas crossed the finish line, Elsa fell behind although she used her walker (助行器).
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Elsa’s mother cheered her on and asked if she wanted to use her motorized (机动) chair instead of her walker to help her go faster but she declined.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。
Everybody has a surprise event in their life. This even can be positive or negative depending on who gave you a surprise or how you took it. Also, there are many ways in which you think that the surprise could have been better. One of the biggest surprises that I ever got was the one on my birthday.
Just few days before my birthday I realized that none of my friends was going to be around. This was because my birthday is during the holidays. Usually my friends make it a point that they are around during my birthday but this does not always happen. Most of the time, few of my friends are there, but this time none of my friends were around. I even called my cousins but even they had plans. I was disappointed and unhappy. I even told my parents that I did not want to celebrate my birthday this year.
My parents told me that I could go to my grandparent's place and celebrate my birthday. However, even that was not possible, as my grandparents had already planned to go to my uncle’s place. I was extremely sad and unhappy that I would be all alone on my birthday.
Deep down, I knew my parents were trying their best to make me feel better, but it was hard to shake off the sadness. I couldn’t help but wonder why this surprise event had turned out this way. In my mind, I imagined countless ways in which the surprise could have been better, such as having my closest friends show up unexpectedly or receiving a thoughtful surprise gift.
The day of my birthday arrived. I got up in the morning. Despite the initial disappointment, Itried my best to keep an open mind and make the most of my special day, even if it meant celebrating alone. I reminded myself that surprises aren’t always perfect, and that sometimes life throws unexpected challenges on our way. I went down to have my breakfast after a long time and as I went down the stairs, I saw all my friends, cousins and my grandparents there.
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。
They all sang“Happy Birthday”to me.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After breakfast, they decided to take me out for a picnic.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One sunny afternoon, Alice and I were walking home from school, lost in our girlish conversation. Alice, with her curious eyes sparkling, casually asked about my friendship with Judy. In a moment of thoughtlessness, I responded, “I only hung out with Judy because she asked me and I wasn’t keen on being friends with her. She was rather dull.” The unkind words just escaped my lips before I could catch them, like marbles rolling off a table.
Little did I know, Judy had been just around the corner somehow. When I glanced up, Judy appeared right in front of me, having accidentally overheard everything. All the color faded from her face. Her eyes widening with shock, without a word, she rushed off. Alice and I were left standing there, exchanging a look of shame and discomfort. I knew I should run after Judy and apologize, but with my mind blank, I was frozen. Alice’s face turned red, too. We walked home in silence, each step heavier than the last.
The following days were filled with awkwardness. I felt terrible for what I’d said and was dying to mend our friendship. An honest apology was desperately needed. But what should I say? Unintentional as I was, I indeed hurt Judy’s feelings. Every time I saw Judy in the halls or during classes, I’d quickly look away.
Fate threw me a curve ball in our speech class. On Tuesday, Mr. Thomas announced that we would be giving improvised(即兴的) speeches. He had written our topics on slips of paper and put them into a secret jar. Each of us was asked to blindly choose one without knowing what it would be about. I couldn’t say I was not nervous. As I reached into the jar of topics, my fingers closed around the slip that read, “Share your most embarrassing moment.” My heart pounded like a drum roll in my chest. It was as if the universe had come my way to give me a chance.
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Knowing what I had to say, I calmed myself down and walked to the platform.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________That day marked a turning point.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My bike raced through the quiet streets of my hometown as I mentally went through my arrangements for the day. There were a few tasks I needed to finish: borrowing a book, getting a haircut, and most importantly, visiting my beloved former middle school teacher, Mrs. Miles, before the day was over. It happened to be Teachers’ Day, and I wanted to show my appreciation by giving her a meaningful gift. However, I was still unsure about what to present to her.
As I turned onto a busy street lined with houses, it seemed that on the front lawn (草坪) of the gray house in the middle of the block was an old man who appeared to slump (倒下) in a breathtaking garden. Shocked, I stopped my bike, running towards him and shouting, “Sir, are you okay? Is everything all right?” I got close enough to notice his stooping (佝偻的) figure was actually alive and was pushing something into the dirt.
“I’m fine, sweetheart,” he laughed. “Just a lonely old man taking care of his garden.” He looked very weak and already had a stoop. I was concerned about his bending over so much to do gardening. “I’ve been out here for weeks at a time every spring for about the past ten years, and no one has ever stopped,” he said, “Don’t you have anyone to help you?” I asked, immediately regretting the question as a look of sadness passed over his face.
“It’s just me and my flowers,” he said, “My grandchildren used to play here every summer. My wife would bring out lemonade (柠檬水), and we would all sit together, enjoying the beauty of the flowers. But then, within a year, my son moved away with the grandchildren, and my wife passed away.” My heart went out to him as I got a sense of what the garden meant to him. “I can push my to-do list off by an hour,” I thought. With a smile, I asked, “Can you ask your flowers if they wouldn’t mind my joining you guys for a while?”
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。
Amused, he introduced himself as Mr. Jenkins and accepted my offer.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I got up to leave, he added, “Hold on. I’ll give you some flowers”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Emily was a shy girl who often preferred the comfort of her own company. She found it challenging to express herself and lacked confidence in her abilities. However, her best friend Ada always believed in her and encouraged her to step out of her comfort zone.
One day, as Emily sat in her art class, her teacher, Mrs. Anderson, announced an upcoming art competition. The competition showcased the talents of students from various schools in the city. The room buzzed with excitement. Her mind flashed back to her bedroom where impressive art work was displayed on the walls, each piece seemingly more attractive than the last. Emily’s heart skipped a beat at the thought of participating, but her shyness held her back. Self-doubt crept in, whispering that her work wouldn’t measure up to the talent surrounding her. Emily wondered if she had made a mistake by even considering entering.
Ada, noticing Emily’s excitement and fear, whispered, “Emily, you should totally enter the competition! Your art is fantastic, and this could be a great opportunity for you to showcase your talent.”
Emily hesitated for a moment, contemplating (思忖) Ada’s words. A gentle breeze wafted through the open windows, carrying the distant sounds of laughter and chatter from outside. Emily closed her eyes, trying to calm her racing thoughts. She reminded herself of the countless hours she had spent honing (磨炼) her craft, the late nights and early mornings dedicated to perfecting her technique. She had poured her heart and soul into her art, and this competition was a chance to showcase her passion to a wider audience.
With a deep breath, she finally gathered the courage to approach Mrs. Anderson after class. “Mrs. Anderson, I’m interested in participating in the art design competition,” Emily said, her voice slightly trembling. Mrs. Anderson smiled warmly, recognizing Emily’s potential. “That’s wonderful, Emily! I think it’s about time you should share your incredible talent with the world. I’ll provide you with all the guidance and support you need.”
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 following weeks, Emily dedicated herself to creating her masterpiece.
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On the day of the competition, Emily nervously displayed her artwork.
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I love to watch my father paint and I love to hear him talk while he paints. The words always come out soft. As a mason (泥瓦匠) , he doesn’t have a studio, and I’ve always felt a little sorry for him, having to paint in our backyard, which is not exactly picturesque. Dad doesn’t seem to see the backyard when he’s painting, though. It’s not just the canvas he sees either. It’s something much bigger. He gets this look in his eye like he’s gone beyond the yard, the neighborhood, the world.
“A painting is more than the sum of its parts,” he would tell me, and then go on to explain how the cow by itself is just a cow, and the meadow by itself is just grass and flowers, and the sun is just a beam of light, but put them all together and you’ve got magic.
I understood what he was saying, but I never felt what he was saying until one day when I was up in the sycamore tree (梧桐树) . I’d never seen a view like that! I got the feeling that I was flying above the earth. The view from the sycamore was more than rooftops and clouds and wind and colors combined. It was magic. It wasn’t long before I found the spot that became my spot. I could sit there for hours, just looking out at the world. Sunsets were amazing. Some days they’d be purple and pink, some days they’d be a blazing orange, setting fire to clouds across the horizon.
Then came the day. When I was sitting in the branches of my tree, I found two trucks parked right beneath me. Four men came out of the trucks, and started unloading tools, gloves, ropes and saws (锯子) .
Pretty soon they spotted me. One of the men called, “Hey! You’d better come down from there. We gotta take this thing down.”
I managed to choke out, “The tree?”
“Yeah, now come on down.”
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: My heart was crazy with panic.
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Paragraph 2: When I was locked up in my room mourning for the loss of the tree, my father came in with a painting.
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