With a broad smile on her lips, Sirin, a15-year-old girl, ran with joy to show off her new painting to her mom. But the mother spoke in a hushed tone, “Shh.. honey. I am busy with an important talk. I will look at it. Just wait for sometime, OK?”
Sirin frowned (皱眉) and decided to show it to her dad.
“Dad, see what I have done,” Sirin announced aloud in a thrilling voice.
Dad turned around while adjusting his tie and showed the thumbs-up.
Immediately, blowing her two cheeks, Sirin complained (抱怨), “Dad, you haven’t seen it yet.”
He smiled at her, saying, “No time, baby. I’ll look at it later.”
She was not a kid to be pleased with a simple gesture or a smile. Dad was in a hurry, so he just kissed her forehead (额头), and rushed to go to work.
Sirin stood there for a few seconds, and then rushed into her own bedroom. She threw her painting on the floor, closed the door and lay on her bed. Looking up to the ceiling (天花板), she thought to herself, “Why is everybody so busy?” Her eyes were filled with tears. She thought that her mom and dad would admire her painting,but they didn’t pay any attention to it. It seemed that every single person on this earth was busy with their own work and no one had time to share a single moment with her, neither in happiness nor in sorrow! She was fed up with (受够了) everybody having “no time” for her.
When her mom called her for dinner, she came late to join them on purpose. “I made this special noodles for you, honey,” said Mom while passing the bowl towards Sirin. Sirin kept silent and didn’t want to give a look at her mom. Mom was surprised to see the unusual behaviour. She couldn’t guess anything. Suddenly, the morning incident occurred to her. Softly, she asked, “Honey, did I do something wrong? Why are you so 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
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Hearing what Mom said, Sirin couldn’t help crying and ran into her room.
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The next day, when Sirin turned on the light in her bedroom after school, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing!
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Rich Danieu, a man awaiting a heart transplant (移植), had to stay in Strong Hospital in Rochester, New York, since January. His days were filled with uncertainty, medical procedures, and a longing to be with his family. The slim hope of getting cured had almost driven Danieu’s mood down to the ground. He was close to giving up. What’s worse, he was frustrated at the thought of missing a crucial event: his 5-year-old daughter Mara’s school’s father-daughter dance.
Shortly after Danieu’s arrival at the hospital, Mara had excitedly shared the news of her school’s upcoming father-daughter dance. She had been eagerly looking forward to her father’s participation. But Danieu’s illness had kept him away from his daughter’s joyous event. As the day of the dance drew near, Mara’s excitement began to be replaced by a deep sadness. “My daughter was a little upset, for I couldn’t go with her,” Danieu said to a nurse with a heavy heart.
Mara’s grandfather stepped in to take her to the dance, hoping to make the evening special for her. They both got dressed up, arrived at the school hall, and even had a beautiful photo taken. However, for Mara, something was wrong, because she noticed everybody else was with their dads. Excitement gave way to disappointment. On their way home, Mara was walking silently, without saying a word, when her grandfather received a call from the hospital.
The nurses at Strong Hospital had been closely following the family’s story. Having witnessed what Danieu was experiencing due to missing such a crucial moment in his daughter’s life, they decided to do something. They knew they couldn’t make a big change, but they could certainly create a moment of magic. On the night of the dance, with delicate care, they transformed an empty hospital room into a magical dance floor, complete with twinkling lights and soft music playing in the background.
At the same time, Danieu lay in his hospital bed, a sense of disappointment at his heart. When he was gazing out the window, a nurse came in with a warm smile.
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。
Led to the room, Danieu didn’t know what awaited him.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________That special dance brought great strength and hope to Danieu.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I jumped into my mother’s car, shut the door and poured out my recent trouble. “Jenny is playing her mind games again. Training is less tiring than dealing with her and her feelings,” I complained.
Jenny and I were co-captains of our cross-country team. We’d been training for the coming tournament (锦标赛) for weeks: stretching, running, and making the seven of us into a team. Jenny, with exceptional running talent, always had a way to get ahead of her competitors on the course. She also helped all of us run faster and cheered us on. It seemed that she was anticipating the final show.
However, this week, her attitude shifted. She kept making excuses not to run with the team, from aching legs to headaches. I had to beg her, telling her repeatedly that the team couldn’t do without her. It went on all day and I was worn out. What’s her deal?
Mom pulled into our driveway, and turned toward me, “Well, I know a little about Jenny. She and her little brother have been together in foster care (寄养家庭). So close were they that every time they moved, Jenny would say that as long as they were together, they had a family.” My heart sank as Mom continued, “Jenny’s stepfather (继父) came for her brother this week, with gifts, hugs and big plans for their future. But Jenny wasn’t even part of his big plans.” My chest felt tight. “Poor Jenny, not to have a family.” I was close to tears. My mother patted my knee. “That’s it, honey. You got it.” And I did.
I decided that I should do something. I proposed that we organize a team gathering before the tournament. Each member was to write a heartfelt message for every teammate and prepare a special gift for the one they felt most connected to. I made sure that Jenny would come. It took some persuading, though.
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 the team gathering began, there was tension in the air.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The day of the tournament arrived.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Laughter is said to be the best medicine in our life. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Laughter lightens your burdens, inspires hope, connects you to others, and keeps you more focused on the positive. I like to laugh and be happy whenever there is a reason for it. Cracking jokes usually makes us happy and light-hearted after a day of hard work, and so do many funny incidents which we may sometimes experience in our daily life.
However, today, I would like to talk about a funny incident that happened to me a few years ago, when I was still a student at primary school. That very incident took place at a birthday party held at my aunt’s house. In fact, it was a birthday party held for one of my little cousins.
On that special occasion, everybody, including all of my family members, close relatives and some of the little friends of my cousin’s, was invited to the party on a lovely summer evening in order to enjoy the party. By the way, the party was supposed to be concluded as early as possible, because all the little guests, friends of my cousin’s, needed to return to their homes safely before it was getting too late at night. So, after several hours of busy preparations, the party formally started at around 8 pm. The adults and the kids all came up to the table and gently opened up the various colorful gift boxes one by one with a formal ceremony. Once we were done with opening the gift boxes, the time came for us to sing the “Happy Birthday to You” song in chorus, and we all sang the song in order to wish a very happy birthday to my little cousin. Finally came the moment we all had been waiting for eagerly. And we were ready to open the cake box and cut the birthday cake.
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。
To our surprise, the cake had already been cut!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Hearing what my aunt said, we expressed our willingness to give our share to the homeless.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was the day of the class election, a moment I had anticipated（期待） for weeks. This time, I was determined not to experience another defeat as I had had the year before. I had made more posters and written a better speech. I had been through a whole year of high school, met more people and made more friends. By working hard on class committee activities all year, I had proved my worth even without a job title.
I made my way to the center of the room, feeling a rush of growing anxiety as I prepared to address my large class. Introducing myself with a smile and listing my achievements, I hoped nobody could tell that my calm exterior（外表） did not match how I felt inside.
As I delivered my speech, the well-prepared two-minute time limit felt like an hour. Finishing my speech with a slogan, “Please believe me and vote for me,” I almost shrank, realizing it might not be a smart move.
I made my way back to my chair, trying to remember how to sit gracefully in a skirt. My hands were shaking so much that I had trouble holding on to my speech. I barely noticed the teacher call the name of my opponent（对手）, who was now walking up to read his speech. I tried to listen, to compare, to predict my chances, but I had too many other thoughts flying through my head.
I looked at the faces opposite me. My friends smiled at me and gave me an encouraging thumbs-up sign when they caught my eye. As each of the next candidates read their speeches, I debated my chances in my head.
I remembered my loss the previous year. I was depressed for an entire weekend. This time, I would not get my hopes up.
Finally, it was time for me to head down to the office to hear the results.
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 the teacher started to read the list, I stood still, anticipating the final item.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The next year, I changed my strategy.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One day, my nine-year-old younger brother Jeff came home from school earlier than me. When I returned home, I found he was shouting at our mom—who was busy cooking in the kitchen—about the clothes that needed washing.
“Mom, why haven’t you washed my clothes?” he asked, pointing at the dirty clothes he had taken off two days before. “I want to wear them tomorrow,” Jeff added. However, the clothes that he was wearing still looked clean. “Dear, I’ll wash it after cooking,” Mom told Jeff, looking anxious and upset. Without replying, Jeff unhappily went to his bedroom and closed the door, with a long face.
I was shocked about Jeff’s bad behavior towards Mom. How unsympathetic he was! Our washing machine had been out of order for two months. Because our parents were on a tight budget and were too busy, they still didn’t buy a new one. So recently our family had to wash our clothes by hand, which was time-wasting and truly hard work.
Just when I decided to scold (训斥) my little brother, Dad came home from work, and I told him what had happened.
Dad was upset and felt sorry for Mom, knowing how hard she worked all day. She was a saleswoman in a supermarket and did all she could to support our family. Often, Dad tried to help with some of the housework. He didn’t want Mom to have too much burden, knowing her heavy work as a saleswoman. I also tried to spare time to help do housework, sharing some of the family burden. However, Jeff was a lazy and naughty (淘气) boy, who hardly did housework.
Now, our dad decided it was high time to teach him a lesson. “Jeff, come here,” Dad called out. “I’ve some good news for you.” Jeff immediately came and asked excitedly, “What, Dad?” “Your mom and I are too busy recently. Tonight, I want you to wash your own clothes,”Dad smiled. Jeff immediately refused, shaking his head.
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, you won’t get your pocket money next week. I’m serious,” Dad replied.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At 9 pm, Jeff was still struggling to rinse (漂洗) the clothes, realizing the work wasn’t easy at all.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Tenth grade in school was a time we all enjoyed with our friends and teachers.
One day, our class teacher came in with a girl. She was tall and had dark skin. The teacher introduced her as Navya and she was going to, be in our class that year. My friends looked at me and saw a smile come across my face. They knew I loved making friends, and I was willing to help anyone in any way.
I found Navya to be a very quiet girl — she always liked to stay alone. We would want her to join us but she would never leave her seat. I often wondered why this girl loved being alone in her place. During the break, we would sit with Navya and introduce ourselves to her. I would try my best to make her say anything she wished, but she never spoke anything to anyone. I hardly saw her smile, and I often wondered if there was a smile behind the mask.
The annual day was approaching, and our teachers were grouping us into dance, singing and plays. We all were excited as we all could skip our classes and go for our annual practice. Our teacher asked Navya if she would like to participate in any of the events on the annual day, but she would look down and shake her head, as if she were dumb (哑的). She never came forward to participate in any competitions.
The day finally arrived, and we were all excited. Then our play was about to begin and we found out that our main actor Shruti had an accident and would not be able to perform in the play. We were all sad and tense as the parents were waiting for the play to start.
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。
Suddenly, we saw a pretty dark girl walking out of the dressing room.
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The show was remarkable, and there was enthusiastic response from all the parents.
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I didn’t like Del so much. He always called me the nickname “Germy”, which meant “dirty”, instead of my real name “Jamie”. Besides, he was known as a trouble-maker in school. So when the head teacher Mr. Smith asked Del to come to his office, I naturally thought that Del had done something mean to someone. Through the window, I caught sight of a smaller boy crying. Del seemed unhappy, too.
He did not return to class that day. All of us were discussing what had happened to him. What else could such an annoying boy do? “He must have hit the boy and was sent home,” I whispered to my friends. Their eyes widened. It felt good to see them so interested in what I said.
The next morning, the whole school was talking about Del being expelled(开除) for beating up a kid. I was surprised that my assumptions were passed on so quickly. So when Del walked into the classroom, all the kids were shocked. The kids next to him shift ed their desks away. “What’s your problem?” Del asked. “I don’t want you to attack me,” one kid said. Some laughed. “Yeah, I might,” said Del. I could tell he was joking, but many kids thought he admitted he did beat up someone.
During recess(课间休息), Del tried to join the kickball game. “Neither team wants you,” one of the players said. “Why?” Del asked, looking confused. “I always play with you guys.” They ignored him and went on playing. Del sat by himself while the rest of the school enjoyed their recess away from him. Del looked lonely and sad, much different from before. I started to feel sorry for him.
Later that day, I learned what really happened. The kid was Del’s little brother and he was crying because their mother fell ill and was sent to hospital. I felt even sorrier for what I said before. I started a rumor(谣言).
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。
At recess the next day, I saw Del sitting alone watching the kickball game.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Now that Del had forgiven me, I decided to do more before the recess was over.
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I was an average student in my early elementary years. I came home with a steady flow of B’s, C’s and the occasional F’s in second language subjects. I was told that I wasn’t applying myself and, as every report card I ever brought home clearly stated, I talked too much.
I didn’t write when I was supposed to write. I talked to others while the teacher was giving instructions. That I could recite what she had said to the class while I was talking was not helpful because I had a negative effect on my classmates’ learning. So I regularly brought home disappointing report cards.
My parents and my teachers didn’t know what to do with me. Punishments didn’t seem to work. Rewards didn’t seem to either. And, frankly, I don’t think I knew what I could do to “apply myself”. And I certainly didn’t know how to not enjoy talking with my classmates! What I knew was that I talked too much. Until grade 5.
That autumn, we had a sudden change in teachers as our elderly teacher took a medical leave. In his place, a young substitute (代课老师) arrived — Mrs Royal. She looked like she was freshly out of university and seemed too young to be cast in the role of being responsible for a class of tween, but there she was, charged with a lively group, and me.
I don’t remember many details of that year except the afternoon when I got my first report card from her. She handed out the report cards right after the afternoon break and invited us to look them over. Then she let us know that we could all talk quietly amongst ourselves while she called each student up one at a time, in alphabetical order (按字母顺序), to discuss our report cards with her.
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 looked over my report card, expecting the usual result.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Then it was my turn to talk with her.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My kitchen was a mess. Clouds of flour dusted the counters, the floor, and the aprons of the women gathered there.
Peels from 40 pounds of apples were piled in the corner. Mixing bowls sticky with cinnamon and sugar tipped messily in the sink. The wrappers from 12 pounds’ worth of butter spilled from the trash. But, wow, it did smell sweet.
Six of us had gathered that Saturday morning to make apple pies. Once colleagues, now simply friends, we shared an intense curiosity about all sort s of things, and we loved to chat.
Today our curiosity and chatter were directed to pie-making. While I was no top chef, I knew how to use a rolling pin and I’d had years of practice serving up strawberry cakes, coconut cream, and sour cherry pies to my family.
Pie-making is a lot of work. Whoever coined the phrase “easy as pie” must have meant consuming, not creating. We spent hours peeling, coring, slicing, measuring, and learning to handle delicate dough (面团).
“It’s sticking to the rolling pin,” one of them said, her voice full of depression.
“Oh no, it’s cracking!” came another cry. I assured them the patched crust (皮) would simply serve as a reminder that these pies were home-made.
Outside, an October snowstorm struck heavily. Inside, though, it was all steamy windows, soft music and happy laughter as we finally put our pies into the oven.
When planning “Pie Day”, we decided that we would each make two pies: One for our families and one to donate to someone else.
By early afternoon, 12 pies had been placed on the counter, their perfectly imperfect crusts shining goldenly. We rushed to prepare for delivery, packing the pies messily in boxes and bags. We marched down the driveway. The snow had melted (融化); the roads were clear. It was time to deliver.
Then, disaster struck. One of the painstakingly crafted pies melted through the bag it was packed in and fell onto the driveway. Screams of horror followed.
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。
One friend ran back into the kitchen and returned with forks.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The best part was still to come: Handing out pies was even better than eating pies.
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