In our weekly staff meeting, our editor Ashley was not pleased with the quality of our reporting. “Our readership is way down. We need better stories for this Thursday’s school newspaper. Does anybody have any ideas?” she said.
I handed her my article about our basketball team beating Deerfield High School the previous night by one point. “Sports stories are fun,” she said, “but not good enough for the front page. We need something to really get people ‘s attention.”
After our meeting, we left the newsroom together and heard someone screaming, “Perry is missing!” Perry was a big red parrot and had been our school mascot (吉祥物) for ten years. He played an important role in students’ lives, both in and out of class. He had also been a constant presence at school events, inspiring a sense of unity among students.
Everyone gathered around Perry’s empty cage, heartbroken. Suddenly, a student from the crowd came over and showed me a photo. “You’re a reporter for the school paper, right? I happened to take this yesterday,” he said. In the photo was a Deerfield High School basketball player with something large hidden under his shirt around the size of a parrot.
“He must have stolen Perry to get back at us for winning the game!” Ashley cried. We hurried back to the newsroom, agreeing to run the photo on the front page with the headline “Deerfeld Stole Perry.” “This is just the story we need. Everyone will read it,” Ashley said confidently.
After she left, I took a closer look at the photo. The clock in the background read 4:15 pm, but our game against Deerfield hadn’t started until 4:30 pm. Why would the boy have taken Perry before we even played? An uneasy feeling came over me that we might have falsely accused someone.
I went to Perry’s usual caretaker to ask if he knew Perry was missing. ”He’s not missing. He’s retired. He’s ready for some quieter days,“ he said. Learning the truth, I immediately told Ashley and suggested writing a story to say goodbye to Perry.
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。
To my surprise, Ashley insisted on reporting the “Deerfield Stole Perry” story.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________On Thursday, the paper came out with the headline “Bye-Bye, Perry” on the front page.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Juju was the star dancer at school. She had a smile that would light up the room and movements as if she was creating the music. But when she was away from her high school dance class, she was more quiet, a little bit cautious — something the group of girls in her class noticed.
In fact, Juju’s real name is Julie. Raised up as an orphan (孤儿), she experienced a lack of familial support, which contributed to her sense of loneliness. More often than not, she hid behind the nickname, creating a bright character that covered up the pain she was experiencing. Julie kept schoolmates at a distance but let Juju out when the music was on. Though as an excellent dancer, her biggest regret was that none of her family ever came to watch her performances. She would watch sadly as other students were greeted with flowers and hugs from parents after the performances.
Observing Julie’s closed nature outside of the dance room, Corrina, one of the other dance students, sensed her need for companionship. When she found her at lunchtime sitting alone, Corrina would invite Julie to join her table with other dance kids, including her as a member of their extended “family”. At first, they talked about dance and music. As the conversation turned to family, Juju would quickly shift the subject back to dance.
Despite this initial hesitance, trust between the girls gradually developed, and then a sister-like bond. They started spending more time together, not just in dance-related activities but also in their personal lives.
As their high school years ended, the closing night performance for graduation was around the corner. While everyone was filled with excitement, Corrina sensed Julie’s anxiety as curtain time approached. She knew Julie feared the post-show loneliness of having no family to celebrate with. So she took it upon herself to ensure that Julie didn’t feel alone on this important night.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为 100 左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Determined to plan a surprise for Julie as a “family”, Corrina gathered other girls.
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It was a hot summer day when my world turned upside down. The sun shone brightly and the sky seemed to be painted in an endless shade of blue. Little did I know that this particular day would become rooted in my memory forever.
I woke up with a sense of excitement; it was the first day of the summer camp. I had been looking forward to this day for weeks, imagining the adventures, new friends, and endless fun that awaited me. I quickly dressed in my favorite camp T-shirt and shorts, my backpack filled with snacks and a water bottle, eagerly anticipating the day ahead.
As I arrived at the camp, the energy was contagious (有感染力的). The air was filled with laughter, chatter, and the promise of an unforgettable summer. I quickly made friends with Sarah, a girl with a contagious smile, and we became really close over our shared love for adventure.
The camp was a wonderland, with activities ranging from sports to arts and crafts. I felt like I was ready to absorb every bit of knowledge and experience that came my way. The day went by quickly as we laughed through games, amazed at nature hikes, and cheered each other on during various sports activities. The sun seemed to run against the clock, reminding us to enjoy every moment before it was too late.
However, the day took an unexpected turn when a teacher announced an unexpected activity-a team-building exercise involving a high ropes course. I had always been afraid of heights, but the excitement of the challenge mixed with the encouragement from my newfound friends pushed me to give it a try.
Standing at the base of the towering structure, my heart raced like a runaway train. Each step up the ladder felt heavier. A sense of panic gradually began to catch me.
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。
As I reached the top and looked down, I froze.
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Little by little, I made it to the other side.
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Ten-year-old Riley Christensen and her mother, Lynn, were sitting in front of the family computer, checking out models and prices of bikes. “Let’s pick one out for your birthday,” Lynn suggested to her daughter. The air in the room was filled with excitement as they scrolled through various options, envisioning the joy when Riley cycled around the neighborhood. They laughed together, exploring the features of each bike, and discussing colors.
As Riley scrolled down the home page of the Bike Rack, a shop in their town of St. Charles, Illinois, a video link for Project Mobility caught her eye. She clicked on it out of curiosity, unaware that this simple click would unfold a profound story of compassion and sympathy. The video clip began to narrate the inspiring journey of Bike Rack co-owner Hal Honeyman. Through it, Lynn and Riley were transported into the world of Project Mobility, witnessing how Hal Honeyman had transformed a passion for biking into an organization dedicated to providing specially engineered bicycles for those facing physical challenges. The video footage (镜头) painted a vivid picture of the positive impact these adapted bikes had on individuals — accident victims, injured veterans, and children with disabilities, including Hal’s own son, who had been born with cerebral palsy (脑瘫).
“I don’t want a bike for myself. I’m going to buy a bike for one of those kids,” Riley told her mother. Two days later, she showed Lynn a letter she had written asking for donations. “I think it’s amazing for a guy to make bikes for kids who can’t walk,” the letter said. “I saw how happy a boy was when he got one... I’m writing to ask for your help.”
Lynn was blown away by her daughter’s effort, but doubts quickly emerged. The cost of just one of those special bikes could be as high as $4,000. Riley could never raise the money.
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。
Nonetheless, her letter went out to 75 relatives and friends.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________On her birthday, Riley delivered the bicycles to three lucky kids.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Tim and his father were sailing at sea. He tried to remember all the sailing knowledge his father taught. However, it wasn’t easy for him. He could only master the skills to tie ropes and wear a life jacket in case of emergency.
Tim pulled in the sail (帆) of the boat over his head successfully. He looked back at his father, hoping for a smile or a nod. But his dad was looking up at the sail, not at him. Tim enjoyed sailing with his father, but he also felt nervous and different from his confident father.
Suddenly, the wind was blowing angrily. He put on his life jacket nervously. By comparison, his father never wore a life jacket, for he had been swimming and sailing for his entire life .
“Tim, can you take the helm (方向盘) for a minute?” his father asked, “Just keep it going straight. I’ll run up to the back of the boat to check something.” Considering the changing weather, Tim hesitated, but he didn’t want to see the familiar disapproving look on his father’s face. “Uh, sure,” he replied and went to hold the helm tightly.
Suddenly, the wind shifted direction and the boat heeled (倾斜) so sharply that it might turn over. Tim knew he had to let some air out of the sail to help right the boat, but he would have to let go of the helm to do that.
He looked back for his father, but the sail blocked his view. “Dad!” he called, but the wind swallowed his voice. His heart was pounding in his ears. The boat began to heel more. Tim knew he had to act fast. He held the helm with one hand and used the other hand to reach for the mainsail line, trying to loosen it. After a few attempts, he managed to let the air out of the sail. The boat quickly righted itself.
Tim gave a sigh of relief. Then he looked around for his father. But there was no sign of him.
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, he saw a flash of something in the water.
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His father finally climbed back into the boat with Tim’s help.
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Emily is a sixth-grade student in a small American town. She is a curious and adventurous girl who always dreams of exploring new places. Last summer, her dream came true when she got selected for a student exchange program to visit China.
Emily was super excited, but she knew that going to a different country with a brand new culture might not be easy. When she arrived in China, she had an open heart and lots of hope, but the cultural differences, the language barrier, and the unfamiliar surroundings made her feel a bit overwhelmed.
On her first day at a Chinese school, she felt like she was in a completely different world. The students spoke a language she couldn’t understand, and the way things worked in the classroom was very different from back home. During lunchtime, poor Emily sat all by herself in a corner of the cafeteria, feeling lost and lonely. Just then, a friendly Chinese girl came up to her with a warm smile and said, “Hello, my name is Li Shanshan. I noticed you’re new here. Would you like to be our friend?”
Emily was so relieved and thankful for the friendly offer. “Thank you,” she replied with a big smile. “I’m Emily, and I’m really happy to meet you.”
Shanshan introduced Emily to her group of friends, and they all welcomed her with open arms. They helped Emily with her Chinese language, taught her about Chinese customs, and shared their favorite Chinese foods. Slowly but surely, Emily started to feel more comfortable and understand the Chinese culture better.
One day, as the English teacher was planning her class schedule, she came up with an idea. She decided to assign each student in the class to do a presentation about their hometowns the next week. She believed this could be a great way for the students to learn about different cultures and improve their public speaking skills.
注意：
1．所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2．续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Emily was glad to do this but she didn’t know how to prepare.
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The day finally came and it was Emily’s turn to make the presentation.
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The fourth graders’ school day was coming to an end. Wilson was filling his backpack when a voice came out of the loudspeaker. “Good afternoon, students. This is a reminder that the All-City Math Contest will be in two weeks. The contest is open to fifth and sixth graders, and the top prize is fifty dollars. Please speak to your teacher if you’d like to participate.
“I am confident that I could excel in that contest,” Wilson thought to himself. Determined to participate in the competition, he rushed to his teacher’s desk and told her that he wanted to enter that math contest.
Ms. Jones looked up from her papers and said, “That’s wonderful, Wilson, but I’m afraid that this contest is for fifth and sixth graders only. Besides, our class has not yet covered some of the topics that will be tested.”
Wilson was not ready to give up. He knew he had a natural talent for math. “But you know that I’m good at math!” Wilson protested. “I do math problems with my brother all the time - and he’s in sixth grade! I think I could do really well!”
“You are a very good math student, Wilson, but rules are rules. I’m sure that you can enter next year.”
Wilson came home frustrated and disappointed, stormed upstairs without saying a word to his mother, and slammed the door to his room shut. His mother quickly appeared at his door, knocked, and came in. “Dear, did something happen today?” She was concerned.
Wilson was quiet for a minute, then it all came out. In a burst of emotion, he told his mom about the contest, how excited he was to enter, and how angry he felt when his teacher told him that he wouldn’t be allowed to do so this year. “It’s just not fair, Mom,” he complained. “I know I could really do well on it. Why won’t they let me?”
Wilson’s mother put her hand on his shoulder. “Sometimes, son,” she said softly, “people follow rules even when they don’t make sense. Perhaps you can persuade your teacher to make an exception for you.”
Wilson perked up: he had an idea.
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。
The next day, Wilson went straight to Ms. Jones’ office.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Forty minutes later, he finished Ms. Jones’ test and handed it to her.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Mom, tell me the story about the black bull (公牛), ” I said when we were driving to my grandparents’ farm.
“You know it better than I do. Besides, you can’t be too careful when driving,” she answered.
“Yeah, but it’s your story and I think that story can remind me to drive slowly.” When she didn’t respond, I touched her arm gently.
“I’ll start it for you: It was a late Friday afternoon, and you were rushing home from work because you, Dad, Shelby and I were going to Dad’s parents’ farm, and it was a four-hour drive.”
Mom carried on from there.
“Once I got home,” she began, “we loaded up and headed out. It took about a half hour to get through the rush-hour traffic, but finally we reached the interstate and headed east. Because I was tired and eager to get to the farm and sleep, I drove as fast as the speed limit allowed—70 miles an hour.”
I rolled my eyes. Mom never drove the posted speed limit; she always went at least five miles over. But if I reminded her of that story, time would come to a stop.
“Time passed, and it got dark. You girls fell asleep in the back, and Dad nodded off next to me. Seat belts weren’t mandatory (强制的) at the time, so no one tied the belts. Hours later, I exited the interstate onto the little state road. The speed limit was 50, but I kept going70. There was no traffic after all, and I knew your grandparents were waiting up for us.”
I’d spent summers with my grandparents as a kid, and they did indeed go to bed early, as farmers do.
“At last, I reached the turn that would take us to the farm. The road was a narrow, less maintained farm-to-market road that locals used. It was completely dark, and the only light was from my headlights. I pressed the pedal (踏板) harder and sped up.”
This was the point in the story that always turned my blood cold.
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 large, black shape appeared in your headlights,” I cut in.
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“Luckily, the car stopped but the sudden action awoke all of you,” Mom smiled.
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My family always had the basics, but there was little money for much else beyond food and shelter. Everyone in our small town lived the same way. That is why I was pleasantly surprised when my mother came up with the money to ask someone to take a picture for my fourth-grade class. Twenty-two students lined up in three rows and faced the camera with smiles. My teacher Mrs. Cornell stood to the side.
Schoolwork was never a burden for me. Even when I was sick, I still wanted to go to school. As the years passed, I would see that fourth-grade picture from time to time. It always reminded me that I had wanted to become a teacher. Later, I got married and my focus was on building a family. Every so often I would feel that longing for the teaching career I never got to have.
Once my children were in school, I had some time to myself. The thirst to teach was still there. It would mean going back to college. But I was now forty-two years old. I had not been a student for over twenty years. Were there any brain cells left after raising three children? Having only my husband’s income made money a problem as well.
After much mental struggle I managed to come up with enough money for my first semester, a total of nine hours, but I had no idea how I would pay for anything beyond that. With a step of faith, I moved forward. Standing in line with baby-faced teenagers to register for classes, I questioned my ability to do it all. But here I was, deciding on British Literature as my major.
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。
College proved to be a pleasure but a challenge.
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One day two years later, my professor called to tell me that I was given a teaching job in the local primary school.
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