Tripod’s story started one spring morning as I was finishing a morning surgery at the veterinary clinic (兽医诊所) I owned. I was writing up medical records of the surgery patients when my receptionist (接待员) stuck her head into my office. She told me there was a big cat lying outside with a seriously injured front leg. What’s worse, nobody knew whom it belonged to.
Then I sent two of my pre-vet students to pick up the poor cat while I went back to my record-keeping. But it wasn’t long before I heard the students returning with this newest patient who seemed to be in pretty bad condition.
I carefully checked up the injuries which seemed to be caused by the pressing of a heavy object. With the extremely horrible smell, I knew from years of experience this cat didn’t have an owner. “Well, then,” I sighed, “I’m not sure whether we are able to bring this cat back to life, but let’s give him our best shot anyway. Afterwards, let’s see if we can find a home for him. ”
Just then, when one of the students began touching the cat’s head gently, somewhere deep in the cat’s throat, a weak purr (呼噜声) began. As the student continued to pet the cat, I noticed the cat’s breathing became less laboured (缓慢而困难的).
When I performed the complicated operation, I whispered, “You’re a fighter, aren’t you, boy? You deserve a chance to live.” However, after the surgery, he lost one leg, and still struggled with life and death. Over the next few weeks, Tripod, the cat, went through many ups and downs, but I was sure about his resilience (快速恢复的能力). News about Tripod spread. A number of customers stopped by regularly to check on the progress of his recovery, including Mrs Melson, a pet lover.
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 day finally came when I decided Tripod had really recovered.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Though unwilling to part with Tripod, we were happy to see Mrs Melson come for him.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was a special Saturday evening. Hardly had I finished my work and left my office building at 9:00 pm when it rained cats and dogs. In order to get home earlier, I dashed into the rain without hesitation. Out of my expectation, I noticed a man wandering around my car, the moment I approached the parking lot.
Shaking with cold in the heavy rain, he was looking around every few seconds as though to be waiting for somebody. It was at that moment that it occurred to me that I had forgotten to roll the car window up and that was exactly where I left my wallet. In a flash, I got a big breath.
So I couldn’t help speeding up and at the same time called out to the man, expecting that he didn’t take the money and make a run with it, as after a busy day’s work, I was too tired to catch up with him.
“Are you the owner of the car?” the man asked in a shaking voice, but raindrops on the roof of my car made his voice unclear.
“And who the hell are you?” I replied with an unfriendly expression as if he was a thief who was caught stealing my wallet.
The man went on to tell me that he was a beggar, begging around the nearby buildings where I worked every day and familiar with every face and every car here. “This morning, several young men walked up plotting to take the wallet in your car. I came over and frightened them away, pretending to call the police. Thus the bad boys were scared to run away immediately. I had been waiting for you here since then so that the car and your wallet would be secure,” added the man.
When the man gave me a clear explanation of what had happened earlier, I was astonished to cover my open mouth with my hands.
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。
Standing in the rain, I couldn’t believe my ears.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Why didn’t you take the money?” I asked him.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I begged my mom to let me make cookies by myself. Even though I had never attempted baking before, I was nine years old and my friend Emmie had been baking cupcakes by herself for a year. I was determined to prove that I could make it.
My brother, Caleb, laughed at the idea of me cooking alone, calling it a disaster. Having a big brother can be annoying. Despite his laughing, my mom agreed to let me try. She reminded me to take my time and be careful because I’d had some messy spills before I was nine.
I raced to the kitchen and went to work. I cracked eggs and put a cold stick of butter into the bowl. I turned on the mixer at medium speed—and whoa. Whoa. Whoa! What a disaster! I had to wipe butter off my face, then off the table and floor.
Caleb made fun of me again, calling me a mess. I chased him away with a spoon and turned back to the mixing bowl. I started again with softer butter. Referring to the recipe, I poured everything needed into the bowl and mixed it. After that, I put round batter (面糊) onto the cookie sheet and put it into the oven (烤箱). Within a minute, a fantastic smell filled the kitchen—the smell of cookie success!
I was going to prove that I was responsible. No more eye-rolling from my brother. No more “You’re too young” from my parents. I was grown up and in control.
I stared into the oven, and my heart sank. The neat, little balls had melted (融化) and overflowed to the edges of the cookie sheet. I pulled the pan out just as Caleb wandered back into the kitchen.
“What in the world?” He started to laugh. “Cookie soup?”
“You just be quiet,” I whispered, trying not to cry. “Just leave me alone.”
“How’s it going in there?” Dad called from the living room.
Caleb raised his eyebrows and bit his lip. I responded that everything was fine, pouring the melted batter into the bowl quickly.
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: I picked up the directions, wondering what had gone wrong．
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Paragraph 2: I brought a plate of cookies into the living room for my parents．
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In a busy and stressful town, there was a large square with many trees around. There the collectors came together. These were people who were busy making a living by collecting things that other people had thrown away.
There were pan-collectors, book-collectors and shoe-collectors complaining about the burden of their life on their shoulders.
One day an old man came into the village asking where the collectors’ square was. He carried a large bag, but didn’t seem to be burdened by its weight. Finally, he found the square, and he decided to stay in one corner.
Naturally, the collectors discovered there was a new collector in town, and they asked about what he had in the bag. He simply told them there was nothing in it but his lunch and a raincoat in case it rained. “You mean, you don’t have a collection of some kind?” they asked. “Aren’t you a collector?”
“Oh, yes,” he said. “I’m a care-collector. But what I collect does not fit in a bag or a box. I offer to collect people’s care like worries, sadness and difficult times-all kinds of things that weigh them down, and they feel better.”
Quickly, one pan-collector asked him how he collected care, and he replied. “Well, there is probably something in your life that troubles you right now. Just tell me about it and I will add it to my collection.”
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。
“Can I have a try?” asked the pan-collector doubtfully.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Soon words spread, and there were a group of people coming to the care-collector.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5 . Superman Learns How to Ride
It was the summer of 1967, and the moment was nearing when I would cast off my training wheels and learn to ride a bike.
As an adventurous little boy, I sure put my overactive imagination to good use. I would pretend to be the bookish reporter, Clark Kent. Then, at the first sign of something wrong, I disappeared and emerged moments later with a red towel hanging from the collar of my dirty blue T-shirt and an ironed-on letter “S” on my chest.
“This is a job for Superman!” I would cry out as I flew to meet imaginary dangers that threatened the world.
“Hey, Superman, when are you going to learn to ride a bike?” the neighborhood kids would taunt as they rolled past. “The Man of Steel still uses training wheels!” they laughed.
As I watched them ride away, I realized I was being left behind. To claim my place among their ranks, I needed to cast off my training wheels and learn to ride with the big kids. I turned to my father for help.
“Okay, I’m going to let go, and you just remember to balance,” Dad advised patiently on my tenth try. Suddenly I was riding! I dared to smile as my father’s shouts of encouragement faded into the background. My smile widened. Victory was mine.
You are going to fall. The thought was at first a whisper and then grew louder and more convincing until I believed it must be true. After all, I had always fallen before. Why should this time be any different? Fear seized me, and my confidence weakened and I couldn’t grasp the handlebars tightly. Sure enough, I fell to the grass.
“You almost had it,” Dad said, catching his breath. “You are seized with a sense of fear so you fell.”
“I quit,” I said angrily, trying to fight back the tears of frustration. “I don’t want to learn to ride.”
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: However, on thinking of Superman, I decided to behave like a real hero.
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Paragraph 2: I gripped the handlebars with strong determination.
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Paul’s old clock was supposed to wake him up at six in the morning of August tenth, but, unfortunately, the hour hand stopped in the early hours again. Instead, Paul was awoken by the noisy breakfast-table talk of the Stephen brothers next door.
“Now. I’ve won the National Poetry Creative Award!” the older brother shouted loudly.
“You have to do the housework for the coming whole week!”
“Okay,” the younger responded unwillingly.
Paul rushed down the stairs of his apartment to the news kiosk (报刊亭) by the street in his pajamas. Among the crowd of the seven o’clock Los Angeles, he was unique, in a funny manner, like a clown escaped from a circus group. Despite that, he caught the eyes of nobody. He threw a few coins into the glass jar and then grabbed the newspaper from the old kiosk owner. His behavior didn’t frighten the old woman-he was the most loyal customer of her store for the past few years.
Paul liked to invent something, and he was fond of literature and had been dreaming of becoming an editor. He skimmed through the annual nomination (提名) on the front page of the newspaper, the brightness in his eyes turned less bright as he moved down the list of names, which eventually faded when he reached the end. He lifted his sight from the newspaper and started staring at the kiosk owner dully (无精打采地), an expression similar to that when he arrived. The old woman sighed-she was so accustomed to this lifeless look on his face but had prayed to see something new every August.
“Bad luck”, with this, Paul slid away rapidly. When approaching the corner of the street, he narrowly knocked down an old gentleman, the kiosk owner’s husband, Arthur, who once was a chief editor of a local famous magazine and now he was retired.
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。
After hearing what his wife said about Paul, Arthur decided to give him a hand.
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One morning of next year’s August, with the magazine he had edited in hand, Paul stood beside the news kiosk nervously to sell it.
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Anniversary (纪念日) trips were a tradition nearly as old as our marriage. Each year, we took turns planning a secret trip. After our daughter Aurora was born, she came on our adventures too. We’d stayed in a historic train car in Livingston, the Ghost Rails Inn in Montana, and Chena Hot Springs in Alaska. But this anniversary required someplace special. Somewhere completely unexpected. Could we still get a surprise during our anniversary trip?
The pressure was on—and I found the perfect spot: The Shire of Montana. It was a J.R. R. Tolkien -inspired guest home, a “hobbit house (霍比特小屋)” built into a hillside near the small town of Trout Creek, a 7-hour drive from our place in Roundup. Jim and I had often talked about how fun it would be to build a hobbit house, so I knew Aurora would be excited. And she would love it, too.
Magical structures dotted the grounds—a troll mine, a wishing well, houses for dwarves (矮人) and fairies. What child wouldn’t be attracted to a village made for childsize hobbits? This was going to be the best trip yet. She might love The Shire even more than we did.
I was about to book our reservation when I saw a note on the Shire’s website: No kids allowed. That ruined everything! We couldn’t leave Aurora alone at home, and I had no Plan B. A year without an anniversary adventure was unthinkable. Could it be the big surprise for this anni-versary trip? Shall we find another destination? Were there any other places like the village made for childsize hobbits? No, No, No…All answers were the same.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
To my amazement, there was an email address on the site.
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The day finally arrived when my application was approved.
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1. 表明自己的立场；
2. 至少两个论点来论证；
3. 总结：其他
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I taught English as a Second Language (ESL) at a school. One particular sixth grader, Pablo, was struggling with fluency in reading, so after class I suggested that he get extra practice by reading aloud to his mom while she prepared dinner each evening. This was something I routinely encouraged my struggling students to do. Imagine my surprise when Pablo responded by starting to cry. He said, “My mom can’t cook dinner!” Then he cried harder. Eventually, he calmed down enough to tell me that his mom was only able to “cry in her bed” when he got home every afternoon. He said that he was caring for his six-month-old baby brother by himself from the time he got home each day. His mother, it seemed, had a bad tooth and was in extreme pain. He said that his father didn’t have enough money to get it fixed, and that there was no way for her to go to a dentist. This child’s heart was broken for his mom.
I was speechless! He was still crying when he left me that day, and I promised him I would try to help. I kept asking myself how I could help this student. How could I help his mother when we didn’t even speak the same language?
The next day, I sent a note, which a friend helped me translate, to Pablo’s mother asking if she would like me to find someone to help her. The following day, Pablo brought me a note from his mom accepting my offer to help.
Meanwhile, I had been doing some networking among my friends asking if anyone knew a dentist who might do some free work for this lady. At the time, I was not able to pay for the work to be done myself. Several friends suggested a dental office that had recently opened up in the area, thinking that they might be willing to provide the services. I didn’t want to waste a lot of time going to several dentists, so I prayed that this would be the one.
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。
Stopping by the dental office, I went to the reception desk.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Pablo’s mother came to meet the dentist at the appointed time.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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.
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