Benched?
Anxious, Devin sat in the back seat of the car. “I have so much energy!” he said. “Do I really have to sit and watch?”
“It’s just for one more game.” Devin’s father said as he drove into the parking lot by the outdoor basketball court. “It’s better to stay on the safe side.”
Devin sighed. “It’s been a week since I got injured,” he said. “It doesn’t hurt at all.”
But it did hurt when he was in last week’s game. He twisted to avoid a defender and ended up spraining his ankle. “The doctor said 10 days,” his father reminded him. “No jumping. You can ease back into basketball next week.”
Devin ran his fingers over the logo on his basketball uniform. He was ready for the game, but he knew he’d be spending it on the bench. The summer season was short — just eight games —and he’d already missed one.
“I just want to help my team win,” he said as he got out of the car. “I can’t do that if I’m not on the court.”
Devin loved hearing the thump (沉闷的撞击声), thump, thump of basketballs and the feeling of excitement before every game. Hip-hop music from the loudspeaker made him feel like dancing. The energy in the air would make it even harder for him not to participate.
Before the game, Coach reminded the players to make smart passes and play tough defense. Without Devin’s leadership and skill, his team would need a huge effort.
By halftime, Coach praised the players for their hard work. With Devin unable to play, the team had only one extra player, so no one was getting much rest.
The game was fierce. The score stood at 47 to 49 with three minutes left in the game. Devin sat down and rubbed his hands together. “I’m a loser here on the bench. I can do nothing to help.” he thought.
Coach called a timeout(比赛暂停) and gathered the players to give some advice.
注意：1. 续写词数为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡相应位置作答.
Suddenly, Coach turned to Devin. “Do you have anything to add?”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The game was over and his team had a two-point victory!
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was nearly twenty-two, about to graduate, and unsure which to follow—my head and my long interest in natural science, or my heart and my passion for photography. A job at the museum would be the safe choice. Or I could try to pursue a career in architectural photography, even though I had no specific training in the field. I longed to land that job.
I asked the advisor, John Smith, to recommend someone qualified to give mean objective opinion. His reply: “See Benjamin Moskowitz, a famous architect, NYC. Good luck.”
During the Spring break I booked a cheap room and took the train to New York City. At his office on the twenty-third floor I asked the receptionist for Mr. Moskowitz. “I think Mr. Moskowitz has already left, Miss. I know he was planning a long weekend. Did you have an appointment?”...
She sighed and asked my name and told me to wait while she tried to see if he might still be there. I paced nervously, thinking that my time and money and my best chance for an expert opinion had been thrown away. The receptionist rang his office; no answer. “Sorry, but it looks like you’re out of luck, Miss White,” she said.
Why hadn’t I planned this better? Called for an appointment? Taken an earlier train? How could I have made such a mistake? I was close to tears.
Just then at all, gray-haired man, beautifully dressed, strode (阔步) through the reception area. The receptionist signaled me and mouthed, “That’s him.” I didn’t hesitate. “Oh, Mr. Moskowitz!” I called out. “Just a moment, sir, please! I’d like to speak to you.”
He glanced at his expensive-looking gold watch and kept walking. “Sorry, I have a train to catch,” he said straightforward, “I don’t believe you had an appointment.” I hurried after him toward the elevator. “I apologize, sir, but I was told to talk to you and to show you some photographs.”
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：
Mr. Moskowitz glanced at it, impatiently at first and then more carefully a second time.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2：
One hour later, I walked out of his office with great confidence and excitement
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I met Gunter on a cold, wet and unforgettable evening in September. I had planned to fly to Vienna and take a bus to Prague for a conference. Due to a big storm, my flight had been delayed by an hour and a half. I touched down in Vienna just 30 minutes before the departure of the last bus to Prague. The moment I got off the plane, I ran like crazy through the airport building and jumped into the first taxi on the rank without a second thought.
That was when I met Gunter. I told him where I was going, but he said he hadn't heard of the bus station. I thought my pronunciation was the problem, so I explained again more slowly, but he still looked confused. When I was about to give up, Gunter fished out his little phone and rang up a friend. After a heated discussion that lasted for what seemed like a century, Gunter put his phone down and started the car.
Finally, with just two minutes to spare we rolled into the bus station. Thankfully, there was a long queue (队列) still waiting to board the bus. Gunter parked the taxi behind the bus, turned around, and looked at me with a big smile on his face. "We made it," he said.
Just then I realised that I had zero cash in my wallet. I flashed him an apologetic smile as I pulled out my Portuguese bankcard. He tried it several times, but the card machine just did not play along. A feeling of helplessness washed over me as I saw the bus queue thinning out.
At this moment, Gunter pointed towards the waiting hall of the bus station. There, at the entrance, was a cash machine. I jumped out of the car, made a mad run for the machine, and popped my card in, only to read the message: "Out of order. Sorry."
注意：（1）续写词数应为150个左右；
（2）请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
I ran back to Gunter and told him the bad news.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Four days later, when I was back in Vienna, I called Gunter as promised.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Summer vacation was finally coming, and Rose couldn’t wait to have a trip with her parents. She recalled the joyful experiences they shared last summer, which filled her with excitement for the upcoming holiday.
“Girls!” Rose heard her father calling. She raced to her big sister’s room, telling her that Dad was calling them, and they rushed downstairs log either. Dad put his arm around Mom and told them that they were going on a trip to the Virunga Mountains of Africa. There were three national parks that they would visit.
Rose and Gina looked at each other. “What?” they said with one voice. Mom told them it would be really exciting to go there on a trip. At 12 years old, Rose would prefer going to an amusement park or a beach. She thought it important to let her parents know she didn’t want to go there but to the beach for a week or two.
“Well,” said Dad, “I have to go for an assignment for the paper. We’re covering the mountain gorillas (大猩猩) because they’re critically endangered these years. So, I thought it’d also be a great place to take a vacation. I’m sure it’ll be very educational for you girls.”
Gina let out a sigh, unable to contain her disappointment. She wanted to say something but Mom interrupted and announced that the trip was set on the next Monday.
“Sit down, both of you.” Dad had on his severe look. “Girls, it’s important for you to know about the world around you. This is a wonderful chance for you to experience and learn an amazing place. Do you know anything about the mountain gorillas?”
The sisters shook their heads.
“Well, get your laptop computer, Gina. I want you to look them up right now,” said Dad, “Rose, there is a book on the bookshelf about the cute mountain gorillas. Find it and read it.”
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。
The girls dragged their feet upstairs.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The next Monday came and the family set out excitedly.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Scanning the court, Luis pretended to pass the ball to another teammate but finally gave it to Nicholas. As Luis expected, Nicholas kicked hard and… GOAL! Just then, Devon walked up angrily. “What were you DOING there, Luis?!” he yelled. Luis rolled his eyes.
Devon started playing soccer with them weeks ago. He was nice when he felt like things in the game had gone his way. Otherwise, he would lose temper.
“Playing soccer.” Luis shrugged. “Why didn’t you pass to me? I was closer to the goal than Nicholas.” Devon yelled again.
As the group walked in, Devon continued. Luis ignored him to avoid arguing. Nicholas approached and began complaining about Devon’s yelling and disrespect. “What can you do about that?” Luis asked. Nicolas said he wanted to organize a new team without Devon. Luis was upset to hear that. Nicholas said, “It’s more fun before he started playing with us. I’ve told the other teammates. They agreed.”
Reaching home, Luis dragged his feet into his bedroom, which confused his mom. “What’s wrong?” She asked. Then, Luis told what happened to her. “Have any of you tried talking to Devon about this?” She asked. “I don’t know.” Luis scratched his head.
“Maybe a boundary could help. When playing soccer, how do you know whether someone is at the right position on the court? What’s that line called?” Mom reminded. “A boundary.” Luis murmured.
“Tell Devon whether he’s crossing a line with how he talks.” She suggested. Luis took the advice and decided to have a try.
The next day at school, Luis found Devon and told him all the teammates liked playing soccer with him but they didn’t like being yelled at by him.
“I don’t yell at people.” Devon immediately interrupted.
“You yelled at me the other day because I didn’t pass to you,” Luis reminded calmly. “And you are yelling now. If you keep yelling at your teammate, we won’t play with you anymore.”
Devon was too embarrassed to speak. “Being yelled at isn’t fun but playing soccer is supposed to be fun.” Luis said, patting Devon’s shoulder gently.
Later, during the training, Luis met Nicholas and told him what he’d told Devon.
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里作答。
“Just give him another chance, okay?” Luis whispered.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As the training came to an end, Luis and Nicholas jogged towards Devon.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was our first day to explore the city of Jerusalem on our own, without a friend or tour guide leading the way. We had completed a week-long tour and felt confident that we could walk through the ancient streets by ourselves now. Then we suddenly realized that the sky had turned from clear blue to gray.
“It's time to head back!” we said at the same time. As we proceeded along the Hebron road to our apartment, the storm clouds covered the entire sky, and the first raindrops began to hit our heads. “Should we grab a taxi?” I shouted to my husband, the rain being so loud I had to raise my voice. “No, we can make it,” he replied loudly. “It's only a twenty-minute walk, and we will go fast.” As the rain and wind increased, so did our footsteps.
We marched ahead, but it wasn't long before we realized that we had been walking much longer than it should have taken us to arrive home. How in the world did we manage to take a wrong turn? We stopped a moment to say a prayer. It was simple and went something like this, “Please, God, lead us back to our apartment and send us your angels for protection.”
It was still pouring when my husband paused, detecting what appeared to be a pathway off the main road. “I think we should take this path,” he announced. “Here?” I was doubtful. I followed his lead as we made our way through overgrown brush until we entered a slight clearing. Looking out into the darkness from behind the bushes, we realized that we had come to a residential neighbourhood. “Let's just wait a minute,” he said. As we stood under the trees, some headlights appeared. A car pulled up to the roadside just below where we were huddled (挤在一起). Soon, a woman got out of the car.
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 approached her and the woman was noticeably shocked to see such a sight.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Noticing the confused looks on our faces, the woman suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In December, an unseen disease arrived in a village. Ally was one of the victims. She lay, barely moving, in her bed staring at a wall out of the window under her blanket.
The doctor took her father, who was a painter, aside and claimed, “She has one chance in—let us say, ten. And that chance is for her to want to live. Try to encourage her to think more hopeful thoughts, about the future, about living.”
Her father took some paper and a pen into Ally’s room and began a pen drawing, in an attempt to raise Ally’s spirits. Ally’s eyes were open, but they weren’t watching him. Instead, she stared out the window and counted backwards, “Ten, nine, eight, seven…”
“What are you counting, dear?” asked her father. “They’re falling faster now,” replied Ally.
“Three days ago there were almost a hundred. But now there are only five left now. Five leaves on the ivy vine (常春藤). When the last one falls, I must go, too.”
“Oh, I never heard of such nonsense,” quickly replied her father. But Ally’s mind was made up. “I want to see the last one fall. I want to go sailing down, down, just like one of those poor, tired leaves.”
“Try to sleep,” said her father. Ally closed her eyes quietly. Watching her daughter’s pale face, he was lost in deep thought. As a painter, he had never produced a masterpiece he longed to paint in 40 years. As a father, he even couldn’t help her daughter cheer up. Looking out of the window, he noticed that there was just one remaining leaf. What’s more, a cold rain was falling mixed with snow. “Are there people in the world that are foolish to think they’ll die because leaves drop off from an ivy vine? This is not a place in which Ally shall lie sick.” He made up his mind to do something.
The next morning, Ally woke and asked for the curtains to be opened. One leaf remained on the ivy vine, bravely holding on in the wind and rain. “It will fall today. And I will die with it.”
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。
The following day, Ally asked again for the curtains to be opened.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A few weeks later, Ally recovered completely and the secret was revealed.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________This Friday brought a mix of emotions—both excitement and disappointment — all because of a flyer from school. When I got home, Mum saw the flyer in my hand and asked, “What’s this?”
“A flyer for a five-day art camp,” I explained. “But Emily can’t go.”
“Would you like to attend?”Mum asked. “You’ve always loved art.” Her words reminded me of what Emily had said earlier: “Tessa, you’re the real artist. My brother thought the roses I painted were rocket ships.” I sighed. Mum patted my back. She knew I had a hard time jumping into something with no familiar faces around. “Maybe next year.”
“Maybe,” I echoed. Then I told Mum I wanted to go outside to draw the Westons’ pine tree (松树). She nodded with an encouraging smile.
As I walked into the bright sunshine, I couldn’t help but think about the art camp. I wished I felt a little bit braver. Emily could make friends with a whole bus of kids in ten minutes, but my stomach felt like a little boat tossed in a heavy storm when I was surrounded by strangers... By the time I started drawing, I had made up my mind to forget about the art camp.
I began by drawing the pine tree’s strong and straight trunk, and then added the beautiful branches, making sure the upper ones lifted gently towards the sun. Lost in my work, I jumped when I heard Mr. Weston speak up, “You’ve done a great job showing the strength of that tree on paper.”
“Thanks,” I smiled, glancing up.
As I drew the needles to the branches, Mr. Weston told me something I never knew about pines: If you plant the root ball too deep, the tree dies. Their roots grow out, not down—to get enough water and grow tall.
“You have a good eye, Tessa.”With these words, Mr. Weston nodded goodbye.
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: His words made me pause and think.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: The next Monday, I signed up for the camp.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jack was new to Woodberry Forest School this year. He carried a secret burden: a stutter (口吃) that often brought about laughter from his classmates. This made him very upset. Shy and reserved. Jack chose to fade into the background rather than draw attention to himself. He felt like an outsider, never quite fitting in.
Jack was eager to exchange ideas with his classmates, but afraid of getting into trouble. Jack's science teacher, Katherine, a warm and caring woman often wearing a smile, noticed Jack's stutter and shyness. She observed how Jack struggled to express himself in class and how he would shy away when called upon to speak.
Determined to lend a hand, Katherine took Jack under her wing, encouraging him to embrace bravery and believe in his own abilities. Subsequently, Katherine adopted a set of systematic methods to help him. She was glad to find the potential in him, the intelligence and creativity that lay hidden beneath his stutter. Whenever possible, Katherine was always ready to praise his efforts, always declaring, "You are so great!” Whenever Jack stumbled over his words, Katherine always smiled at him encouragingly, providing him with the strength to continue. Day by day, Jack found himself speaking with greater confidence and fluency.
One day, Katherine announced that each student should give a presentation of a science project in front of the class. Jack's heart sank, the familiar fear and anxiety wrapping around him. How could he possibly stand before his classmates to give his ideas clearly, knowing that they would laugh at him? As the presentation drew near, Jack's anxiety mounted. Then came the big day. He watched his classmates take turns to walk up to the front. They gave their presentation with confidence and backed to their seats with satisfaction. However, while Jack was waiting for his turn, his heart beat so violently that he felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles.
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。
Paragraph 1:
It was finally his turn.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
When Jack finished his presentation, the room erupted into applause.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Dad’s Outer-Space Sweater
Grandma knitted Dad a sweater for his birthday. It was PURPLE, the glow-in-the-dark purple! Even crayon purple couldn’t compete. Dad loved it, claiming it was his favorite sweater. But I found it embarrassing as he wore it all the time: walking the dog; shopping for groceries and — worst of all — coming to my school events.
During a visit to our local farm, Dad tore his sleeve on a fence. When I pointed out that it was ripped, he said he would just wear it around the house. The hole got bigger and one night, at dinner, the thread became a table guest. Dad forked it up with spaghetti (通心粉) and lifted it to his mouth.
“Look out, Dad!” I shouted. “You’re about to take a bite of your sweater.”
Dad laughed, put his fork down and sighed, “The sweater might be beyond saving now.”
The next day, Mom and I repurposed the sweater on a Halloween scarecrow and put it in our front yard. When our neighbor dropped by to give us some used tennis balls for our cat, she gave her thumbs-up at our idea. But the sweater got rained on, and leaves stuck to it. Birds pulled the yarn (毛线). Dad finally removed it and was about to throw it away. He stood there long, looking sad. It made me sad too. I thought about the day he got it, the day he tore it, and ail those days he wore it. Then I thought of the day he almost ate it.
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: And that gave me an idea for the school year’s art show.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: My Spaghetti and Meatballs, Outer-Space Style stood out in the art show.
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