Two things changed my life: my mother and a white plastic bike basket. I have thought long and hard about it and it’s true. I would have been a different person if my mom hadn’t turned a silly bicycle accessory (配饰) into a life lesson I carry with me today.
My mother and father were united in their way of raising children, but it mostly fell to my mother to actually carry it out. Managing the family budget must have been a very hard task, but she made it look effortless. If we complained about not having what another kid did, we’d hear something like, “I don’t care what so-and-so got for his birthday, you are not getting a TV in your room, a car for your birthday, a lavish sweet 16 party.” We had to earn our allowance by doing chores around the house. I can still remember how long it took to polish the legs of our coffee table. My brothers can no doubt remember hours spent cleaning the house. Like the two little girls growing up at the White House, we made our own beds. We had to keep track of our belongings, and if something was lost, it was not replaced.
It was summer and, one day, my mother drove me to the bike shop to get a tire fixed — and there it was in the window. White, shiny, plastic and decorated with flowers, the basket winked at me and I knew — I knew — I had to have it.
“It’s beautiful,” my mother said when I pointed it out to her, “What a neat basket.”
I tried to hold off at first, and I played it cool for a short while. But then I guess I couldn’t pretend to ignore it any longer: “Mom, please can I please, please get it? I’ll do extra chores for as long as you say. I’ll do anything, but I need that basket. I love that basket.”
I was desperate.
“You know,” she said, gently rubbing my back while we both stared at what I believed was the coolest thing ever. “If you save up you could buy this yourself.”
“By the time I make enough it’ll be gone!”
“Maybe Roger here could hold it for you,” she smiled at Roger, the bike guy.
“Mom. Someone else will buy it.”
“There might be another way,” she said.
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。
My mother bought the beautiful basket but hid it, and I was determined to make enough money.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________However, the unthinkable happened — a neighborhood girl appeared with the exact same basket.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I am a proud mother of three children, my last little one being delivered in the middle of this pandemic (疫情). She was born in August and her name is Aida.
Shortly after having Aida, my mother-in-law Ann showed me something she learned from her friend’s mother in an art class she attended weekly, She had showed me how to knit (编织) a scarf.
I spent a lot of time breastfeeding my sweet little girl, so I had some extra time to do something with my hands throughout the day. I enjoyed making the scarf so I purchased tons of yarn (线) since it was winter. I wanted to make scarves for my three children as Christmas gifts.
There was a new family that moved in down the street. The only daughter of the family was Jane, a shy girl, aged 14, the same age of my oldest son David. It seemed that she came from a financially disadvantaged family, for she always wore old clothes. Worse still, in such cold days, she had no more clothes to wear and trembled with cold.
Due to the pandemic, society was thrown into crisis mode. Schools were closed, food supplies and deliveries were suspended and children were stuck at home. In such discouraging time, however, they became good companions, talking and playing at home or around the houses.
It was dreadfully cold this winter. Every time David came back from outside, with red face, he always cried, “Mum, it is freezing outside!” Then, he came over to see whether I finished the scarf. I could tell how impatient he was to wear my scarf sooner! I had to speed the project to satisfy his expectation. But David comforted me by saying he could wait a few days. What a kind and considerate boy he was! Then my great art project finally was accomplished on the morning ahead of Christmas.
注意：1.续写词数应为150词左右；
2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语己为你写好。
Paragraph 1: I wrapped the scarf around David’s neck.
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Paragraph 2: Later that day David came back saying Jane also deserved a scarf.
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I worked at a local station of the Berlin fire department. We got an alert (警报) around 8:25pm that Friday and rushed to the fire engine, where the printout from the dispatcher (调度员) said there was a nine-year-old boy locked in a safe.
I asked myself: if it were a safe, would it be airtight? I was aware that it might already be too late by the time we arrived. I had to plan for a bad outcome. On the other hand, if we were in time, how long would it take us to open the safe? I knew it would be an incredibly difficult task. It’s what safes are designed for—not to be opened.
It took less than five minutes to reach the property. When I saw a woman crying on the street,
I knew the situation was serious. She was the boy’s mother and she led us into the basement. She told us the boy was alive and we started talking to him; he was very calm. We asked how it had happened: during a game of hide and seek with his five-year-old brother, he had thought the safe would be a good place to hide.
The boy’s parents had got the house from his mother’s father. The unlocked safe had been there when they moved in and was in an area they didn’t use much. The boy’s little brother had shut the safe, then, when he couldn’t open it again. The only person who knew the combination was the boy’s late grandfather.
From the outset, the biggest priority was getting oxygen to the boy. We got oxygen from the hospital. The boy said that he could feel a thin stream of air. I asked his parents if anyone had opened the safe before and they said no. So we had to guess a six-digit code (密码). We started typing them in—but we had to wait 10 minutes between each attempt before we could try again. So quickly we tried them all. No luck.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卷的相应位置作答。
We were fully prepared at this point to open the safe by force, starting with a drill.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Then, just as we started to make the first cut, my workmate typed in the correct code.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Emily White was born seventeen years ago with so many birth problems in her body. Some of her organs, bones and muscles were out of shape. No one expected her to survive. She did make it but with her strange body figure, everyone could recognize her, even from a distance.
In Emily White’s hometown, there was a yearly outdoor performance in the school auditorium (大礼堂). It had been performed for so many years and actually had become one of the most important events of the Christmas season for many of the town’s people.
Many people tried out each year for it, but so many were turned away. It can only include the most excellent people in the field.
Emily had a beautiful singing voice. Last year she went to Mrs. Owens — her music teacher to ask to join in the performance. Without letting her sing, Mrs. Owens took a look at Amy’s body and said, “Child, you just don’t fit. Everyone would stare at you and that would make you uncomfortable. It would make them uncomfortable, too.”
Without singing a single note, Emily was sent back through the door of the choral room. Hurt and upset, she decided never to try out again. But Mrs. Owens then retired.
This year, there came a new music teacher, Mr. Buttler. He heard about Emily and suggested that she have a try.
Emily didn’t want to be rejected again, so she hesitated a little about it. As Emily struggled, the door was pushed open and Mr. Buttler called, “Emily, you’re next.” Although kind of nervous, Emily did as Mr. Buttler told her to do. Mr. Buttler sat by the piano to keep Emily company. When Emily finished her testing performance, she thanked Mr. Buttler and knew the result would be posted on the door of the choral room the next day.
Emily couldn’t sleep that night. She was suffering from the feelings that she didn’t fit and the great need to be accepted. By the next morning, her stomach was even in pain because of stress.
注意：续写词数应为150左右Paragraph 1: The next day, Emily nervously glanced at the list on the door of the choral room.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: Finally, the day of performance came.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Michael kept looking at the clock on the classroom wall. He couldn’t wait for his Science lesson to end so as to get to his basketball practice on time. As soon as the bell rang to end the lesson, Michael grabbed his bag and dashed out of the classroom. As he turned the corner, he ran straight into a classmate, scattering the school books he was carrying all over the floor. No sooner had he said sorry and picked up all his belongings than he started to run again.
After the basketball practice, Michael hurried to join the other members of the school Debating Club. They had an important debate that day. To nobody’s surprise, Michael arrived late again, still wearing his sports clothes and sweating from basketball. Unfortunately, Michael hadn’t prepared his arguments properly and performed badly, letting his team down. Eventually, at the end of a long day at school, Michael arrived home, tired and unhappy.
In his bedroom, Michael sat down at his desk and sighed heavily as he looked at all his schoolbooks. He had to make preparations for the upcoming exams, but he could barely keep his eyes open. The next thing he remembered was his mother waking him up. He had fallen asleep with his head on the desk. As he sat up, his mother gently removed a sheet of paper that had stuck to his cheek. She smiled lovingly at her son and smoothed his untidy hair.
“So”, she began, “how was school today?”
Michael looked nervously at her and took a deep breath. “Well, to be honest, not so good, he said sheepishly. “I couldn’t focus on my lessons, I ran into a classmate and I let my debating team down. It doesn’t really get much worse than that, does it?”
“Well,” Michael’s mother said gently but seriously, “I think you have been taking on too much.”
Later that evening, before he fell into a restless sleep, Michael realized that things could not continue the way they were.
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, Michael set about making changes to his busy schedule.
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After Michael put his new schedule into practice, things began to improve.
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As the nurse had instructed, Amy walked up and down the halls of Mercy Hospital again and again. As she walked past room after room filled with husbands and wives, laughter and encouragement, she was only reminded of how alone she was.
She couldn’t help but notice the bright bouquets (花束) in so many of the rooms. One woman had at least fifty roses beside her bed. How strongly Amy wished to also receive flowers!
Months before, her husband and parents had lost their lives in an accident. She only had grandparents, but they were old and weren’t able to go to the hospital with her. So, when she would soon give birth, she came to the hospital by herself. She had never felt so lonely. She wanted to have her hand held by someone to feel supported and loved.
As she continued walking, she passed a room filled with people. Curiously, Amy stuck her head in to see what was going on.
The new mother Laura on the bed inside saw Amy. Although she didn’t know what happened to Amy, she noticed how sad Amy looked. And she wanted to cheer her up. “Hi! It looks like you’re getting ready to have a baby!’ said Laura holding a beautiful baby girl. “Let’s hope so,” Amy said, trying to sound cheerful.
“I’m Laura. Would you like to hold her?” the mother asked. Amy was so touched by her kindness and nodded. Getting to her was the hard part. Laura had more flowers in her room than Amy had seen all day.
As Amy held the baby, she smiled. “Are you having a boy or girl?” Laura asked “I don’t know. I’ll find it out tonight,” Amy said. “Good luck. You will be a great mom,” Laura said. When Amy left, Laura learned she was alone and then whispered to the nurses, “Give all of these flowers to her. Don’t let her know they are from me.”
Hours later, Amy lay in her own bed, alone, waiting to be delivered of a child. She was so scared. As tears fell down her face, she heard a knock at her door.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式作答。
A nurse came in with five beautiful flowers.
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Amy stopped by Laura’s room to visit and curiously found all her flowers gone.
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1. 活动的时间和地点；
2. 活动的内容；
3. 个人感想。
注意：短文词数应为80个左右。
参考词汇：冬令营 winter camp
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In a small village called Brightville, there lived three friends: Kimberley, John and Alicia. They were all students at Brightville High School. Kimberley was a hardworking and determined girl; John was a curious and creative boy; and Alicia was a kind and helpful girl. They shared a common dream of achieving their goals through education.
On a sunny day, the three friends gathered at their favorite spot near the village river. They often met there to discuss their dreams and motivate each other. Kimberley always emphasized (强调) the importance of studying and setting goals. John loved exploring new things and finding creative ways to learn. Alicia, with her caring nature, always supported and encouraged her friends.
One day, they came across an old abandoned library in the heart of Brightville. The library was filled with dust-covered books. Kimberley saw this as an opportunity for their dreams to come true. She suggested turning the library into a learning center for the village.
The three friends spent months cleaning, organizing and renewing the library. They reached out to the villagers, and soon, volunteers joined them to set up the learning center. They created a friendly and welcome environment where students could come to study, read books, and seek help.
Word about the learning center spread throughout the village. Students from all ages and backgrounds started attending. Kimberley, John and Alicia devoted their after-school hours to tutoring (指导) the students. They understood that education was not just about memorizing facts but also about nurturing curiosity and passion for learning.
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 days turned into months, they saw the effect of their hard work.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The success of the learning center in Brightville caught the attention of the local government.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. 活动时间、地点、参与人员；
2. 活动流程；
3. 活动感悟。
注意：1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Say No to Campus Bullying
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Mike, aged 14, was a music fan, especially a fan for violin. He expected to be a music star one day. Unfortunately, born into a poor family depending on delivering newspapers and milk, he couldn’t afford a violin. He had thought of asking his parents to pay for one but finally he abandoned possessing the impossible musical instrument.
Mike’s neighbor, Joseph, happened to be a violinist. The greatest pleasure Mike found after school every day was enjoying the beautiful melodies floating out of Joseph’s window. Not until dark did Mike sneak into his own room. And every time Mike’s mother asked him why he came home late, Mike would say he was lost in music.
“Why not spend more time in your lessons instead, sweetheart? After all, music can’t make money if you’re not so famous.” In order to prove he could realise his dream, he knew he must have his own violin and practise more.
Mike found a job at a nearby church, running errands for the servicemen. One day, another music player happened to learn about Mike’s situation and offered him an old violin as a gift. He even promised to teach him how to play after church services at the weekends. Months later, Mike learned violin very well.
The first performance he made was on the roadside of a lonely street. From time to time passersby stopped to watch him play. And a few even left some coins in his hat lying on the ground. When it was time for Mike to go back, he heard a woman’s cry. Following the sound, Mike spotted her and discovered the truth that she was called Connie, a trainee in a cafeteria, and that she had just had an awful day at work and was yelled by the boss.
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。
Hesitatingly, Mike tried to lend her a hand though he was yet uncertain how to comfort someone.
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Connie told Mike a violinist happened to be wanted in the cafeteria where she worked.
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