I’m smaller than everyone else my age. When I walk in the halls at school, I have to squeeze in between the bigger kids to get by. At the playground, sometimes even little kids try to boss me around. Mia, my best friend, is so tall that when she walks, I have to jog to keep up with her.
I used to try to make myself taller whenever I could. My posture was perfect, straight as an arrow. I hung from the tree in our backyard to stretch out my arms and legs. I even ate all my vegetables. Every day I measured myself, but I was the same height every time. Frustrating!
“Don’t worry,” Mom always said. “Being small has its advantages.” “Really? I could never notice any.”
One day, Mrs. Alvarez announced to the class that we’d be putting on a spring play. I practiced all the lines. But at the audition (试演), when I walked up to the stage, Mrs. Alvarez cried, “You’ll be perfect as the elf (小精灵)! You’re just the right size for the costume.” I even never got a chance to deliver the practiced lines. Back home I grumbled (咕哝) to mum that I was made an elf. But she bet I would be the best elf. To please her, I went to rehearsals (排练), though I only had two lines.
Mia got the lead role-a girl wandering through a magical fairy forest in search of her lost dog. In the last scene, she finds a box under a giant mushroom, and when she opens it, her dog jumps out. Mrs. Alvarez’s dog, Prince, played the dog role. She brought him to all the rehearsals, and when he wasn’t onstage, we got to play with him, but he seemed to like me best.
The night of the show, my first line came early, “Let’s ask the Fairy Queen!” Since my only other line was toward the end, I waited offstage, playing with Prince.
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。
Finally, the grand end came, and Prince was brought onstage inside the box.
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“How can we get Prince out from beneath the stage?” Mrs. Alvarez asked.
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1.活动的目的；
2.活动的时间、地点、方式；
3.活动的感受。
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。
The Graduation Party for the Exchange Students
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It was a cold yet sunny Saturday morning in February. Dad’s New Year’s resolution had been to get fit. Mum pushed him out of bed and told him to go jogging by the river. Later, after a nice lie-in, she went downstairs in her dressing gown and found the kids watching TV. She turned it off and said she was going to do something really special for Dad’s birthday. If they overheard anything, just promised to keep it secret.
Jenny looked at Mum with a puzzled expression on her forehead and promised they wouldn’t say anything whatever happened. But Jenny reminded Dad’s birthday was in June and it might be a little too early to get all steamed up about it.
Silent for a moment, Mum said she was not getting everything ready but just wanted to spare enough time for preparation as this year it’s a bigger deal than usual. Dad was going to be 50.
“50! Gosh, that’s half a century,” spluttered Gerry. “I knew he was old, but I didn’t realize he was ancient!”
Indeed, that was why Mum started planning a special party for him. Mum talked with grandma about the plan because her house was the only one in the family that is spacious enough for all friends and relatives. Grandma quite agreed and also started preparing.
“But you know how Dad feels guilty to bother others. You’ve got to admit,” reminded Jenny. Thinking over the special occasion, Mum was continuing with her secret when one evening, Dad was sitting at the dinner table and he suddenly slapped his forehead, “I just realized that I am going to be 50 in June. Let’s just quietly forget about it. I want to mourn (哀悼) the passing of my youth in private.”
“Oh, come on Dad, don’t be such a spoil-sport!” begged the kids, hoping to give mum a hand.
Realizing no more chance to hide the secret, Mum carefully worded her thought and shared her plan of having a little party at grandma’s house. Dad was stunned (震惊的) to no reply.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
Frustrated, Mum made a call to grandma.
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Paragraph 2:
They got everything ready as planned when June finally came.
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1. 解释字面意思；
2. 阐释道理。
注意:
1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的应位置作答。
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Frey grabbed his bat and glove, and raced out of the door towards the Jack’s. Summer vacation just began. The boys planned to play baseball every day, so they could make the team in the following semester.
Jack was waiting outside for Frey. “What are you doing? Where's your stuff?” Frey asked, lifting his bat onto his shoulder. Jack shook his head, “I have to clean Mr. Willow's garage before I can go. With his broken arm, he can't do it himself. My mom always volunteers me to help the Willow’s. She thinks they’re kind of old and can’t afford to hire a cleaner.”
To get the work done earlier, Frey offered to help. The boys went down the block to the Willow’s and got started. They found a couple of brooms. Before they swept, they put boxes scattered around the garage floor on shelves. As Jack put a big box on a shelf, it fell off and with it fell an envelope. He picked it up. It wasn't sealed, so he opened it. Out of his surprise, there were several one hundred dollar bills inside.
“You’ve got to see this.” He pulled out the bills and showed Frey, “It just fell down when the box fell. There’s got to be several hundred dollars here.” Jack looked past Frey to the garage door and continued, “Nobody’s here. If we take some, I bet no one will ever know.” Before his voice died away, Jack had already drawn out one bill and stuffed it into his pocket.
Frey frowned and shook his head. “Are you crazy? That’s stealing.” Jack ignored him and protested, “Well, I do a lot of chores for them and don’t get paid. It’s not really stealing. It's kind of payment for my hard work. And one hundred will do for a bat and glove in Igo’s Sports Store”. With this, Jack put the rest money back.
Frey was about to grab the money from Jack’s pocket when they heard a voice, “Hello, boys. Come in for a chocolate cake! Mrs. Willow made one for you.” Mr. Willow walked into the garage.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1
At the sight of Mr. Willow, Jack and Frey froze in shock.
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Paragraph 2
When they were about to leave, Mr. Willow handed Jack a brand new bat and glove.
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My name is Franklin G. Takata, but everyone around here calls me “Find-It Frankie.”
Let me tell you something: you don’t get a nickname like that overnight. I’ve been finding things since before I can remember. Mom said it all began when I started teething as a baby.
And when I turned five, I got a partner, my dog Munchy. For my fifth birthday, my parents let me pick him out at the animal shelter. When we opened his cage, the first thing he did was dig into my pocket and find the candy I had been saving for later. I guess you could say I saw a bit of my younger self in him.
Anyway, Munchy and I were playing in the yard one Thursday afternoon when Mom approached us with the case in question. Her diamond ring was missing, and she wanted us to find it. If I had known how tricky the case would be, I might have hesitated. But I said then, “There’s nothing we can’t find, guaranteed!”
I asked Mom the first question I always ask when something goes missing: “Where do you last remember seeing it?”
“ I was m the kitchen baking cookies," Mom answered. “I took off my ring and placed on the small shelf above the counter. But then your aunt called, and when I came back from talking to her, the ring was gone!”
"Hmm. Well, it couldn’t have disappeared all by itself I said. "Munchy, let’s go take a closer look.” Munchy led the way to the kitchen. There was no sign of the ring on the shelf or the counter, but tiny paw prints in the spilled flour told me who might have seen it last.
“The cat! I exclaimed. “See those prints? Mr. Jingles must have been playing with the ring and knocked it onto the floor!” On my hands and knees, I searched all over the floor for the ring. No luck.
“Munchy，you’re up! Go find Mr. Jingles.” Munchy’s ears popped up. He never passed up an opportunity to annoy the cat.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Munchy immediately located the cat asleep on the sofa.
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Unhappily, I took a bite of the cookie but stopped when I felt something hard.
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When I was 19, I spent part of my summer at an adventure camp on Vancouver Island, supervising (照料) a group of 10-year-old girls. Towards the end of the first week, I took them on a camping. By six in the evening, we’d climbed a small mountain. The peak had trees on one side and bald rock on the other. I let the girls play in the wooded area while I arranged things for dinner.
When the screaming started, I wasn’t too alarmed-I could see my group tearing through the bush and thought they’d just disturbed a bees’ nest. As the first girl appeared, I asked what was going on. “Wildcat!” she gasped. The image in my head was of a house cat gone wild, but with her next breath she added, “It’s attacking Alyson.” I told the girls to climb on to the rocks and then ran to where they’d been playing. Alyson was lying by bush. She was on her back, eyes wide, staring at a huge cat beside her. The cat was watching me.
Anyone familiar with westerns will have seen a cougar (美洲狮) — the mountain lion that springs from the rock face on to the passerby. We’d been told how to deal with bears: “Keep still, back up, make yourself look big.” But we hadn’t covered cougars. I grabbed a stick and swung it into the animal’s face. Startled, it took off into the bushes.
Seeing that Alyson was hurt, I set off for the first-aid box, but hadn’t gone four steps when I heard a moan. Turning back, I saw the cougar crouched (蹲伏) by Alyson’s head. It appeared to be eating her. This time I used a bigger stick, hit harder and held on. Once again, it disappeared, and I knelt by Alyson.
“There’s no way someone can live through this,” I thought. The cat had torn deep into her neck. She had long cuts on her face. “Am I going to die?” she asked. Her heartbeat was racing but weak, the sign of a heart trembling from shock.
注意：
1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4.续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
“You’re not going to die,” I said.
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Paragraph 2:
From my branch I could see some people moving on a nearby mountain.
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It was our tun to open our presents this particular Christmas morning. The living room was already covered with tom wrapping paper. Obviously, the children could hardly wait to discover the hidden treasures, which they had expected for nearly a month. Now we adults sat around the room with our presents at our feet, slowly removing the paper, tying o maintain our dignity in front of the children.
My wife Brenda, and her family have a tradition of getting each other gag(恶作剧) gifts. This day makes me a bit uneasy at Christmas or my birthday, never knowing what form of embarrassment lies waiting for me under the thin borders of the wrapping paper.
Recently, my six-year-old daughter Christy seemed to busy herself with something while I was playing computer video flight games. Now she was standing directly in front of me. The excitement of the moment just beamed across her face. It was everything she could do to keep herself from helping me rip the paper from each present. Finally, I came to the last gift and with my natural Sherlock Holmes ability, I concluded that this had to be the gag gift. With everyone looking on, I decided to go ahead and got it over with—just let them have their laugh—and I tore the paper and there it was…a toy airplane about two inches long. Our holiday guests started giggling to themselves as I looked up to my wife with an unpleasant smile on my face and blurted out, “A toy airplane? Are you kidding me?”
Brenda gave me the look—that look that always tells me I have just said something wrong and should have given it a second thought. I had failed to look at the name tag(标签) before I opened the present to see who it was from. As I picked up the paper from the floor and read the name tag, my heart sank.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
On the tog were the letters that read, “To Dad, Love Christy”.
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Paragraph 2:
Storing at the gift, I suddenly thought of a way to lift her up.
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In the far away land, there was a beautiful kingdom with its unique rule. The rule said, everyone may become the king, with all of his rights to govern the country for five years. After that he must be caught, his body will be tied and he will be thrown away to a remote island where the jungle is thick and there are plenty of wild animals and no human.
Then, one by one, people became the king. The first man said, ‘‘Ok, I'm ready to be the king." And he became a king for five years. What he did in his five years was enjoying his position. He threw big parties, went to many beautiful places, married many women, collected many luxurious things and did other things that pleased himself Those were all he did and he never prepared anything for his future. Until one day the time came. One morning when the king woke up, suddenly strong soldiers came to his palace and said, " We came here under the order of constitution. Now it's time for you to be thrown away to the remote island." The king wasn't surprised but he felt that time passed by too fast. He had enjoyed himself in the past five years but now he had to accept his destiny with tears in his eyes. The soldiers sent him to the dangerous island and left. All they heard was the voices of the wild animals and the long scream of the former king; and then silent again.
Every other king was the same until a young man came and declare his wish. By the constitution he was granted his wish. He would be a hug for five years before being thrown away to the island. But if other kings would follow their passion for having fun, he didn't. The king was always seen to be thinking.
注意:1、所续写短文的词数应为150左右。
2、应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语。
3、续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好
4、续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1
And not very long after that, he made a surprising decision.
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Paragraph 2
Finally the time came when the king had to be thrown away to the island.
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When she looked around her house, Betty Margaret saw lots of electronics. Along with the usual things like her laptop and smart phone, there were all of her kids’ electronic devices: cell phones, video game devices and more! There seemed to be more than enough ways for her and her three children to be online all day, every day. 
Ms. Margaret worried that her kids were becoming too dependent on the Internet and electronics. Then she began to reread one of her favorite books, Henry Thoreau’s Walden, which gave Ms. Margaret an idea. Thoreau spent 2 years in a simple cabin without running water, and having to grow his own food. Maybe she and her family could live without such luxuries as computers and electronic devices for a while.
Ms. Margaret talked with her kids and explained that she wanted the family to try living for 6 months without the Internet, cell phones, TV, and video games. Ms. Margaret writes articles for a newspaper in Australia, and had written several books as well. She told her children that if they agreed, she would write a book about their experience and they could go on a trip abroad with the money from sales of the book. Her three children agreed, and “the experiment,” as Ms. Margaret called, began.
Over the course of the experiment, the Margaret children had different reactions to life without electronics. Before the experiment began, Anni, the eldest of the children, read books more than her younger brother and sister. She therefore had a relatively easy adjustment to the family’s new lifestyle. Anni could also use the library’s computer for her homework. Bill, who loved to play video games before the experiment began, had to find a way to spend all of his new free time. He started to spend more time practicing his saxophone (萨克斯管). Susan, the youngest child in the family, had the hardest time adjusting to life without electronics. She felt restless for the first weeks and later, influenced by her elder sister, gradually began to find interest in the novel experiences brought by various books.
注意：
1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4.续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1：
The family carried on with the experiment for the 6 months without technology controlling their lives.
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Paragraph 2:
Ms. Margaret wrote the book she had planned.
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