We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.
Growing up, I wanted to be just like my mom. Kind and caring, she always seemed to make people comfortable in her presence. For years she was a volunteer in our community. I loved going to the local nursing home to help with her until I hit my preteen years. Suddenly, I was too caught up in my adolescent world to worry about helping others.
One particular summer day when I was twelve, Mom came into my room and told me to get up and meet her at the car. I had planned to spend the day at the lake with friends. Why did she have to ruin everything? Eventually, I made my way outside. I imagined the lake water cooling my skin. Annoyed, I climbed into the car and slammed the door shut. I sat in silence, too upset to make a conversation.
“Tasha, would you like to know where we are going?” Mom asked calmly.
“I guess…,” I murmured under my breath.
“Sweetheart, we are going to a children’s shelter, I have been there before and I think it would benefit you,” she explained.
I felt a knot slowly form in my stomach. How was I supposed to help there?
When we reached the shelter, I was rather surprised. It was a large white Victorian home. As we approached the large front porch, wind bells played a calming tune while trees and blossoms welcomed us. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad.
Mom rang the doorbell. The door flew open and we were led to the front room, where all of the children were playing. Toys were spread out across the floor. I noticed a baby whose body was scarred with wounds. The majority of the children had noticeable physical scars（伤疤） such as cuts, scratches and burns. What a terrible life they had before they moved here! My heart sank.
As I was looking around, I felt a gentle pull on my shirt.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I returned to the shelter with Mom several times._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A farmer grew some vegetables in his garden.One day his wife was ill and he had no money.He had to sell some cabbages and carrots in the market.The next morning he took two baskets of vegetables to the town.But it was raining hard that afternoon and there were few people in the street.
When his vegetables were sold out,it was dark.He bought some medicine and hurried to his village.
On his way home he saw a person lying on the snow.He placed his baskets on the ground and was going to help the person to get up.At that time he found it was a dead man and there was much blood on his body.He was so afraid that he ran away quickly,without taking the baskets with him.
The next afternoon the farmer was sent to the police station.Having shown the baskets,an officer asked:“Are these yours?” “Yes,sir.” the farmer answered timidly(胆怯地).“Have you killed the man?” “No,no,sir.” the farmer said in a hurry.“When did you see the dead man?” “About seven last evening.” “Did you see who killed the man?” “No,Sir.” The officer brought out a knife and asked,“Have you seen it yet?” “No,Sir.”The officer became angry and told the policemen to beat him up and send him into prison.The officer wanted to trap the farmer into the confession(供认),but the farmer didn’t admit he was the murderer.
注意:1.所续写的短文词数应为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.续写部分分为二段,每段的开头语已经为你写好;
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 officer was so angry that he asked the policeman to beat him up again.
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Paragraph 2:
The farmer was lucky. A few days later,
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On the morning of Jan 25, the very day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, I was unpleasantly woken up by a phone call. It was for my father. He picked it up, and I sensed from his shaky voice that something went wrong.
As soon as he hung up, my father turned to my mother and then me, saying, “It was the secretary. He called everyone to meet in the office right now because of the outbreak of the COVID-19.”
“But dad, it’s the Spring Festival!” How I wished my father could change his mind and stay with us. Wasn’t the day meant for families to be together? My father, an official working in another town, seldom came back home. And was the virus serious enough to keep us apart? I was upset. To my great disappointment, father left home without hesitation, comforting me by saying that he would be back soon.
In the following days, news loaded with the fast spread of COVID-19 and the astonishing death toll scared everyone in the country. Father never returned home, only occasionally talking on the WeChat, over which he told us how he went from door to door, checking every family and persuading people to stay at home. I realized that my father was working in dangerous conditions under incredibly great burden. He always looked tired but determined. Every time I told him to take care of himself, he would smile and say, “Don’t worry, son. Your father is as strong as a bull.” At those moments, tears would well up in my eyes, and all my complaints would go away before I could say anything. The talk was brief but meant a lot to me.
I learned from the media that the medical staff, government officials, and almost everyone involved were working in the battle against the COVID-19. It was these guardian angels (守护天使) who, despite the possibility of getting infected themselves, were risking their life so that the rest of us could be safe. Among them was my father. He’s protecting the people, me included.
Para 1: Then came bad news that my father was ill at hospital.
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Para 2: Weeks later, my father came back home healthy .
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Bales left the pavement of Base Road and stepped onto snow-covered Jewell Trail. She planned a six-hour hike through New Hampshire’s Mount Washington State Park. She had packed for almost every emergency and intended to walk alone.
She’d checked the weather forecast posted by the Mount Washington Observatory before she left. Based on her experience, Bales knew that her hike was realistic. Besides, she had two emergency plans and extra layers of clothing to better adjust her body temperature as conditions changed.
The hike up the lower part of Jewell Trail was pleasant. Bales felt excited as she walked up into snowy paths. The sun shone through the trees and cast a shadow over her smiling face. Less than an hour later, loads of dark clouds had replaced the sunshine, and snow covered the surrounding trees.
She still smiled. However, the weather was showing its teeth. Bales added even more layers to shelter herself from the cold winds and thick fog. She made her way across the snow-covered ridge (山脊toward Mount Washington and began to think about calling it a day. Suddenly, she noticed something: a single set of footprints in the snow ahead of her, which had been made by a pair of sneakers-typically not the type for hiking.
Meanwhile, Bales was getting colder, even though she was moving fast and generating some body heat. With strong gusts of wind screaming and attacking her back and left side, she decided to abandon her plan. The only thing, however, kept her on the trail was the sneaker tracks in the snow.
Paragraph 1:
Bales faced a dilemma about whether to follow the tracks or not.
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Paragraph 2:
Her searching now turned into rescuing the man.
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It was time to go home.“Remember to work on your class speeches for homework,”Miss Walker called, as everyone started talking and packing their school bags. Jenny felt sick. She hated having to read aloud in class. She was sure everyone got really bored listening to her. Once, when Jenny was reading out her holiday diary, Lee was even looking at his watch, a silver and blue one which seemed just magical.
Jenny watched Lee walk ahead of her as they left school. He seemed so clever, and he had a certain sort of shining confidence. He was just one of those people who were good at everything. Jenny sighed. As she turned the corner, she saw Lee’s watch lying right in the middle of the path.
Jenny knew she should just pick it up and return it to him, but she didn’t want to run after him. Jenny bent down quickly, picked up the watch and ran home. On arriving home, Jenny put it on almost without thinking. She was surprised it fitted so well. She walked to the mirror and started practicing her speech. Words just flooded out of her.“I’m going to talk about swimming. I have been lucky. I’ve won lots of competitions. But when I’m in a race, I’m not really thinking about winning. I’m just loving the feeling of being in the water…”Jenny laughed with excitement. She walked across the room. She suddenly seemed to have a certain sort of confidence. Turning back to the mirror, Jenny saw a flash of light from the watch in the glass. The flashes of silver seemed almost magical. So maybe Lee’s watch really DID have something magic about it.
The next day, as the lesson began, Miss Walker asked who was going to be brave and go first. Nobody moved. Jenny slowly raised her arm. Before Miss Walker could say anything, there was a shout from behind.“She’s stolen my watch!”Lee said angrily,“It went missing at school yesterday.”
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:
Everybody was fixing their eyes on Jenny, waiting for an explanation. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
At that time, Miss Walker smiled and asked the class to listen to Jenny’s speech first. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It’s always exciting to think about the future and what kind of technology might exist in years to come. But what if that future is closer than you think?
The name Magic Leap is starting to spread across the Internet. The Magic Leap technology company in the US has been working on something new and exciting, keeping it so secret that even the people working on the project have been hidden from the media. But recently they have started to release more information, and the future of computing seems to change dramatically.
Magic Leap’s preview shows the possibility of a classroom where you can interact with a miniature 3D man and watch animals floating in front of your eyes. You could come face to face with fierce creatures like tigers and sharks, and more might be possible very soon.
The company hopes to create new technology that mixes reality and virtual reality computing. This means that the way we interact with computers could change completely and so could the gaming industry. Imagine a game in which you can not only look after a dragon on a screen, but also see it walking around your home, feed it and play with it. This is a world where movies will make you jump as things come flying at you. Rio Caraeff, the company’s chief content officer, said that instead of staring at a phone screen, “the world becomes your screen”.
All of this could be the next step for Magic Leap, and their newly-released video suggests so. The video shows a small elephant floating in the hands of its user, a virtual reality pet that the user can interact with.
It seems that the excitement has inspired other companies who are lining up to join in on this new project. The technology, called Cinematic Reality, is attracting the attention of large companies like Google, who are already investing large sums of money in the project hoping to see it become a reality.
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Carllost his job.He tried to find another one but it wasn’t easy.The poor fellow couldn’t pay his bills because he had so little money,and he couldn’t ask anybody to lend him any.
Carl spent his days at home.He looked out of the window and watched his neighbour’s house.An oldprofessorlived there alone.Strangely,he never talked to his neighbours.Carl could see into the professor’s house because he never drew thecurtain.The rooms were full ofantiquefurniture and vases.Carl thought,”Why haven’t I got an antique vase?I could sell it for a lot of money.”
Every day Carl saw the professor.He left at 10 o'clock in the morning and came home at 4 o'clock.He had adog.Carlo often went to the fence and played with it or give it a piece of meat one day Carl thought,”I will go into the professor’s house and steal a vase.I will break the window and climb in.The dog is not a problem,”
There was an old gun in the cellar.It had been his great grandfather’sfavouritething a long time before.Carl didn’t want to use the gun but he thought.”Anything could happen.”
He wanted to hide the gun under his coat but it was too long so he cut theendoff with a saw.
The next morning he watched the professor leaving home at 10 o'clock.Carl climbed over the fence.The dog ran to him and Carl gave it a big bone.He threw a piece of stone through thewindow,which broke.It wasn’t high .He could climb into the house easily.
He looked around inside.There were paintings on the walls,small figures and vases on the shelves and the floor.Carl didn’t know much about arts.He couldn’t choose.He reached his hands towards a big vase when he heard a noise.The front door opened and someone entered the house.
注意:
1.所续写短文的词数出为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:It was the professor.He had left an important document at home.
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Paragraph 2:The professor was much scared.
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Mama and I spend mornings cleaning up the dirt that blows into our house. Mama says all the dust is due to the drought, not only here in the Oklahoma panhandle(狭长地带) but all over the Great Plains.
The dirt sifts into everything. It covers our clothes. We have to wash the dishes before each meal. It also slips into the automobiles horn (喇叭). Although Papa has fixed it, he fears the dust from the road will ruin the motor, So, we have to walk to school.
On the way to school, my sister, Faye, and I wear kerchiefs over our mouths so we don' t breathe in the dirt On days when the air is so bad that they close the school, we stay home and help Mama put sheets over the windows. But the dirt always finds a way in .
Last Sunday, there was no dirt in the air, only bright spring sunshine and a clear blue sky. After church, Papa headed out to the field to check on the cattle while Mama started dinner. Faye and I played in the yard. The temperature suddenly dropped-it felt good. The heat had been building since dawn.
Then Mama shouted from the house, “Iris, you and Faye get inside. Be quick!”
I looked to the west and saw a huge black cloud of dust, like thick smoke pouring out from a chimney. All the birds flew away. “Faye, go with Mama!” I shouted, “I’ll warn Papa.”
Faye raced, toward the house. The storm hit so fast, I barely saw her climb the porch steps. Fine sand heaved against my face and in an instant the day turned into night. I stumbled over our bicycles left carelessly in the yard. I screamed for Papa, hoping my voice would lead him back.
The dirt and sand stung my skin like a thousand bees. I needed to get to shelter. Covering my face with one hand, I felt my way toward the automobile and I opened the door. Dirt flew in with me as I pulled the door closed. Papa was still out there! I needed to help him find the automobile. Worried as I was, I managed to calm myself down.
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:
I was figuring out what to do when I caught sight of the switch for the front lights and the horn.
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Paragraph 2:
Suddenly Papa’s face appeared at the window.
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With the arrival of the age of “information economy”, intellectual work is becoming a more important source of wealth than manufacturing. Organizations in all walks of life are doing more to spread their information. So people of the Public Relations are hired to speak for them. A lot of our news is actually collected from press releases and reports of events intentionally staged for journalists. In the information age, journalists spend their time, not investigating, but passing on the words of a spokesperson.
There is a joke in the novel Scoop about the newspaper's owner, Lord Copper. The editors can never disagree with him. When he's right about something they answer “definitely”, and when he's wrong they say “to some extent, Lord Copper.” It seems reasonable to suppose that, in the real world, the opinions of such powerful people still influence the journalists and editors who work for them.
In countries where the news is not officially controlled, it may be provided by commercial organizations who depend on advertising. The news has to attract viewers and maintain its audience ratings. I suspect that some stories get air-time just because there happen to be exciting pictures to show.
There is an argument that with spreading access to the Internet and cheap technology for recording sound and images we will all be able to find exactly the information we want. People around the world will be able to publish their own eye-witness accounts and compete with the widely-accepted news-gatherers on equal terms.
Maybe the time has come to do something about it, and I don't just mean changing your choice of TV channel or newspaper. In a world where everyone wants you to listen to their version, you only have two choices: switch off altogether or start looking for sources you can trust.
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Many of us feel that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day, and when we have school work and social life to handle, it can make finding spare time even harder. Yet no matter how busy our daily schedules are, with some tips, all of us would be able to get back some precious time.
It’s tricky (难办的) managing time if you feel upset by the amount of things that need doing. In order to take control of your lives, write down all the things you need to do, and then prioritise (以优先顺序排列) them. Try to set realistic goals of when you might achieve them. Start with small, even if it’s just simple jobs that you want to finish at first. Besides, you should consider writing down appointments that you have or events that you need to go to, so you can have a full understanding of what you are doing at what time. This will also help avoid getting yourself double-booked, which can lead to even less spare time.
Whether you’re looking to gain some extra time at home or school, one of the biggest offenders for taking advantage of those precious minutes of the day is the distraction. You should try to avoid spending too much time talking on the phone or staying online until you have achieved what you have set out to achieve. If you need to get back to people or reply to texts or calls, schedule them for a specific time of the day.
Last but not least, figuring out the times of day when your energy is at its peak (最高点) can help you become more productive and get things done more quickly — giving you more free time to do the things that you enjoy most. You can also increase energy levels by getting enough sleep, eating healthily and taking exercise.
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