My mother believed in using things up. Last year, our cornfield had a bad harvest because birds feasted on the crops. It was probably then that Mom’s frugality(节俭)became even more extraordinary. She began keeping everything that seemed useless in the attic(阁楼)—worn-out clothes, old sheets, broken umbrellas, and some other old items. Mom’s favorite saying was “waste not, want not”(俭以防匮). My brother Josh and I weren’t sure what that meant until the “Affair of the Scarecrow(稻草人)”, which, as it later became known, left a lasting impression on us.
The story began with a pretty hat that Mom received as a gift to protect her from the sun. However, Josh and I could see that Mom’s frugal nature and fashion sense were in battle. Mom really didn’t want to get rid of the hat—it was new and had a lot of use left in it—but neither could she stand wearing it. She tried to take off the fancy decorations, but they were stuck on tight. She’d have to find some other solution.
Josh and I watched as Mom headed upstairs to the attic with the hat. “Waste not, want not,” she called back down. We heard boxes being moved around. Moments later, Mom leaned out, holding a flour bag full of straw, and with a mysterious smile, she placed the hat on it.
“What is that for?” I asked, confused. “A scarecrow! ” Mom exclaimed. “But not a good one yet.It needs a strong body to stand firm in the field,” she said with a frown. “And it doesn’t look scary enough,” Josh remarked. I had to admit that Josh, though younger than I was, could sometimes be more imaginative. Josh and I turned to each other, searching for a good idea. Soon enough, Josh’s eyes lit up with inspiration.
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: “Come with me!” Josh called out.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: In the following days, the scarecrow stood proudly.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was just another boring day for Jamie, a third-grader. He sat in his English class, mindlessly doodling on his notebook.
“Jamie Turner, please report to the principal’s office immediately.”
Jamie’s heart sank. With his mind racing, Jamie grabbed his backpack and made the long walk down the hallway to the principal’s office, avoiding eye contact with fellow students. As he walked, he searched his brain for any possible explanations for why he was being called.
Jamie finally reached the principal’s office. He took a deep breath and pushed it open, bracing himself for the worst.
To his surprise, he found the principal, Mr. Harrison who was wearing a giant yellow chicken hat on his head, standing on his desk and waving his arms as if he were trying to fly!
Jamie’s mouth fell open at the sight, too stunned to speak.
“Jamie, sit down,” Mr. Harrison exclaimed, gesturing him to take a seat. “I’ve called you here because we’ve been having some complaints about your behavior. You’ve been… too funny.”
Jamie’s jaw dropped further. Was that really the reason he was called to the principal’s office?
The principal continued, his tone serious, “Now, we take our education very seriously here, and while we appreciate a good sense of humor, we have to draw the line somewhere. We cannot have students disturbing the learning environment with their… their humor.”
Jamie couldn’t help it—he burst out laughing, doubling over in his seat as he gasped for breath.
Finally, Jamie managed to compose himself enough to speak. “I’m sorry, sir, it’s just… I can’t stop laughing at the thought of getting in trouble for laughing… and your hat! It’s ridiculous!”
The principal frowned, “Well, I’m glad you find it funny. But your teachers don’t.”
Jamie nodded seriously, trying to contain his laughter. “I understand, sir. I’ll be less funny in class.” “Um, Mr. Harrison, why are you wearing a chicken hat?” Jamie asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
“Oh, today is Animal Day for the first-graders.” Mr. Harrisjon grinned.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Really, Mr. Harrison? You think I’m that good for the upcoming school Comedy Festival?” Jamie asked.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One day Albert found a baby bird lying on the ground, squawking (叫喊) for help. Feeling sad for the bird, Albert petted it gently and wanted to help it, but he didn’t know how since he was just 7 years old. So he took the bird in his hands, carried it carefully home and showed it to his parents. At once, his parents took action. They washed the bird and found it injured. With the help of his parents, Albert dressed the wound. But it would need time and care for the bird to completely recover. As the bird had become dear to his heart, Albert immediately offered to care for the bird.
Albert named his new friend “Lucky”. He began to feed the bird and he even ran out to collect grass to build a soft nest for the bird. Then, he put the nest beside his bed. Albert and the bird were sleeping together and living together. Soon they became close friends. Albert always told it about his experiences in school and his secrets. Lucky, an extremely patient audience, usually responded to him with a few nods and chirps (叽叽喳喳声). Albert’s parents also loved Lucky. They regarded it as a family member.
In the course of time, Lucky gradually recovered and started to hop (脚跳) and jump a little bit and exercise its wings. That made everyone happier. Soon it would be able to fly. How wonderful!
But what then? Albert became thoughtful and started to think. “If Lucky started to fly, it could simply fly away one day.” But that would not happen. Albert loved his friend so much that he couldn’t imagine parting with it. He wondered, “I should surely stay with Lucky forever. But how? Keep the windows closed all the time? That was not practical.”
注意:1. 续写词数应为100 左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Then, he bought a small cage and kept Lucky in it.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I sat in the breakfast corner with my four-year-old son, Matthew, trying to ignore the ache in my stomach. I was still recovering from a surgery. I hoped for strength and happiness. But the future seemed so hopeless.
Matthew jumped up from his spot on the kitchen floor. “Bird!” he shouted, rushing to the sliding door. Sure enough, there was a white dove seated on a rubber tree. It sat there a few moments, and then flew away. I’d never seen one in our neighborhood before.
When I dragged myself to the kitchen the next morning, the dove was back. This time it was with a mate carrying twigs (嫩枝), “Look, Matthew,” I said, pointing to the tree. “They’re going to make a nest.” The doves flew in and out of the courtyard all week, building on the top of the rubber tree. Matthew could hardly contain his excitement. Every morning, he’d run into the kitchen and take his spot by the sliding glass door, talking to the birds while they worked. As much as I was grieving (感到悲伤), I couldn’t help but look forward to the doves’ visits too. We watched their progress as if it were a real-life soap opera unfolding before us. Gradually, my pain disappeared, replaced by joy.
Then it all went wrong. The courtyard was a safe enough spot for a nest, but the rubber tree’s broad, thin leaves were far from stable. One night, a strong wind blew through, throwing the doves’ nest to the ground. I heard the twigs break apart. Nothing good ever lasts. I wouldn’t blame the doves if they never came back. But they returned. And they paid no attention to the pi le of sticks that had once been their nest. They started again from scratch, though the wind destroyed all their hard work. The next day, and the next, they renewed their efforts, as if nothing had happened.
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 knew I had to do something for the poor creatures.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:“The birds were back!” Matthew announced.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One sunny afternoon, Alice and I were walking home from school, lost in our girlish conversation. Alice, with her curious eyes sparkling, casually asked about my friendship with Judy. In a moment of thoughtlessness, I responded, “I only hung out with Judy because she asked me and I wasn’t keen on being friends with her. She was rather dull.” The unkind words just escaped my lips before I could catch them, like marbles rolling off a table.
Little did I know, Judy had been just around the corner somehow. When I glanced up, Judy appeared right in front of me, having accidentally overheard everything. All the color faded from her face. Her eyes widening with shock, without a word, she rushed off. Alice and I were left standing there, exchanging a look of shame and discomfort. I knew I should run after Judy and apologize, but with my mind blank, I was frozen. Alice’s face turned red, too. We walked home in silence, each step heavier than the last.
The following days were filled with awkwardness. I felt terrible for what I’d said and was dying to mend our friendship. An honest apology was desperately needed. But what should I say? Unintentional as I was, I indeed hurt Judy’s feelings. Every time I saw Judy in the halls or during classes, I’d quickly look away.
Fate threw me a curve ball in our speech class. On Tuesday, Mr. Thomas announced that we would be giving improvised(即兴的) speeches. He had written our topics on slips of paper and put them into a secret jar. Each of us was asked to blindly choose one without knowing what it would be about. I couldn’t say I was not nervous. As I reached into the jar of topics, my fingers closed around the slip that read, “Share your most embarrassing moment.” My heart pounded like a drum roll in my chest. It was as if the universe had come my way to give me a chance.
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。
Knowing what I had to say, I calmed myself down and walked to the platform.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________That day marked a turning point.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Little Lola-Rose Raine had dreamed about being a flower girl for her older sister for months. But just two months before their big day, Lola had only hours to live. She suffered from acute liver failure (急性肝衰竭).
Full-time mum Jane recalled how Lola came down with the disease in March. Jane said, “One day, she came in to wake me up and said she didn’t feel well. I looked at her and was shocked to see that her eyes had turned slightly yellow.” She rang 111 straight away and was told to take Lola to hospital.
There, doctors found that the tests showed her liver function was not going well. Lola was kept in hospital for five days, but her condition started to worsen.
Doctors told her worried parents she had adenovirus (腺病毒) — which has symptoms (症状) similar to the common cold — but in Lola, it had led to the serious liver failure.
“The situation was worse than we could ever have imagined,” Jane said. “The doctors told us that her liver was no longer working to clear the toxins (毒素) in her body and the virus was causing her head to swell up. They told us that she didn’t have much time left. We were in complete shock. It didn’t seem real.”
Lola was put into the ICU and added to the urgent transplant (移植) list for a new liver, but Alan, Lola’s father, feared a donor wouldn’t be found in time.
Desperate to help their daughter, the couple asked doctors if they could give part of their own liver, instead of waiting for a match — and tests soon found out that Alan was a match.
Normally, it takes around six weeks for all the necessary health checks to be carried out on living donors. But Alan’s checks were rushed through in just 21 hours.
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 transplant operation went ahead.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Six weeks later, Lola was back home and couldn’t stop talking about the upcoming wedding.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________正方 | 反方 |
| 安慰、陪伴孤寡老人 | 造成环境污染 |
| 人与动物和谐相处，增添生活乐趣 | 吵闹声，甚至伤人 |
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Nish a could not forget the way she froze in front of the class today.
Today was Nisha’s turn to do a presentation. However, her hands shook so violently that she couldn’t read her notes. Her voice became softer even to silence. Mr. Roberts kindly ended Nisha’s presentation even though she did clearly not finish. He also asked Nisha to stay after class for a moment.
“Nisha. I know you’re shy, but you worked hard on this project. I’d hate to see you give up on yourself.” Then Mr. Roberts hesitated, “If I give you another chance, do you think you can find your courage?” Nisha nodded, grateful for the chance. After the talk, she always kept her head down in the school and hoped this school day would end soon.
When she arrived at home, her mom was baking in the kitchen. Her mom studied Nisha’s face as she came into the kitchen. “What’s wrong, Nisha?”
Tears shone in Nisha’s eyes. Nisha told her mom the whole story. Her mom was silent for a moment and asked, “Why is it that you can talk to me about anything, but you can’t talk to your class?” She set the timer（计时器）and then said, “Let me show you something.”
Nish a followed her mom to her bedroom. There her mom showed her a book filled with pictures. In it there was a blue ribbon（丝带）that said “First Place” and a picture of herself when she was very young, standing with her parents.
“I won it for public speaking. I started the school year as the shyest girl on the speech team, but lended the year as the blue ribbon winner. It wasn’t easy at first—I was not sure of myself at all. I worked hard, and mostly I faced my fears. You just need to find your courage.”
注意：1.续写词数应为120左右。2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Hearing mom’s words, Nisha stared at the precious blue ribbon, lost in thought.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The next day Nisha again walked to the front of the classroom to give her presentation.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My bike raced through the quiet streets of my hometown as I mentally went through my arrangements for the day. There were a few tasks I needed to finish: borrowing a book, getting a haircut, and most importantly, visiting my beloved former middle school teacher, Mrs. Miles, before the day was over. It happened to be Teachers’ Day, and I wanted to show my appreciation by giving her a meaningful gift. However, I was still unsure about what to present to her.
As I turned onto a busy street lined with houses, it seemed that on the front lawn (草坪) of the gray house in the middle of the block was an old man who appeared to slump (倒下) in a breathtaking garden. Shocked, I stopped my bike, running towards him and shouting, “Sir, are you okay? Is everything all right?” I got close enough to notice his stooping (佝偻的) figure was actually alive and was pushing something into the dirt.
“I’m fine, sweetheart,” he laughed. “Just a lonely old man taking care of his garden.” He looked very weak and already had a stoop. I was concerned about his bending over so much to do gardening. “I’ve been out here for weeks at a time every spring for about the past ten years, and no one has ever stopped,” he said, “Don’t you have anyone to help you?” I asked, immediately regretting the question as a look of sadness passed over his face.
“It’s just me and my flowers,” he said, “My grandchildren used to play here every summer. My wife would bring out lemonade (柠檬水), and we would all sit together, enjoying the beauty of the flowers. But then, within a year, my son moved away with the grandchildren, and my wife passed away.” My heart went out to him as I got a sense of what the garden meant to him. “I can push my to-do list off by an hour,” I thought. With a smile, I asked, “Can you ask your flowers if they wouldn’t mind my joining you guys for a while?”
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。
Amused, he introduced himself as Mr. Jenkins and accepted my offer.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I got up to leave, he added, “Hold on. I’ll give you some flowers”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Learning motivation only accompanied by interest can last long. My grandfather used to be the director of a local museum. So since I was young, I had the opportunity to visit various museums with him. After entering high school, I became interested in history, and I constantly collected information related to museums.
When I was 17, I read a magazine article about a museum called the McNay, once the home of a watercolourist named Marian McNay. She had requested the community to turn it into a museum upon her death.
Do not miss your chance to see Texas’ first modern art museum—the McNay Art Museum. There are more than 20,000 different and significant works. With beautiful Spanish gardens and the amazing architecture of the building, the art within the walls isn’t the only wonder to see.
On a sunny Saturday, Sally and I drove over to the museum. She asked, “Do you have the address?” “No, but I’ll recognize it, there was a picture in the magazine.”
“Oh, stop. There it is!”
The museum was free. We entered, excited. A group of people sitting in the hall stopped talking and stared at us.
“May I help you?” a man asked. “No,” I said. “We’re fine.” Tour guides got on my nerves. What if they talked a long time about a painting you weren’t that interested in? Sally had gone upstairs. The people in the hall seemed very nosy (爱管闲事的), keeping their eyes on me with curiosity. What was their problem? I saw some nice sculptures in one room. Suddenly I sensed a man standing behind me. “Where do you think you are?” he asked. I turned sharply. “The McNay Art Museum!” He smiled, shaking his head. “Sorry, the McNay is on New Braunfels Street.” “What’s this place?” I asked, still confused. “Well, it’s our home.” My heart jolted (震颤). I raced to the staircase.
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 called out, “Sally! Come down immediately!”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Thirty years later, a woman approached me in a public place.
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