I remember wondering if we should even be friends when I found out that my new friend Karina did not share my opinions about some stuff. It was hard to imagine disagreeing with her about anything, because when we first met, we got along so great.
It was as if we’d known each other forever. Whenever we got to pick a partner at camp, we picked each other. Whenever we had a break, we hung out together. And the more time we spent together, the more we realized how amazingly alike we were. We both had two lovely cats. We both liked baking extra-creative cookies.
But then something happened. The tent camp was next to a piece of beautiful land that had a bunch of giant old trees on it. Whenever it was nice out, we’d get to eat our lunch at picnic tables that were right by some of those trees. “Whoa!” said Karina one day. “Look at the millions of holes all the way up and down this trunk.”
“That’s amazing,” I said. “A special kind of woodpecker (啄木鸟)makes those holes to store acorns (橡子).”
“Pretty cool! ”said our counselor, Miguel. “Now, let’s all be sure to keep this magical forest as clean and perfect. Don’t forget to put your trash and recyclables in the bins.”
And that’s when things got complicated. “Hey,” said our friend LeVar. “Have you guys heard that shopping-mall rumor (传闻)? They want to cut down a bunch of those trees to make room for a shopping center.”
“That’s terrible!” I said. “We have to stop that.”
“I disagree,” said Karina. “My parents said the shopping center would make new jobs for people.”
“But think of all the birds and squirrels that would lose their homes!” I said. “I want people to have jobs, but not if it means cutting down trees.”
“Don’t you think people’s jobs are more important than trees?” Karina asked.
“Can’t we figure out how to make jobs without destroying nature?” I answered.
“You know,” Karina said, super seriously, “maybe we’re not quite as alike as we thought.”
I sighed sadly.
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。
Maybe two people with opposite points of view just aren’t meant to be friends, I was thinking. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We ended up having much more fun at the tent camp. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When you find someone made a mistake, which would you choose, being right or being nice?
At ages five and eight, Bobby and I would spend our usual Saturday with Grandpa, cleaning his house.
Grandpa was only in his late fifties. His own dad had died early, so he didn’t go to school but ran the family farm to raise his family. Because of that, his skills consisted of being able to sign his name, read his grandchildren’s names, and do simple sums in his head.
Then I didn’t understand the poverty and limited opportunities Grandpa lived with. A little food was the only items in his small refrigerator. He worked as a night guard for several companies, and the highlight of his week was the reward he gave my brother and me for cleaning.
After we were done, Grandpa would put on his only suit, and we’d head to town. As we walked, Grandpa would greet every person he met along the way. Everyone had a story to share, and Grandpa would stand quietly, always smiling, and listen with great appreciation.
When we’d finally arrive at Grandpa’s favorite diner, the waitresses would all greet him as a long-lost elder. Bobby and I split an adult plate, and Grandpa either had a cup of soup or a cup of coffee, talking about how well we cleaned his place, telling anyone who would listen every step of every task we accomplished. Every waitress would make sure they came up to say “hi” to Grandpa and congratulate his grandkids on their work. It may have been a diner, but it was our another home.
When dinner was over, the waitress would bring the check and slide it over to Grandpa. One day it was Gloria, and like always she bent close to him and told him the amount of the check (knowing that he couldn’t read the paper).
Grandpa carefully dug into the pocket and brought out a broken coin purse. He carefully laid out the bills and coins. Then he gave Gloria a very very small tip. I was ashamed that he had got it wrong and that he—we—would be embarrassed.
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。
I was about to say something to Grandpa when Gloria grabbed my hand.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The words “being nice” played over and over in my mind.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One afternoon in August, five years after Mom passed away, I was unpacking my groceries(食品杂货) in my kitchen. When I lifted my left hand out of a grocery bag, I suddenly couldn’t breathe. Looking at the ring on my finger, I found the star sapphire (蓝宝石)was gone. Mom had given me the ring on my twenty-first birthday. I had worn it every day for twenty-nine years. It was a reminder of Mom and a symbol of our love.
“No! No! No!” I yelled, hurrying to check the bag and the floor, and then my car, but the star sapphire was nowhere to be found. Feeling helpless, I called my best friend, Marie. “The star sapphire in my ring fell out. I don’t know what to do,” I said, extremely worried.
Marie replied, “Please don’t be anxious. Try to stay calm and positive. You can go back to the places you just visited and take a look.” But how could I keep hope in seemingly impossible situations? Anyway, I started my car and drove to the grocery store again. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was little chance that I could find my stone.
Back at the grocery store, I pulled into the same parking spot and looked everywhere for my star sapphire. My hands and knees felt the hot ground as I searched crazily around and under my SUV car. Then I rushed inside the store, searching for a familiar face for more help. I spotted Amanda, a staff member whom I had met on previous shopping trips, and urgently tapped her on the shoulder. “I was just here twenty minutes ago and lost the stone of this ring. It’s very special to me. It’s from my late mom. Could you please help me look for it?” I cried, unaware that many other people around also heard my words.
Amanda’s eyes softened and she nodded understandingly. She immediately took a large mop(拖把) and started carefully sweeping it back and forth down the first aisle (过道) of the huge store.
Paragraph 1:In tears, I called after her, “It’s light blue and small.”
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
Suddenly, a customer near the counter excitedly called out loudly, “Oh, Madam, I’ve found it!”.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________For thousands of years, Chinese people have valued the large family with three, four, or even five generations living under the same roof. That's what we call an extended family. Now it is changing. Compared to extended families. nuclear families which involve only two generations living together are becoming the trend. Apart from family size, these families are also featured by reduced dependence on the last generation. Young people are able to make decisions on their own and children are less likely to be brought up by their grandparents.
The reason for the tendency of nuclear families can be reflected as follows. It's a time when young people think highly of individual freedom. Young people like to have personal space that won't be disturbed by the old generations. In this way, they are more likely to avoid conflicts caused by different living habits from their parents.
It's also a time when social welfare institutions are highly advanced for old people to lead a comfortable life . Senior citizens can live together in some nursing homes and be taken good care of by specialized nursing workers, which may base young people's heavy burden of attending their aging parents.
However, the problem concerning attending to children turns up as the number of nuclear families increases. Young people are busy with their work and spend less time with their children. As a result, lacking enough care both from their parents and grandparents during their growth, children may develop mental illnesses like loneliness and depression. Many young people, therefore, hire babysitters to look after and keep company with their children, which adds a financial burden to them.
Facing the problem above, young people can seek help from old generations, communities and government. Old generations are welcomed to take care of their grandchildren, especially when young people are asked to work overtime. Communities ought to organize some volunteers to look after unattended kids. And government can set up special loads for young people to relieve their financial problem. With the joint efforts, nuclear families are expected to fit in well with the development of the society.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Lily was dressed and ready for her first performance. The hall was crowded with parents and grandparents to see the students’ dance. It was a tradition for the school every year and Lily was going to dance in front of everyone. It scared her.
Yesterday she practiced her dance on the stage and everything went on smoothly. With only several moms watching, it wasn’t too bad. But it was different tonight. All the seats would be full and she felt nervous and terrified.
“Don’t worry. When you go out on the stage, you just look right where I was siting yesterday I will still be there. You just look at me and it will be just like yesterday!” Mom encouraged Lily.
What I should focus on is every movement in the dance. Just get lost in my dance and bring out the best, Lily told herself.
When she came back sage, she took a quick look from behind the curtain (幕). Butterflies were flying inside her stomach and she just wondered whether Mom would be there.
注意:1.所续写短文的词数应为80左右;
2.续写部分的开头已为你写好。
The music began to play.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As the music went on, Lily felt like she was flying on the stage, so absorbed in her performance.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was my village bad boy in Gudewadi. At least I was labelled that way. When I wasn’t playing, I’d help my parents on our cashew nut (腰果) farm. The cashew nut yield (产量) was not high, and the income was only enoughto make ends meet. No one thought I would do anything worthwhile with my life. And I’d heard many people in our village talking, “This kid will end up back on the farms anyway. He’ll never amount to anything.”
My mother imagined a different future. She was illiterate (不识字的) and knew the value of education to create a better life. She’d follow me right up to the door of the classroom and monitor me to study.
This bad boy image troubled me. I didn’t believe I was a bad boy, and I didn’t want to be a bad boy. By the time I entered university, I had taken a good look at myself and realised the life I was creating. At high school, everyone had life goals. Being in that atmosphere forced me to think bigger. I realized that my mother was right —education was my only way out. I worked hard to finish my graduation. After I graduated, I decided to apply for higher studies in university.
However, I had very limited money. In addition to that, my grades were not very excellent. There was very little chance that I’d gain admission to a university. Still, I took a chance and applied. Days went by, and nothing happened. I checked to see if my name was registered for admissions. No. I wasn’t admitted. Weeks went by, I continued to check, but still nothing. It looked like I would never lose my village bad boy image. Until a miracle happened...
For one last time, I visited the university to check my status on the last day of admissions. Maybe just maybe, I’d been admitted. I looked down the list, and there it was, “Parashram J. Pati”. Finally I’d been admitted. Now, I had to come up with my fees to university.
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。
There was no way I could pay the tuition fees.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I chose agriculture as my major.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of teaching a young couple to dive (潜水) in Thailand on one of my favorite reefs (礁). The weather conditions were perfect, with mild currents and excellent sight of the beautiful ocean and the bright, vivid corals. Even with their masks on, I could see the smiles on my students’ faces.
The dive couldn’t have gone better. However, things changed as we made our way back to the boat. As we swam back along the reef, I noticed the current (水流) changing. As it did, huge quantities of trash and plastic began to flood the area. I saw small reef fish swimming amongst the straws, plastic bags and other bits of rubbish. I noticed that some of the fish were pecking away (啄) at the plastic. By the time we got back onboard the boat, there were bits of plastic floating all around us. It looked more like a trash site than the ocean.
When I got home, the first thing I did was to go online and research plastic pollution in the ocean. I was surprised to find out that over the past decade, divers and beach lovers have seen a lot of changes in the oceans. Even very remote locations were suddenly filled with plastic and other chemicals. Plastics were entering our oceans at an alarming rate—up to 12 million tons each year. This huge amount of plastic was wreaking havoc (破坏) not only on the environment, but also on the marine animals that lived in the ocean, such as sea turtles and sea birds. Some of them were sadly mistaking the pieces of plastic for food. Pollution has brought our oceans to the point of disaster, and unless we make a great change, then our oceans and all of its living things, will be at risk.
Since that unforgettable plastic-polluted dive, I have become an ocean supporter and spend my days trying to get the message out there about just how harmful ocean pollution is, not only to marine life, but also to mankind.
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。
Then the idea came to me: I could appeal to my fellow divers to take action.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I decided to take it a step further to try and stop those companies producing single-use plastics.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With a broad smile on her lips, Sirin, a15-year-old girl, ran with joy to show off her new painting to her mom. But the mother spoke in a hushed tone, “Shh.. honey. I am busy with an important talk. I will look at it. Just wait for sometime, OK?”
Sirin frowned (皱眉) and decided to show it to her dad.
“Dad, see what I have done,” Sirin announced aloud in a thrilling voice.
Dad turned around while adjusting his tie and showed the thumbs-up.
Immediately, blowing her two cheeks, Sirin complained (抱怨), “Dad, you haven’t seen it yet.”
He smiled at her, saying, “No time, baby. I’ll look at it later.”
She was not a kid to be pleased with a simple gesture or a smile. Dad was in a hurry, so he just kissed her forehead (额头), and rushed to go to work.
Sirin stood there for a few seconds, and then rushed into her own bedroom. She threw her painting on the floor, closed the door and lay on her bed. Looking up to the ceiling (天花板), she thought to herself, “Why is everybody so busy?” Her eyes were filled with tears. She thought that her mom and dad would admire her painting,but they didn’t pay any attention to it. It seemed that every single person on this earth was busy with their own work and no one had time to share a single moment with her, neither in happiness nor in sorrow! She was fed up with (受够了) everybody having “no time” for her.
When her mom called her for dinner, she came late to join them on purpose. “I made this special noodles for you, honey,” said Mom while passing the bowl towards Sirin. Sirin kept silent and didn’t want to give a look at her mom. Mom was surprised to see the unusual behaviour. She couldn’t guess anything. Suddenly, the morning incident occurred to her. Softly, she asked, “Honey, did I do something wrong? Why are you so sad?”
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 l:
Hearing what Mom said, Sirin couldn’t help crying and ran into her room.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
The next day, when Sirin turned on the light in her bedroom after school, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
One morning in December 2023, my co-worker Al’s email caught my attention: “Found: $20 bill on the floor in the lab at the end of the hall from the main building. See Alan W. to claim.”
Al’s email reminded me of an incident that occurred on Christmas 40 years ago. Before heading out for Christmas shopping that evening, I had withdrawn $400 from the bank, foolishly stuffing eight fifty dollar bills in my front trousers pocket. On my way to Oakbrook Shopping Center, I stopped at SportMart to look at skiing equipment for my son.
Returning to the car, I discovered the bills were gone. This was $400 in 1983—a huge sum of money! Feeling terrible, I turned my pockets inside out, thinking how I could have been so careless! I turned on my car headlights and desperately looked for the bills in the snow covering the parking area, but found nothing. This was the Chicago area. It was said that people in neighborhoods were not in the habit of turning in cash they found. At the thought of this, I was so sad. With low expectations, I returned to SportMart and started telling my awful tale to the store manager.
Hearing I’d lost cash, he interrupted, stating he needed to page(呼叫 ) the store quickly. Someone had earlier reported finding money. The customer wouldn’t say how much or leave the money with the manager, but left his name. The manager was concerned he may have left.
I stopped breathing as the page broadcast. Minutes passed, and I was about to give up hope when a man and a boy approached the manager. The manager pointed them in my direction. He was in his mid-thirties, with dark hair, a winter jacket, and a son about 10 or 12 He smiled, “The manager tells me you lost some money. Can you describe the amount and denominations(面额)?”
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 told him I’d lost $400, eight fifties.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________They left before I could ask them their names.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
