The Champion of No Score
Maggie hated Tuesdays—Tuesdays meant gym class, gym class meant picking teams and picking teams meant Maggie would be picked last.
As a newcomer, she’d come up with a special title for each classmate to remember the other kids. There was Kevin, Champion of the Clean Desk. Lynnie, Champion of Knowing the Answer First… Thinking hard, she finally decided her own title: Champion of Quiet.
Maggie felt blue as Tuesday fell again. Mr. Murphy, the gym teacher, asked for volunteer captains to pick their own basketball teams. The usual hands shot into the air. Maggie sighed and glanced to her right. She caught the eye of Jasmine. Champion of Awkward, a girl who was sometimes picked last, too. Then Maggie had an idea. So when Mr. Murphy asked if anyone else wanted to volunteer, Maggie felt her hand slowly rise. Looking again at Jasmine, she took a big breath. Maybe it was time for her to use her voice.
“Maggie?” Mr. Murphy smiled. “You want a turn?”
“Yes,” she said.
The class whispered. Maggie leading a team?
“Yes,” she answered again, louder this time.
Mr. Murphy waved Maggie to the front, where the other three captains—Champion of Jumping Rope, Champion of Never Misses a Shot, and Champion of Doesn’t Know How to Lose—stood, ready to choose their teams.
“Maggie, you get first pick,” said Mr. Murphy. “Jasmine,” announced Maggie. The class snickered. A joke? More than once, Jasmine had tried to score on the wrong basket. Eyes wide, Jasmine took her place beside Maggie. The other three captains called out familiar names—the best players on the basketball court. It was Maggie’s turn again. “I choose Frank.” Frank (Champion of the Untied Shoelace) could not throw, or catch. He knew what it felt like to be the last pick. But not today.
Three very talented teams took shape. And then there was Maggie’s team. Maggie looked at her teammates. There stood Jasmine and Frank, plus Gillian (Champion of Chatter) and George (Champion of Sleepy). “I have chosen the worst team in the history of the world,” Maggie thought to herself.
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。
Hand in hand, the Maggie team walked onto the court.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________They did lose big, but something positive began to unfold in them.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“I’ll bet Anjali knows. Right, Anjali? Why don’t you show us since you’re the star student,” Deepak taunted (奚落).
Anjali was confused. She wasn’t trying to show off. She was just playing tabla (印度塔不拉鼓), like everyone else. And why was Deepak being so mean lately? Is it because tabla is a boy’s thing? She didn’t care that people thought it was a boys’ instrument. Anjali knew there was no such thing. She danced her fingers across the tabla to perform the composition in confusion. “Ugh!” Anjali heard someone groan, and she stopped playing.
“I guess I don’t know it that well after all,” Anjali said sheepishly to the teacher, Mr. Zakir. Her stomach was doing flip-flops. That wasn’t true. Not even a little. Mr. Zakir’s eyes narrowed. He looked like he was about to say something, but changed his mind. “The recital (演奏会) is next week, everyone. Keep practicing. I will be announcing who will get to perform onstage with me at my next concert!” Anjali had dreamed of a moment like that. She wanted to win the opportunity, but she needed to sort things straight with Deepak first.
As the class was dismissed, Anjali hurried over to Deepak. When she finally made eye contact with him, he purposely looked away and walked off. The next day at school, Anjali overheard Deepak whispering to Mary. “People are only interested because she’s the only girl in tabla class and they want her to feel special. She’s not that good—” Anjali was furious. She excused herself and went to the bathroom. She took some deep breaths but couldn’t relax. Her heart was pounding:
“It’s not my fault that people make a big deal about a girl playing tabla. I make mistakes too, but I work really hard. Maybe he should too. He should be less mean and practice more.”
“If I play in this concert, no one will talk to me again. He will turn everyone against me.”
“I don’t want to see a tabla or hear a tabla or play a tabla EVER AGAIN!!” Anjali yelled at the mirror. It was quiet for a moment. She believed it was one of her darkest days ever.
注意：1.续写词数应为150个左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
Stepping out of the bathroom, Anjali saw some inspiring posters on the wall.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After the recital, Deepak walked up to Anjali.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The school festival was buzzing with excitement, all because of a new contest called “Innovate Your Way.” This contest was all about making a costume that was as unique and creative as possible, showcasing what one loves the most.
Lily Adams was surrounded by classmates with cool ideas. One classmate said excitedly, “I’m going to be the whole solar system, with planets circling around me!” One boasted (吹嘘), “I’ll redefine innovation. I will become a walking smartphone from the future, showing the digital age with interactive apps and games.”
Meanwhile, another one came up with the idea to dress up as a live weather forecast. He planned to attach LED screens to his outfit, displaying different weather patterns. This costume would not just show the weather but also change with real-time updates, combining technology and creativity in a way the festival had never seen.
Feeling overwhelmed, Lily wasn’t sure what to do. Her friends had such amazing ideas, and she hadn’t even picked a costume yet. She shared her worries with her friend Noah, saying,” I can’t make up my mind. Every idea seems too hard to do or just not exciting enough.”
Noah, always wise, had a great suggestion. “Why don’t you make a costume about gardening? You love it, and it’s something unique to you,” he said. Lily was unsure because the contest was just a few days away. “I don’t know if there’s enough time to make something like that from the beginning,” she worried. But Noah encouraged her, “You have a special talent for making something wonderful out of simple things. Use what’s around you.”
Inspired by Noah’s words, Lily thought over her collection of plants and flowers. Arriving home, she noticed the pile of old gardening magazines and a forgotten green tarp(防水布)in the garage.
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 Lily looked through the magazines, an idea began to take root.
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The day of the contest finally arrived.
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The school festival was buzzing with excitement, all because of a new contest called “Innovate Your Way.” This contest was all about making a costume that was as unique and creative as possible, showcasing what one loves the most.
Lily Adams was surrounded by classmates with cool ideas. One classmate said excitedly, “I’m going to be the whole solar system, with planets circling around me!” One boasted (吹嘘), “I’ll redefine innovation. I will become a walking smartphone from the future, showing the digital age with interactive apps and games.”
Meanwhile, another one came up with the idea to dress up as a live weather forecast. He planned to attach LED screens to his outfit, displaying different weather patterns. This costume would not just show the weather but also change with real-time updates, combining technology and creativity in a way the festival had never seen.
Feeling overwhelmed, Lily wasn’t sure what to do. Her friends had such amazing ideas, and she hadn’t even picked a costume yet. She shared her worries with her friend Noah, saying,” I can’t make up my mind. Every idea seems too hard to do or just not exciting enough.”
Noah, always wise, had a great suggestion. “Why don’t you make a costume about gardening? You love it, and it’s something unique to you,” he said. Lily was unsure because the contest was just a few days away. “I don’t know if there’s enough time to make something like that from the beginning,” she worried. But Noah encouraged her, “You have a special talent for making something wonderful out of simple things. Use what’s around you.”
Inspired by Noah’s words, Lily thought over her collection of plants and flowers. Arriving home, she noticed the pile of old gardening magazines and a forgotten green tarp(防水布)in the garage.
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 Lily looked through the magazines, an idea began to take root.
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The day of the contest finally arrived.
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Growing up, I was always around my grandma Meredith. She was the one who originally inspired my love for cooking and my dream of becoming a chef. Yet, one day I received a text that would turn my whole life around: “Grandma is seriously ill”, the text read. “We need your help in assisting with her care.”
Without a second of hesitation, I agreed to travel back home. Thankfully, my boss at the restaurant let me take unpaid leave for the next several months so I could come home to help out with grandma. After driving across several states, I finally got back to our family home in West Virginia. Yet, what I saw was really hard for me to bear. The Meredith I saw then was not the lively, joyful Meredith I had seen while I was growing up.
“Tony!” she called to me from her bed, “It’s so good to see you!”
“Grandma,” I sighed, “I’m not Tony. That’s dad, your son. I’m Hank.”
This was the start of a months-long journey of helping out around the house—cooking, cleaning, and, most of all, keeping grandma in good health and good spirits.
Every day, I cooked delicious food to keep everyone’s spirits high. But, secretly, I hoped that cooking some dishes that we had made together in my. Childhood would somehow help get grandma’s memory of me back, if just for a moment.
Stews (炖菜), chops (排骨), roasts— I served all of these to grandma and my parents around the clock. When I wasn’t taking grandma out for a walk in her wheel chair or changing her bed sheets, I was cooking. I had cooked for celebrities while at the restaurant in New York City, but never had I poured my heart out into my meals than I did then for grandma. However, it didn’t work at all.
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 I decided to make something simple.
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After taking a few bites, grandma finally called out my name-my actual name.
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December 1952 in Wisconsin was bitterly cold. A curious 7-year-old, I was in hesitation when my father arrived home from work with something hidden in his jacket. “Guess what I have,” he said. He slowly unwrapped the jacket to take out a frozen owl (猫头鹰). He’d found the frozen bird on his car when he left work and guessed that it had flown into the windshield (挡风玻璃).
Dad thought it might be alive and wanted to let it warm up. My mother agreed to let the bird stay overnight, so Dad and I took it to the basement( 地下室) and carefully laid it near our coal stove. I was the first one into the kitchen the next morning for a bowl of cereal (麦片). I found the owl resting on the sugar bowl as if waiting for its breakfast. I hurried to tell my parents that the owl was alive and sitting at the kitchen table. Mom didn’t like that it was in the kitchen and wanted it out of the house.
Dad instructed me to open the back door while he forced the owl toward me. I heard the flapping of wings, but before I could direct its flight outside, the owl turned around away from the cold air coming in the door and flew past me, down the stairs into the shelter of the warm basement. Resting in the space near the top of the basement, the owl was safely beyond our reach. We tried driving it out with a broom, but it calmly flew to the far side of the basement. Soon Dad and I were laughing too hard to continue, and we realized there was no way we could drive the owl out if it wanted to stay. Mom agreed to have it in the house until Dad could catch it when it became weak from hunger. But that never 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。
The door didn’t shut properly, which allowed mice into the basement.
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As spring arrived, we knew it was time for the owl to leave.
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Autism is a mental disorder that affects children, particularly their ability to relate to other people. Having a child with autism adds an additional learning curve to parenting. And parents with kids with autism know just how beautiful and cruel it can be because they aren’t kids who fit into society’s typical mold. It simply means that parents, friends, strangers, caregivers, neighbors, and teachers need to find different ways to create a supportive community because every individual with autism is uniquely different.
Daniel, who has autism, recently wrote down his wish and Keivn, Daniel’s father, shared that because of his son’s autism. Daniel typically prefers to play alone. In fact, throughout his entire childhood Daniel never once asked to go play with friends. But this year, Daniel made a special birthday wish. The request floods and shocked his father because Daniel’s birthday wish was to make a few friends.
Kevin often shares updates about Daniel on social media in hope of recording his life. He is clearly aware that social skill training is important and difficult to autism children. After he learned of his son’s birthday wishes, he eagerly wanted to make Daniel’s birthday just a little sweeter.
On social media, he wrote, “Daniel is my son. Profoundly Autistic, he hasn’t one single friend. It’s his birthday today.” He posted his son’s written birthday wish and politely asked others to put in and wish his son a happy birthday. A dad’s heartfelt birthday wish for his son is the most beautiful story you will find, and this one is taking over the Internet.
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。
Kevin didn’t realize this simple request of kindness would spread so widely.
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Kevin reflected why there was such a positive response for such a simple request.
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We were out to change the world. This was our time, our senior year. My best friend Beth and I had big dreams and hopes for our last year in high school.
“Kristi, did you see the girl standing by us in the lunch line—she looks so lost, so out of place.” We had heard of a family that had just moved to our town from the country of Cambodia. We knew there was supposed to be a new girl at our school from that family, but we had yet to meet her until now.
Leourn was a small dark-haired beauty. She was starting her freshman year in this new country. She struggled with the little English she knew and that made it very hard for her to get to know people in our small town.
We watched in the lunchroom from our “Senior Table”. This table was reserved for our “senior sports jock(运动健将) friends,” and no one else. Leourn would get her lunch tray with the rest of the students but she always kept her head down with her eyes focused on the floor. She would then head to the only table of girls she recognized. Unfortunately, it was the table for the most popular girls in the freshman class. Every single day Leourn would sit at the very edge of her seat and eat as fast as she could. She kept her eyes fixed on her food and we never, ever saw her look up. We would watch quietly as the other girls were interacting with each other at her table. They would make gestures to one another and laugh at Leourn while she ate.
As we paid attention over the next week, we never heard anyone so much as say “Hi” to Leourn. We decided to try our hardest to let one lonely girl know that there were people who knew she existed.
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。
We sat with Leourn at the freshman girls’ table.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________From then on, Leourn began to change.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I never thought that I understood her. She always seemed so far away from me. I loved her, of course. We shared mutual（相互的）love from the day I was born. I came into this world with a head out of shape because of the hard labor my mother had gone through. Family members and friends wrinkled their noses at the disfigured baby I was. But no, not her. Nana thought I was beautiful. Her eyes twinkled with happiness at the ugly baby in her arms. Her first granddaughter. Beautiful, she said.
Before final exams in my junior year of high school, she died. Seven years ago, her doctors diagnosed Nana with Alzheimer’s disease. Seven years ago, our family became experts on this disease as, slowly, we lost her.
She always spoke in broken sentences. As the years passed, the words she spoke became fewer and fewer, until finally she said nothing at all. We were lucky to get one occasional word out of her—beautiful. It was then that our family knew she was near the end.
About a week or so before she died, she lost the abilities for her body to function at all, and the doctors decided to move her to a hospice, where those who entered would never come out.
I told my parents I wanted to see her. I had to see her. My uncontrollable curiosity had taken a step above my nervous and emotional fear.
My mother brought me to the hospice two days after my request. My grandfather and two of my aunts were there as well, but all hung back in the hallway as I entered Nana’s room. She was sitting in a big, soft chair next to her bed, eyes shut, mouth hanging open. The medicine was keeping her asleep. My eyes darted（看）around the room at the windows, the flowers, and the way Nana looked. I was struggling very hard to take it all in, knowing that this would be the last time I ever saw her alive.
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 slowly sat down across from her.
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The word brought back a lot of happy memories.
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“This Radio Two.This is the one o'clock news.A she wolf escaped from the Dorford Zoo this morning and is believed to be still at large in the Dorford area.If hungry the wolf might be dangerous.If anyone sees this animal, please inform the nearest police-station.”
Mrs.Clarke switched the radio off: she wanted to make her middy lunch before her baby woke up.She pushed the pram(婴儿车)into the garden, left it under a tree out of the sun and went into the kitchen.
Then minutes later she came to the back door to see if everything was all right.A big dog was standing by the pram looking at the baby.“That’s the Johnson’s dog.I’ve told them they ought to keep that great animal in their own garden.Those dogs are a bit too much like wolves.”Then Mrs.Clarke went cold.“Wolves.What have I heard about wolves?”She was sure she had heard something about an escaped wolf on the radio.She looked hard at the creature by the pram—and the more she looked the more certain she became.It wasn’t the dog from next door.Like it, but different.It was as big as the dog, but the color was greyer and it looked thinner.
At this moment the creature put its front legs on the side of the pram and looked at the sleeping baby, licking its face.The baby woke up and began to cry quietly.
Mrs.Clarke wanted to scream, but she knew it would be wrong to do that.What should she do? “Inform the police,” the radio had said.But that meant leaving the garden and going to the telephone near the front door.She was sure that somehow she must get the wolf away from the prom.The she remembered the piece of meat she had bought.It was on the kitchen table.
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。
Very quietly she slipped into the kitchen and came back with the meat.
____________________________________________________________________________________________Holding the baby to her in the kitchen，she telephoned the police.
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