A Moment of Kindness
A lioness with her cub (幼崽) was moving around in the jungle searching for their prey(猎物) . While coming out from the den (洞穴), the baby asked her mother, “Mum, why are we going out for prey when a deer is already at home? Let us eat it first, then we can search for the next.”
The mother smiled and licked her child with love and said, “No, my love! We can’t eat that deer because it has no choice but to seek our help. He is wounded and helpless. We must help him.”
The baby cub was surprised and questioned again, “Why so, Mum? That’s our food.”
“Honey, you are absolutely right! It’s our food, but this particular deer is well aware that if we want, we can kill him in a second. Do you think that he deserves to be killed when he has come to us in a hope that we would protect him?”
The baby cub couldn’t understand her mother. It kept quiet and paced with its mother. That was not a lucky day for them. They didn’t get any prey even after a long search. At last, they came back to their den.
The deer on the other hand was terrified of his own decision. He was attacked by a hunter and managed to escape. While running for his life, he saw the den and without a second thought entered it. When he realized that he was in the lion’s den, he gave up the idea of running back again. At that time, the lioness and her cub were present over there. The deer stared at the lioness with a pitiful look. Tears were rolling down.
The lioness understood his hopeless condition. She came closer to the deer, smelled it and slowly moved out of the den with her cub for hunting.
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
When they returned without any food, the cub repeated the same question.
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The lioness came close to the deer after the cub fell asleep.
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Melia and her father had just finished building a tree house in the backyard. Melia wanted to decorate the walls, and instead of buying things, she decided to make her own art.
Melia enjoyed making collages using a combination of photos she had taken and pieces of fabric. For her tree house, she thought she would use pictures from magazines instead. She could collect used magazines from neighbors, so the pictures would be free. And to create a collage of all her favorite things, she could add pretty leaves, and fruits of pine tree from the yard.
For several days, Melia collected bits of nature to use for the collage. She also collected magazines from the neighbors. She piled both at the front door, as her plan was to make the collage over the weekend. Oddly, though she added to the piles each day, many of the leaves were gone, and the pile of magazines was a mess.
“Dad? Mom?” Melia asked. “Have either of you been taking the supplies for my collage off the door?” “Now, why on earth would we do that?” her dad answered with a question. “I don’t know, but what I do know is that someone is spoiling my art project! It’s my mission to find out who and why!” Melia declared.
Who would want to steal this stuff? She had a plan. She cleaned up the rest of the leaves and threw the ruined magazines in the recycling bin. She started collecting old magazines again, hoping to set a trap. Even if she had to stay up all night, Melia was determined to solve the case.
Once she had collected a large pile of magazines, Melia formed several piles at the front door. She placed them close to the window so that she could catch the thief. She asked her parents if she could sleep on the sofa. “I know they’re used magazines, but I need them for my art project. I have to solve this case!”
Melia was determined to catch the thief, but she had a difficult time staying awake. Within a few hours, she nodded off. Just as the sun was rising, a slight sound awoke her.
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。
Melia looked through the window, and her eyes opened wide!
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Melia ran back into the house, shouting, “It’s a squirrel! Wake up! Come to the tree house and look!”
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It had been 5 years since Zahida’s husband passed away due to a heart attack. Every day, she buried herself in her embroidery (刺绣), feeling her waist ache due to the long hours of work. She would grow tired faster these days.
The doorbell rang. Her son Aamer returned from the office. Entering the house, Aamer threw his bag at a sofa. “I have told you again and again not to throw things everywhere!” Zahida complained. “Mom, why do you find fault with unimportant things every day? Boss at office, you at home... Oh so tiring!” Aamer slammed (砰地关上) the door to his room.
Such unpleasant exchanges always happened now. Zahida would often recall the days of Aamer’s childhood fondly, which would bring smile to her face. She could remember the days when the little Aamer had parted unwillingly on his first day to school or had shouted excitedly at spotting a sleepy bear during a visit to the zoo. Zahida wondered if Aamer too could recollect these memories or had piled them in a forgotten corner of his mind.
Following a quiet dinner that night, Zahida happened to pass Aamer’s room. She could hear Aamer’s voice floating out. “Yes, yes... you do understand that she is a picky woman. She cannot adjust easily anywhere. You must take care of that...”
Zahida was caught by a sudden sense of anxiety. A few days ago, a neighbor’s children sent her neighbor off to an old age home. They were too busy to have time for the old woman. What did Aamer talk of? Was she also...? No, surely Aamer couldn’t be doing that. Zahida retired to bed.
“Please be sure to deliver the tickets for our trip to Egypt as soon as possible,” Aamer continued.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150词左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
A few days later, a postman rang the doorbell when Aamer was away for work.
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“Mom, here... Look what I’ve got in the envelope!” Aamer shouted with joy like a child.
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Two little birds were happily sitting on the rock, just having finished their lunch. Their parents had allowed them, for the first time, to go and hunt for their lunch by themselves. And they had enjoyed every bit of the freedom.
Suddenly, a net came and fell on both. They struggled to pass through it but in vain. Two boys jumped down from the branch above them. They quickly gathered the net. One of the boys, Eric, shouted to his little brother Max. “We have finally succeeded after ten days of waiting.”
“Yes, what luck! They look much more beautiful than ordinary birds. Let’s go home and put them in our cage,” Eric said joyfully. They ran home with the birds.
The two little birds were terribly frightened. They thought of their mother who must be anxiously waiting for them.
When the two boys got to the house gate, the sweet smell came out of the kitchen. Their mother Amla was baking cakes, which were what the boys couldn’t live without.
Hearing the boys’ footsteps, Amla anxiously asked, “Where have you been? I was getting worried. I’m cooking your favorite cakes.”
“Look, Mom, we have caught two beautiful birds! We are going to cage them. They will play with us.” Max proudly showed them to Amla.
Seeing the young birds shivering (发抖) in the boys’ hands, Amla said, “They are indeed beautiful. But they are so young and look so scared! They need their mother. Set them free.”
The boys said, “We will look after them.” Amla insisted that they shouldn’t keep them. They turned to their father John for help. Similarly,” John said, “It is not good to cage these birds. We should not take away their freedom.”
The boys were in tears and begged, “We love them so much. Please let us keep then.” “Well, just put them in the cage for the time being. Let’s enjoy your favorite cakes.” The boys jumped with joy. In the evening, John said to Amla, “The birds look very rare. We’d better do some research. Maybe we should call the police first.”
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
The boys woke up only to find a note, “Mom and Dad go to the police station.”
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Just then Dad and Mom returned. On seeing them, the boys asked, “Why did you see the police?”
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Papa, my grandfather, started teaching me to play chess when I was ten. He taught me everything he knew about chess. It took me three years to defeat him. Papa turned the chessboard over. 1 was amazed by what 1 saw. It was covered with dozens of names and dates.
“These are the people who have beaten me at chess. Look, this is the fellow who saved my life when we served in the army. He sent me to the hospital and cared for me. While in the hospital, he defeated me at chess,” Papa said, pointing to a name, Paul Ward, on the board. Then he handed me a pen and asked me to add my name to it.
Years later, I graduated from college with a degree in social work. Papa handed me his chessboard, saying, “I want you to have this.”
“Papa, I can’t take this. It’s special to you.”
“And now, it’ll be special to you, Grandson. That’s the way it is in life: We pass our love on to the next person.”
Sadly, it wasn’t long after this that Papa passed away. I was heartbroken, of course. But determined to take the things I had learned from him, and the love he had shown me, and pass them on to others.
Then 1 was hired to be the social worker for a retirement community. Each day. I observed elderly residents sitting alone, heads down, ready to give up. In the yard, there were several stone tables with chess boards imprinted (刻印) on them. One day, I sat down, set up my chess pieces and waited. An elderly man cautiously approached.
“Care for a game?” I cheerfully inquired. The man smiled weakly and sat down. It seemed as if he wasn’t sure how to move the chess. We played in silence. The only sounds were the click-click of our chess pieces. 1 won. The old man sighed. “It’s been a while since I played,” he explained, “what if we can play chess together every day?” Then, I decided to do something for the elderly.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150词左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
We set up a group called The Senior Chess Club.
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The old man explained, “It was all because of your chessboard.”
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Amy is good at making pies, which got her hired at the Good Times restaurant months ago. And she was often regarded as the best worker there. Recently, she became the supervisor at the restaurant. She was kind and friendly to all the other workers and the customers.
One morning, Amy was taking orders when she overheard a conversation. “What you did there was great, Mason! It was hard to carry the old lady safely out of the fire. For a moment, I thought you were gone, my friend,” one man said. To this, the other man replied, “Yeah, it was difficult, but that’s our job. And you were the hero today, Gordon. You carried that girl on your shoulder and her dog in your hand. It’s going to be on the front page tomorrow, I’m telling you.”
From their clothing and conversation, Amy knew they were firefighters. And she quickly realized that they had been talking about the previous night’s fire at the old motel on the other end of the road. Then the man named Gordon continued, “I don’t care about being in the papers. The little girl and her dog reminded me of my own daughter. She’s constantly asking for a dog, too.” Amy was moved by the courage and sincerity of the two men. She wanted to show her appreciation for their selfless service.
Paragraph 1:
“How about helping pay for their meal?” she wondered.
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Paragraph 2:
Then she went to the cashier and secretly paid for their meal.
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Spenser’s First Web
Spenser was a small black spider (蜘蛛). Like all of his brothers and sisters, he had eight legs to help him walk and run. He was now big enough to know how to move all his legs together and not trip over them. Spenser was getting bigger every day.
Today Spenser felt nervous. It was time for him to learn to spin (织) a web on his own. He had watched his mother build beautiful, soft webs from the silk she made herself. His mother’s webs were lovely. They took a long time to make, and in the morning, they were covered with drops of dew that made them look like castles.
“OK, Spenser,” said Ms. Spinney. “It’s time to spin your first web. Let’s begin by making a big plus sign.” Ms. Spinney was Spenser’s teacher. She was old and small but very strong. She quickly used her silk to make a plus sign between two nearby leaves.
Spenser was able to make silk, but he had trouble attaching it to anything. No matter how hard he tried, the threads (丝) slipped away and fell to the ground. Spenser tried hard, but he was getting tired.
“Take a break, Spenser,” said Ms. Spinney. “You’re trying very hard, but I can see that you’re getting frustrated (沮丧的).”
“I’m not frustrated!” said Spenser. “I’m mad that I’m not good at it, and I’m sad that I can’t do it. ”Spenser felt like he was going to cry.
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。
Ms. Spinney smiled kindly.
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Spenser went back to his web making spot to see if he could do it again.
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The school picnic day was on Sunday, and on Saturday morning I decided to ask Mum some questions. As soon as Mum took the last bite of her toast, I decided I couldn’t wait for her any longer and asked, “Mum, where is Italy?”
My mum pushed up her glasses and looked at me with her head to one side. Then she said, “Italy is an European country which is very far away from here, my love. Why do you want to know that?” I shrugged (耸肩), “That’s where Mike, the new boy in our class is from.”
She nodded and invited me to go to fetch the geography book. The book was big and Mum always kept the very big books on the bottom shelf of our bookcase. I watched as Mum flipped to the index and then to a page near the middle. “Here we go,” she said, turning the map around to show me. I let my finger meet hers where it said the word “Italy” in capital letters. According to the introduction to the country on the page, Mum helped me know more about the country.
“You know, Mum, Mike’s parents are extremely busy working in the downtown. He seldom eats regularly let alone (更不用说) have his native foods. I really want him to be very happy for his first picnic with us…” I paused and observed Mum, worried that Mum would think that it was silly and maybe a waste of money buying food only to give it away. But she didn’t. Instead, she said, “I think that’s a brilliant idea! Go and get ready, and we’ll head out on a big shopping.”
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 got ready so quickly that morning that I thought I must have beaten a world record.
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Ryan, whose father died of illness early, was a senior high student now. He and his mom were on their own, living in a sparsely furnished apartment. Mom lost her job because of the economic crisis and they barely got by (勉强度日).
As usual, Ryan walked into the restaurant where his mother once worked as a cashier in 2010 and queued up to pay for the lunch.
“Two forty,” Sonia, the cashier said.
“Could you charge it to my account, please? My name is Ryan Harris.”
Sonia looked through the record chart, announcing that Ryan didn’t have any credits (积分) left, and suggested he pay cash. Reaching his hand into his pocket, Ryan only took out several cents, which couldn’t cover the lunch. He smiled weakly, turned away and took a seat in the restaurant for a rest. He felt so hungry that his eyes fell on the sandwiches people around were enjoying. Before long, unexpectedly, Sonia walked up to him, bringing a lunch and putting it on his desk. Surprise deprived him of all power of speech. Sonia explained, “I paid for it. And I bought you some credits to last you through the month. I know what it’s like to go without lunch.”
Soon Ryan learned the truth. Sonia went to the same senior high in 2010 like him and used to have lunch in the same restaurant every day. One day, she stayed in line, waiting to buy her lunch, but was told that she didn’t have enough credits. So she left, empty-handed. Just as she thought she would go hungry, an amazing cashier brought her lunch and a card reading “Pay it forward and help someone else in need”.
Sonia told Ryan the amazing cashier changed her life forever, and she was the reason why Sonia decided to start working here, meanwhile handing Ryan the card. Ryan promised that he would pay the money back to her one day. But Sonia insisted, “We are human. And we have to be nice to each other. You needn’t pay me back; you pay it forward!” Ryan could not believe his good fortune, enjoyed the lunch and went to school.
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。
After school, Ryan came home, only to see his mum wiping tears off her face.
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When mum saw the card, memories came flooding back.
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A Community Puts on a Dazzling Display of Support
In Sara’s family, putting up Christmas lights was always a big day of celebration. Every year, just after Thanksgiving Day, her dad Anthony, 70, would visit local stores to check out new decorations and then excitedly string lights and hang decorations in and out of the house. The dazzling (绚烂的) display made him a hit in the community.
On 2020 Christmas Eve, as usual, the whole house twinkled with lights, and gifts were piled under the tree. While everyone was looking forward to enjoying another Christmas together as a family, Sara, got a call: the whole family had tested positive for COVID-19. Their Christmas celebration had to be canceled.
At first, everyone’s symptoms (症状) seemed manageable. But right after the new year, Anthony started having trouble breathing and unfortunately passed away two weeks later, though the rest had recovered from COVID-19. The following week of planning the funeral was the worst for Sara and her husband, Frank. Sorrow left them doubled over in pain. The saddest of all was that no neighbours attended her father’s funeral. Only the twinkling Christmas lights at night brought them a little bit joy. The lights were one of the last moments they had of their beloved father, so they kept them up.
One morning in February, Sara received an envelope. “Take your Christmas lights down! It’s Valentine’s Day!!!” the unsigned letter read. Sara looked at the paper in shock. Then she got angry. She could have bottled up that anger, but she decided to write about it instead. She logged on to a local community Facebook group and shared the letter. She ended the post with this: “We all had a tough year. Be kind to people because you never know what they are going through.”
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。
Half an hour later, Frank rushed into the room excitedly, with his phone in the hand.
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When night fell, Sara and Frank were surprised by what they saw outside.
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