On market days when the farmers brought their goods to the little town to sell, I used to walk by them to chat. One of the farmers was telling me about a little stray (流浪) dog hiding among the market stalls (货摊). The thing that made us notice the dog was that he was sitting up, paws (爪) dangling (悬垂), staring at the passers-by hopelessly, begging for something that can remove his hunger.

“Look at that little fellow(家伙),” the farmer said, “I wonder where he’s from and how he can end up like this.” As he spoke, the stallholder (货摊主) threw the dog some bread, but when the man approached, the little poor thing ran away. I was standing there, trying to see where he had gone, when a young policeman came up to me. “I’ve been watching that dog begging all morning,” he said, “but I haven’t been able to get close to him.” “Yes, it’s strange. You can see he’s cute and friendly, but he’s also afraid. I wonder who owns him.” “I don’t think he has an owner, Mr. Harriot. I know just about all the dogs around here. But this one is a stranger to me.” I nodded. “I’m sure you’re right. He could have been treated badly by somebody and run away, or he could have been abandoned.” “Yes,” the policeman replied, “I don’t know how anybody can leave a helpless animal to watch over itself like that. I’ve had a few attempts (尝试) to catch him but it’s no good.”

Days later I met the policeman again and he told me that the dog had been caught, because it was against the law for a dog to go begging in the market. I couldn’t believe such a ridiculous (荒唐的) thing and asked him to take me to see the dog.

We walked a short way to a dog cottage(笼舍).

Days later, I revisited the cottage and felt a wave of relief (放心).

I am a proud mother of three children, my last little one being delivered in the middle of this pandemic (疫情). She was born in August and her name is Aida.

Shortly after having Aida, my mother-in-law Ann showed me something she learned from her friend’s mother in an art class she attended weekly, She had showed me how to knit (编织) a scarf.

I spent a lot of time breastfeeding my sweet little girl, so I had some extra time to do something with my hands throughout the day. I enjoyed making the scarf so I purchased tons of yarn (线) since it was winter. I wanted to make scarves for my three children as Christmas gifts.

There was a new family that moved in down the street. The only daughter of the family was Jane, a shy girl, aged 14, the same age of my oldest son David. It seemed that she came from a financially disadvantaged family, for she always wore old clothes. Worse still, in such cold days, she had no more clothes to wear and trembled with cold.

Due to the pandemic, society was thrown into crisis mode. Schools were closed, food supplies and deliveries were suspended and children were stuck at home. In such discouraging time, however, they became good companions, talking and playing at home or around the houses.

It was dreadfully cold this winter. Every time David came back from outside, with red face, he always cried, “Mum, it is freezing outside!” Then, he came over to see whether I finished the scarf. I could tell how impatient he was to wear my scarf sooner! I had to speed the project to satisfy his expectation. But David comforted me by saying he could wait a few days. What a kind and considerate boy he was! Then my great art project finally was accomplished on the morning ahead of Christmas.

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.

“Kris, did you see the girl standing by us in the lunch 1ine—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.

Lucy 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.

In most cases, students of the same grade would sit together. We watched in the lunchroom from our “Senior Table”. This table was reserved (预留) for our “senior sports jock (运动健将) friends,” and no one else. Most of the time, Lucy would get her lunch tray (托盘) with the rest of we students but she always kept her head down with her eyes focused on the floor. She would then head to the table of the freshman class. Unfortunately, it was the table for the most popular girls in the freshman class. Every single day Lucy 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 Lucy while she ate.

As we paid attention over the next week, we never heard anyone at her table say “Hi” to Lucy. We decided to try our hardest to let one lonely girl know that there were people who knew she existed.

Para1: We sat with Lucy at the freshman girl’s table.

Para2: From then on, Lucy began to change.

My Best Teaching Experience

Tyler was only in my senior class for a semester. He had been suspended (使停学) several times in previous years because he had difficulty controlling his anger. When he entered my class, I thought the worst.

Tyler sat in the back row. Every time I talked to the class, I would ask students questions by calling out their names. Unfortunately, every time I called Tyler’s name, he would respond with a joke. If he got an answer wrong, he would become angry.

About a month into the school year, I was still trying to connect with Tyler. I could usually get students involved in class discussions or at least have them sit quietly while paying attention. By contrast, Tyler was often loud and sometimes rude.

He had been in so much trouble over the years. He expected his teachers to know about his past: about how many times he had been sent to the office or suspended from school. I had found that these sorts of referrals (移交) were not very effective and that students would return behaving worse than before.

One day, Tyler kept interrupting me while I was teaching. I stopped my lesson and said, “Tyler, why don’t you join in our discussion instead of having one of your own?” When I said that, he got up from his chair, pushed it over and shouted at me. I can’t remember what he said but he used bad words. I sent Tyler straight to the office, and he was told not to come to school for a week.

This was one of my worst teaching experiences. Tyler’s anger was almost too much for me. The week Tyler was off school was wonderful. We achieved a lot as a class. However, he would soon be back, and I was worried about his return.

On the day of Tyler’s return, I stood at the door awaiting him.

A spark of surprise flashed across his face.

Jenny was the only child in her family. She had a quarrel (吵架) with her mother that afternoon and she ran out of the house angrily. She couldn’t help weeping sorrowfully when she thought of the scolding from her mother. Having wandered aimlessly in the street for hours, she felt a little hungry and wished for something to eat. She stood beside a stand (货摊) for a while, watching the middle-aged seller busy doing his business. However, with no money in hand, she gave a sigh and had to leave.

The seller behind the stand noticed the young girl and asked, “Hey, girl, you want to have the noodles?”

“Oh, yes, but I don’t have money on me.” she replied.

“That’s nothing. I’ll treat you today,” said the man, “Come in.”

The seller brought her a bowl of noodles, whose smell was so attractive. As she was eating, Jenny cried silently.

“What is it?” asked the man kindly.

“Nothing. Actually, I was just touched by your kindness!” said Jenny as she wiped her tears. “Even a stranger on the street will give me a bowl of noodles, while my mother drove me out of the house. She showed no care for me. She is so merciless compared to a stranger!”

Hearing the words, the seller smiled, “Girl, do you really think so? I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you thanked me a lot. But it is your mother who has raised you since you were a baby. Can you remember the times she cooked for you? Have you expressed your gratitude to her?”

Jenny sat there, speechless and numb with shock: she remembered her mother’s familiar face and weathered hands. “Why didn’t I think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel grateful. Why haven’t I thanked my mum for what she has done for me?”

On the way home. Jenny made up her mind to make an apology to her mother for her rudeness as soon as she arrived home.

Nearing the doorway, Jenny took a deep breath.

At that time, her mother came back and touched her hair gently, which called her mind back.

7 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

When I was little, I lived in a house with a beautiful garden full of all kinds of flowers, and roses were the most beautiful of them. There was nothing I enjoyed more than sitting in the garden with my mother as she read stories to me. When I was in primary school and old enough to read, I enjoyed reading stories aloud to her.

I will never forget one day when I was in the third grade. I had been picked to be the princess in the school play, and for weeks my mother had rehearsed (排练) my lines so hard with me. But no matter how easily I acted at home, as soon as I stepped onstage, every word disappeared from my head. Finally, my teacher took me aside. She explained that she had written a narrator’s (旁白、解说员) part to the play, and asked me to change roles. Her word, kindly expressed, still hurt, especially when I saw my part go to another girl.

I didn’t tell my mother what had happened when I went home after school that day. But she sensed my pain. Instead of suggesting we practice my lines, she asked if I wanted to take a walk in the garden.

It was May and roses were blossoming and, under the trees, we could also see yellow dandelions (蒲公英) in the grass, as if a painter had painted our garden with red, yellow and green. I watched my mother casually bend down by one dandelion. “I think I’m going to dig up all these weeds,” she said, pulling it up by its roots. “From now on, we’ll have only roses in this garden.”

“But I like dandelions,” I protested. “All flowers are beautiful --- even dandelions.”

My mother looked at me seriously. “Yes, every flower is beautiful in its own way, isn’t it?” She asked thoughtfully. I nodded, pleased that I had won her over. “And that is true of people too,” she added. “Not everyone can be a princess, but there is no shame in that.” Relieved that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry as I told her what had happened. She listened and smiled, patting me gently.

“But you will be a beautiful narrator,” she said.

注意：

1．所续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2．续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。

“But you will be a beautiful narrator,” she said,

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After the play, I took home the dandelions.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was the last game of the season. Cali had been playing soccer all summer. She really enjoyed chasing the black and white ball across the grassy field. But still, Cali had not scored one single goal. Cali was-pretty-good-at passing the ball, but she couldn’t kick the ball past the goalkeeper. She wondered if she should quit soccer.

“Don’t give up,” said her coach. “You just need to keep trying and you will get better.”

“Don’t give up,” said Uncle George and Aunt Lisa.

But it was half-time, and Cali was feeling frustrated. Every time she got a chance to kick the ball, it would go in the wrong direction or a player from the other team would take control of it. Maybe she would try a different sport next summer.

The break was over. The two teams walked back onto the field, both determined to win. Cali heard her aunt whisper in her ear. “You can do it.”

Cali smiled at her aunt and headed to her position.

The score was tied with one goal each. The yellow team was pretty good, but Cali’s blue team was fast. Cali was off to the side when the ball headed her way. She ran over to it and kicked it. She watched it land right in front of a girl on the yellow team who expertly stopped it and sent it back in the other direction. Cali sighed.

The little girl watched the ball go back and forth between the players. Her heart wasn’t in the game anymore. Cali decided she’d wait until the game was over and then she was going to hang up her soccer boots for good.

She was woken from her daydream by some music. It was the sweet, happy jingle of the ice cream truck. It was driving right beside the soccer field, playing its music loudly to attract customers. The truck stopped. The music kept playing.

The players on both teams turned to look at it.

By the time the other girls had noticed, Cali was positioned right in front of the net.

9 . 阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。

When Marco was a boy, he tried everything to get his father’s love and attention. He worked hard to earn good marks; he tried to be obedient (顺从的), he chose inspiring friends and always tried to behave well.

Sensitive and shy, he was so timid (胆怯的) that he always wore turtleneck shirts. He hid behind his hair, which he wore long around his face and ears. To make it worse, Marco was naturally shorter than the other kids. And because his good marks had allowed him to skip second grade — he was younger than everyone else. This added nothing to his already low self-confidence.

When Marco was eight his parents divorced, and Marco was sent to a boarding school. Six years later, he and his young sister Sandra moved in with their dad and his new wife in S-Leonard, a French Canadian and Italian neighborhood on the east side of Montreal, It felt to Marco that his father had little time for him and Sandra. Except for his demands around chores (日常琐事) after school, communication was nonexistent. It seemed to Marco the only time his dad ever spoke to him was to be demanding. He began to fear to come home from school every day.

Marco sank further into his low self-confidence, feeling unappreciated, inadequate, depressed and confused.

One day, his aunt called him. To Marco, this seemed like a miracle. Aunt Ginette usually only called once a year, on his birthday. She said she had just seen some young teenagers participate in a public speaking contest called Gala Personnalite sponsored by Club Optimiste — and she thought about him. She thought he, should give it a try. She told him she firmly believed he could perform on stage like the other kids.

Marco was greatly surprised. Him? Onstage? In a public speaking contest? To agree would be contrary to his entire shy, timid personality. But Aunt Ginette was so confident. She seemed really serious. She was sure it was something he could do. She truly believed in him. And feeling her strong belief, Marco agreed to enter the contest.

注意：

1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。

Paragraph 1:

An energy flooded him, which he never felt before.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2:

When the big night arrived, his family were all in the audience.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In 2000, when I was six years old, my parents, sister, and I were coming back from a baseball game. Little did we know that a big surprise was waiting for us in our driveway. We spotted two adult geese and a small gosling. The adults were frightened away by our return, but their baby was still too young to follow. We were no strangers to the ways of wildlife, so we avoided physical contact with the young gosling out of fear that he would stay with us and be lost to his family forever.

Hours passed, and night fell. With it came a deep chill and a fear of watchful predators. The tiny little thing was wandering around our yard, unaware of what could happen. It was clear that he needed protection, warmth, and food to survive until morning. At that point, we knew we had to bring him into our house.

We all slept with one eye open till morning came. And then another morning. Each morning, we would try to drive the goose over to his parents, who kept coming back to our yard. He wouldn’t go to them, though, and they wouldn’t come close enough to claim him. We kept this up for five days, but no luck. The young goose had decided we were his new family, so we had to give him a name, Peeper.

Days turned into weeks, months until almost a year passed. We settled into a routine filled with feathery hugs. One evening, my uncle came. My dad wanted to show him Peeper. He threw Peeper up in the air, but he just flew off. Everyone was sad and worried. We looked for Peeper for days, but he didn’t come back. We hoped he had gone to join a flock of his own kind. Again, days turned into weeks, months, and then years. I missed my little buddy. I would call for him every time I saw a flock of geese in V-formation. Twenty years passed, and Peeper became a fond memory for my family.

In 2019, an aging adult goose came to my family home.

After this goose came back repeatedly for two weeks, it became clear to me that this was Peeper.