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.
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。
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.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . 《鲁宾逊漂流记》是英国作家丹尼尔·笛福(Daniel Defoe)写的一部著名小说。请根据下列要点写一篇简短的书评。
1. 该书出版于1719年，它是一本最流行的历险小说之一；
2. 简述小说的主要故事情节；
3. 该书一部分是根据18世纪苏格兰水手Alexander Selkirk的事迹写的；
4. 小说描写细致，引人入胜。
注意：
1. 词数80左右；2. 标题和开头已给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：自给自足的self-sufficient；食人肉的野人cannibal
A Book Review of Robinson Crusoe
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Emily White was born seventeen years ago with many physical issues affecting her tiny body. Some of her organs, bones and muscles were out of shape. Though no one expected her to survive, she did make it. But she had a strange figure that everyone could recognize, even from a distance.
In Emily’s hometown, there was a yearly outdoor performance in the school hall at Christmas. It had been performed for so many years that it had become one of the most important events for many of the townsfolk. Each year, many people tried out for the show, but most were turned down. Only the best performers could be included.
Emily had a most beautiful singing voice. Last year, she asked Mrs. Owens, her music teacher, if she could join in the performance. Mrs. Owens took a look at her body and said, “Child, you just don’t fit. Everyone would stare at you and that would make you uncomfortable. It would make them uncomfortable too.”
Without singing a single note, Mrs. Owens sent Emily back through the door of the choral room (合唱室). Hurt and upset, Emily decided never to try out again. But things changed as the following school year, Mrs. Owens retired and a new music teacher arrived—Mr. Butler.
He had heard about Emily and suggested that she give it a try again. Emily didn’t want to be rejected again, so she hesitated about it. But finally her love for singing and strong desire to join in the performance outweighed her hesitation. She tried out again and learnt the result would be posted the next day on the door of the choral room.
Emily couldn’t sleep that night, having turned in bed back and forth thousand times as she was worried that she would be rejected again and would never fit in.
Paragraph 1:The nex tday, Emily hurried to school and anxiously glanced at the list of the result.
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Finally, the day of the performance came.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I was in middle school, my family moved to Seattle, where my parents started their new business — a small grocery store downstairs my house. As a girl of shy and reserved nature, I had to take a fresh start to fit into the sophisticated city life.
One sunny day, my school announced an exciting event, a talent show for the local food bank. Students were encouraged to showcase their unique talents in front of the public in the city hall on National Day. A buzz of excitement fed the school as everyone began preparing for the big day. Deep down, I felt a spark of curiosity and a desire to participate. However, my self-doubt held me back, “I don’t have any special skills to share.”
Days turned into weeks, and the talent show drew closer. I couldn’t shake the upsetting feeling until one day, Emma, one of the most popular girls in my class, came to me while I was helping in the grocery store after class. “How about singing together in the talent show?” She grinned, “I heard you singing a tune, along the way back home. I can’t help following you here.” Gosh, I couldn’t believe my ears. Emma, with personality and popularity, acknowledged my little talent. Since Emma had the world’s prettiest voice, I felt like being favoured by fortune.
“You two? The talent show for the food bank?” My mum bent towards us and her face lit up. “A big occasion.” Then a light bulb seemed to go in her head. “Why not practise right now upstairs? I bet you’ll be a perfect match.” Winking at us, she seemed to know we were thinking alike.
Emma and I embarked on rehearsing almost every single day after school. We brainstormed, exchanged ideas and rehearsed the scene. As the days rolled by, I was feeling pretty good about our act. But the day before the performance, Emma called that she had an acute stomachache and was not in any shape to perform.
注意：1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
I was completely knocked out by the news.
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Finally came the big moment.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Holidays are not necessarily for fun or rest. Doing something meaningful can also gain special pleasure. When the final bell rang, the students were reminded that there was no school on Monday—the Labor Day. “Enjoy your extra day off” said the teacher to her class.
An extra day off unsuited Kayla just fine. She loved breaks. She wanted to go out to play with her friends. When the school bus dropped Kayla off, she ran into the house happily.
“How was school, Kayla?” asked her mom.
“It was great, Mom. I am excited about no school on Monday.”
“You just started back to school two weeks ago. Already in need of a break, huh?” asked Kayla’s mom with a laugh.
Kayla slept in the next morning. Saturday was her favorite day of the week. I trained most of the day, so Kayla enjoyed playing videogames inside. On Sunday, her friends came over and they played basketball for several hours.
Then it was Labor Day, you know, the extra day off that Kayla was so looking forward to. But Kayla was awakened early that morning by her dad. He told Kayla that in honor of Labor Day, the family would be cleaning both inside and outside the house. Kayla couldn’t believe it. This was a holiday. A day when she was supposed to be enjoying freshly squeezed lemonade while playing in her tree house. As Kayla wiped here yes, she began to wonder if this was just a bad dream.
“Kayla, your breakfast is ready. We have a lot of work to do today. Let’s get a move on,” said Kayla’s mom. As she sat down at the kitchen table, Kayla asked her parents，
“Are you serious about working today? Isn’t Labor Day a holiday?”
“Yes, Kayla. It is,” replied her dad. “But your mom and I thought working hard today would make you appreciate why Labor Day was observed in the first place.”
注意：1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右;2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
At first Kayla felt disappointed at her parents’ plan for the holiday.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________But things began to change as she was doing the chores.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________There are many things in senior middle school that I still remember clearly. I studied three years in a country school, which is faraway. However, it has a good environment and strict but kind teachers, so I loved the school and all my teachers very much.
One Friday, just as we began to read books in reading class at our desks, our teacher, Mrs. Hill, said that she needed to be out of the classroom for a few minutes. She asked the class to read in silence while she was gone. And she said that those who didn’t read books in silence would have to be punished when she returned. It was well-known that Mrs. Hill was strict. So we had to be on our best behaviour.
But that Friday, Mrs. Hill hadn’t been gone for ten seconds before some students in the classroom started to talk. From one corner of the room I heard Josh ask Nick, “Can I trade my candies for your toy?” At the other end of the room I heard Samantha tell Kayla, “Let’s sit together on the bus for the museum field trip tomorrow.” And so it went all around me, until about half of the students communicated with each other.
After a while, I, too, forgot about Mrs. Hill’s instructions. I turned back and asked my friend Liza, “Can I borrow your storybook and keep it for a day?” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Mrs. Hill walked into the classroom. The whole class returned to silence immediately. And we were full of fear.
Mrs. Hill slowly looked around the classroom and said, “If you were talking while I was gone, then please stand up.” The guilt (内疚) suddenly weighed heavily on me. “I shouldn’t have talked while she was not in the classroom. And now I should be honest and admit my mistake bravely. This is what my parents have always told me.” I thought. Then, I summoned up (鼓起) my courage to stand up, worried about the punishment that waited for me. Then I looked around.
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。
To my surprise, no one followed me and I was the only one in the classroom standing.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With Mrs. Hill’s encouragement, another student stood up.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I taught English as a Second Language (ESL) at a school. One particular sixth grader, Pablo, was struggling with fluency in reading, so after class I suggested that he get extra practice by reading aloud to his mom while she prepared dinner each evening. This was something I routinely encouraged my struggling students to do. Imagine my surprise when Pablo responded by starting to cry. He said, “My mom can’t cook dinner!” Then he cried harder. Eventually, he calmed down enough to tell me that his mom was only able to “cry in her bed” when he got home every afternoon. He said that he was caring for his six-month-old baby brother by himself from the time he got home each day. His mother, it seemed, had a bad tooth and was in extreme pain. He said that his father didn’t have enough money to get it fixed, and that there was no way for her to go to a dentist. This child’s heart was broken for his mom.
I was speechless! He was still crying when he left me that day, and I promised him I would try to help. I kept asking myself how I could help this student. How could I help his mother when we didn’t even speak the same language?
The next day, I sent a note, which a friend helped me translate, to Pablo’s mother asking if she would like me to find someone to help her. The following day, Pablo brought me a note from his mom accepting my offer to help.
Meanwhile, I had been doing some networking among my friends asking if anyone knew a dentist who might do some free work for this lady. At the time, I was not able to pay for the work to be done myself. Several friends suggested a dental office that had recently opened up in the area, thinking that they might be willing to provide the services. I didn’t want to waste a lot of time going to several dentists, so I prayed that this would be the one.
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。
Stopping by the dental office, I went to the reception desk.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Pablo’s mother came to meet the dentist at the appointed time.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________There were three children in my family. Kind Larry was the oldest, followed by smart Emily and I. One year, our family moved into a bigger house and we each had our own room. Both Larry and Emily chose to live upstairs while I preferred living in the basement. Emily laughed at me because I picked a room with poor natural light. However, I never cared about it. I had a secret kept only between my brother Larry and me-I wanted to be the neighbor of our large refrigerator where something delicious was always stuffed including the whole family’s favorite-ice cream.
During the week, we drank only milk at our meals and never ate dessert. But Sunday was different- Mom would make her famous roast meat dinner and Dad would make an exception to the dessert rule. One Sunday, my father sat happily at the head of the table and said, “Great meal! I think we should finish it with something special, “He told my brother, “Larry, go downstairs and get Breyers!”
Breyers is a brand of ice cream, the family’s favorite. When it went on sale, my mother would buy some, about a gallon of it, storing it in the refrigerator in the basement for such a special occasion.
But when the moment really came, I spoiled it. For a few nights, I couldn’t resist the temptation and ate a half box of ice cream at the rate of a small spoonful per night. So when Larry was about to run downstairs, I hurriedly pulled his hand under the table. Larry turned to look at me and felt surprised, but he immediately understood what had happened.
Emily was impatient at the table, looking at her empty dinner plate and urging Larry to be quick. Larry didn’t move, and instead, he said to Dad, “Why don’t we enjoy it on Children’s Day?” Dad smiled, “We can eat again on that day. Come on, Larry! Go and get it!” I knew Larry didn’t look like himself today. He was an ice cream lover like everyone else present, but it was unbelievable that he should refuse to eat it today. I felt very sorry for making my brother Larry so embarrassed.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1: With one more look at me, Larry had to walk slowly down to the basement.
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Paragraph 2: To my great shock, just when I hesitated to admit it, Larry said,“Yes. I ate it.”
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One year, I was burn by hot water, which left me with some permanent, ugly scars on my arms. Growing up, I tried to hide those scars. Even in the hot summer, I’d wear shirts that had long sleeves which could cover all my scars. I feared being laughed at by other kids, although many loved me because I was nice and kind. I saw myself as different.
At 12 years old, I went to junior high school. On the first day of school, I found that we had swimming class every week and we were required to change into swimsuits in the open locker room before the class. This meant I would have to undress before the other girls. They would see my scars.
“Would you feel better if I talked to your teacher to see whether you could change your clothes after the other girls are gone?” my mother asked. “Yeah,” I said quietly. “I’m afraid they’ll laugh at me.”
My mother looked at me. Even though she may have been hurting for me inside, she didn’t let me see it. The next day, my mother met with my teacher and they worked out a solution: I would wait until the other girls got dressed and went to the class, and then I would put on my swimsuit and be allowed to be late. I was relieved.
But that night as I lay in bed, I felt like a coward (胆小鬼). I didn’t want to be different and to be picked on because I was allowed to do things the other girls didn’t get to do. It was then that I knew what I had to do.
The next morning, as I got ready for school, I told my mother, “I think I might go ahead and put on my swimsuit like everyone else. I don’t want to be different.” Surprised, she hugged me and said, “I’m proud of you. But Stacie, if you change your mind, I’ll support you.”
That day, I felt nervous because I knew that I was going to change my clothes in the presence of other girls for the first time.
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:
“Okay, girls, it’s time to go in and put on your swimsuits!” the teacher said and blew her whistle.
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Paragraph 2:
They appeared concerned and one girl asked gently, “Do the scars still hurt?”
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You never know where life will lead you. When I was a young boy. I found myself constantly overshadowed by my elder sister, Becky. It was not her intention to outshine me, nor did she make any effort to do so. However, with Becky exceling both academically and athletically, it was only natural that her accomplishments got all the attention, while my own achievements went unnoticed. Being the younger brother of someone who effortlessly excelled in all areas of life proved to be a big challenge, as I struggled to find my own identity under her brilliance.
Becky’s talent in swimming was particularly noteworthy and she was recognized as the finest swimmer in our province. Yet, the swimming pool never attracted me. Even as a child, I developed a dislike for swimming after a rather unpleasant experience of water entering my nose. Swimming was not for me.
However, fate had its own way of transforming my life. One day, I fell off my skateboard and broke my leg so badly that the doctors said I could never really engage in the sport again. They said there was only one exercise that would be good for me-swimming!
Reluctantly, I decided to give swimming a try. At first, it was a struggle. I had a lot of fear and anxiety about putting my face in the water, fearing a repeal of the incident that had scarred me as a child. But little by little, with the support and guidance of my sister, I slowly overcame my fear and learned to enjoy swimming.
As I spent more time in the water, I realized that swimming wasn’t just exercise; it was a way to challenge myself and push my limits. I began to set goals for myself, starting with simple tasks like swimming a certain distance without stopping, and gradually progressing to more advanced techniques. With each achievement, my confidence grew, and I found myself becoming more comfortable in the water.
Swimming also brought me closer to Becky. We spent hours together at the pool, motivating and encouraging each other. She became my trainer, helping me improve my technique and providing me with valuable advice. It was through swimming that we developed a deeper bond as siblings (兄弟姐妹).
注意：(1)续写词数应为150左右；(2)开头已给出。
As the years went by, I started participating in local swimming competitions.
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Today, as I reflect on my journey, I am grateful for the twist of fate that led me to professional swimming.
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