My father never told me he loved me when I was a child. I always saw him as being a serious man who rarely had a smile. But my mom told me “I love you” everyday. So I really never thought about not hearing it from my dad. I never really thought about it much until I faced the reality of death.
On November 9th, 1990, I received word that my National Guard unit was going to the war zone. I had been in the Guard for 10 years and never dreamed that we would be activated for a war, even though I knew it was what we trained for. I went to my father and gave him the news. I could sense he was worried about me going but he said nothing, and eight days later I was gone.
On November 17th,1990, our military vehicles rolled out of rural Greenville, Michigan. The streets were filled with families and well-wishers to see us off. As we were close to the edge of town, I looked out the window of my truck and saw my wife, my children, and Mom and Dad. They were all waving and crying, except for my father. He just stood there, almost like a stone statue. He looked pretty old at that moment. I don’t know why, he just did.
I was gone for that Thanksgiving and missed our family’s dinner. A few days after Thanksgiving I was able to call my wife, and she told me something that has made me look at my father in a different way ever since. She told me that my father recited his usual Thanksgiving prayer. But this time he added one last sentence. As a tear ran down his cheek, he said, “Dear Lord, please watch over and guide my son, Rick, with your hand in his time of need as he serves his country, and bring him home to us safely.” At that point he burst into tears. I had never seen my father cry, and when I heard this, I guessed my father really did love me.
Eight months later, I returned home from the war.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Ever since that day, my relationship with my father was never the same.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was July 1971. I was taking a summer class in Black-American literature on the campus of SUNY. Professor James walked into the classroom and announced that he had invited a special guest to class and he needed a volunteer to meet his guest in the hall of the administration building and ac company him here.
To my amazement, my right hand shot up as though it had a mind of its own. I never volunteered for anything. I was shy and uncomfortable meeting new people. Realizing I was absolutely the wrong person for this job, I pulled my hand down quickly, but it was too late. “Thank you, David,” Professor James said. “You’d better leave now. Hell be arriving any minute.” I reluctantly got out of my seat and headed for the classroom door. When I reached it, I stopped. I said, “If I don’t know who this person is, how will I recognize him? I’d hate to bring back the wrong guy.” Professor James laughed. He pulled me aside and whispered a name in my ear. “Alex Haley,” he said. “Really?” I said. I gave a thumbs-up to the class and left the room.
The hall was empty and Alex Haley was nowhere to be seen. My anxiety grew because I feared that I was about to embarrass myself in front of this famous gentleman by asking stupid questions, or worse, by falling unnaturally silent. As I paced back and forth across the polished floor, I realized why I instinctively (本能地) raised my hand to volunteer for this job. This man was what I wanted to be: a writer. He was living my dream. I could learn from him. But deep in my heart, I was worried about whether I had a gift.
It was then that Mr. Haley with a briefcase entered the building. He was a man in his forties, medium height, wearing a sports jacket over an open-collared dress shirt. After we introduced each other, I accompanied him to the classroom building. Across campus, I was struck by how approachable this man was.
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。
My fear was replaced by curiosity and purpose.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________That was an unexpected answer.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Tripod’s story started one spring morning as I was finishing a morning surgery at the veterinary clinic (兽医诊所) I owned. I was writing up medical records of the surgery patients when my receptionist (接待员) stuck her head into my office. She told me there was a big cat lying outside with a seriously injured front leg. What’s worse, nobody knew whom it belonged to.
Then I sent two of my pre-vet students to pick up the poor cat while I went back to my record-keeping. But it wasn’t long before I heard the students returning with this newest patient who seemed to be in pretty bad condition.
I carefully checked up the injuries which seemed to be caused by the pressing of a heavy object. With the extremely horrible smell, I knew from years of experience this cat didn’t have an owner. “Well, then,” I sighed, “I’m not sure whether we are able to bring this cat back to life, but let’s give him our best shot anyway. Afterwards, let’s see if we can find a home for him. ”
Just then, when one of the students began touching the cat’s head gently, somewhere deep in the cat’s throat, a weak purr (呼噜声) began. As the student continued to pet the cat, I noticed the cat’s breathing became less laboured (缓慢而困难的).
When I performed the complicated operation, I whispered, “You’re a fighter, aren’t you, boy? You deserve a chance to live.” However, after the surgery, he lost one leg, and still struggled with life and death. Over the next few weeks, Tripod, the cat, went through many ups and downs, but I was sure about his resilience (快速恢复的能力). News about Tripod spread. A number of customers stopped by regularly to check on the progress of his recovery, including Mrs Melson, a pet lover.
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 day finally came when I decided Tripod had really recovered.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Though unwilling to part with Tripod, we were happy to see Mrs Melson come for him.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The lady speaking to me at the baseball game looked quite familiar. She said, “Alina? Is that you?”
“Zoe?”
“It is you!” she said, smiling widely. “It is good to see you again!”
It was good to see Zoe, too. Off and on during the past tens of years, I’d wondered about her. I almost tried to find her a few years ago, after a friend told me that Zoe had been going through a hard time. So running into her at the baseball game was at the very least, unexpected.
We spent a few minutes catching up on the business of our lives, kids, work, houses, education and hobbies, etc. We played a little “Have you seen...?” and “Did you know...?”And we talked about the old days, both good and bad.
Then Zoe grew quiet for a while, looking at over the people moving around. “You know, Alina,” she said, “I’ve always wanted to tell you... how... you know... how sorry I am for the way I treated you.”
I felt a little uncomfortable remembering how Zoe had broken up with me without any warning.
“It’s okay,” I said. “No big deal.” At least, I thought to myself, not anymore.
“But I was such a bad person,” she continued, lowering her head.
Yes, you were, I thought. “We were both pretty young,” I said.
“I know,” she said. “But that’s no excuse for...”She hesitated and then continued. “I’ve always regretted remembering how mean I was to you. And I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry and ask for your forgiveness. So…I’m sorry.”
“Would you accept my apology?” She asked.
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。
The smile on her face was warm and sincere.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Our growth always comes with wounds caused by others.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jenny and Lisa are close friends. They’re studying in high school now.
One day about half a year ago, Jenny found that Lisa was chatting on her cellphone. Jenny was surprised as she didn’t know Lisa had gone down town to buy a cellphone. So Jenny asked her, “When did you get your cellphone?”
“I bought it yesterday. Look! How lovely it looks!” said Lisa.
Jenny looked at the cellphone, which looked really lovely. Jenny wished she also could have such a cellphone.
That day, after Jenny came back home, she saw her father sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper. Jenny approached him and said, “Dad, could I have a cellphone? Many of my classmates have their own cellphones now.”
“Of course, you can have one,” said Jenny’s father.
“Thank you, Dad,” Jenny said happily. Then she asked, “When shall we go down town to buy one?”
The father looked up hearing that. Then he said, “Oh, no, dear! I’m not going to buy you a cellphone. If you really want one, you should make money to buy one yourself.”
She told her father that she had decided to find a job to make money. “Good,” said her father. Jenny started to look for part-time work on the Internet. Lucky for her, some families in the young couple needed someone to look after their baby. Jenny called the families and she was offered the jobs.
注意：1. 续写词数应为100左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Jenny started to work part-time.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. 你在学校或家里曾经遇到的最大问题或烦恼(problem or trouble)。
2. 你解决问题或烦恼的过程。
3. 你的感想。
要求：
1. 80词左右。
2. 字迹工整，语言流畅，表达准确，逻辑清晰。
3. 文中不得出现真实的校名和人名。
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I begged my mom to let me make cookies by myself. Even though I had never attempted baking before, I was nine years old and my friend Emmie had been baking cupcakes by herself for a year. I was determined to prove that I could make it.
My brother, Caleb, laughed at the idea of me cooking alone, calling it a disaster. Having a big brother can be annoying. Despite his laughing, my mom agreed to let me try. She reminded me to take my time and be careful because I’d had some messy spills before I was nine.
I raced to the kitchen and went to work. I cracked eggs and put a cold stick of butter into the bowl. I turned on the mixer at medium speed—and whoa. Whoa. Whoa! What a disaster! I had to wipe butter off my face, then off the table and floor.
Caleb made fun of me again, calling me a mess. I chased him away with a spoon and turned back to the mixing bowl. I started again with softer butter. Referring to the recipe, I poured everything needed into the bowl and mixed it. After that, I put round batter (面糊) onto the cookie sheet and put it into the oven (烤箱). Within a minute, a fantastic smell filled the kitchen—the smell of cookie success!
I was going to prove that I was responsible. No more eye-rolling from my brother. No more “You’re too young” from my parents. I was grown up and in control.
I stared into the oven, and my heart sank. The neat, little balls had melted (融化) and overflowed to the edges of the cookie sheet. I pulled the pan out just as Caleb wandered back into the kitchen.
“What in the world?” He started to laugh. “Cookie soup?”
“You just be quiet,” I whispered, trying not to cry. “Just leave me alone.”
“How’s it going in there?” Dad called from the living room.
Caleb raised his eyebrows and bit his lip. I responded that everything was fine, pouring the melted batter into the bowl quickly.
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: I picked up the directions, wondering what had gone wrong．
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Paragraph 2: I brought a plate of cookies into the living room for my parents．
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Eli looked up at the sky. It was bright blue, his favorite color. As he lay on his back, the soft green grass brushed against his arms and legs. The cool wind kept him at the perfect temperature, and the weather was just right for playing outside. Every summer vacation, he and his family drove to the small city of Ithaca to visit his mother’s family.
Just as Eli was starting to fall asleep in the backyard, his stomach growled (饥肠辘辘). “Time for dinner” he thought. So he stood up and began to walk back to the house. Suddenly he noticed something move out of the corner of his eye. It was near the woods in the back yard. Then he heard some rustling (沙沙地响). So he went to check what it was. When he got closer, the object stopped moving. He walked over quietly until he could see something lying in the grass — it was a baby deer!
Even though Eli was standing very close to the animal, he found it strange that the baby deer didn’t try running away. Eli rushed into the house and told his mother what he had found. “Well, we should check if the deer is injured. If not, we shouldn’t do anything because its mother will come back and take care of it,” she told Eli. So the two of them walked to the baby animal. Eli’s mother walked very slowly and finally got close enough to the deer.
Eli watched his mother frow n as she examined the baby deer. She walked back to Eli. “I think its back le g is injured,” she said. “But we’ll wait for a few hours and see if the deer’s mother comes back for it. If we do anything now, we might scare it and hurt it more.” Eli wanted to help the baby, but he knew his mother was right. They went back into the house and had lunch. They both kept checking the clock.
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。
As the sky was getting dark, the little deer was still lying there.
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Twenty minutes later, a big rescue truck drove into their driveway.
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It was time to go home. “Remember to work on your class speeches for homework,” Miss Walker called, as everyone started talking and packing their school bags. Jenny felt sick. She hated having to read aloud in class. She was sure everyone got really bored listening to her. Once, when Jenny was reading out her holiday diary, Lee was even looking at his watch, a silver and blue one which seemed just magical.
Jenny watched Lee walk ahead of her as they left school. He seemed so clever, and he had a certain sort of shining confidence. He was just one of those people who were good at everything. Jenny sighed. As she turned the corner, she saw Lee’s watch lying right in the middle of the path.
Jenny knew she should just pick it up and return it to him, but she didn’t want to run after him. Jenny bent down quickly, picked up the watch and ran home. On arriving home, Jenny put it on almost without thinking. She was surprised it fitted so well. She walked to the mirror and started practicing her speech. Words just flooded out of her. “I’m going to talk about swimming. I have been lucky. I’ve won lots of competitions. But when I’m in a race, I’m not really thinking about winning. I’m just loving the feeling of being in the water...”Jenny laughed with excitement. She walked across the room. She suddenly seemed to have a certain sort of confidence. Turning back to the mirror, Jenny saw a flash of light from the watch in the glass. The flashes of silver seemed almost magical. So maybe Lee’s watch really DID have something magic.
The next day, as the lesson began, Miss Walker asked who was going to be brave and go first. No-body moved. Jenny slowly raised her arm. Before Miss Walker could say anything, there was a shout from behind. “She’s stolen my watch!” Lee said angrily, “It went missing at school yesterday.”
Paragraph 1: Everybody was fixing their eyes on Jenny, waiting for an explanation.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph2: At that moment, Miss Walker smiled and asked the class to listen to Jenny’s speech first.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In a busy and stressful town, there was a large square with many trees around. There the collectors came together. These were people who were busy making a living by collecting things that other people had thrown away.
There were pan-collectors, book-collectors and shoe-collectors complaining about the burden of their life on their shoulders.
One day an old man came into the village asking where the collectors’ square was. He carried a large bag, but didn’t seem to be burdened by its weight. Finally, he found the square, and he decided to stay in one corner.
Naturally, the collectors discovered there was a new collector in town, and they asked about what he had in the bag. He simply told them there was nothing in it but his lunch and a raincoat in case it rained. “You mean, you don’t have a collection of some kind?” they asked. “Aren’t you a collector?”
“Oh, yes,” he said. “I’m a care-collector. But what I collect does not fit in a bag or a box. I offer to collect people’s care like worries, sadness and difficult times-all kinds of things that weigh them down, and they feel better.”
Quickly, one pan-collector asked him how he collected care, and he replied. “Well, there is probably something in your life that troubles you right now. Just tell me about it and I will add it to my collection.”
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。
“Can I have a try?” asked the pan-collector doubtfully.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Soon words spread, and there were a group of people coming to the care-collector.
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