I was nearly twenty-two, about to graduate, and unsure which to follow—my head and my long interest in natural science, or my heart and my passion for photography. A job at the museum would be the safe choice. Or I could try to pursue a career in architectural photography, even though I had no specific training in the field. I longed to land that job.
I asked the advisor, John Smith, to recommend someone qualified to give mean objective opinion. His reply: “See Benjamin Moskowitz, a famous architect, NYC. Good luck.”
During the Spring break I booked a cheap room and took the train to New York City. At his office on the twenty-third floor I asked the receptionist for Mr. Moskowitz. “I think Mr. Moskowitz has already left, Miss. I know he was planning a long weekend. Did you have an appointment?”...
She sighed and asked my name and told me to wait while she tried to see if he might still be there. I paced nervously, thinking that my time and money and my best chance for an expert opinion had been thrown away. The receptionist rang his office; no answer. “Sorry, but it looks like you’re out of luck, Miss White,” she said.
Why hadn’t I planned this better? Called for an appointment? Taken an earlier train? How could I have made such a mistake? I was close to tears.
Just then at all, gray-haired man, beautifully dressed, strode (阔步) through the reception area. The receptionist signaled me and mouthed, “That’s him.” I didn’t hesitate. “Oh, Mr. Moskowitz!” I called out. “Just a moment, sir, please! I’d like to speak to you.”
He glanced at his expensive-looking gold watch and kept walking. “Sorry, I have a train to catch,” he said straightforward, “I don’t believe you had an appointment.” I hurried after him toward the elevator. “I apologize, sir, but I was told to talk to you and to show you some photographs.”
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：
Mr. Moskowitz glanced at it, impatiently at first and then more carefully a second time.
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One hour later, I walked out of his office with great confidence and excitement
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My mum died on a cold and rainy December morning. The dark clouds and constant light rain over her Cape Cod neighbourhood fit our sadness as my brothers and sisters and I arranged with the local funeral (葬礼) home for Mum’s last departure from her beloved house on the edge of the river.
All five of us were there, having been alerted (警觉) earlier that week. As soon as we had gotten “The Call”, we had immediately flown or driven from our homes in California, Florida, Georgia and New York to the house by the river.
As I joined my brothers and sisters at the house on the Cape, I felt oddly peaceful. Though I was afraid to lose my mother, I wasn’t anxious about the process. I knew that Mum had prepared well for her death. All we had to do was be present for her and each other during this final stage. She had done everything else.
Mum was a born teacher and a natural organizer. When she had received the diagnosis (诊断) of incurable cancer that September, she had planned her death as practically as she had planned her busy life as a wife, mother and professional.
Mum did think fondly of her neighbours and friends. Even though she had declined to share her remaining time with them, she wanted to acknowledge their friendly care and express her lasting affection for them. So Mum had asked my older sister to purchase, on her behalf, a case of wine. The small bottles were to be decorated with ribbons (缎带) and delivered by us in person, after Mum’s death, to those neighbours who had been her favourite local companions.
Accordingly, in the early afternoon, as the cold morning rain gave way to a watery blue sky, all five of us set out to walk through the neighbourhood together, braving the cold air. Taking turns carrying the heavy boxes, we visited every house. Together, we carried the news of her death, that final gift of beribboned bottles, and her instruction to her friends: “Please use this Champagne to toast to our friendship.”
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 hugged, and cried, and laughed, with neighbour after neighbour.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As the five of us returned to the house, we saw, against the backdrop of the grey sky, a breathtakingly beautiful rainbow.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My 16-year-old son, Jacob, is the center of my universe. He’s always been a kind, bright, and generally well-behaved child. So, you can imagine my shock and heartbreak when, a few weeks ago, I faced every parent’s nightmare.
It started when I received a call from Jacob’s school. His teacher, Mrs. Henderson, who’s been teaching for over 25 years, sounded upset. She informed me that Jacob was involved in an incident—he had been laughing at a classmate, Andy, for his poor background and worn-out clothes. I was shocked. This behavior was so unlike the son I thought I knew.
I spent that night thinking of how to address this. I knew I had to teach Jacob a lesson, one that he wouldn’t easily forget, one that would help him develop empathy and understanding towards others, regardless of their financial status.
The next morning, I sat Jacob down for a serious talk. I explained how-his actions were hurtful and unacceptable. He seemed regretful, but I knew words alone wouldn’t be enough. So, I decided to take a severe step.
I took away all of his prized possessions: his laptop, designer clothes, and other luxuries. I explained to him that if he wanted them back, he’d have to earn them. My intention was not just to punish him but to teach him the value of hard work, money, and, most importantly, to understand the struggles of his classmate.
Jacob’s reaction was as expected. My action angered him. He couldn’t believe I would do something like this. But as days passed, his anger gave way to understanding. He started a part-time job at a local grocery store. The work was hard and tiring. During this period, Jacob began to change. He learned how challenging it can be to earn money and the effort it takes to afford even the basic luxuries of life.
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 a few weeks of this, I realized it was time for another heartfelt conversation.
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Jacob did eventually earn back his belongings.
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Thoughts don’t have to be “real” or “true” to create failure or success in our lives. They just have to be believed.
Tim had always been weak in math. In high school, he had failed algebra (代数) three times before he eventually passed. Gradually, he began to accept it as an unchangeable fact. Then in college, the biggest problem that stood between him and his degree came in junior year— he had to take statistics, about which all the horror stories were circulating.
One day he was called into his professor’s office. Professor Fine, a short, stout man with thinning hair and a forever smile, sat on the front of his desk reading Tim’s record. “My son, this is your lucky day.” he looked up and repeated, “This is indeed your lucky day. You’re going to be great in stats (统计数据).” He had a huge smile on his face.
“How’s that, Doc?” Tim asked.
The professor shrugged. “You have the second kind of mind. Listen. First kind of minds are the kids who do well in algebra but don’t get stats. But second kind of mind is like yours. Kids who don’t get algebra understand statistics with no problem. They are different kinds of math that take different kinds of mind. Since you failed algebra three times, I’d guess you’d get an A in stats.” He raised his hands over his head.
“Really?” Tim asked, confused.
Professor Fine jumped to the floor and looked square (诚实的) in his eyes. “Really, and I’m happy for you. You never gave up, and now it’s going to pay off.” Then he shook Tim’s hand and slapped his back with great enthusiasm.
Tim was wild with joy at the news.
After that day, each time they met, there was a smile of approval on Professor Fine’s face and an enthusiastic handshake. Eventually, Tim began to tell his friends how well he expected to do in statistics.
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。
This unusual change in attitude affected all Tim’s grades.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After the graduation ceremony, Tim went to professor Fine’s office.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I didn’t like Del so much. He always called me the nickname “Germy”, which meant “dirty”, instead of my real name “Jamie”. Besides, he was known as a trouble-maker in school. So when the head teacher Mr. Smith asked Del to come to his office, I naturally thought that Del had done something mean to someone. Through the window, I caught sight of a smaller boy crying. Del seemed unhappy, too.
He did not return to class that day. All of us were discussing what had happened to him. What else could such an annoying boy do? “He must have hit the boy and was sent home,” I whispered to my friends. Their eyes widened. It felt good to see them so interested in what I said.
The next morning, the whole school was talking about Del being expelled(开除) for beating up a kid. I was surprised that my assumptions were passed on so quickly. So when Del walked into the classroom, all the kids were shocked. The kids next to him shift ed their desks away. “What’s your problem?” Del asked. “I don’t want you to attack me,” one kid said. Some laughed. “Yeah, I might,” said Del. I could tell he was joking, but many kids thought he admitted he did beat up someone.
During recess(课间休息), Del tried to join the kickball game. “Neither team wants you,” one of the players said. “Why?” Del asked, looking confused. “I always play with you guys.” They ignored him and went on playing. Del sat by himself while the rest of the school enjoyed their recess away from him. Del looked lonely and sad, much different from before. I started to feel sorry for him.
Later that day, I learned what really happened. The kid was Del’s little brother and he was crying because their mother fell ill and was sent to hospital. I felt even sorrier for what I said before. I started a rumor(谣言).
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。
At recess the next day, I saw Del sitting alone watching the kickball game.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Now that Del had forgiven me, I decided to do more before the recess was over.
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Mrs. Moore was an old artist. Her husband passed away years ago and she lived alone with her cat Taffy. She did three things every day—painting, baking and petting her beloved cat, among which baking was the part my sister Jennifer and I liked best. Whenever the mouth-watering smell got over the fence, we could expect a paper bag containing delicious cookies to be passed over the fence. To return this favor, Dad would cut the grass in her front yard and help repair the water pipes.
One day, Dad eventually put his idea of building a tree house for us in our back yard into action. Dad got everything in place within two weeks. It was a yellow tree house with a beautiful red roof. It was a great place for Jennifer and me to get out of the sight of Mom and Dad to have fun and talk about our girlish matters.
One morning, we went there only to find Taffy messing up everything there. Both of us were unwilling to talk about such a problem to our nice neighbor, but we had no other choice. So we begged Dad to talk about the issue with Mrs. Moore.
After the talk, Mrs. Moore immediately went to the tree house. She was shocked to see the mess. She said she had never expected Taffy could be so fascinated with a tree house and promised to deal with the problem immediately. But to our disappointment, the cat could still find ways to climb over the fence and get into our tree house.
In despair, Mrs. Moore bought a ready-made tree house from an on-line store and had it fixed up in her garden. The tree house was bigger than ours. It was in the shape of a bird nest with bright colors of purple and orange. Mrs. Moore put Taffy’s toys and food in it to make sure the cat would be happy to move in and return our tree house to us.
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。
However, what happened next was totally out of the expectation of all of us.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Mrs. Moore thought very hard and finally worked out a plan.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Once upon a time, there lived a very lazy man named Harman. All day long, he would almost lie on his bed in the backyard and would not lift a finger to do any work.
One afternoon, a sage (智者) was meditating (冥想) under a tree near Harman’s home. As usual, Harman was lying on his bed when suddenly he spotted a snake with its head raised at the meditating man. Alarmed, Harman quickly ran over to kill it. The sage was saved and promised, “I will grant you a boon (恩惠), young man. Tell me, what is it that you want?”
Hearing this, Harman expressed his wish to get wealthy within a short time, without having to work much. “Very well,” said the sage. “Beginning from tonight, each night, you shall have a dream describing the troubles of someone, the solution to which will be visible to you alone. If you save the concerned person, I am sure you will be rewarded.” Harman thanked the sage and went home.
He told his wife, Shanta, about what had happened. However, his wife was doubtful. “Come on, dear! The vital way to become rich is through hard work.”
That night Harman dreamt of the King. He saw that his adviser had stolen bags of gold. When Harman woke up in the morning, he immediately set out for the King’s palace and helped the King find the gold. The King rewarded Harman handsomely with a rich sum of money.
Another time Harman dreamt of a rich landlord whose daughter was seriously ill. Harman saw a particular plant in the landlord’s garden, whose leaves would help in curing the girl. The next morning, Harman requested some leaves from the landlord and told him how to use them to cure his daughter. The landlord’s daughter was saved soon with the leaves. Harman was once again given a handsome reward.
Days passed. Harman continued to have dreams every night and act upon them in the morning. Soon, he became a rich man in the village. However, his health worsened and he was in low spirits. Since he dreamed of people’s troubles every night, he didn’t have a sound sleep. Shanta grew worried.
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。
“Well! Why are you unhappy when you have got what you wanted?” Shanta asked.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Harman learned that the sage had moved to the neighboring village.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Over many years, we had always got together and shared Thanksgiving Day with our family. And then, one year, we finally decided to skip our traditional family dinner and make a journey to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with our five-year-old daughter, Kerry. We never predicted what Kerry would take away from the experience, or how it would affect our lives for years to come.
We caught the early train from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central along with hundreds of other excited passengers. Like many other families, we packed a small backpack with sliced turkey sandwiches and juice boxes; eating in New York City is expensive and complicated, unless you settle for pretzels and roasted chestnuts from a street vendor(摊贩). Kerry was wide-eyed and a little overjoyed. This was not an ordinary outing with Mom and Dad.
As the train pulled into the Manhattan station, everyone rose and stood in the passage anxiously waiting to get off the train and head toward the parade route along Fifth Avenue. Rather than have our small daughter pushed by the crowds, we waited until everyone had stepped off onto the chaos of the platform. As we walked up to the entrance to the station, Kerry spotted a homeless woman sitting in the shadows, invisible to all except my curious daughter.
“What’s that?” she asked. My wife, Linda, and I looked at each other, thinking how to explain something very different than the happy scene we were about to join. During our first years of parenthood we’d discussed how we would explain such nearly ineffable(避讳的) topics as death and love. But homelessness? We weren’t prepared. We gave as simple and honest an explanation as we could and continued on to the parade.
The following year, we decided to attend the parade again. So the night before Thanksgiving we went shopping for sliced turkey for sandwiches. Again, Kerry took us by surprise.
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。
Kerry asked whether she could bring some sandwiches for those people.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________We went to Manhattan again with the sandwiches.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In 2019, an unattractive package arrived at my front door. Inside was a 2-by-4-foot scrapbook (剪贴簿) filled with candy wrappers over 70 years old. It was sent by Jeffrey S. Green, who was a famous candy company’s vice president. After the company closed down, the scrapbook traveled 2,950 miles to La Verne, California, to the farm my family and I call home.
I’m the founder of the online website “Roadside Attraction: Candy Wrapper Museum”, where I share my 50-year collection of little slips of paper, designed to be tom and thrown away. Why? Because these small objects serve as time machines, opening an emotional door to the past.
I was 15 years old when I started collecting candy wrappers, inspired by friends with cool collections like beer bottles from around the world. Some of their collections are classified either by size and color as well as sports or people. Inspired by these novel collections, I wanted to start one of my own, but of what? I usually spent my few coins on candy at the candy shop. The candy shelves were a wonderland of tasty treats with colorful wrappers in different themes, all shouting: Pick me! Big Bears, Milk Duds, Jujyfruits, Choco’Lite, Lemonhead… How could a girl decide?
Then inspiration struck. Instead of throwing away those wrappers, I would save them. I would create a Candy Wrapper Museum. I hoped that the wrappers would one day be enjoyed as art, nostalgia (怀旧) and humor. It was 1977 when I was a teenager. An idea struck me: I would collect these wrappers throughout my lifetime, then open up the museum as a roadside attraction in my old age. I chose my first pieces, Nice Mice and Cinnamon Teddy Bears, and so began this journey.
My family were the first to leave the candy wrappers to me. Then the relatives. My friends caught the spirit of fun and donated pieces. Collecting became an affordable, novel way to explore the world around me, one that could turn even an ordinary shopping trip into a treasure hunt.
In 2002, inspiration struck again. Why wait until retirement? Why not open the museum right now on the internet, the ultimate “superhighway”?
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。
Building the online museum was a massive six-month, one-person project.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When the museum was launched, I doubted whether anyone would be interested.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________To my mother, the four basic food groups are meat, milk, grain and coleslaw (凉拌菜丝)—pieces of raw cabbage, carrot, onion, etc. mixed with sauce. And she always thinks highly of her handmade coleslaw. In our house, the coleslaw always goes on the table in a bowl.
I love Mom's coleslaw, but there was a time I distinctly remember when it caused absolute panic within me.
Early in the first grade, I raced home from school with a collection of papers handed to me by my class teacher Mary. As I rushed through the front door, I immediately ran to the kitchen where Mom was making chicken noodle soup. Holding the papers, I begged, “Read them to me, Mom, please!”
Slowly she started reading aloud. I smiled with delight as she read to me what seemed an almost endless list of exciting adventures waiting for me in the coming year. And then, it happened.
“It's a tradition for a mother to bring a homemade treat for the class to share on her child's birthday,” she read. “It needn't be anything fancy, just something you enjoy making.” The words floated through the air in painfully slow motion. The phrase “just something you enjoy making” kept appearing inside my head.
Until my birthday in April, I lived in fear that Mom would arrive at school with a cart full of her coleslaw for everyone to share. I imagined the classmates laughing at me, “Who would bring coleslaw on his birthday? Oh, stupid Tom!”
When I left for school on the morning of my birthday, Mom was making cakes. I had relief and was glad she would bring the cakes. But then, I found there were a great many raw vegetables in the fridge. “Will you also make coleslaw for me, Mom?” I asked, shocked.
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。
Panic swept over me as I looked at Mom for an answer.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Wow, how delicious!” Mary said, and then all the others expected the coleslaw.
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