I sat in the breakfast corner with my four-year-old son, Matthew, trying to ignore the ache in my stomach. I was still recovering from a surgery. I hoped for strength and happiness. But the future seemed so hopeless.
Matthew jumped up from his spot on the kitchen floor. “Bird!” he shouted, rushing to the sliding door. Sure enough, there was a white dove seated on a rubber tree. It sat there a few moments, and then flew away. I’d never seen one in our neighborhood before.
When I dragged myself to the kitchen the next morning, the dove was back. This time it was with a mate carrying twigs (嫩枝), “Look, Matthew,” I said, pointing to the tree. “They’re going to make a nest.” The doves flew in and out of the courtyard all week, building on the top of the rubber tree. Matthew could hardly contain his excitement. Every morning, he’d run into the kitchen and take his spot by the sliding glass door, talking to the birds while they worked. As much as I was grieving (感到悲伤), I couldn’t help but look forward to the doves’ visits too. We watched their progress as if it were a real-life soap opera unfolding before us. Gradually, my pain disappeared, replaced by joy.
Then it all went wrong. The courtyard was a safe enough spot for a nest, but the rubber tree’s broad, thin leaves were far from stable. One night, a strong wind blew through, throwing the doves’ nest to the ground. I heard the twigs break apart. Nothing good ever lasts. I wouldn’t blame the doves if they never came back. But they returned. And they paid no attention to the pi le of sticks that had once been their nest. They started again from scratch, though the wind destroyed all their hard work. The next day, and the next, they renewed their efforts, as if nothing had happened.
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 knew I had to do something for the poor creatures.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:“The birds were back!” Matthew announced.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . When I was a teenager, I was invited to a formal dance party. I was
“Mom, I don’t know if I can wear these,” I said, feeling
As I arrived at the party, I tried to be
I quickly got up and laughed it off, pretending like it was
My friend Lilly helped me
When I returned home, I told Mom I felt like a complete
From that day forward, I stuck to flat shoes. I learned to
| A．surprised | B．excited | C．relaxed | D．satisfied |
| A．unsure | B．unsafe | C．unusual | D．unhappy |
| A．breaks | B．turns | C．steps | D．attempts |
| A．genuine | B．polite | C．serious | D．cool |
| A．danger | B．injury | C．disaster | D．wonder |
| A．landed on | B．tripped over | C．kicked up | D．ran into |
| A．a hot potato | B．a big fish | C．no luck | D．no big deal |
| A．fight | B．argue | C．disappear | D．struggle |
| A．approach | B．avoid | C．prevent | D．identify |
| A．patience | B．bravery | C．worry | D．anger |
| A．fool | B．hero | C．stranger | D．dancer |
| A．suggested | B．expected | C．promised | D．directed |
| A．dependent | B．easy | C．careful | D．hard |
| A．fashionable | B．tight | C．comfortable | D．special |
| A．promote | B．accept | C．trust | D．refuse |
1. 活动的时间和地点；
2. 活动内容。
注意：
1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear Lucy,
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
4 . I had never been away from home, at least not for more than three days, much less two whole weeks. When I got the chance to go to Journalism Camp, I was
Well, after the first night, nearly all of my
However, in the process I didn’t realize how
This was my
| A．tired | B．scared | C．excited | D．surprised |
| A．match | B．behave | C．follow | D．adjust |
| A．work out | B．part with | C．get along | D．make up |
| A．questions | B．solutions | C．decisions | D．feelings |
| A．perfect | B．skillful | C．mean | D．modest |
| A．improvement | B．sympathy | C．responsibility | D．consideration |
| A．get | B．buy | C．spread | D．taste |
| A．patient | B．tied | C．lonely | D．direct |
| A．turn | B．put | C．take | D．hold |
| A．wrong | B．simple | C．hard | D．sure |
| A．take | B．push | C．save | D．set |
| A．sadness | B．anger | C．tension | D．curiosity |
| A．award | B．practice | C．mistake | D．challenge |
| A．receive | B．withdraw | C．appreciate | D．accept |
| A．enjoy | B．last | C．hold | D．miss |
A little boy selling magazines for school walked up to a house that people hardly visited. The house was very old and the owner hardly ever came out. When he did come out he would not say hello to neighbors or passers-by but simply just glare (瞪眼看) at them.
The boy knocked on the door and waited, sweating from fear of the old man. The boy’s parents told him to stay away from the house. A lot of the other neighborhood children were told the same from their parents.
As he was ready to walk away, the door slowly opened. “What do you want?” the old man said. The little boy was very afraid but he had a quota (份额) to meet for school with selling the magazines.
“Uh, sir, I uh am selling these magazines and uh I was wondering if you would like to buy one.” The old man just stared at the boy. The boy could see inside the old man’s house and saw that he had dog figurines (小狗雕像) on the wall. “Do you collect dogs?” the little boy asked. “Yes, I have many collections in my house. They are my family here. They are all I have.” The boy then felt sorry for the man, as it seemed that he was a very lonely soul. “Well, I do have a magazine here for collectors. It is perfect for you. I also have one about dogs since you like dogs so much.” The old man was ready to close the door on the boy and said, “No boy, I don’t need any magazines of any kind, now goodbye.”
The little boy was sad that he was not going to make his quota with the sale. He was also sad for the old man being so alone in the big house that he owned. The boy went home and then had an idea. He had a little dog figurine that he got some years ago from an aunt. The figurine did not mean nearly as much to him since he had a real live dog and a large family.
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:The boy headed back down to the old man’s house with the figurine.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
From that day on something changed inside the old man.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________10 . Have you ever caught a whiff of something and been strongly reminded of a person or place? There seems to be a deep psychological link between smells and our memory. Some research even suggests that smells can influence our cognition.
Our awareness of smells is primarily unconscious.
Research suggests that the power of smell can-also affect how the brain performs
| A．Why do smells take us back? |
| B．So, don’t take your nose for granted. |
| C．How is the sense of smell connected to your brain? |
| D．Scents can revive memories that have been long forgotten. |
| E．We are not actively aware of them unless they are extremely strong. |
| F．This is especially true when it comes to the fragrance of essential oils. |
| G．Therefore, our responses to smells are learnt and highly individualized. |
