During my school years, I had only close friend. We spent years together, and we were inseparable, in or out of school. But the Greg moved away, and I never thought it would take more than 40 years to bring us together again.
As children, Greg and I dove into everything with passion. At that time, we were pure (纯真的) and kind, full of curiosity and expectation for life. We raced our bikes and illustrated (给书加插图) our own comic books. We even became attracted to the same girl from around the corner, a sixth -grader named Joanne who barely (几乎不) knew we existed.
The last times a Greg was sometime in 1966. It was so short a meeting that I couldn’t recall saying goodbye before he moved. Since then, we lost touch.
But then, a few summers ago, I saw a familiar woman. “Excuse me. Would your name happen to be Joanne?”
“Uh, yes...” She didn’t recognise me until I explained who I was. We hadn’t exchanged more than a few dozen words in our entire lifetime. “Have you stayed in touch with Greg?” she asked. I was surprised she even knew of our friendship.
“No. I haven’t,” I admitted. “I wish I had.”
Back at the office I checked my messages. I received one email, and then read it from start to finish. The email was from Greg.
Greg had tracked me down through social media. He was now married, had two children and had become a musician and entrepreneur (企业家) . We exchanged several emails before connecting by phone. A month later, my wife and I drove to meet Greg and his family in person.
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。
Standing in front of his house, I began to get nervous.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Seeing the photo, Greg handed me a small, old card.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My mom and I were in Florida during her spring break from teaching middle school. As an anxious four-year-old, I had asked my mom several times if the Easter Bunny would be able to find us. She assured me there would be eggs.
On Easter morning, my mom and I discovered that the Easter Bunny had left eggs on the hotel’s main lawn (草坪) for all the kids. As we walked toward the group of adults and kids waiting for instructions, I began sizing up the competition. All of the kids were much bigger than me. It wasn’t looking good. The manager in charge of the hunt explained the rules. My heart began racing as I watched some of the other kids get into a pose to start.
When the manager yelled “GO!”, all kids rushed across the lawn, running from tree to tree looking for the plastic Easter eggs filled with candy. I raced to the closest tree but did not find any eggs. I ran to a nearby sandpit hoping there would be an egg hidden there. But in vain. I looked across the lawn and saw the other kids holding up their plastic eggs and knew my chance of finding even one egg was decreasing by the second.
Just then my mom pointed out a palm tree across the lawn. “Look There’s One!” A shiny blue plastic egg was resting against the base of the tree. I looked up at my mom in excitement. However, she was staring in the direction of another mom, whose son was pulling candy out of an egg. The two moms were looking at one another and then at what appeared to be the last Easter egg. I had never seen my very petite (娇小的) mom before that day. She had been born with weak knees, due to an issue with her legs, and when she was in elementary school she had worn special shoes to correct a foot problem.
注意：
1. 写作词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
As their staring with each other continued, I took off toward the Easter egg.
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My mom, delighted at her victory, walked back toward me.
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Jane was waiting in the corridor outside her class. She had two exams that day and physics was the first. She really hated physics. Her friend Terry looked at her from the front of the line, and then looked away quickly.Terry is a straight A student. She didn’t have a problem with physics. She didn’t have a problem with anything… Miss Perfect!
The two girls hadn’t talked to each other for two weeks. “Hi, Jane, it’s your favorite exam today,” said Maya, laughing as she joined the line. Terry was looking at Jane again. “So what’s wrong with her?” asked Maya. “I thought you were friends.” “Yes, so did I,” said Jane. “Two weeks ago, she said she was busy going to the hospital to take care of somebody. I wanted to lend a hand, but she told me she could handle it herself. She promised to help me review for the physics exam , and guess what she did. She ignored all my calls and texts!” said Jane angrily. “Are you listening to me?” Mr. Richard was talking to the class and the other students were going into the exam room. Jane gave Maya a worried look and followed them.
Jane couldn’t answer question number five. She looked up and saw Terry sitting two rows in front of her. Jane couldn’t believe it! Terry was holding her phone on her knee under the table and reading from it. Is that how Terry always got such good grades? She felt really angry at Terry, but she didn’t know what to do. She thought about telling the teacher, but what would everyone else think of her? “Stop writing and put your pens down,” said Mr. Richard as he started to collect the exam papers.
Jane wanted to talk to Terry at lunch time, but she couldn’t find her anywhere. The next exam was history. That was Jane’s favorite subject but she wasn’t feeling good. She didn’t know what to do about Terry. “It wasn’t fair!” she thought. “Terry was getting good grades by cheating all the time.” thought Jane. Just then, Mr. Richard walked past her table. “Mr. Richard, I ..., I saw Jerry with her cell phone in the physics exam…”
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
Paragraph 1:
Jane was sitting behind Terry again in the history exam that afternoon.
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Paragraph 2:
Jane was walking towards the school gate, when she heard footsteps behind her.
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Stephen and a Bowl of Noodles
Stephen,a 14-year-old boy, was seen walking alone in the street. It was almost 10 o’clock at night.
His eyes were filled with tears when he recalled (回想起) the quarrel he had with his mother this evening. His mom asked about his low grades in the recent exam, and Stephen replied with a careless attitude. So she scolded (训斥) him for being so careless. Stephen got so upset that he quarreled with his mother and then stormed out of the house without realizing he was a so at fault.
He walked for hours, cold and hungry. Suddenly, a delicious smell caught his attention. It was from a small noodle shop. Stephen stopped in front of the shop, eager for a bowl of hot noodles but he didn’t have even a single penny in his pocket. With a sad face, he stood there for a minute and decided to leave.
Just when he was about to go away, the shop owner saw him and invited him in. Stephen said he had no money for the food. The shop owner smiled, saying, “It’s OK. I won’t charge you for it.” Then the shop owner served him a bowl of delicious noodles.
Stephen was in tears when he ate the noodles. The shop owner asked what had happened. Stephen told him about the quarrel with his mother and that he felt his mother did not understand him.
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。
Hearing this, the shop owner smiled and said to Stephen,“ My dear young man, now think about your mom!”
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Stephen realized his mistake and thanked the shop owner.
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5 . I was eleven years old standing outside in just my underwear while I watched the house that I grew up in rapidly burn to the ground.
A few minutes earlier I had been sound asleep in my nice, warm bed when a scream woke me up. My grandmother’s bedroom was just next to mine and my brother’s. A fire had broken out there and awakened her. Hearing her, my older brother had sprung into action.
While I stumbled around in the smoke and darkness, he ran from room to room quickly waking everyone in the house. The house, however, was over 50 years old and made of wood. Before we could do anything the fire consumed it.
We all barely made it outside before the flames engulfed every room.
I stood there watching helplessly while my Mom cried and my Day swore. I wondered what was going to happen to us now that we had lost all of our things.
As I looked around, though, I realized something for the first time: The things that matter, aren’t things. I saw my older brother running across the swinging bridge by our house to get help. I saw my oldest brother who was on crutches (拐棍) from an earlier accident stand unsteadily on one leg. I saw my grandmother and Dad huddled together and my Mom holding our little dog in her arms. I realized at that moment that we were all alive.
Everything that was essential had survived the fire. We would survive without the “stuff” that was burning. We would all be around to love each other for many years to come. And that was all that mattered.
I still think of that the fire in the night that helped me to become who I am today. It helped me to learn that the love we share is far more important than the things we possess.
Live your life then for the things that matter, not for the things you own. Love other. Help everyone. Let the fire inside of you make this world a warmer place.
1. Where did the fire start?| A．In my bedroom | B．In my grandmother’s bedroom |
| C．In my older brother’s bedroom | D．In my parents’ bedroom |
| A．Everyone was asleep before the fire except my grandmother. |
| B．My brothers woke up everyone in the house. |
| C．My oldest brother was injured in the leg during the fire. |
| D．My family were lucky to escape from the burning house safe and sound. |
| A．burned | B．flooded | C．surrounded | D．overcame |
| A．A fire that changed me completely | B．A fire that destroyed our house entirely |
| C．A fire that I will remember forever | D．A fire that held my family together |
After twenty years of marriage, Melissas lost her husband, who was a brave soldier and passed away while defending his country.
They had a son, Mathew, who was 18 years old and very considerate. In his spare time, instead of paying, he worked at a local shop so he could help his mother reduce the financial burden.
When Mathew got his first pay cheque from the part-time job, he bought Melissa a beautiful dress and flowers. During the next few months, he often bought something to make his mother smile because he knew she still hadn’t recovered from the death of her lover.
As Christmas neared, Matthew’s friends began planning what to do during the holiday. Soon, they decided to go to a party, but Matthew refused to go with them. He didn’t want Melissa to feel lonely at home on Christmas. For him and Melissa, the day was special and significant, not only because it was their traditional holiday, but also because it was Melissa’s birthday.
“I’ll stay at home with my mother,” he told his friends, “We rarely get to spend time together because she’s mostly on her flights when I’m home.” But later that day, Matthew learned his mother wouldn’t be home on Christmas. “Mom? Why are you working on the big day?” he asked. The airline company Melissa worked for was quite short of attendants recently because many were sick. Besides, there was sharp increase in flights due to the holiday. So Melissa decided to continue working on Christmas to support her company and help serve passengers.
Melissa said, “I’m sorry, Matthew. You’ll have to spend the holiday alone.” She felt sorry that she could not enjoy the holiday with Matthew. Matthew was also upset. But before going to bed that night, Mathew got an idea to stay with his mother on Christmas. He would surprise her on the plane where she worked.
“I can still spend Christmas with her,” he thought. And he turned on his computer to check if the light his mother would be on still had seat left. “Yes! It still has seats!” he yelled.
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。
Immediately, he booked himself a ticket for Christmas.
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Later, while passing by Matthew’s seat, Melissa yelled, “Matthew? Is that you?”
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A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, immediately announces she never did care for pie.
—Tenneva Jordan
I knew I was not supposed to be quite so excited. I was too old for that. At age eleven, as the oldest and my mom’s “grown-up” girl, I had to keep myself cool. I was in middle school after all. But when I got every chance and I was alone. I checked each present under the tree. I read every tag(标签)and felt every package, guessing at the contents within. I examined each gift so often that I could tell which present went to which person without even looking at the tags.
It had been a tough year for my family. Whenever my mom looked over at the tree and scattered(撒)presents, she would sigh and warn us, “There won’t be as much for Christmas this year. Try not to be disappointed.” Christmas had traditionally been a time for my parents to spoil us. In the past, the presents would pile up and spill out from under the tree, taking up a lot of space of the living room. I had heard the phrase, “Giving is better than receiving”, but thought that whoever had said that must have been out of their mind. Getting presents was the whole point! It was the reason why I couldn’t get to sleep on Christmas Eve.
On Christmas morning, we eagerly waited in the hallway until Dad told us everything was ready. We rushed into the living room and let the wrapping paper fly. Some of us made weak attempts to wait and watch while other family members opened their presents, but as the time passed, we lost our self-control.
“Here’s another one for you,” said Mom as she handed me a package. I looked at it, puzzled. Having spent so much time examining the presents before Christmas, I recognized this one. But it was not mine. It was my mom’s. A new tag had been put on it, with my name written in my mother’s handwriting.
“Mom, I can’t…”
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 is your present and it belongs to you,” said my mother.
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That Christmas is quite meaningful to me.
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A Lesson from My Sister
My parents worked very hard at ensuring that everything seemed pleasant for me and I mostly ignored the fact that my elder sister was different. The child psychologist had termed it as “Asperger Syndrome”(阿斯伯格综合症，一种自闭障碍).This diagnosis turned my parents world upside down-but they never let it affect me.
It was only at the age of ten that I started to notice the differences, and become conscious of my social life and self-image that I had carefully cultivated. My sister was socially awkward. She could not look at people in the eye. She would mumble(嘟哝)to herself and repeat the words she had just said under her breath. She, however, was academically capable, and hence we attended the same primary school. Despite this, I never, ever acknowledged in public that she was my sister. There was one incident, however, just two years ago, that remains imprinted in my consciousness. It was the incident that changed how I viewed my sister. It was the incident that changed me.
Being in primary six, about to graduate, my sister and her classmates had to put up a performance, whether in a group，or individually. Due to her inability to integrate(融入)，my sister was the only one left without a group. The school had made it a rule for everyone to put up an item, so my sister had to perform individually. ”I’ll sing.” my sister told my parents, confidently. Hearing that, I was taken aback and completely shocked. I knew she would embarrass me, one way or another. “No!” I protested. My parents shot me a look and that was when I knew my sister was going to perform, no matter what. Silently, I prayed that something would happen and I would not have to watch my sister shame herself.
That day came. I sat in the hall，waiting for the performances to start. The lights dimmed(变昏暗) a minute or two later and the curtains parted to reveal the only solo-my sister. She blinked(眨眼)a couple of times, as if the lights shining on her were hurting her eyes.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150词左右;
2.段落开头已给出。
Paragraph 1:
It took about a whole minute for her to stammer(口吃，结巴地说)her name and class.
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Paragraph 2:
How did I not know that my sister could sing so sweetly?
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As a sixth grader, I began noticing how other kids were separating into groups. I wasn’t sure where I belonged. I found it hard to fit in.
Our teacher had assigned “secret friends” for the coming week. She wrote each kid’s name on a piece of paper and threw them into a glass; then we each closed our eyes and catch one piece of paper from the glass on which was the name of a classmate who we were to secretly befriend and support each other over the next five school days. By the middle of the week, everyone, including me, had turned this assignment into a competition to see whose secret friend could leave the best gift. We left cards, pens and even money. It seemed that everyone was getting cool presents from their friend except me.
On the last morning of our assignment, I walked into my classroom and noticed there was a package. I opened the wrapping paper and inside was a box of powder (胭脂). The girls sitting near me laughed at the gift I had received. To make matters worse, the powder had already been opened.
I tried to forget about the embarrassing gift, but when I was in the bathroom during the break, the girls who had seen me open the powder started speaking ill of my secret friend. I quickly joined in: “How terrible”. I heard myself saying “What could my friend be thinking by giving me such a stupid gift? My grandmother wouldn’t even want it.” The girls laughed at my remarks and rushed out of the bathroom. I stayed to wash my hands and let the water run through my fingers as I thought about what I had just said. It wasn’t normal like me to say mean things like that about someone.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式作答。
Then I saw my classmate Janet come out of a bathroom booth (厕所隔间), tears streaming down her face.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Along with my apologies, I explained the reason.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Missy was absolutely my best friend in the whole world. We had known each other since first grade, and we literally did everything together. We frequently visited each other’s homes, we knew each other’s families like they were our own. The interesting thing about our relationship, however the fact was that the older we got, the more our values seemed to differ. We still enjoyed a lot of the same things, but I was a bit more settled while she loved being associated with popular people and things. Although she was basically a good person, she had no problem with forcing things to go her way.
Perhaps this is why it seemed that her family actually trusted me more than they trusted her. So, on the day when Missy showed up at my house with a huge dent (凹痕) in her father’s car, I knew that we were in for a troublesome time.
She had banged the car into a tree while out that day, and she knew her father was going to have an explanation. So she stopped by my house in order to make up a story that would lessen her father’s rage. Missy decided to tell him that while in a parking lot, someone must have backed into the car and dented it. Looking at the dent with some crashed leaves and bark still sticking there, I attempted to perish (打消) her thought. “I don’t think your father will buy it.” “ Don’t worry,” she insisted,“even if my dad doesn’t trust me, he’ll trust you.” My role was to confirm for her. Now keep in mind that I had strong objections to lying and I wanted absolutely nothing to do with the situation. I loved her parents just like my own, and I did not want to be a party to this lie that Missy was creating. Nevertheless, after much request and a general questioning of my loyalty to our friendship, I decided that the least I could do was to act as a silent witness. That way, I wasn’t actually lying; I just wasn’t telling the full truth.
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: An hour or so later, we presented Missy’s father with the car and the inquiry began.
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Paragraph 2: Her father looked at me with great disbelief.
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