Last week, I was creating a picture book for my dad as his birthday gift. It was about our family’s grocery store (杂货店). There were lots of fruits in the store, so my pictures centered on apples, pears, grapes and any other fruit one could think of. I worked forever making each picture as perfect as possible. Every time I messed up, I started all over again, so the floor under the kitchen table was covered with half-finished drawings.
“Dad’s going to love this,” my mom said as she looked over my shoulder, “but it’s housework time now.” I was responsible for folding the clothes, and my little brother Ben, sweeping the floor. “And Amy, please remove the paper from the floor to the recycling bin in the yard when you finish your project,” my mom added.
I finished folding the clothes as fast as possible. Just as I was about to get back to the picture book, my friend Marry showed up.
“Hi, Amy! Want to go and play in the park?” she asked.
“I definitely would, but brrr…It’s freezing cold outside!”
“Exactly!” she said. “It’s the perfect weather for not getting overheated.”
That’s a cool thing about Marry. She has this way of looking on the bright side of pretty much anything.
So, we headed to the park. But as soon as we arrived there, the sky was filled with giant gray clouds and rain started pouring down. We had to go back, dripping wet.
Ben was taking out rubbish to the recycling bin when we stepped into the yard. And that’s when my heart pretty much stopped. Right there in the yard, in front of the recycling bin, was a box full of wet paper. And not just any piece of paper. That was my picture book.
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:
“Whoa! Wait! What?” I ran to rescue my birthday book drawings.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
At that time, Marry came up to me and gave me a comforting pat on the shoulder.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . When I was forced to put up with my son’s sense of humor, which included turning every word he read onto his family members, the search was on. Could I, as a supportive and patient parent I attempt to be, find a right book for my son? A book that encourages my son to tell a joke that won’t have his mouth washed out with soap? I had to admit I wasn’t confident.
Now, I have a book Jake the Fake Keeps It Real at hand. In fact, Jake is not a perfect kid. The first book in the series, Jake the Fake Keeps It Real, opens with Jake’s explaining how he cheated on the admission of an arts and music academy for gifted kids.
So when Jake realizes that to fit in at art school, he has to come up with some strange ideas, I almost died laughing. Not only did I think that was funny, so did my son. As a matter of fact, Jake the Fake Keeps It Real turned out to be a great distraction (使人分心的事物) from my son’s being disrespectfully funny. And I would rather my son imitate Jake by chewing (咀嚼) the same piece of gum for six hours and then writing a play about it.
I succeeded in one thing: Finding a fittingly funny role model for my son.
The end of the book, chapter 13, where Jake, no-talented, has to perform in the school talent show (obviously if you blow it, you have to quit school and work on a fishing boat). Jake sits down at the piano and knows he can’t do it, so he stands up from the piano.
Here’s where the book really wins my son’s heart for life, because maybe one day, my son might say, as Jake says after his mother praises his talent show appearance and hugs him tightly, “She’s pretty cool sometimes, my mom.”
1. How did the author find her son’s humour?| A．Suitable. | B．Impolite. | C．Interesting. | D．Boring. |
| A．A gifted kid. | B．An honest boy. |
| C．The author’s son. | D．A character in a novel. |
| A．Ignore. | B．Defeat. | C．Copy. | D．Entertain. |
| A．He would be a good fisherman. | B．He would devote himself to music. |
| C．He might ask his teacher to forgive him. | D．He might be punished for his mistake. |
“Hurry up you guys, or you will be late for school!” called Mom. We went downstairs and had a quick breakfast. I was eating my favorite — very sweet porridge, and Sara was. having eggs. When I rose to have my bowl washed, Mom whispered, “You know you need to be cautious today when you’re walking Sara to school. It’s your job to assure (保证) me she gets there all right.” Then she cast me. a very serious look. I thought to myself, wondering why Mom was making such a big deal out of this. It was Sara’s first day of Kindergarten, but I could manage it. I wish Mom would treat me like an adult.
Then Sara ran out of the house, and I went behind her, skipping down the front walkway to the sidewalk. Along the way, I could feel Mom’s gaze on us.
I grabbed Sara’s hand. “Are you eager and excited for your first day of school?” I asked, trying to sound like a grown-up. Sara smiled and nodded her head yes. Meanwhile, my mom was staring at us through the window. “When will she treat me like an adult?” I thought. “I will show you the way.” I said. I felt proud to be the elder sister. We walked past beautiful gardens and big, leafy trees. Suddenly, I heard a growl (低吼) and saw a dog walking towards us. He was big and fierce looking with long sharp teeth. “GRRRR!!!” the dog barked. I didn’t see its owner or anyone who could help us. My hand became sweaty and Sara stopped walking. “I’m scared, Julie,” she said. I didn’t want her to be scared. I wanted to appear brave. “Everything will be okay,” I said.
“GRRRR!!!” The dog stepped closer and we could see it was the size of a small horse — with red eyes and sharp teeth.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
I was trying to make my voice sound calm.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I told Mom what had happened.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jack’s grandmother’s birthday was around the corner and all the family members were busy preparing a big party for her. It would be a special birthday party, because Grandma Sophie would turn 100 years old on the birthday. The family was filled with atmosphere of mystery and kind of excitement. Everyone was busy doing something secretly. Jack’s sister was knitting (编织) a woolen scarf for Grandma Sophie. She even brought the threads and weaving sticks to school and knitted between the class intervals. Jack’s brother would play the guitar of Grandma Sophie’s favorite song at the birthday party, so he practiced playing whenever he was free. And Jack’s parents were decorating the house and doing shopping.
However, little Jack, the 8-year-old boy, sitting with his favorite toy dinosaur, looked unhappy. He wanted to engage in the big event and to make his grandma happy, but he had no idea. He couldn’t knit as his sister did, nor could he play any musical instrument as his brother did. A birthday card with beautiful pictures would be a good choice. But he had no money to buy a card. What he possessed were lots of cards, which were from families and relatives for his birthday or Christmas and New Year. So little Jack turned to his mother for help.
Jack’s cards came from his friends and relatives all over the country. There were funny cards and serious cards. Some cards had beautiful pictures. Others had silly drawings. Jack saved them all. But his favorite card was from his grandma.
“Why don’t you recycle some of your old birthday and Christmas cards?” Jack’s mother suggested. “What does that mean?” asked Jack. “Recycle means’ to use again’，” said Jack’s mother. “You can create something new from things that have already been used.” “Recycling is a good idea,” said Jack. “I know. I’ll cut out pictures and poems from my old cards. Then I’ll make a big, new card to send to Grandma.”
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。
Jack couldn’t wait to open the box containing cards he saved.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When Grandma’s birthday arrived, Jack gave her a big birthday card as a gift.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
My mother’s gift
A dandelion (蒲公英) in my dictionary always reminds me of my lunchtimes with my mother.
When I was in the third grade, I was picked to be the princess in the school play, and for weeks my mother had painstakingly (费力地) practised my lines with me. But no matter how easily I delivered them at home, as soon as I stepped onstage, every word disappeared from my head. Finally, my teacher took me aside. She explained that she had written a narrator’s part to the play, and asked me to switch roles.
I didn’t tell my mother what had happened when I went home for lunch that day. But she sensed my unease, and instead of suggesting we practice my lines, she asked if I wanted to walk in the yard.
It was a lovely spring day and the rose leaves were turning green. We could see yellow dandelions popping through the grass in bunches, as if a painter had touched our landscape with a little bit of gold.
I watched my mother casually bend down by one of the dandelions. “I think I’m going to dig up all these weeds,” she said, suddenly pulling a flower up by its roots. “From now on, we’ll have only roses in this garden.”
“But I like dandelions,” I protested. “All flowers are beautiful — even dandelions.” My mother looked at me seriously. “Yes, every flower gives pleasure in its own way, doesn’t it?” she asked thoughtfully. I nodded, pleased that I had won her over. “And that is true of people too,” she added. “Not everyone can be a princess, but there is no shame in that.”
Relieved that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry as I told her what had happened.
“But you will be a beautiful narrator,” she said, reminding me of how much I loved to read stories aloud to her. “The narrator’s part is as important as the part of a princess.”
Over the next few weeks, with her constant encouragement, I learned to take pride in the role. Lunchtimes were spent reading over my lines and talking about what I would wear.
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。
Backstage on the night of the performance, I felt nervous.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After the play, I took home the flower I had placed in the pocket.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Mary frowned as she helped her mother and father set out the cooking supplies in the shiny steel kitchen. Her family had just moved here from New York, having bought a small restaurant, which was set to open in the next few days.
“Moving here was a stupid idea. I have lost all my friends in New York. What should I do now?” Mary grumbled (抱怨), mostly to herself.
“What’s that?” Her mother asked, opening a box and lifting out several pots. “Nothing,” Mary mumbled (嘟哝). The girl had been complaining about the move, but her parents had made the decision and were then too busy to listen to her complaints.
The first few days at her new school hadn’t been easy, either. She found it hard to talk to people she didn’t know, and it seemed that the students hadn’t even noticed her. Mary sighed and got back to wash dishes.
On the day of the grand opening, Mary’s parents were busy the whole day, welcoming customers into the restaurant, which was brightly decorated in gold and red. Even Mary was in a good mood as she rushed around, seating guests, handing out menus, and pouring glasses of water. This was a big day for her family.
At one of the tables sat a family with two daughters who were about Mary’s age. As she filled their glasses, Mary realized the twins were in her class. Mary ducked her head down. Her long hair covered her face, and she turned away from the table.
A few minutes later, Mary’s mother found her in the kitchen. “Honey, what are you doing back here? We need you out front with the customers.”
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。
Para. 1
“Mom, I don’t want to be out there!”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Para. 2
Mary put a handful of cookies into a small plate and left the kitchen.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When I was about ten years old, my brother and I received a wonderful gift — tennis rackets and balls. We had never had the opportunity to play tennis, so this was exciting. However, there was one problem — the small town we lived in did not have a tennis court.
One Sunday morning my brother said, “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Let’s take our tennis rackets and balls to the school and hit the balls against the school building.”
“Great idea! Let’s go,” I agreed, not realizing what a lesson we would learn before the experience was over.
When we got to the school ground, no one was around, so we began hitting our balls against the side of the two-story brick building.
“I’ll hit it the first time,” my brother suggested, “then you hit it the next time. We’ll hit it back and forth to each other.”
So we began taking turns hitting the ball, getting more confident with each stroke. Actually, we became pretty good at returning the ball and we were hitting the ball higher and faster each time.
Suddenly, the unthinkable happened — the ball got out of control and went crashing through one of the upstairs windows.
We looked around and no one was in sight — except there was an old man stting on a porch halfway down the block.
Quietly, I asked, “Now what should we do? Our ball is inside the school.”
“Well,” my brother responded, “no one will know whose ball it is. And no one saw us, except that old man down there. And he probably can’t see this far.”
“He probably doesn’t know who we are anyway,” I added.
“Let’s go home,” my brother suggested.
“Okay,” I agreed. “Should we tell Mom and Dad?”
“I don’t know,” my brother answered.
Then we picked up the rest of our balls and headed for home, keeping silent all the way with our heads drooping.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式作答。“What happened?” asked my mother, seeing us in low spirits.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The following morning my brother and I went to the headmaster’s office.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Perfect Gift
Colin walked through the mall with his head down. He couldn’t bear to look at another window display of great Christmas gifts he couldn’t afford. There were only a few days left until Christmas, and Colin still didn’t t have a present for his parents. He had only managed to save four dollars and seventeen cents. He counted the money in his pocket and sighed heavily.
“You look upset today, Colin. What is the matter?” Colin’s older sister Whitney asked.
Colin explained his problem to his sister.
“Why don’t you make them something?” Whitney suggested.
“Making presents is for babies,” Colin said. “Mom and Dad won’t like baby stuff.”
“Hey, that is not true. When I was your age, I wrote Mom and Dad a poem for Christmas. They loved it so much that they had it framed (给……做框),” Whitney said.
Colin knew that was true. The poem was hanging in the living room right above the fireplace. Mom and Dad often stood at the fireplace and read the poem to him. But Colin wasn’t good at writing poems, so that didn’t really help him.
“It doesn’t have to be a poem,” Whitney said, “It could be anything that makes them think of you whenever they look at it. That’s why homemade gifts are special — because they make you think of the person who made it.”
“But I don’t know how to make anything Mom and Dad would actually want!” Colin said, kicking a tiny stone across the parking lot.
Whitney opened the car door. “Yes, you do! You’re always drawing those funny little comics. Why don’ t you do a family portrait(全家福) as a comic? Mom and Dad would love it.”
”Maybe," Colin said. He thought about the idea the whole way home. He even pictured how he would draw everyone.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1: For the next two days, Colin drew one picture after another.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2: After all the other presents were opened, Colin handed his gift to his parents.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Mom, what’s this?” my little daughter in the living room called and pointed to an instrument box. “Oh, it’s my flute(长笛),” I said and opened it. There was the old silver flute that I played years ago. “Play it, Mom.” my daughter asked excitedly.
“Oh, I don’t know whether I’ve forgotten how to play it,” I said. Then, I was lost in thought. The flute carried me back to the days when I was thirteen. That year, because of my dad’s new job, in the middle term. I moved to a new school and left my old friends. Besides, I was a socially awkward girl. So in the new school, I became very lonely and bored.
Two weeks after I went there, the school band was wanting new members. I extremely wished to join it. I loved music. Joining the band could help change my boring school life. And I could meet people with the same hobby, which would be much easier for me to make new friends. But to join the band, each member needed to buy an instrument and take lessons to learn it. My family was on a tight budget at that time. So I didn’t think my parents would support my wish. Besides, I didn’t want to put further financial pressure on my parents.
That day, I arrived home after school, tired and sad. It was another tough day. My dad was reading the newspaper on the sofa “Hi,” he said. “Hi, Dad,” I answered softly. “What’s the matter?” he questioned, finding there was something wrong with me. “Nothing, Dad,” I replied. “Come over here,” he said, asking me to sit down beside him.
He looked at me as I sat down. Then, he talked with me, wishing to know what was troubling me. Still, I didn’t want to tell him about my loneliness at my new school and my big wish to join the band. However, after he kept asking. I finally told him. Not wanting him to feel stressed, I added I could ultimately deal with my problem without joining the band.
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:
Just as I finished my words, my dad dropped the paper and stood up.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
Then, my dad and I walked out of the store, with me carrying the beautiful flute.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
As a kid, I spent my summers with my grandparents in Texas, which was a welcome change from my Huston life of school and I loved it.
One of the best parts of spending summers with my grandparents was caravanning(乘房车度假)with the caravan club. Every few summers, we would join the trips organized by the caravan club and it was during one of these trips that my grandfather said to me the right words at the right time—it’s much harder to be kind than clever.
I wasn’t very old, maybe ten or eleven, but I was forming my opinions about the world, and of course, I thought I knew much more about things than I actually did.
I was then, as I am now, a big reader and a crazy fan for numbers. Anyone who has been on a long road trip knows that no matter how many books you bring, how beautiful the scenery is, you still have too much time to think. So I spent a good deal of my extra time calculating. I calculated gas mileage. I figured out the average per-item price of groceries bought over the course of the trip. And at some point, I saw an anti-smoking ad on TV. The announcer declared that every time a smoker took a puff of a cigarette(抽一口烟). he was shortening his life time by two minutes. My grandmother was a smoker. I hated it, and not just because I knew that it was bad for her. My guess is that any kid who rides for thousands of miles sitting in the smoke-filled backseat of a 1973 Olds car grows to hate smoking. So on one particularly long driving day, I decided to do the math.
I don’t remember exactly what the number was. Two minutes per puff, twenty puffs per cigarette, twenty cigarettes per pack, one pack a day for thirty years. About sixteen years? When I was satisfied that I had come up with a reasonably accurate number, I poked my head between the two front seats and tapped my grandmother on the shoulder.
注意:
1. 续写词数应为150左右:
2. 请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
I told grandma that she had taken sixteen years off her life from smoking.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
My grandpa got out of the car and asked me to follow.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
