A Mother’s Heartfelt Note of Love
Everything seemed to have changed for me when I entered high school. I never saw a single person I knew from middle school. At home I was just as lonely. “My brothers and sister all fit in.” I thought, coming in the door after another bad day at school. “Why can’t I?”
Mom was there waiting for me. “Karole, your bedroom’s a disaster. Why can’t you keep it clean?” The last thing I needed was criticism from my mother. What had happened to the mother who used to snuggle (依偎) with me on the sofa, loving me with complete acceptance? Who thought everything I did was wonderful? I didn’t bother trying to explain my unhappiness. It was easier to hide in my bedroom, without saying a word, like I did every afternoon.
Clearing off some space, I sat down at my desk. Yet another thing I wasn’t good at anymore. My grades had slipped along with my confidence. I turned to a new page in my notebook and started working out the first problem. Almost immediately, I saw I’d made a mistake. “Wrong again!” I thought. “You can’t do anything right!” I tore the paper out of my notebook, balled it up in my fist and threw it at the wastepaper basket. The ball landed on the floor. I heard my mother’s voice in my head, “Why can’t you keep your room clean?”
By the time I finished my homework, the floor was littered with crumpled (弄皱的) paper. It gave me a kind of satisfaction to see the mess I’d made. Like it was proof of all my shortcomings. Every time I looked at those crumpled balls, I reminded myself what a failure I was. But my unhappiness stayed hidden away, just like those mistakes. With my face a mask of indifference, no one knew what I was really feeling. Who would want to listen?
One day, I came home to an empty house. It was a relief not to be met with Mom’s latest complaint. “Nothing I do is right in her eyes.” I thought. “Or anyone else’s, including mine.”
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。
When I opened my bedroom door, I froze at the sight of a neat and orderly room.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I sat down at my desk, staring at those words.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . I was sitting at my kitchen table the other day with a pen, notebook, calculator and a pile of bills. I was doing my monthly budget. There were bills for electric water, rent, insurance, the car payment, the phone bill, and the cable bill. Plus money needed to be set aside for food, gas, clothes and hopefully a little left over to save for those unexpected bills that always seemed to show up. When I was done, I shook my head, closed my eyes and thought of a time long ago when I would regularly get treasures.
When I was a boy. we lived across the road from Camp Caesar. It held week long camps all through the summer and my grandma who I lovingly called “Nanny” worked in her big kitchen. I remember slipping there getting a smile, a hug, a kiss and a hot roll from Nanny. Then she would always take deep in her pockets and pull out a treasure, a shiny quarter. She would give it to me and I would run down the hill to either get an ice cold can of coke from the pop machine or I would head to the camp’s swimming pool where I could buy a warm cup of cherry coke for 15 cents and a tiny 10 cent bag of chips from a stand. I took my time because it was always a big decision. It was nice too feeling so rich for a few minutes.
Looking back now I can see that the real treasure was not the quarter at all. It was the love with which Nanny gave it to me. I would have still visited her at work every day if I had never gotten a single quarter. It was her smile, hugs, and kisses that were priceless in my heart then and now.
The old saying is true, “With your work you can make a living, but it is with your love that you make a life.” You can always welcome love into your heart, soul and mind. And you can always share your love with others. It is that one treasure that lasts forever.
1. According to Paragraph 1, what was the author trying to figure out?| A．Where to get treasures. |
| B．What food and supplies to buy. |
| C．How to sort out these bills at hand. |
| D．How to balance the money available. |
| A．A sound. | B．A greeting. | C．A kind of act. | D．A kind of bread. |
| A．Affectionate. | B．Helpful. | C．Humorous. | D．Selfless. |
| A．To change people’s heart and soul. | B．To show what we should value in life. |
| C．To explain work and love can make a life. | D．To advise more love and sharing in childhood. |
My teenage son, Jordan, always complained about having to be home earlier than all his friends. He would tell me that he was already seventeen, but still had a curfew (宵禁). He believed he was practically an adult. I pointed out that he was not an adult as he was still in high school.
“You don’t trust me!” he yelled. Before I continued, he rolled his eyes, slammed the door and walked away. I sighed. How could I make Jordan see that I only wanted to keep him safe?
I decided to go for a walk, hoping the December air would clear my head. I opened the front door and nearly stepped on her: a small black cat, just like a meatball. “Hi, Meatball,” I said, bringing her into my arms. I walked back in, touching her neck gently. Meatball seemed happy enough to come in the house, but after an hour or two, she sat by the door, meowing to go back outside.
“Why won’t she just stay in with us all the time?” Nathan, my youngest son asked.
I explained to him that she was happy here but she liked being able to come and go as she pleased.
“That must be nice,” Jordan muttered from the other room, complaining why the cat, not him, could come and go. He even asked me to give Meatball a curfew.
Meatball became a regular.
One night, temperatures were unusually low. Meatball stood at the door, meowing to go outside.
I shook my head at her, afraid that she might freeze to death. She stared at me and meowed again. I patted her head, “I know you’re not happy, but it’s for your own good.”
“Mom’s not being mean to you,” Nathan told the cat. “She’s just trying to keep you from turning into a frozen meatball.” We both laughed at his joke.
The next morning, I couldn’t find Meatball. I asked the kids if anyone had seen her.
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。
Jordan nodded, “I let her out last night.”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As I drove to the animal hospital, Jordan sat in the back, holding Meatball inside his coat.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Suzie wanted to go to a party. It was a beach party. It had been almost the only thing her friends had been talking about for the last couple of weeks. It was going to be the best party of the year, perhaps the best party of her life.
But there was a problem… and a big problem. Her mom had said no. Suzie was desperate, and the more desperately she pleaded her case, the more emphatically her mom said no. Suzie was disappointed. No, worse than that, she was heartbroken. This was her best friend’s party. How could she tell her that her mom wouldn’t let her go? She’d look silly if she was the only one not there. The other kids were bound to laugh at her. They might even dump her as a friend if she didn’t join in and participate in what they were doing.
Sunday dinner came around and Suzie’s Grandma joined the family for the meal, as she nearly always did on Sunday. Grandma noticed how unhappy Suzie had been looking during the meal but didn’t say a thing. It was Suzie’s turn to wash up and Grandma said, “Let me help you,” while the rest of the family shifted into the living room to watch a video.
“What’s up?” asked Grandma as Suzie dumped the dishes into water. Grandma wiped a plate with a tea towel.
“Mom won’t let me go to my best friend’s party,” said Suzie, sadly. “Has Mom explained why she doesn’t want you to go? “ asked Grandma. “No,” replied Suzie.
“Then for a moment, put yourself in her position,” said Grandma. “If you were Mom, what would your objections be?”
Suzie hadn’t stopped to think about her mom’s side. All she had seen was what she wanted. “Well,” she answered after thinking for a moment or two, “it’s a beach party. Maybe she doesn’t trust us or thinks we’ll get into trouble. Maybe she thinks we’ll drown or something, but we all know how to swim and look after ourselves.”
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 further discussion, Suzie realised that her mom might be concerned about her safety because no adults would be at the party.
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Suzie thought Grandma’s suggestions over and decided to have a chat with her mom.
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Hi Alice,
My name is Zhao Ming and I’d like to be your pen friend. I’m 16 years old. I have two little brothers. They’re very
I’m in the school basketball team. We usually play
Could you tell me something about you?
Best,
Zhao Ming
| A．He works hard. | B．He is clever. | C．He is popular. |
An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old son. Suddenly a crow (乌鸦) landed on their window.
The father asked his son, “What is this?” The son replied, “This is a crow.”
After a few minutes, the father asked his son for the second time, “What is this?” The son said, “Father, I told you just now. It’s a crow.”
After a little while, the father asked his son the same question for third time, “What is this?” This time, the son was irritated (生气) and said to his father in a low and cold tone, “It’s a crow, a crow.”
After a moment, the father yet again asked his son for the fourth time, “What is this?” This time his son shouted in his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again? I have told you already, ‘It’s a crow’. Are you not able to understand this?”
A minute later the father went to his room and came back with an old tattered(破旧的) diary, which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the read it, the following words were written in the diary:
“Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa when a crow suddenly landed on the window edge. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied him 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question. I didn’t at all feel annoyed, but instead felt a deep affection for my innocent son.”
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:
After reading the diary,the son was in tears and began to reflect on the days when he used to sit together with his father.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
Feeling ashamed, the son got down on his knees before his father.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________On a Sunday afternoon, Kiana French was having fun fishing with her father and younger sister, not knowing the next minute, they would struggle not to sink in the freezing water. Their 12-foot boat was taking in water little by little, and the wind was picking up. Her father, Gary French, hurried to operate the engine, while Kiana,16, was in the middle with Cierrah, her sister, frightened but still able to keep calm.
Kiana asked Cierrah to take off one of her cowboy boots, with which she got some of the water out. Hard as she tried, that little effort would not help stop the boat sinking. Moments later, the unthinkable happened. The boat was full of water and then it flipped over. Kiana and her sister were dumped in the water. Their father, who had had a surgery six months ago, managed not to be thrown into the water but seemed to have great pain in the chest due to the sudden change.
Kiana quickly put on her life jacket and saw Cierrah’s and her father’s life jackets floating away. She reacted quickly to get them back and held her sister onto the boat. They were so far out in the middle of the lake that they could not see the shore clearly. What’s worse.it was getting harder to stay above the waves. Their father swam over and hugged his two girls. Cierrah crying silently. Kiana heard her beloved sister murmur, “I can’t feel my feet.”
Kiana knew the only thing to do was to get to shore herself and find help. She looked up at her father, exchanging a concerned glance, turned round and swam as hard as she could towards the shore
Fighting against the strong currents and cold wind, she screamed for help at the top of her lungs every three minutes or so. A strong wind blew, and she looked back only to see her sister’s and father’s heads bobbing(浮动)in the water. She burst into tears, thinking her sister and dad were dead, because she was taking too long.
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。
With desperate tears, she suddenly spotted a boat with a figure walking on it
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Once rescued, they were rushed to shore, where a concerned group waited for their arrival.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1．表示关心；
2．就如何交朋友给出自己的建议；
3．邀请Lucy来家里做客。
注意：1.词数80左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数；
Dear Lucy,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
Nick was new, so he didn’t have many friends. One day the headmaster announced that it was the basketball season, so they needed to practice after school till 6. Nick smiled. He loved playing basketball.
Later that day it was time to go to the first practice of the season. There were other guys and they all sat together talking, but Nick just sat there and waited. “Alright boys! Line up and tell me your names,” the coach demanded. “Ricky, Derick, Josh, Dan, Nick.” they answered, one after another. Practice went on and the coach began to try out the boys. Ricky and his friends did really good. But the coach ran out of time before he could try out Nick.
The next day, Ricky and his friends came up to Nick and told him he wasn’t good enough though they had never seen him play. Nick said nothing. Soon enough it was time for Nick to try out. “We will start with free throws(自由投篮，即罚球),” the coach said. Nick stood on the free throw line and then shot. He didn’t miss one shot. The boys were amazed. Ricky was mad because they were all giving the attention to Nick. The coach informed Nick that he made the team. All the boys were congratulating him.
Nick was happy that he was on the team and it was a good way to make friends. Ricky just stood there and looked at him in anger. Ricky always got the attention but now Nick did because he’s an amazing player. The next day when Nick went to lunch, he sat by himself and the next thing he knew was that the table he was sitting at was filled with all the basketball players except Ricky.
Soon enough it was time for their first game. The game was a close one ... There were 5 seconds left and Ricky had the ball. Everyone was blocked except Nick. “I'm open. I’m open,” Nick said over and over.
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。
Ricky saw that he was open but he didn’ t care.
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Nick decided to talk to Ricky after they failed the game.
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