It took place in a teacher’s family. One day, Ben was playing basketball in the living room after school, when he accidentally threw the ball at a vase sitting on the shelf. The vase dropped to the floor and a large piece broke off. What made Ben more upset was that the vase was not a common decoration but an antique(古董), which was handed down through generations from the 18th century. It was also his mother’s favorite thing. To cover his terrible action, the terrified boy glued the pieces together quickly and put the vase back to its place.
As the mother herself dusted the vase every day, she naturally noticed the cracks(裂纹) that evening. To her surprise, the repair work was actually very good. At dinner time, she asked her boy if he broke the vase. Fearing punishment, the suddenly inspired boy said that a neighbor’s cat jumped in from the window and he couldn’t drive it away no matter how hard he tried. It raced around the living room and finally knocked the vase off its shelf. His mother was quite clear that her son was lying, for all the windows were closed before she left for work each morning and opened after she returned. However, in the face of her son’s nervous eyes and the suspicious(怀疑的) looks of the other family members. Ben’s mother remained calm. She realized she shouldn’t just simply blame and punish her son for lying. She came up with another idea.
Before going to bed, the boy found a note from his mother in his room, asking him to go to the study at once. The boy thought he would now be punished but, as he had already lied, he was determined to deny everything to the end, no matter how angry his mum became.
In the study, calmly bathed in the light, his mother’s face showed no sign of anger. On seeing her son push open the door and cautiously enter, she took a chocolate box out of a drawer and gave him one.
注意：
1.所续写的短文词数应为 150 左右；
2.应使用 5 个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3.续写部分分为二段，每段的开头语已经为你写好；
4.续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1：The mother said, “This chocolate is a reward for your imagination: a window-opening cat!”
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Paragraph 2: Now with some chocolates in hand, the boy’s bad attitude disappeared.
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I always dreamed of giving someone a surprise, one that will be remembered for a lifetime. You know, the kind you see on TV or read in stories. Well, thanks to a little determination, some luck, and a generous helping of Christmas Spirit, my dream became a reality.
My family is Canadian, although my sister moved down to Australia a few years ago to further her study. She was graduating just before Christmas. However, due to my own school schedule back home, I would not be able to make it in time for her graduation. She was understandably disappointed, and I felt guilty that I wasn’t able to be there for her on this most special occasion.
While I was talking to my school advisor about my term paper the week before my sister’s graduation, our conversation drifted toward Christmas plans. When I mentioned that I would be missing my sister’s graduation by less than 48 hours, she commented, “Well, if you want to go, I have no problem with it, so go ahead!”
On hearing the words, I couldn’t believe my luck! I nearly jumped for joy. “Just make sure you get permission from administration,” she added. What she said immediately made my heart sink. The administration at my school was well-known for denying any sort of time-off requests, let alone last-minute requests, which would undoubtedly draw nothing but anger. I almost didn’t bother asking, because I knew it would be a waste of time and I didn’t feel like a thorough punishment. Plus, I knew the answer already: no. But something in me decided to try, just in case. Maybe it was the hope that the Christmas Spirit would somehow affect the administrative office at this time of year.
When I returned home to find the reply from the administration in my email box, I prepared myself for disappointment.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为 150 左右；
2. 至少使用 5 个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
I took a deep breath, opened the e-mail, and started to read.
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With the ticket, I couldn’t wait to call my sister but suddenly an idea occurred to me.
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My best memory of Christmas is the time when I was a little kid. Mom would teach us her favorite children’s song Twelve Days of Christmas: “On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me...”. We would usually add the gifts we received to the song, which we thought was a great way to appreciate the gifts and enjoy the holiday filled with love.
Now, it was again the holiday season but Mom could not sing the song together with us. It had become too difficult to take her from her Alzheimer’s(阿尔茨海默氏病)unit to Christmas dinner with us. Heart problems had set in, and she was growing weaker.
Whenever Christmas comes, my mind is filled with memories. Memories of faith, memories of family and, yes, memories of food. What happens, then, when a disease steals our memories?
During the course of my mother’s Alzheimer’s, I often asked myself what becomes of us when our memories are gone. It’s as if our memories are like a mirror that reflects who we are, and slowly our image fades in that mirror until we find no one there at all. Alzheimer’s is a disease that breaks hearts as well as minds. Whether or not I am likely to get the same disease that took my mother, I hope I will never forget all the love and care Mom has given us. I will spend Christmas with Mom each year anyway.
December 25 was very cold—the way it should be in Michigan. My brother Joe, my sister Mary, my sister-in-law Toni and I—along with my nieces Clare and Rachel, my cousin Carol, and my wife, Julee—piled into our cars and headed to Clausen Manor to see Mom. “Does she even know it’s Christmas?” I asked Julee on the way.
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。
On our arrival at Alzheimer’s unit, we showed Mom the gifts we brought to her and Carol put a Twelve Days of Christmas picture book on Mom’s lap.
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We stared in astonishment unable to believe our ears.
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The routine practice in the school band came to an end. Mark and Steven smiled at each other, happily talking about the weekend arrangements. Steven was putting his saxophone (萨克斯) into the case when he tripped over a shelf. Unfortunately, it fell and hit his saxophone. Clang! “Oh no!” Steven yelled.
Mark quickly picked up the saxophone, checked it and then handed it to Steven, who stood still, at a loss. Mark helped Steven put away all the things and comforted him with the thought that it was not a new saxophone. Anyway, it already had a lot of dents (凹痕).
“I know. But it’s my grandpa’s. He is visiting us this Sunday.” Steven lowered his head, upset.
Steven’s grandpa used to be a great saxophonist in the national band. When Steven was even a baby, his grandpa always played some famous tunes like “Edelweiss,” “Rivers of Babylon,” “Forever in love” for him.
Staring at Steven in confusion, Mark asked what was wrong. Steven sighed deeply and then showed his concern that whenever his grandpa came, he would ask Steven to play with his beloved saxophone. “Maybe he won’t notice the new dent or maybe he won’t care,” Mark said with a shrug (耸肩). “But what if Grandpa notices the dent? How is he going to react? And how shall I tell him about it?” replied Steven.
On the bus home, Steven thought about all the possibilities. To avoid playing the saxophone, he could pretend that he had a fever. Oh no! He didn’t like lying. He could get his baby brother, Joseph, to take all of Grandpa’s attention. Or, he could turn to mum for help...
When Sunday finally arrived, Steven still had no idea what he was going to do.
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Steven would have been delighted to hear Grandpa’s praise, but actually he was not.
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In the farmers' market, there were many other stalls (摊位) with all kinds of food for sale as well as colourful rows of fruit and vegetables set out on tables. Cooked food stalls filled the air with the wonderful smells of hot tasty snacks, and the smell of fresh coffee was everywhere.
"Wow," Gus cried out, "Jam (果酱)!"
Just in front of him, there was a jam stall that sold all kinds of home-made jam. But the only kind Gus wanted was strawberry, so he bought a jar. He couldn't help but taste the jam immediately. It was OK, he frowned (皱眉) and shook his head, but never as good as Rose's, whose jam was just magic.
Rose was his neighbour, an elderly lady who lived alone but liked company now and again. Her doorbell was usually too quiet before Gus and his mom moved to the village after his father's death. Gus often rang her doorbell and asked whether she needed anything from the supermarket as he and his mother were going to town. In return, Rose would often give Gus a jar of jam. Gus was amazed how jam could be so delicious, so whenever free he would be at Rose's home watching her make the super jam.
Suddenly, an idea struck Gus. Probably he could try that to make some money and help his mum. He then bought a bag of potatoes for Rose for her kind offer of wonderful jam.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为100左右；
2. 至少使用3个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分为一段，开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
The next morning, Gus rang Rose's doorbell.
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All through school, I had only one close friend. We spent years together, essentially joined at the hip. But then 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 and kind, full of curiosity and expectation for life. We raced our bikes and illustrated our own comic books. We even became attracted to the same blonde girl from around the corner, a sixth-grader named Joanne who barely knew we existed.
The last time I saw 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 recognize 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 cabin I checked my messages. I glanced at 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 at his front door, I felt unsure of what to say or do.
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As he gazed at the photo, Greg handed me a small, old card.
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One weekend in August, Daniel and his father drove five hours to camp over night by a lake in the forest. On the way, unfortunately, his father received a phone call from Daniel’s teacher saying Daniel had broken the school rules, and then he started to criticize (批评) Daniel. By the time they reached the lake, Daniel was so angry that he said to his father, “I’m going to find a better place for us to camp” and walked away alone.
With no path to follow, Daniel just walked on for quite a long time. After he had climbed to a high place, he turned around, hoping to see the lake. To his surprise, he saw nothing but forest and a snow capped mountain top. He suddenly realized that he was lost.
“Dad! Mom! Dad! Mom!…” he cried. “Help! Help me!...”
No reply. If only he had not left his mobile phone in that bag with his father. Daniel kept moving, but the farther he walked, the more confused he became. As night was beginning to fall, Daniel was so tired that he had to stop for the night. Lying awake in the dark, Daniel said to himself, “Hadn’t I walked away angrily, I wouldn’t be trapped in this awful place, facing with the danger of dying.” He regretted with endless anxiety, and then became asleep with shining tears in his eyes.
Daniel rose at the break of day, hungry and thirsty. He could hear water trickling (滴落) some where in the distance. Quickly he followed the sound to a stream. To his great joy, he saw some apple trees. He ate some. Never in his life had he tasted anything better. Feeling stronger now, Daniel began to walk along the stream and hope it would lead him to the lake.
注意：1. 续写词数应为120-150；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
As he walked along the stream carefully, Daniel heard a strange sound in the distance.
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Paragraph 2：
It was early in the morning when Daniel woke up.
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Sarah grew up in West Virginia as a normal American girl. Jim, a professor at WVU, and Judy, a teacher, showered their youngest daughter with love and encouragement. Sarah picked roses in her garden, rode her bike around the neighborhood, and enjoyed vacations with her parents and two sisters. Sil, she could never quite shake off the sense that she didn’t belong in her fair-haired family or the community with few minorities. Worse, she felt the anxiety shared by many adopted children: if one set of parents abandoned you, why wouldn't another? She tried very hard to be a good kid so that her present parents would never want to give her up. This feeling kept haunting her all through her childhood and teen years.
Sarah studied drama and in 2001 got some minor roles in films after graduation. She moved to California to pursue her career. It was then that she felt the urge to find her birth parents. She hired a private detective, who, after some investigation, found that her biological mother was long dead, and her father was then an exchange student from the Mende tribe in Sierra Leone, an African country on the Atlantic coast. In fact, her father, Kposowa, belonged to the ruling family, which made Sarah a princess in her father’s tribe.
But she leaned through the news that a brutal civil war had been raging in Sierra Leone, and her native county was let in ruins. Sarah also noticed that the local news in Sierra Lcone made no mention of her father as the head of Mende tribe, and she couldn’t help wondering if her inquiry was too late. But she sent a letter anyway, with her contact information, hoping it would somehow reach her biological father half way across the globe. To drown her doubts and regrets, she threw herself into her acting and was on the fast track to success, the letter to her father half forgotten amid actress’s 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。
Then one day, her cell phone suddenly rang out, showing an African number.
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Sarah talked it over with her American parents who encouraged her to go and find her roots.
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In gift shops, it is likely that many tourists would pass by what may be a symbol of Portugal: swallows made of glass. In Portugal, people gift the birds for weddings, anniversaries, housewarmings and going-away gatherings.
Farewells were on my mind when I met Apolinario in February 2020. At the time I was well aware of my oldest child’s upcoming graduation and departure for university in a city far from home.
Ethan, my oldest child, has been away from me before. There have been camps and school trips, but each time I have rested easy in the knowledge that he would come home. He always comes home.
But this time I feel less certain.
The feeling was at its peak when I entered Apolinario’s gift shop that specialized in Portuguese souvenirs. I was aimlessly walking among the shelves when I noticed the abundance of glass swallows.
“The swallow is connected to a lot of things that are dear to us,’’ explained Apolinario who stood behind me. The birds’ qualities —they mate for life and raise their babies together—make it a nostalgic (怀旧的) symbol. “They don’t leave the nest until all of the babies do and they always return.”
Apolinario also told me that the swallow also marked an important time in the country’s history when the Portuguese sailed around the world. A lot of people missed their homeland and wanted to come back. The swallow represented that there was a nest somewhere in Portugal, although people were living all over the world.
“The concept is best described as the feeling of connection you get when you taste your grandmother’s cooking or a familiar smell that takes you back to your childhood. The swallow is thought to be the embodiment (体现) of that feeling. When you have one in or on your home, it carries those good memories with it,” he added. “When you’re giving this as a gift, you’re basically giving a part of yourself that stays there. You’re creating a connection.”
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。
When Apolinario told me about the bird, I knew I needed one.
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This past September, my husband and I accompanied our son to his university.
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One day in September 2020, Mom got a call from my aunt. “I don’t feel well these days and I keep coughing blood,” my aunt said in a sad voice.
We were all in shock and after hanging up, we hurried to my aunt’s home and sent her to the hospital immediately. Having stayed in the hospital for several days, my aunt’s situation became worse and worse. Mom knew what was to come, and this frightened us all. As days went by, my aunt got to a point where it was hard for her to breathe and to move. Mom said that she would try everything to save her sister.
As the healthcare in our country is so poor that my parents both decided to send my aunt to Istanbul, Turkey. My parents knew some good doctors in Istanbul and they thought they would offer her the best help. Even though it was a huge risk for Mom to travel with my sick aunt, she believed it was the only way that someone could help her.
On the day Mom and my aunt were leaving for Turkey, Dad and I sent them to the airport. We had bought a wheelchair for my aunt because she did not have enough strength to walk. When I saw my aunt sitting in the wheelchair, my tears started to fall out of my face. “Everything is going to be alright,” Mom said while leaving the car.
As days went by, my aunt was in an ICU in Istanbul. Mom was in a different room waiting to hear every update on her situation. My aunt was put on so much medicine and serums (血清), and her whole room was filled with things that her body needed Mom once took a photo from outside my aunt’s room. It showed everything there, and as soon as I saw that, I started to cry again. I could not handle the pain of seeing my family member like this.
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。
A day later, my aunt’s condition was uncontrollable.
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Mom told us the good news immediately.
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