What a great year we had had! A new baby daughter, a job promotion (晋升) for my husband, and a new home were among what we had received. My husband and I were grateful for them. We wanted no gifts for Christmas, because our cups were running over. So my husband and I decided to teach them to learn to share.
After dinner, we talked about doing something special for someone else at Christmas. Our oldest son said, “Why don’t we find a family who needs help and give them presents?”
All of us were excited about the idea. We didn’t know exactly how we find our “Christmas family”, but we did know we wanted to help. The next morning I made calls to friends who might know of someone in need. That evening at dinner I described the family I had found. The father was a repairman but lost his job two weeks before. He hadn’t landed a new job yet. There were three children in the family. The wife gave birth to a new baby, who was the same age as ours. But unluckily, the baby had been taking many tests as doctors tried to determine why she wasn’t developing properly. They had spent almost all their savings on the treatment, with little for daily necessities. They were in great trouble. Of course, they had little hope of having gifts for Christmas.
“Can we give them some of our clothes?” asked our daughter. We all agreed that her idea was good, and so the children ran to their bedrooms and began sorting out the clothes they had outgrown. But my husband and I knew that clothes were not enough.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
On Christmas Eve, my family went for holiday shopping.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Then we were off to deliver Christmas gifts to our special family.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________This new stepsister (继妹) was really annoying me. She wouldn’t stop talking. What was Dad trying to prove with this family vacation? We couldn’t quickly become the perfect family. I just became a teenager, and Christina was eight.
Dad and I finished putting up the large tent (帐篷) he’d just bought. I walked back to the car to get my backpack. Getting my backpack out of the car, I knocked a pink backpack to the ground. Before I could pick it up, Christina appeared.
“Why’d you throw my backpack on the ground?” She picked the pack up and went into the tent before I could say anything.
After lunch, Dad suggested I take Christina to see redwood trees. He took out a map and circled on it where there was a stand of big redwood trees. I put the map into my pocket, and then set off down the road at the edge of the campground. When I looked back at Christina, all I saw was a pink ball cap. I shook my head. Dad and my new stepmom were crazy if they thought we’d quickly develop a relationship of trust. I was not cut out to be a big brother.
Christina walked quietly behind me. “She doesn’t want to be here either，”I thought.
Reaching a small round hill, we climbed the switchback (之字形坡路) to its top. Christina kept up. We passed a large rock at the top and started down the other side. I looked around and could see the tops of redwood trees popping out above the forest canopy (树冠层). I pointed them out to Christina and saw a smile light her face.
Before I knew it, she took hold of my hand and pulled me down into the field. Then I saw it, sitting on a rock in the middle of the field: a young bear. I held Christina’s hand tightly.
“Ow! Why’d you —”
I pointed to the young bear.
“Can we get closer and pet it?” Christina asked quietly.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右;2．请按如下格式作答。“No,” I said quietly, “stay near me and don’t talk.”
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Once we got to the redwood trees, Christina forgot all about the young bear and became happy.
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Catherine had stayed at home all her life to look after her three children, but now, she, who lost her husband in a car accident, had to step out and earn money to make ends meet. With zero work experience and no professional degree, her chances of getting hired for a well-paid job were next to zero.
One day, after dropping her children at school, Catherine spotted a construction site. “I think I can work here,” she thought and approached the manager.
“Hi, are you hiring?” she asked. “Yes, we are,” the manager looked at Catherine from head to toe. “Are you sure you can work here? This job requires a lot of hard work.” “I’m ready for it,” she told the manager and signed a contract to work a 12-hour shift.
However, Catherine kept her new job a secret from her children. She thought they would feel embarrassed after learning their mother worked at a construction site.
Every morning, after dropping her children to school, she would go to the construction site and work until her shift ended. She would pick up heavy bricks on her shoulder to transport them from one part of the site to the other. One evening, Catherine’s son, Peter, told her about an upcoming contest in school that required mothers to participate. In the competition, students will wear blindfolds and have to recognize their mothers without looking at them. “That sounds like such a cool event, Peter!” Catherine said excitedly. “I can’t wait for it!” “I won’t go therewith you, mom,” Peter replied. “But why?” What her son said next was something Catherine wasn’t prepared to hear.
“Mom, I would have to touch your hands to recognize you, and everyone would look at them,” Peter explained. “Your hands are so ugly. They’re so hard and rough,” he added. “I will feel so embarrassed when my classmates look at your hands,” the boy said. “I won’t attend the event.” Catherine felt terrible but couldn’t say anything in her defense.
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:
A few weeks later, Peter was walking home when something unexpected caught his attention.
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On his way back home, he kept thinking about how he would apologize to his mother:
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was one of the coldest days of the snowy season. We had seen the world covered with white in almost a month. The rivers were frozen. Wild animals had stopped wandering around. The small village was resting in silence. Had we not prepared enough firewood in advance we wouldn’t have made it through the nights. It was on this day that I learned the true lesson of sharing and witnessed the best miracle I have ever seen in my life.
I was in the kitchen making lunch for the family when I saw my six-year-old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. I could only see his back. He wasn’t walking with his usual steps. He was obviously walking with great effort, trying to be as still as possible. Minutes after he disappeared into the woods, he came running out again, toward the house. I went back to make sandwiches, thinking that whatever he had been doing was completed. Moments later, however, he was once again walking in that slow purposeful long step toward the woods. This activity went on for half an hour: walking cautiously to the woods, then running back to the house. Finally, my curiosity got the best of me. I crept out of the house and followed him secretly on his journey.
He was taking something in his arms as he walked; being very careful not to trip and fall. I stepped close as he went into the woods. Branches and thorns (荆棘) slapped his little face but he did not try to avoid them. He might have a much greater purpose, I thought. As 1 came closer, I saw the most amazing sight. Several little cats curled up beneath a huge fallen tree, where there was no snow but the least space for any life to survive the severe winter. Billy walked right up to them, at the sight of which I almost screamed for him to stop what he was doing. He had piled up a stack of firewood next to the kittens and was about to light it with a match! He had no idea what the fire would cause at the hands of a six-year-old.
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。
My sudden voice obviously took Billy by surprise.
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Billy agreed to collect up the firewood after I decided to take them in.
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I will always remember the time when my friend Jeff Holstrom told me about his family. His father, a successful physician, cold and strict in Jeff’s words, had firm beliefs that a person would never make a valuable contribution to the world unless they attended and graduated from college by the age of twenty-three. His father had even paved the way for Jeff to attend the same college from which he had graduated.
Jeff was twenty-seven and a successful business planner at a company — without a degree. His passion was skiing. When he graduated from high school, he decided to decline his father’s offer and, instead, to work with a ski patrol (滑雪巡逻队). With pain in his eyes, Jeff told me he still remembered the day when he told his father he was going to give up college and take a job at a ski resort. Hearing Jeffs decision, his father looked off into the distance. Then came the words that still echoed in Jeff’s mind: “You lazy kid. No son of mine is going to work with a ski patrol and does not attend college. Don’t come back in this house until you have enough self-respect to use the brains God gave you and go to school!” The two had not spoken since that conversation.
Later, he was back in the area near where he grew up and he certainly did not want his father to know he was attending college. He was doing this for himself, not for his father. Jeff’s sister had always remained supportive of Jeff’s decisions. She stayed in contact with their father, but Jeff had made her promise that she would not share any information about his life with him.
The day of the graduation ceremony came, I walked around talking to people before it started. I noticed a man with a confused expression.
“Excuse me,” he said as he politely approached me. “What is happening here today?”
“It’s graduation day,” I replied, smiling. “Well, that’s odd, he said, “my daughter asked me to meet her at this address.” His eyes sparkled and he smiled. “Maybe she completed her associate’s degree (副学士学位) and wanted to surprise me!”
I helped him find a seat.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
As I left him, he said, “Thank you. By the way, my name’s Dr. Holstrom.”
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Jeff was the last person to step onto the stage.
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Sam Hensen was celebrating his ninth birthday at summer camp. The counselors and fellow campers came together to throw a party for him, complete with cake and gifts thoughtfully sent by his parents. But Sam was not a popular boy. He was mentally disabled and couldn’t move around like the other children, setting him apart from his peers and causing unease among parents. But things were about to change on his ninth birthday. At camp, he was about to discover that there were people who genuinely cared about him.
One boy reached out to Sam and extended a warm hand of friendship. His name was Bobby, an eleven-year-old, and he had a younger brother who was mentally challenged. Sam’s presence reminded Bobby of his beloved brother, and their bond was unique, unlike any other.
Bobby’s kindness didn’t stop at a friendly gesture; every morning, he went to Sam’s cabin to help him prepare for the day. Their friendship extended to sports, especially baseball, which Sam adored. Bobby, with strong determination, took on the incredible challenge of teaching Sam how to bat.
The hours and days they spent practicing seemed to point to an impossible task. The camp counselors had also tried their best to teach Sam, but progress had appeared to be hopeless. But Bobby was not ready to give up on his friend, but Sam began to feel anxious.
One restless night, Sam couldn’t sleep as he thought of Bobby’s kindness and the counselors’ tireless efforts to help him. He felt the burning desire to practice more, despite the late hour. He decided to take action. With determination, he made his way to Bobby’s cabin and woke him up, whispering, “Come on, Bobby! Wake up! I need you to pitch (投掷) the ball.” Bobby, rubbing his eyes, was initially puzzled by Sam’s late-night visit. But as Sam pulled him out of bed, he realized the importance of this moment. Sam assured him, “It will only take a moment, and we’ll be right back.”
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 their counselors sound asleep, the two friends sneaked out, making their way to a poorly lit parking lot.
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Sam fell asleep that night with a smile of accomplishment on his face.
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After over 10 years of dreaming and planning and 18 months of very serious considering, my husband and I finally bought a farmhouse about a mile from where I grew up. Neither my husband, David, nor myself had any experience with decoration, but we jumped in with much excitement. There was much to be done before the winter came to knock at our door. We rearranged the garden, laid out the lawn (草坪), and set all the furniture in place. Then there remained only one thing to worry us: We didn’t have a fireplace (壁炉) indoors against the extremely winter.
I knew the perfect choice of person for the work is my uncle, Richard Jones. Being a senior construct worker (建筑工人) for almost 40 years, he could do the job better than anyone else. On thinking of the idea that my house would be in my uncle’s hands, my heart was filled with expectation and comfort. The problem was that he lived far away in Florida, about an 18-hour drive from our home in Cortland. Another problem was the cost of building a fireplace. Buying the farmhouse cost almost all our savings, so could we even afford to pay him?
Much to my relief, the drive turned out to be no problem at all. On receiving my call, my uncle, at the age of 65, loaded his suitcase and his tools into his truck and headed to our place. When I asked how much he would charge, he replied, “We’ll figure up a price when the job is finished. Just have coffee and cookies ready when I get there. The more you bake cookies, the lower the price will be.”
My uncle wasn’t joking. As long as I had served coffee and cookies, he could work pleasantly. The man was obviously born with a sweet tooth. For two weeks, the coffee machine never stopped, and the cookies often disappeared before I could put them into the cookie box.
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。
The construction was slowly coming to an end.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I found the paycheck (工资) lying quietly next to the coffee machine.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Finding happiness in life
When John walked into the dining room in the morning, his wife Jenny and his two children, Kevin and Sophie, were sitting at the table. The atmosphere was frosty as John sat down. Sophie, who was only five years old, gave her father a weak smile. Kevin, his teenage son, didn’t look up from his food. Jenny looked at him silently with her arms folded across her chest.
“OK,” John began, “I’m sorry. I know I let everyone down yesterday.”
Kevin looked accusingly at his father. “You missed my music performance at school again! You’ve never come to see me do anything,” he said angrily.
Jenny placed a hand on John’s shoulder. “That’s true! John, you always miss family activities. The last time we had a family outing was five months ago! And I’m exhausted from all the housework.”
As he drank his coffee, John reflected on his life. He had so much to be thankful for: a successful business, a harmonious family and a lovely home. In fact, he had everything he had ever wanted, but he knew something was wrong. He had always believed that with hard work, he could make his family happy. But he realized he was failing. He was spending more time at work and less time at home. He was working in the office until late in the evening and even during weekends. When at home, he was talking on the phone with his clients or sitting in front of the computer reading or writing emails. He was neglecting his family. He hadn’t taken his wife to a nice restaurant for months. Kevin was passionate about music, but John couldn’t remember the last time he saw Kevin perform at a school concert. Sophie was growing up so fast and John had even missed her last birthday party. John realized he had become an absent husband and an absent father.
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。
Later that day, John went to work, determined to make some changes.
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Soon, John felt a big improvement in his life and work.
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Sometimes, making a decision is hard for adults while easy for kids. The Jackson family had been meaning to buy some new furniture (家具) for ages, but somehow they never got round to it. There were always so many other things to do. Then one day there was a big shout from the room of Jason, 12. The rest of the family ran to see what happened.
Jason’s desk had broken. There were bits of wood and pens and papers all over the floor. And in the middle was Jason! “I was just doing my homework.” he said, “and then -bang! The desk broke. Everything fell over. I was so surprised that I fell over too!” Laughed Jane, 5. “That decides it.” said Mum. “We need to buy some new furniture before anything else breaks. Jane needs a new bed. And Jason needs a desk, so that he can do his homework. ”
So that weekend, the family got up early, and set off for the big furniture store outside town. It was huge. There was so much furniture, some of it was arranged like in a real house.
“Look, I’m playing houses (过家家),” said Jane, crawling ( 爬 ) under a table. Jane loved playing houses. “That’s enough,” Mum said, taking tight hold of Jane’s hand. Jane didn’t like it, but she had to stay close. The family chose a new bed for Jane, who was bored now, and tired. She didn’t say much, while the rest of the family discussed which desk to get. Jason had found one he liked but Mum and Dad couldn’t agree.
“It’s too big.” said Mum. “There’s not enough space in his room.”
“It’s too small,” said Dad. “There’s not enough space for his homework. ”
“I think it’s just right!” said Jason.
“Let’s get a cup of tea while we try and decide,” said Mum.“There’s a cafe in the store.” Dad thought this was a good idea. He needed a sit down, he said, and Jason really wanted a milkshake (奶昔). “What do you think, Jane?” asked Mum. Then she looked round. “Where is she? I think she’s jumping on the sofa!”
But there was no sign of Jane on the sofa. Then Jason wondered if she could be lying on her new bed!
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。
But there was no Jane on the bed. Mum and Dad were really worried now.
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When Jason pushed Jane softly, she woke up and came crawling out. “What were you doing?” Jason asked.
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10 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。
It was the last day of school, and the long year spent in fourth grade had finally come to an end. It had rained heavily all day, and by the afternoon it became chilly. The sun had dipped below the horizon (地平线) as I got home soaked (湿透) and cold. I rushed into my room and slipped into some dry clothes. Once I had changed, I joined my mother in the kitchen. She had already lit the fire to prepare supper.
The wood soon caught fire, and the warmth spread around the room. I tried to get closer to the fire as my body was shivering with the intense cold. My mother gently rubbed my back and said, “I am proud of you, my little hero,” as I told her how my schoolwork had improved. I remember her bright smile and the joy in her eyes.
My mother started humming the lyrics to one of my favorite songs, “Heal the World” by Michael Jackson. I immediately began to sing with my mother. We would always sing songs like this together. My mother knew how much I loved singing. She always felt sorry that she couldn’t afford to pay for music classes for me.
Life was not easy for us during that period. I was living with my mother after she separated from my dad, which happened the year before when I was in third grade. Sometimes the nights were tedious (单调乏味的) and tiresome as we did not have a television and the batteries in our old radio would often run out. However, I enjoyed the 20 songs that my mother and I sang together. As she hummed the tune and I sang along, I dreamed of a world where performing on stage would be the pillar (支柱) of my life. The turning point of my childhood came after the end of fourth grade. Our neighbor moved away and left his old piano to us.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150个左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
My mother was so happy that she could teach me singing at home with this piano.
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The next term, I became the lead singer of the school chorus, which was one step closer to my dream of becoming a singer and inspiring people with my voice.
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