“Daddy, I want to ask your permission to study in America,” I said to my father a few months before my graduation from high school. But hardly before I finished, he shouted, “No!”
“But why?” I replied. “If you are worried about money, it will be OK since I have got a scholarship…”
But he refused to give in. At the moment, I didn’t know what to say. For more than two years, I had been working very hard to pass all the necessary examinations. I had not told my father because I wanted to give him a pleasant surprise. I thought he would be very proud of me because it was many of my classmates’ parents’ dream to send their children to study abroad.
“Why do I have to get your permission? I am already 18 and I’m not a kid anymore.” I said angrily and rushed to my bedroom, shutting the door violently. Blinded by anger, I found that I could not stay at my hometown any longer. Late that night, I slipped out of the house and decided to take the bus to the railway station to start my own life as far away from my home as possible.
The bus stop was just two blocks away from my home. When I got there, I found that I forgot to take any money with me and missed the last bus. I did not want to go back home, so I sat down on the bench and closed my eyes to have a break.
Suddenly, I was woken up by my phone. I looked around and found the road was deserted and the street was so quiet that I regretted that I had left home in such a hurry. I picked up the phone and answered the phone even without checking the number.
“Have you had a good sleep? It’s going to rain. Shall we go home now?”
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。
It was my father’s voice!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I grabbed my bag and hurried to ward him.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I had been going through some difficult times not so long ago dealing with the pressures of growing up and trying to communicate with my parents, particularly my mother. Our relationship had suffered because of this. When I got angry, it seemed like we would end up fighting with each other and not talk about what we were really feeling. Luckily, I have solved those problems now after we had a heart-to-heart “talk”.
A while back I ran away from home so that I could be far enough away to cool down. I stayed away for many hours, well into the night, before I finally decided to return home. When I walked through the front door, I immediately saw all the pain, anger and disappointment on my parents’ faces, especially my mother’s. For days to come, my mom and I experienced a lot of suffering. Everything we did or said was filled with tension until we were unable to control our feelings. We knew we badly needed to have a talk. We agreed to have breakfast together the next morning. That morning will remain fresh in my memory forever. It was a turning point.
We decided to go to a local café. On our way to the table, I noticed that my mother had two notebooks and some pens. I asked her what they were for. She explained to me that sometimes it was easier to write down our feelings rather than try to talk about them. She then handed me one notebook and she kept the other. The rules for that talk were that she would pick a topic, and we would write down our feelings, and then exchange our notebooks. It could be as long or as short as we wanted.
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。
Our first topic was: “Why I am so angry.”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We exchanged our notebooks and read the words.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jenny was the only child in her family. She had a quarrel with her mother that afternoon and she ran out of the house angrily. She couldn’t help weeping sorrowfully when she thought of the scolding from her mother. Having wandered aimlessly in the street for hours, she felt a little hungry and wished for something to eat. She stood beside a stand for a while, watching the middle-aged seller busy doing his business. However, with no money in hand, she gave a sigh and had to leave. The seller behind the stand noticed the young girl and asked, “Hey, girl, you want to have the noodles?” “Oh, yes, but I don’t have money on me.” she replied.
“That’s nothing. I’ll treat you today,” said the man “Come in.” The seller brought her a bowl of noodles, whose smell was so attractive. As she was eating, Jenny cried silently. “What is it?” asked the man kindly. “Nothing. Actually, I was just touched by your kindness!” said Jenny as she wiped her tears. “Even a stranger on the street will give me a bowl of noodles, while my mother drove me out of the house. She showed no care for me. She is so merciless compared to a stranger!” Hearing the words, the seller smiled, “Girl, do you really think so? I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you thanked me a lot. But it is your mother who has raised you since you were a baby. Can you number the times she cooked for you? Have you expressed your gratitude to her?” Jenny sat there, speechless and numb with shock: she remembered her mother’s familiar face and weathered hands. “Why didn’t I think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel indebted. Why haven’t I thanked my mum for what she has done for me?” On the way home. Jenny made up her mind to make an apology to her mother for her rudeness as soon as she arrived home.
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。
Nearing the doorway. Jenny took a deep breath.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A gentle touch on her hair called her mind back.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________There was a girl called Cary, who was a new student in Esmarth Vil, a primary school in a small town.
She was the most hardworking girl at her school. Her marks were higher than the others. She was the best, but nobody wanted to be her friend. Her classmates didn’t want to play with her and some even laughed at her. Cary’s teacher Jared didn’t know that.
One day, Jared set an exam and Robert, a boy who was the king of all the students, signed his exam paper using Cary’s name, and changed Cary’s name for Robert’s quickly after Cary handed in her paper. It wasn’t noticed by anybody. When Jared returned all the exam Papers, everybody was shocked. Cary failed the exam, but the others seemed to be happy with that.
The next day, when Cary arrived at school, all the children wanted to be with her and invited her to play with them. Although Cary was surprised, she was happy to play with the other children. During their fun time, Jared suddenly appeared to inform Cary that there had been a mistake, and she hadn’t failed.
Jared explained to the students what had happened and punished Robert. After that, they all stopped playing with Cary again.
Cary couldn’t stop crying this time and ran to ask her teacher why she couldn’t make friends with good school performance.
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。
Jared was sorry to know what had happened to Cary.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After hearing Jared’s story, all the children decided to change themselves.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Marcus sat by his window, looking at the blinking lights on other buildings. He thought of Papa, who was visiting Marcus’ sick grandpa in Jamaica. “I’ll try to help Mama while you’re gone,” Marcus had promised his father.
His little brother, Peter, sat beside him and asked when they could get their Christmas tree so that he could decorate it with Mama’s Jamaican straw birds. Mama walked up and told them they couldn’t get a tree this year; she explained there were too many bills because of grandpa’s disease and that they couldn’t afford one.
Someone knocked on their apartment door suddenly, and Marcus hurried to the door, only to see it was his friend Jack. He let him in, and Jack look around, “No tree yet? I set an artificial tree a week ago. It’s up to the ceiling (天花板). Just two more days till Christmas! I guess you’re not getting a tree.” Marcus walked slowly to his room and shook his piggy bank (存钱罐). Seven dollars and some dimes (十分硬币) fell out - his trips from helping at the market. He thought he could earn enough in two days to buy a tree and surprise Mama and Peter.
The next day, he stayed busy pushing carts to help shoppers. By the time he left, six more dollars jingled in his pocket. “My lucky day,” he thought. Thirteen dollars should buy a small tree. He whistled all the way to the store. But even the smallest trees were $15 or more. “Tomorrow will be busy with shoppers,” he thought. He was determined to earn those extra dollars.
The telephone rang early the next morning. Mama came into his room and said, “I need to go out today, Marcus. I’ll need you to take care of Peter for a day.” Marcus anxiously said it would be the busiest day at Mr. Smith’s market and he had to be there. “I’m so sorry. There’s nothing else we can do.” Mama gave Marcus a hug, promised to come early and headed for work.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式作答。
“I’ll never get a tree now,” Marcus thought.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Marcus set their tree on the table.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Green Thumb
All I did was show my little sister how to grow plants. Dig a hole. Put in a seed. Cover it with dirt. Water it. Wait. “See, Laynie,” I explained, “a whole plant will grow from this tiny seed. All we have to do is water it.”
Laynie had her own watering can so she could “help” me in the garden. One day, after everything was watered, she ran to the fence and started sprinkling water on another spot. I walked over and saw a fresh patch of dirt near the fence.
“Did you plant something there?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m growing a pencil. My purple pencil got too small, so I planted it.”
“What? But, Laynie—”
I should have explained things right then, but I just muttered, “Uh…I never grew one before.”
Later I got what seemed like a great idea. I dug up Laynie’s pencil and “planted” a brand-new purple pencil. Laynie was really excited when she saw it. “My pencil grew!” she shouted.
A few days later, Laynie was watering on the same spot. Two days later, new crayons sticking their pointy little heads out, thanks to me. Laynie jumped up and down and yelled, “They look like flowers!” She “picked” them and ran into the house.
Next, Laynie grew an adult bear doll from a tiny one, a soup spoon from a teaspoon, and a hand mirror from a piece of glass. When she claimed that she had grown these things, I just kept my mouth shut! Actually, it was fun trying to think of what should grow from Laynie’s seeds. And it was cool to see her get excited.
One day I saw her patting down some dirt near the fence again, so I knew she’d just planted something. My heart dropped to my feet when she asked, “How long does it take to grow a goldfish, Brad?” I couldn’t speak.
“Not long, I bet!” said Laynie. She knelt down to whisper “Grow, Molly. Grow!” before she skipped back to the house.
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。
I sat down with my back to the fence and thought for a long time.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Later I found Laynie sitting by the spot where Molly was buried.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A Father’s Day Surprise
“Mano, do you know when Father’s Day is celebrated?” Ali asked his sister.
“Yes, it is going to be celebrated on June 19 this year. Yesterday my friend and I were talking about it.” Mano replied.
“Do you have any idea how we should celebrate this day and make it memorable for Dad?” Ali asked.
“Hmm... I was thinking about it too and have some ideas.” Mano answered excitedly. “What are you kids talking about?” their mum asked, entering their room.
“Mum, we were wondering about how to celebrate Father’s Day.” Mano said.
“Oh, I am surprised you kids remembered! Well, I am thinking of cooking some favorite dishes for your father. You both should think of ways to decorate the house beautifully.”Mum said.
“That would be great!”said Mano and Ali together. Both of them got up smiling, thinking of hundreds of ways to celebrate Father’s Day. Mum went to the kitchen, and Mano and Ali started doing their homework. But soon Ali noticed Mano deep in thought so he asked what the matter was. “Ali, I was thinking that our parents do everything for us and in return they want nothing. Isn’t it bad that we never think about them and are always concerned about our needs?” Mano replied. “Sometimes we are so busy with our lives that we don’t pay proper attention to our parents. We should listen to whatever they say properly and answer them. We must also study hard to get good grades.” Ali nodded.
The next day, all three of them, Mano, Ali and their mum, got busy preparing their surprise celebration for Father’s Day. Mano drew a family picture with her crayons, Ali bought balloons and candles and began writing a poem which he planned to sing that day. In short, a lot of things were being planned and prepared.
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:
Finally, when Father’s day came, both Ali and Mano came home from school and started decorating the house.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
Ali and Mano cried out together, “Happy Father’s Day!”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Grandmother Bonnie called out to Amy as she finished setting the table and served them dinner. When Amy didn’t respond, Bonnie went to the young girl’s room and pushed the door open. Amy sat at her desk with her headphones on, drawing a picture.
“Are you drawing those strange pictures again?” Bonnie yelled. “Have you finished your homework? Your teacher called me today and told me you’ve been ignoring her homework!” she shouted angrily.
Minutes later, Amy walked into the kitchen and quietly sat at the table. They began eating dinner in silence. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
Bonnie answered the door to see a man in his early 40s standing outside. It turned out to be Mr. Henderson, a famous New York-based cartoonist. He explained to Amy he received a letter with some pieces of her artwork and was so impressed with her talent. In fact, he wrote Amy letters, but never got an answer.
Amy noticed Bonnie moving nervously in her seat, and realized why the letters had never reached her. Her grandmother kept them hidden from her.
“I’ m here with an offer for Amy,” Mr. Henderson continued. “We are accepting applications for our arts training program this summer. I would personally teach the students the art of cartoons and everything related. For that, Amy needs to pass a test, and then she’ll have to spend her summer in New York learning under me. If everything goes well, she will be able to join my team later and seek her dream of art.”
“Really?!” Amy was so excited. But Bonnie refused because she promised Amy’s late parents to raise their child well and make her an educated person. Mr. Henderson sighed and pulled out a file from his bag, “It’s a test. I know your Granny is against it, kid. But if you manage to finish it and hand it over to me by 10 a.m. the day after tomorrow, I can take it to my manager,” he added as he gave Amy an encouraging smile and left the house. Amy decided to finish the test after school the next day.
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。
The next evening, Amy found her drawing tools were gone.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Entering the house, Amy found Bonnie holding her drawing tools, crying.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Robert and Henry were two friends in the same class. They always played together and went home together. One day, Robert and Henry were going home from school, when, on turning a corner, Robert cried out, “A fight! Let's go and see!”
“No,” said Henry. “Let us go quietly home and not meddle with (插手) this quarrel. We have nothing to do with it and may get into trouble. Also our parents are expecting to have dinner with us together at home and I don't want them to worry about me.”
“You are a coward (懦夫), and afraid to go,” said Robert, and he ran. Henry went straight home and in the afternoon went to school as usual.
But Robert had told all the boys that Henry was a coward, and they laughed at him a great deal. From then on, they looked down upon Henry and didn’t want to play with him together. Henry was sad but he wasn't angry with Robert for his rude behavior, because he learned that true courage is shown most in bearing misunderstanding when it was not deserved, and that he ought to be afraid of nothing but doing wrong. Thus, he just ignored (忽视) the other boys' laughter and continued to go to school and study as well. However, Robert didn't invite Henry to go home with him anymore. Instead, he had some other boys who also thought Henry was a coward. Everyday after school, they didn't go home directly but went to the river or somewhere to play games and had a lot of fun.
A few days later, Robert was bathing with his new friends in a river, and got out of his depth. He struggled, and screamed for help, but all in vain. The boys who had called Henry a coward got out of the water as fast as they could, but they did not even try to help him.
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：
Robert was fast sinking.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2：
Thus, Robert’s life was saved.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Hurry and get dressed, Shelly,” Mom said. “The sun is shining. Let’s go riding!” Her cheerful voice went through the closed door to my room.
Mom knew I was on the phone with one of my friends. The last thing I wanted to do on that Sunday afternoon was ride a horse with my mother. “Why can’t she just stay out of my life?” I thought. She came to every one of my volleyball games. She even taught at my school. Wherever I went, there she was. When I was little, I liked it when Mom was protective and when she took part in my activities. But now I didn’t like it. I was sixteen years old now! I didn’t realize that I came to an age when a teenager could easily rebel (叛逆).
That afternoon after hanging up the phone, I was sitting there thinking, “What is all this horseback-riding business? Mom isn’t even a horse person! She just wants to know what I’m doing every minute.”
Halfheartedly, I pulled on my riding shoes, and then went over to the bedside table. My hand touched the necklace that Mom had given me for my last birthday. “I’d better wear this, or she’ll ask where it is,” I thought. Although I wasn’t interested in it, I picked up the necklace marked with words: Sweet Sixteen. Then, I put the necklace around my neck.
By the time I got to our farm, Dad had already put a saddle (马鞍) on our horse, Charcey. And Mom was climbing onto the horse’s back. “Mom, what are you doing?” I said. “You’ve never ridden Charcey before! She is a big horse.” “I cannot believe her!” I thought. “She’ll do anything to be part of my life. And I just want her out of it!”
With great efforts, Mom finally climbed onto the horse’s back. Before Dad could give her guidance on how to ride, Charcey was out of control and suddenly ra n away. Too frightened and inexperienced, Mom couldn’t control Charcey.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为 150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
The horse ran faster and faster.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Then, Mom flew high into the air, and landed on the ground.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
