A Mother’s Love
My mom only had one eye. I hated her. She was such an embarrassment. She cooked for students and teachers to support the family.
There was one day during elementary school (小学) when my mom came over to say hello to me. I was so embarrassed.
How could she do this to me? I ignored her, threw her a hateful look and ran out. The next day at school one of my classmates said, “Your mom only has one eye!”
I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my mom to just disappear. I confronted (面对) her that day and said, “If you’re only going to make me a laughing stock, why don’t you just die?”
My mom did not respond. I didn’t even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because I was full of anger. I took no notice of her feelings at all.
I wanted to be out of that house, and have nothing to do with her. So I studied really hard, and got a chance to go abroad for further education.
Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. I had kids of my own. I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts. Then one day, my mother came to visit me. She hadn’t seen me in years and she didn’t even meet her grandchildren.
When she stood by the door, my children laughed at her, and I shouted at her for coming over uninvited. I screamed at her, “How dare you come to my house and scare my children! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!”
And to this, my mother quietly answered, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address.” and she was soon out of sight.
One day, a letter regarding a school reunion (同学聚会) came to my house. So I lied to my wife that I was going on a business trip. After the reunion, I went to the old house just out of curiosity.
My neighbors said that she died. I did not shed a single tear. They handed me a letter that she had wanted me to have.
注意:
1.所续写短文的词数应为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。
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My dearest son,
I think of you all the time and I’m sorry that
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You see, when you were very little,
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With all my love to you.
Your mother
It’s not easy to die when you are only fifteen. Those were the words that began the story I heard from Robert White, a North Carolina factory worker. He and his wife were visiting their daughter Lee in the hospital as they did every evening.
She knew she had an illness that would not spare her. She suffered a lot but never complained. She had already accepted her great journey into the unknown. This particular evening, she suddenly said, "I always dreamed of working in a big ocean park with dolphins. I’ve loved them since I was little. I still dream of swimming with them, free and happy in the open sea."
She’d never asked for anything, but she said with all the strength she had, "Daddy, I want to swim in the open sea among the dolphins just once. Maybe then I wouldn’t be so scared of dying." It seemed like an impossible dream, but she hung on to it.
Robert and his family talked it over and decided to do everything they could. They phoned a research center in the Florida Keys. "Come at once," they said.
When they arrived in Grassy Key, Lee didn’t want to rest for a minute and begged her parents to take her to the dolphins. Robert took her out toward the dolphins, Nat and Tursi, who were playing about thirty feet away from them. At first they seemed distracted and uninterested, but when Lee called them softly by name, they responded without hesitation. Nat came over first, raised his head and gave her a kiss on the end of her nose. Then Tursi came over happily. A second later they picked her up with their mighty fins (鳍) and carried her out to sea with them. "It feels like I’m flying!" cried Lee, laughing with delight.
Lee’s family hadn’t heard her laugh like that since she became ill. The dolphins stayed with Lee for more than an hour, always tender, always attentive, and always responsive to her wishes.
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；
3.续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1：
Maybe it’s true that they are more intelligent and sensitive creatures than man.
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The next day she was too weak to get out of bed, but she whispered to her father.
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I woke up earlier than my brother as every other day of the week. I jumped out of the bed, got dressed, brushed my teeth, and had breakfast. Saying good bye to my mother, I got in the car no later than 7:05. I got to school on time, even though my brother came out of the house late as he used to.
It was a Thursday. I was walking to the chemistry rooms when my phone in my left pocket vibrated(震动). I took it out and looked at the shiny screen. As soon as I saw my father’s name on that screen I realized something was not right.
He would not call me in the middle of a school day just to talk. He would want me to focus in school and do well. I answered the phone, and my father sounded worried. He told me to find my brother as soon as possible, walk with him to the school picking-up zone and get in the car with my brother. Our driver would take us back home where my father was.
When I was in the car with my brother my dad called the driver and told him to take us to the hospital. We were going to meet him and my mum there. As soon as my brother and I found about the change in plans, we looked at each other in the eyes. I immediately noticed the fear in brother’s eyes.
To be honest, I was really scared too, probably more than he was. But I did not say anything. We arrived at the hospital. I saw my dad on the phone waiting for us at the entrance. He was smoking. Seeing my dad smoking made me more worried. I had never seen him smoke before. He hated it. As soon as he recognized the white car, he threw the cigarette away. I looked at my brother; he was looking out of the other window. I did not tell him what I just saw. I did not want him to worry.
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。
Paragraph 1:
The car stopped right in front of my dad.
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We walked down the hall with our eyes closed.
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描述发生在你和你朋友之间的一件事情，并阐述你对“友谊”的看法。
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Is the traditional family dinner a thing of the past? In today’s households where both parents go to work and kids have busy schedules with school, an array of afternoon activities and much homework, finding time for a gathering at the table seems impossible. Yet, studies have shown time and again that eating together has multiple benefits for family members, especially children.
According to a number of reports issued by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, children who eat at least five times a week with their family are at lower risk of developing poor eating habits, weight problems or alcohol dependencies, and tend to perform better academically than their peers who frequently eat alone or away from home.
Eating together as a family is not just about food and nutrition. “Food has become so easily and cheaply available that we no longer appreciate its significance,” says Professor Robin Fox, who teaches anthropology at Rutgers University in New Jersey. "We have to rediscover its importance and its value." Sharing a meal with loved ones should be considered a special event, which can almost take on the form of a ceremony, as it was practiced by our ancestors, for whom finding food was a constant struggle.
Besides appreciation for the value of food, there are also many social elements that come into play when families share meals, says Miriam Weinstein, author of The Surprising Power of Family Meals. The dinner table can be the perfect environment where kids learn how to conduct conversations, observe good manners, serve others, listen, solve conflicts and compromise.
Of course, there is no guarantee that the simple act of eating at home surrounded by family will save children from developing unhealthy lifestyles or making regrettable choices down the road. It may not make them more virtuous (品行端正的) or socially more responsible. But it can form a basis for a lot of things that point them in the right direction.
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John Hydes, who served as a firefighter for 15 years in New Zealand before moving to Australia, is not only new to the neighbourhood, he’s also new to the country.But that didn’t stop him becoming a local hero recently when he pulled two kids from a burning house.
“What he did was fantastic.It was a very brave act.Our family can thank him for our lives.”The moment the kids’mother saw what Mr.Hydes did for her family, tears started welling up in her eyes and falling down her cheeks.
However, Mr.Hydes, who settled here six months ago, said he wasn’t thinking when he saved his neighbour’s son, 5, and daughter, 7, from their PointCook home minutes before the roof fell.
It was said that the children’s mother and the grandfather was occupied in housework outside the gate when the house caught fire.As they saw the thick smoke, they were scared out, unable to say a word.In spite of the phone call, the fire engine could not arrive quickly.The two children were in the bedroom.Desperate and hopeless, the kids’mother knelt down, crying at the top of her voice.Because of excessive shock, the old grandfather was in the hospital for a long time.
“When there are kids in danger you haven’t got time to think, you’ve got to act, ”the father of three said. “I hadn’t met my new neighbours before coming to their help.It’s just a different way of meeting them, ”he laughed.Actually, it was nothing new for Mr.Hydes to jump into a burning building.This time, however, he did it without protective clothing.Later on he recalled the thrilling scene of his fighting the fire.
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。
Paragraph 1:
Mr.Hydes was in bed when he heard screaming before 9 p m.
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Paragraph 2:
“I was greeted(映…的眼帘)by two black and whitefaces screaming for help, ”he said.
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在你的生活中， 谁对你影响最大？这个人怎样影响了你？ 怎样牵动你的思绪？你一定有很多的话要说。 请你结合自己的亲身经历，描述一件发生在你和这个人之间的事情， 并简单谈谈你的感受。（文中不要出现真实的人名、校名）
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One day, during the long summer holiday, Mrs. Martins took Brendon and his younger brother and sister to the beach. As soon as they got there, the three children raced down to the sea to try out their new surfboards. They were soon swimming out to the waves and riding back on their boards.
After a while, Brendon noticed that Kim was floating away from him and his sister. “Come back, Kim, "he shouted. "Mum said we have to stick together(团结). "Kim put his arms over the side of his board and began paddling (划水), but instead of getting closer, he began moving further away.
“Brendon, help!” called Kim."I' m caught in a rip(离岸流)." Brendon quickly paddled over to his brother.
“Hold on to the back of my board and I’ll pull you in,” Brendon told the frightened boy. But the rip was too strong and soon both Brendon and Kim were moving further from the beach.
“Kylie, come and help,” Brendon yelled to his sister. Soon all three children were floating away from the beach.
" It's no use fighting, "said Kylie, "We’ll just tire ourselves out. We have to stick together and hope the current takes us onto the beach again. "For the next 20 minutes, the frightened children held onto each other’s boards and let the current pull them along.
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。
Paragraph 1:
“I can’t even see the beach any more,” cried Kim. …
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Paragraph 2：
“Thank goodness!” cried their mother running up to hug them.…
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简要描述图片，并结合实例谈谈你的看法。
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A Father’s Influence Makes for Better Grades
Adolescents from low-income families in particular are more likely than their middle-class peers to underachieve and to drop out of school. Studies have shown that a positive attitude towards school work and the support and encouragement from their parents can help at-risk youngsters to overcome the economic barriers and lack of resources they face. Most of the evidence about the effects of parental involvement comes from research on mothers. Little is known, however, about how adolescents experience their fathers’ warmth and the beliefs and behaviors that are most affected by it.
This new study is part of a larger one focusing on low-income families conducted in four middle schools in the southwestern United States. Data were analyzed from questionnaires completed by 183 sixth-graders about how optimistic and motivated they were about their schoolwork, and how they experienced their fathers. The questionnaires were completed primarily by respondents of Mexican American, African American and European American descent. Their maths and language arts grades were also obtained.
Their findings show how fathers can support their teenagers in ways that result in greater optimism, self-efficacy, and, ultimately, higher achievement at school.
These positive effects extend to both sons and daughters, while in different ways. Experiencing their father’s warmth first influences daughters’ sense of optimism, and then spills over into their feeling more determined and certain about their academic abilities. This in turn leads to better math grades. There is a more direct link between their fathers’ involvement and teenage boys’ belief in their ability to succeed on the academic front. This heightened self-confidence increased their success in English language arts classes.
Suizzo suggests that counselors and educators should encourage fathers to communicate warmth and acceptance to their children, because of the positive influence these emotions have on their well-being.
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