When I looked closely at the face of my 23-year-old son, Brian, in the doorway, we were saying goodbye. In a few hours he would be flying to France. It was a transitional (过渡的) time in Brian’s life, a passage from college into the adult world. I wanted to leave him some words that would have some meaning, some significance beyond the moment. But nothing came from my lips.
No sound broke the stillness of my beachside home. I stood frozen and quiet, looking into the searching eyes of my son, which I knew was not the first time I had let such a moment pass.
When Brian was five, I took him to the school bus stop on his first day of kindergarten. I felt the tension in his hand holding mine as the bus turned the corner. I saw color flush (发红) his cheeks as the bus pulled up. He looked at me—as he did now. “What is it going to be like, Dad? Can I do it? Will I be OK?” Then he walked up the bus steps and disappeared inside. The bus drove away, and I said nothing.
A decade later, a similar scene played itself out. I drove him to college in Virginia. As I started to make the trip home, I tried to think of something to say to give him courage and confidence as he started this new phase of life. I left, only mumbling (咕哝) “Hope you feel better, Brian.”
I once told Brian about my great regret that I didn’t take a year off to travel. Brian thought about this. After graduation, he worked as a waiter, a bike messenger and a painter. Now he had enough money for Paris. The night before he left, I tossed and turned (辗转难眠) in bed. I was trying to figure out something to say. Nothing came. Maybe it wasn’t necessary to say anything.
How many times have we all let such moments pass? What does it matter over the course of a lifetime if a father never tells a son what he really thinks of him?
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 as I stood before Brian, I knew that it does matter.
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Hearing this, Brian came toward me and threw his arms around me.
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There lived two brothers, John McNeil and James, in a village in Kentucky in the north of America, who had lost their parents in a terrible earthquake ten years before. Worse still, ten-year-old John McNeil suffered from serious autism. He often stayed at a corner without saying anything with others and frequently ran everywhere, so his brother James was concerned about his safety.
On a windy, cold day, John McNeil forgot to put on his shoes and ran out the door. He headed straight for the 125-foot electrical tower behind the McNeiI home and didn’t realize the dangers of the structure. That day his thoughts were set on climbing to the top of that tower, touching the sky. Maybe he thought he could meet his parents in the sky. What a poor boy!
His seventeen-year-old brother, James, was always close by. James always made sure that no danger came to his little brother. But today was different. Today, John ran out the door unnoticed. He was making his way to the sky step by step by the time James saw him. John, like most autistic children, had no idea about fear or danger. James, on the other hand, realized that he had to face his greatest fear of all — the fear of heights.
However, James understood the danger of the electrical tower but chose to follow his younger brother secretly, trying not to look down, all the way to the top. He finally reached his brother and held him with his right hand. With his left hand, he held a metal bar to help stabilize them both. What a thrilling scene!
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请在相应位置作答。
James was shaking. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hundreds of people came together at the base of the tower. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A six-year-old Scottish girl has taken her first steps even though doctors said she would spend her life in a wheelchair. Arabella was born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC, 先天性多发性关节挛缩症) affecting both her arms and legs, but when doctors in Scotland said there was nothing that could be done for Arabella, her mom Catherine refused to believe it and instead made it her mission to find a solution to help her daughter.
She reached out to Dr. David S Feldman, a famous doctor based in Florida who treats AMC with surgery (外科手术), and made an appointment with his team at the Paley European Institute in Warsaw, Poland. “We all agreed she is a great person for operation and can gain motion in her legs, which gave great hope to Arabella and her mom,” Dr, Feldman said. However, it needed a big amount of money for the operation, which the family couldn’t afford it.
When Catherine returned to Scotland to meet with some famous doctors, they said there was nothing that could be done and the surgery wasn’t suitable for Arabella. As a result, Catherine was a little disappointed. “They said we needed to be realistic and think about how we could improve Arabella’s life in a wheelchair,” Arabella’s father William said, “On hearing that, as any parents, it dashed (使破灭) our hopes so much...” For the next two months, the family was in a low spirit. William has been on a mission ever since to help his daughter walk again. He launched a crowd funding page to raise £125,000 for the surgery.
Arriving in October 2021 and remaining there over Christmas, Arabella underwent 12 weeks of careful rehabilitation and physiotherapy (康复理疗) with the dedicated nurses as she built up her muscles and learned to walk. Last August she returned to hospital for a second operation and a further six weeks of physiotherapy. They didn’t give up. On the contrary. they looked after Arabella carefully and encouraged her to feel confident of the operation.
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 parents tried their best to raise money for the second operation.
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Arabella had the second operation and physiotherapy.
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I had run away from home after finishing high school. My parents had insisted I go to college, but I was tired of school. I hated it. I was determined not to go. And, besides, my father was too strict. I had too many chores to do around the farm. I haled the work!
There had been a quarrel between my father and me. I threw some things into a bag and left angrily, as my father shouted after me, “If you leave, don’t come back!” My mother cried openly, and I had seen those tears during a hundred sleepless nights.
Then it was time to write a letter to my father.
Dear Dad,It’s been more than a year now. I’ve traveled east to west. I’ve had dozens of jobs. None of them amounted to very much. Always the same questions: “How much education have you got?” It seems they always want college men for the good jobs.
Dad, you and Mother were right about everything. I know now that the work on the farm didn’t hurt me, and I’m convinced I need college. I’m also convinced that both of you loved me.
Dad, I’ve learned a lesson. I want to come home. I know you said if I left, I couldn’t come back, but I’m praying you’ll change your mind. I want to come home and be a part of the family again.
Give my love to Mother and the girls.
Love,Your son
As I folded the letter and put it into an envelope, I felt a refreshing relief. It was as if a heavy load had been lifted from my shoulders. And I had to be on my way home.
I started down the desolate road—the long road home. Fortunately, a car picked me up, and it was good to have someone to talk with. The driver was a salesman and very pleasant.
“Where you going, boy?” he asked good-naturedly.
There was a long silence before I said, “Home.”
“Been away from home long?”
I smiled, a little self-conscious, and said, “One year, one month and two days.”
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。
Having heard my story, he expressed his support for my final decision and told me something surprising.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Finally, I arrived home when. it was completely dark.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was fifteen when my world took a hopeless turn for the worst. My mom was diagnosed with cancer again. She had undergone surgery and beaten the cancer. Then the cancer came back. However, there was more to worry about than the disease that my mom was battling. My dad had left us years before. Besides, because of the mounting medical bills she was paying for her previous cancer, we were on the edge of financial ruin. I was too young to get a job.
That winter was the worst. We didn’t have money to pay for electricity. Our neighbor, Sophia, allowed us to use her electricity so that we could have one lamp on in our home. The gas stove in the living room was the only heat in our house. My mom slept in her cold room, with as many blankets as we could pile on her.
Thanksgiving Day came. I searched our cupboards for food and there wasn’t much. I started slamming doors as I looked through the cabinets for a can of food we might have missed. The more I searched, the angrier I became. The noise must have woken my mom, because she came to the kitchen wrapped in a blanket. She looked worried at me and asked, “Baby, what’s wrong,” I retorted, “I’m hungry. I’m freezing to death in our own house,” I wasn’t angry at her. I was angry at our situation.
She opened her arms toward me and said, “Come here. Right now things are hard, but hope is always there. Whatever difficulties we meet, we should be strong. All you have to do is have faith. Why not believe we can be better by using our own hands?”
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 was deeply ashamed of what I had done and said.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Just as I wondered what to do to spend the night, Sophia knocked at our door.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Long ago, in a city lived two boys, Ted and Nick. Ted was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and never did a day’s hard work. Nick was from a poor family, and often helped his parents when they were busy. Despite all of this, they always played with each other and had much fun. They became best friends.
As time went by, both of them grew up and went to different cities. Busy with their work and life, they didn’t have much time to meet each other and catch up.
One day, Nick fell seriously ill and had a fever. The doctor advised him to lie in bed, having a good rest. When Ted got to know it, he went to Nick’s house to meet him.
But with an important meeting to attend, he didn’t stay there for long and talk much with Nick. Instead he just took some money out of his pocket and gave it to his friend and left.
Nick felt very bad but didn’t say anything to him. After some time, Nick got well and worked hard to earn money day and night. He even found a part-time job.
Once Nick earned enough money, he went to Ted to return his money. Nick said, “Thank you for coming to see me when I was ill. And thank you for your money. Now I’ve earned enough.”
It happened that two months later Ted got ill and coughed again and again. He suffered a lot and felt so bad. The doctor suggested him bed rest after taking medicine.
注意：
(1) 续写词数应为150词左右；
(2) 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Para 1:
As soon as Nick got the news of Ted’s illness,
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Para 2:
Before Nick left, Ted thanked him again and again for his company and care, but
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Who Stole Grandma’s Pie?
My grandma is the best pie maker in the world. So when she called me — the best detective she knows — that one of her pies was missing, I knew that it was serious.
I hurried to Grandma’s house. The kitchen was still warm from the oven, and the air smelled buttery and sweet. When I hugged Grandma hello, I realized that I hadn’t visited her for a long time.
“Start from the beginning,” I said. “I cut the pie into six pieces,” she began, “in this pie tin.” She showed me the tin. There were only a few crumbs (碎屑)left.
“The pie is definitely missing,” I said, scooping up the crumbs and popping them into my mouth. “A pumpkin pie” I shouted, nearly jumping. “My favorite kind! This is even more serious than I thought” I took a small note book and a pencil from my pocket. “Now, when did you last see this pie?”
“I baked it this morning,” said Grandma. “Then the doorbell rang. It was that nice young man who rakes (耙平)my leaves.”
“Just as I suspected,” I said, writing down “leaf raker” in my notebook. “He stole the pie.”
“Oh, dear, no,” Grandma said. “He just wanted me to know that he was finished. He did such a good job that I gave him a piece of pie.”
“Then what happened, Grandma?”
“When I went outside with the young man’s piece of pie, the mail carrier was there. She told me she could smell that pie all the way from the curb.”
“Aha!” I said, writing “mail carrier” in my notebook. “The mail carrier must have sneaked into the house and stole the pie” Grandma shook her head. “No, I gave her a piece of pie myself.”
“Go on,” I said, getting a little concerned.
“Then the phone rang, and it was my neighbor, Grace. You know, the woman with a white cat?” I nodded and wrote “G.” in my book. “She is such a dear. She calls me every day to see if I need anything. So I invited her and her daughter over for some pie and tea.”
“Grandma!” I said. “No one stole the pie. One to the leaf raker. Another to the mail carrier. You and Grace each had one. And her daughter’s is five. You gave away all the pieces.” Grandma looked thoughtful.
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。
“There were six pieces!” Grandma reminded me.
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At last I opened the door of the refrigerator.
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A Different Christmas
It was almost Christmas, but Diego wasn’t feeling very excited. This was the firstChristmas since his parents got divorced. And nothing felt the same. He and his brother,Samuel, wouldn’t even get to see Mom this Christmas.
“Everything’s different,”Diego said to Dad.
“I know.”Dad’s eyes were sad.“Sometimes things change before they get better.”He was quiet for a bit, then smiled.“Christmas will be different this year, but that doesn’t mean we won’t have some good times. We’ll still be celebrating the birth of the Savior.”
Diego nodded. It would be hard not seeing Mom, but maybe Christmas could still be good, just as Dad said. Diego wanted to help make this Christmas a happy one.
He went to his room to think. Sometimes for Christmas they did a family service project. What could they do this year?
Diego looked around his room. He saw a toy car he didn’t play with anymore. He picked it up and spun(使快速旋转) the wheels. It was still really good. Maybe he and Dad and Samuel could give some toys to kids who didn’t have any! He found a few other toys and put them in a bag with the car.
When Diego finished, he took the bag to Samuel’s room.“Can I help you clean your room?” he asked. “It’s a surprise for Dad.”
Samuel looked up from the picture he was drawing. “Sure.”
The boys worked together to clean Samuel’s room. Diego told him about the plan.They found a few toys that Samuel didn’t play with and added them to the bag.
When they were done, they carried the bag downstairs.“Dad,”Diego said,“we found some toys we don’t play with anymore. Can we give them to kids who don’t have any toys?”
Dad looked surprised and happy.“That’s a great idea! Let’s take them to the homeless shelter this afternoon.”
Visiting the shelter was fun. Diego and Samuel got to play with some of the kids whileDad talked to the grown-ups.
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: On the way home, Dad asked what else they could do to make this Christmas special.
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Paragraph 2: At the end of the day, Diego was tired but happy.
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Tim and his father were sailing at sea. He tried to remember all the sailing knowledge his father taught. However, it wasn’t easy for him. He could only master the skills to tie ropes and wear a life jacket in case of emergency.
Tim pulled in the sail (帆) of the boat over his head successfully. He looked back at his father, hoping for a smile or a nod. But his dad was looking up at the sail, not at him. Tim enjoyed sailing with his father, but he also felt nervous and different from his confident father.
Suddenly, the wind was blowing angrily. He put on his life jacket nervously. By comparison, his father never wore a life jacket, for he had been swimming and sailing for his entire life .
“Tim, can you take the helm (方向盘) for a minute?” his father asked, “Just keep it going straight. I’ll run up to the back of the boat to check something.” Considering the changing weather, Tim hesitated, but he didn’t want to see the familiar disapproving look on his father’s face. “Uh, sure,” he replied and went to hold the helm tightly.
Suddenly, the wind shifted direction and the boat heeled (倾斜) so sharply that it might turn over. Tim knew he had to let some air out of the sail to help right the boat, but he would have to let go of the helm to do that.
He looked back for his father, but the sail blocked his view. “Dad!” he called, but the wind swallowed his voice. His heart was pounding in his ears. The boat began to heel more. Tim knew he had to act fast. He held the helm with one hand and used the other hand to reach for the mainsail line, trying to loosen it. After a few attempts, he managed to let the air out of the sail. The boat quickly righted itself.
Tim gave a sigh of relief. Then he looked around for his father. But there was no sign of him.
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。
Suddenly, he saw a flash of something in the water.
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His father finally climbed back into the boat with Tim’s help.
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A few weeks after the start of the school year, Mello noticed that his friend Melvin was being laughed at by other classmates for the fact that his shoes were worn out (破旧的). Mello couldn’t stand seeing his friend being bullied (欺凌). He really didn’t appreciate other people talking about him that way. In fact, he had been bullied because he was short, so he decided to call his mother immediately after school. He told her that he was tired of this bad situation and that he couldn’t stand anyone laughing at his friend. So, in an act of generosity, Mello suggested that he use his pocket money to buy Melvin a new pair of shoes. He also said that he could do without a New Year gift. Seeing the little boy acted as an adult, the mother was deeply touched and agreed to his request.
After buying them, Mello went to bed earlier than usual, so he could wake up early the next day and go to school a little earlier. This way he could deliver the shoes to his friend without being noticed by other classmates. However, shortly after he gave the shoes to his friend, the headmaster, Bryant Brown, called him into his office.
Mr. Brown told him that he had seen Melvin with a shoebox around the school. When he asked Melvin what was in the box, Melvin showed him that it was a new pair of shoes. Melvin explained that it was his friend Mello who had bought them for him. Mello explained to Mr. Brown that he bought them with his pocket money. Mr. Brown wanted to share this touching moment with more people, and then he took a picture of the shoes.
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。
Mr. Brown asked the children’s parents for. permission (许可) to share the story online.
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Mr. Brown was amazed to see. his post get so many likes
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