I brought home a homemade invitation to a party and showed it to my mother. “I’m not going,” I said. “She’s a new girl named Ruth, and Berniece and Pat aren’t going. She asked the whole class, all 36 of us.” As Momma studied the handmade invitation, she looked strangely sad. Then she announced, “Well, you are going! I’ll pick up a present tomorrow.” I couldn’t believe it. Momma had never made me go to a party!
When Saturday arrived, Momma rushed me out of bed and made me wrap the pretty pink mirror-brush-and-comb set she’d bought. She drove me over in her yellow and white car and then left. Ruth answered the door and guided me to follow her up the steepest, oldest staircase I’d ever seen.
Stepping through the door brought me great relief. The hardwood floors was shining in the sun-filled sitting room. Snow-white doilies (装饰小垫) covered the backs and arms of well-worn furniture. The biggest cake I ever saw sat on one table. It was decorated with nine pink candles, a messily printed Happy Birthday Ruth. Thirty-six cups filled with homemade fudge (软糖) were near the cake—each one with a name on it. “This will be wonderful if everyone gets here.” I thought.
“Where’s your mom?” I asked Ruth. Looking down at the floor, she said, “Well she’s sick.” “Oh. Where’s your dad?” “He’s gone.” Then there was a silence. Some 15 minutes passed… then 10 more. It occurred to me that no one else was coming. How could I get out of here? As I sank into self-pity, I heard muffled (压抑的) sobs. Looking up, I saw tears in Ruth’s eyes. All at once my heart was filled with sympathy for Ruth. There we were two small girls and a cake, 36 candy-filled cups, three dozen party gifts, games to play and prizes to win.
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。
Then I announced to Ruth, “Let’s start our birthday party!”.
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Showing Momma my prizes, I shared my experience at Ruth’s house with her.
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The 16th of September was my cousin’s birthday, He is 4 years younger than me and his birthday is just seven days before mine. Those seven days were the worst days of my life. I thought “Isn’t seven supposed to be a lucky number?” and wondered who came up with that idea.
That evening my mother sent him and me to get some stuff from the store so she could make him a cake. On every other Sunday at this time of the day I’d be on the soccer field kicking the ball around with my older friends, but instead this Sunday found me walking to the shop with my cousin.
On the way to the store my cousin spotted an apricot(杏) at the edge of a branch, It was as large as an apple and as yellow as a new crayon fresh from the box. The rule was whoever spotted it first owned it. Even if you climbed the tree to get it, it still did not belong to you. I decided to go to get the beautiful, delicious-looking fruit for my cousin, seeing that it was his birthday.
I started to map out my course of action as to how I was going to get this fruit. I could have hit it with rocks until it fell, but no, it was too beautiful to be bruised(碰伤) by the force of a stone thrown at it. I continued to climb on to a fence which was directly parallel to the apricot tree. At the top of the fence I paused a while to take a look around. “Wow! Cool view from 12 feet off the ground.” My cousin laughed and told me to hurry up and get it so we could go home. My next step was to jump from the fence, catch the main branch, and then climb to victory. Come on! I’d done this tons of times, and I didn’t even hesitate.
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。
As I grabbed the branch, that juicy apricot met me eye to eye.
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As we entered the house, my mother noticed I was covered in dirt.
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Grandma got Grandpa out of bed and helped him to the kitchen for breakfast. After his meal, she led him to his armchair in the living room where he would rest while she cleaned the dishes. Ever so often, she would check to see if he needed anything.
This was their daily routine after Grandpa’s latest stroke. Although once a very active man, his severely damaged left arm, difficulty walking and slurred (含糊不清的) speech now kept him housebound. For nearly a year he hadn’t been to church or to visit family.
Grandpa filled his hours with television. He watched the news and game shows while Grandma went about her day. They made a promise — he was not to leave his chair or his bed without her assistance.
“If you fell and I threw my back out trying to help you, who would take care of us?” Grandma would ask him. She was resolved they should take care of themselves and live independently. The Brooklyn brownstone had been their first home and held wonderful memories. They weren’t ready to leave it behind anytime soon.
Immigrants from Ireland, they had met and married in America. Grandma was friendly, outgoing and unselfish; Grandpa was reserved, a man devoted to his family, but he wasn’t big on giving gifts. While he wouldn’t think twice about giving Grandma the shirt off his back, he had the belief that if you treated your wife well throughout the year, presents weren’t necessary; so he rarely purchased gifts for her.
It was a cold, gray February morning, a typical winter’s day in New York. As always, Grandma walked Grandpa to his chair. “I’m going to take a shower now.” She handed him the television remote. “If you need anything, I’ll be back in a little while.”
After her shower, she glanced towards the back of Grandpa’s recliner (躺椅) but noticed that his cane was not leaning in its usual spot. Sensing something unusual, she went into the room. He was gone. The closet door stood open and his hat and overcoat were missing. Fear ran down her spine. Grandma threw a coat over her bathrobe and ran outside.
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。
Desperately, she scanned the street in both directions.
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Just then, Grandpa came around the corner.
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Her big, brown eyes looked up at me with a pitiful sight, as the first tear began to roll slowly down her soft, six-year-old, innocent face. I was as shocked as she was.
I had been called to my daughter’s new school by the remedial teacher, who called me last night.
Was I aware my daughter had learning difficulties?
Yes I was.
Due to constant ear infections, my poor Elizabeth had lost her hearing for the best part of two years of her young life. In addition, her speech ability had been delayed and her reading skill was behind other children of her age.
This teacher, this person, who had been specially trained to help children, the very person who was supposed to help my daughter reach her full potential, had called me in to school to tell me, and my daughter, that she would be lucky if she ever managed to finish high school.
What are you supposed to do when even the remedial teacher doesn’t have any faith in your child’s ability? What do you tell your child when she has been told that she is doomed to failure before she has even finished primary school? That was the question I was struggling to answer even as I stood there in that room, listening to this insensitive teacher, who did not have a caring character, wishing I had never brought my daughter to this school. I wondered, if this teacher were a mother? I truly believe someone cannot have a child and not have a caring heart.
I took my child’s small hand as we left that cold office, to step outside into the sweet and fresh air. There, I bent down on one knee and, putting my hands on my daughter’s small but now heavy shoulders, I looked her straight in the eyes.
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。
“Elizabeth,” I said firmly,” if you work really hard at school, I promise you, you can be anything you want to be.“
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Of course, I knew that remedial teacher might not be working there anymore.
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Emily came from a musical family. Her father was a famous pianist in his early years and later was a music instructor. Her mother, however, was a performer and composer. Emily’s older brother was a Cello and part of the church’s choir. However, Emily wasn’t like her brother. She was unable to play any instrument.
“You have to be an instrument that you’re playing. Why aren’t you able to do it?” Emily’s father said to her, advising her to learn to play the piano. From time to time, her mother would show the wish that Emily could develop her ability to perform on the stage. It seemed that the whole family was pushing her to play music. Every time this happened, it was a massive pain for her. Emily felt that she wasn’t part of her family. It was her dream to become just like the rest of them. However, no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to.
“Being different doesn’t mean that you aren’t blessed with any potential or talent,” said Sarah, a teacher of Emily. “Maybe there is something interesting that I can do,” Emily thought. Every evening, Emily spent time sketching or drawing and painting in her bedroom. Her paintings showed her father on the piano and her brother on the Cello as well as her mother performing on the stage. Her paintings were vivid and the emotions were real. The paintings revealed how much her family was devoted to music. The paintings also revealed the things Emily was skilled at.
But her family did not even know. The only thing they knew was that Emily was unable to sing and play one musical instrument. And they weren’t happy with her at all. Emily was a lover of her loved ones, and she loved them dearly. She wanted to be the pride of the family someday. How could this happen when she wasn’t able to do what they asked her to accomplish?
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 answer was found when Sarah saw her gift for arts.
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When her parents saw her artwork, they were moved deeply.
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An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old son. Suddenly a crow (乌鸦) landed on their window.
The father asked his son, “What is this?” The son replied, “This is a crow.”
After a few minutes, the father asked his son for the second time, “What is this?” The son said, “Father, I told you just now. It’s a crow.”
After a little while, the father asked his son the same question for third time, “What is this?” This time, the son was irritated (生气) and said to his father in a low and cold tone, “It’s a crow, a crow.”
After a moment, the father yet again asked his son for the fourth time, “What is this?” This time his son shouted in his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again? I have told you already, ‘It’s a crow’. Are you not able to understand this?”
A minute later the father went to his room and came back with an old tattered(破旧的) diary, which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the read it, the following words were written in the diary:
“Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa when a crow suddenly landed on the window edge. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied him 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question. I didn’t at all feel annoyed, but instead felt a deep affection for my innocent son.”
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:
After reading the diary,the son was in tears and began to reflect on the days when he used to sit together with his father.
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Feeling ashamed, the son got down on his knees before his father.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________There is a homeless (or at least very poor) woman who sometimes is sitting near where I am living. begging for money. Unfortunately, the “inner city places” are often being “strongly requested” by younger men and women who take over the space.
Whenever I see her, I make sure to give her something, and if I am out of money, at least I talk to her for a few seconds. When younger people are around, I often make sure to drop a few coins into her cup while passing her a note without anybody seeing it in the hope that they will leave her alone.
Today she surprised me. I was passing her again, giving her some money, and asked her how she was. She surprised me by saying that she wanted to thank me. Not for the money. Well, for that too, but for always taking the time to talk to her.
She mentioned how hard it is for her to have so little money that she has to beg. She often feels ashamed, but she now has prepared for several days to talk to me, and to thank me for treating her as a human being. Some people only walked by or sometimes dropped some money. But they never made eye contact or talked to her. which made her feel even more ashamed, almost non-human. She said she was looking forward to my walking by because she knew I would look at her and see a person. On hearing all this, I had tears in my eyes, and still do, when thinking of this.
I still don’t know why she is on the street. Maybe one day she will open up, but I will not ask her right away. But I will be even more on the lookout for her, making sure to talk to her as often as possible!
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。
One day she mentioned her unhappy experiences to me.
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I felt sorry for her and decided to help her out.
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