As children, my brothers and I constantly annoyed our mother. When we combined forces, we had the power to make that sweet, loving woman go mad.
One day, I arrived home from school feeling overheated, exhausted, and angry with my brothers for being kicked out of the car and walking home alone. Taking a few steps inside, I dropped my books and realized the house was a little too quiet. Looking around, my anger turned to weariness, and suddenly I felt a fierce stream of water glide across my shirt. Before I realized what happened, another blasted me directly in the face. I dove behind the couch as I heard my brothers yell, “Water fight!”
Running to the other side of the room where my own water gun was hidden beneath a loose floorboard, loaded and ready to go, I grabbed it and congratulated myself on being prepared in advance.
Instantly, my anger with my brothers disappeared, and I eagerly joined in the water spraying. We didn’t stop until we were nearly wet all over and out of water. Calling a truce, we decided to team up and take on a larger, more dangerous enemy. While taking turns reloading our weaponry, we hatched our plan.
Our mother was outside watering the garden, totally unaware of the danger approaching her from behind. We silently counted to three and began showering her with water. She turned around and stood still as we finished the last of our supply. Only when she thought our guns were empty did she dare to speak a word. However, when she began to lecture us, a water ‘bullet’ shot from my gun, smacking(猛击) her right eye, and she lost her temper.
We ran to the living room with our mother close behind and barely reached the door in time to shut her out. She began pounding on it and shouting at us to let her in, but we had no idea that this was all an act. She actually had her own plan.
注意：
所续写短文的词数应为150词左右；
Paragraph 1:
She decided to hatch her own plan.
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Paragraph 2:
When we left the door open for too long, she took action.
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The Feel-Better Book
My grandparents have lived in a whole different state for as long as I can remember, so I’ve had a lot of experience as far as missing them goes. I usually get to see them only a couple of times a year. But they ended up canceling their summer trip last month because Gran had to have knee surgery.
“It’s not fair!” whined (抱怨) my little brother, Tex. “Paul was going to take me fishing.”
“Sorry, kiddo. That’s just the way the ball bounces,” said my dad, using one of his old-fashioned sayings that all pretty much mean “Relax, because there’s nothing you can do to change this particular situation.”
“And what about the zoo?” grumbled (嘟囔) my little sister, Indi. “Gran and I were going to have a special zoo day, just the two of us!”
“There will be lots more summers for special zoo days,” said my mom. “How about, for now, we give Paul and Gran a call?”
While Tex and Indi talked on the phone, all kinds of memories started playing in my head like a movie: spotting seals from the ferryboat, riding bikes through Golden Gate Park, baking Gran’s world-famous cookies, and putting on silly magic shows with Paul. For some strange reason, those happy memories just made me unbelievably sad. I started missing my grandparents so much that I wanted to cry.
“Here you go,” my mom said, handing me the phone… “It’s your turn to talk to Paul and Gran.”
“Um, I can’t talk right now,” I told her and suddenly I was running down the hall.
“Why in the world did you run away like that?” asked my dad.
“I didn’t want to cry on the phone,” I sniffled (抽泣).
“I’m sure Gran and Paul would have understood,” he said.
“Yes, but they already have enough to worry about with Gran’s knee troubles,” I said. “I want to make Gran happy, not sad!”
“Hey, good idea!” I thought to myself and ran to my room. “I’ll make Gran a get- well-soon card. ”
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 started drawing pictures of all those fun memories I was talking about earlier.
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I described all the different pictures in the memory book over the telephone.
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3 . His father said, “All set, boy?” and Jeremy nodded, picking up his gun with awkward gloved hands. His father pushed open the door and they went out into the freezing dawn together. Ordinarily Jeremy would take out his camera to record the scenery, but not this morning. This was the morning, particularly sacred, when 14-year-old Jeremy would go duck hunting for the first time.
However, he hated it, and had hated the whole idea since his father bought him a gun. But he was determined to go through with it. He loved his father, and wanted his approval more than anything in the world.
They came to a narrow and hidden place facing the bay. Jeremy sat down nervously and waited. To reduce fear, he took a picture of his father against the clean water. Then he put the camera hurriedly on the grass and picked up his gun.
Jeremy got his gun ready. “I'll let you shoot first,” his father said, loading his own gun. “You know, I've been waiting for a long time for this day. Just the two of us..."He broke off, bending forward, eyes narrowed. “There's a small flight heading this way now. Keep your head down. I'll give you the word.”
The sun came out. Jeremy could see everything clearly: his father's face, tense and eager; the white frost on the gun. His heart was beating wildly. He prayed, “Don't let them come, please!”
But they kept coming. "Four black,” his father said. “One mallard.” High above, Jeremy heard the pulsing whistle of wings as the flight began to circle. The mallard was leading, his feet dropping down, reaching for the silver-colored water. Closer, closer... “Get set,” his father whispered.
“Now!” cried Jeremy's father. “Take them!”
Jeremy felt his body obey. He stood up, holding the gun. In the same instant, the wild ducks saw the gunners and flew. “Shoot!” said something sharply in Jeremy's brain. But up went the mallard higher still, until suddenly he caught the full force of the wind and flew away, out of range.
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: His father asked in a controlled voice, “Why didn't you shoot?”
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Paragraph 2: To Jeremy's surprise, his father was handing the camera to him.
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She was dancing. My crippled(跛脚的) grandmother was dancing. I stood in the living room doorway absolutely shocked.
I heard her sing when I opened the door but did not want to interrupt the beautiful song, so I just tiptoed (用脚尖走）to the living room. I looked at how her body bent beautifully, her arms greeting the sunlight that was pouring through the window. And her legs.... Those legs that had stiffly (僵硬地) walked with a cane (拐杖）now obeyed her perfectly with beautiful dancing shoes! No limping! No stiffness! Just beautiful, fluid motion! She used to be the pet of the dancing world but later she’d had her accident and it was all over. I had read that in an old newspaper.
She turned around in a slow circle and saw me standing in the doorway. Her song and beautiful movements ended. The sudden silence rang in my ears. Grandma looked so much like a kid caught with her hand in a cookie jar that I couldn’t help myself, and a slightly nervous laughter escaped. Grandma sighed and turned toward the kitchen. I followed her, not believing my eyes. She was walking with no difficulties in her beautiful shoes. We sat down by the table and cut ourselves big pieces of her delicious peach pie.
“So ....” I asked “ how did your leg heal (治愈) ?”
“To tell you the truth --my legs have been well all my life ,” she said.
“But I don’t understand!” I said. “Your dancing career..... I mean.... You pretended all these years?”
“Very much so,” Grandmother closed her eyes and tasted the peach pie, “and for a very good reason.”
“What reason ?”
“ Your grandfather .”
“You mean he told you not to dance ?”
“No, this was my choice. I am sure I would have lost him if I had continued dancing. I weighed fame and love against each other and love won.”
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。
Paragraph 1:
She thought for a while and then continued.
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Paragraph 2:
By now I had forgotten about the pie and listened to grandma , fascinated.
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Wide awake, I sat up in bed before dawn. I'd had another dream about Jennifer, my middle child. She's 38 now. Usually in my dreams she's still a little shy girl.
Jennifer had been five years old and her older sister seven, when the twins were born. Everything changed. The boys demanded much of my time and energy, so I hardly had any left for their older sisters. Sweet, quiet Jennifer, sandwiched between the others, required almost nothing from me. Eventually Jennifer had her own children and lived about an hour and a half away. But it seemed as though she were worlds away.
I often dreamed about her. In this one she was a grown woman and mixed in with a crowd. I waved hard, “Jennifer! I'm over here!” But she didn't notice me.
I longed to hear my daughter's voice and called, “Hey, I had a dream about you.” Then Jennifer surprised me. “I dreamed about you too. But it was terrible. I won't even tell you.”
“But I am eager to hear.”
Her words came out without thinking, “We were walking through a vegetable garden. A farmer shouted that I'd stepped on one of his tomatoes and asked for 43 cents. I didn't have any money and turned to you. You said no. I begged. I woke up in tears.”
The pain in her voice almost cut my breath off. “There were so many things I should have done for you. I overlooked you. You seemed so competent and independent. I forgot you were just a child.”
There was silence on her end of the line. The communication seemed broken again. I called an old friend and told her about Jennifer's dream and our awkward attempt to connect. “Your relationship probably broke down over a lot of little things,” she said.
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 realized what I should do to mend our relationship.
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The next day, my daughter called me excitedly.
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Imagine what's in your closet. There might be an old pair of shoes, a worn jacket and a box of junk you wouldn't know how to get rid of. And that's exactly as it should be.
A closet is messy, unorganized, years-long collection of exactly what makes you the person you are. So the tension rose in my chest when my mom recently decided to move because it meant we would have to clean out Dad's closet, nearly a decade after his death. A brain tumor ate away at the parts of the mind and changed the special person—smart, warm and brave into the one who was bound to a chair in hospital. But when your body goes, your closet stays.
In the years after his death, I would sometimes walk into that closet when I was home visiting for the holidays. I had moved into a city many miles away from my mom, starting a life as my mom took pains to slowly evolve her home—upgrading the decorations, sweeping away the dust of grief, and making it once again a place for warmth and gathering.
When I opened the door to Dad's closet last Christmas, I saw so many ties, shirts, and more shoes than I had remembered. And there were the vital things: a handkerchief I'd pull out of his jacket pocket when he lifted me up after arriving home from work, the bright red jacket he'd wear golfing and on family vacations. In the closet, I could remember every detail between us. I worried that would go away when my mom moved. I rolled around nervously in bed in my home. Could I stand to see this closet one last time before Mom moved? Would I find the strength to help clear that stuff out? Then, a shock—I got a call from my mom saying "I cleaned out the closet already." The announcement shocked me completely. What had she thrown out?
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 flew home shortly afterwards, trying hard to ease my tension on the way home.
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I pulled the door open. To my surprise, the empty closet caused me no panic—just peace.
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No matter how small you are, you can also give help or support to others. I didn5t understand these words until I saw my grandfather weep that day.
I grew up in Southern California, and my family often went to Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, and Sea World. The highlight of those park visits for me was always the evening activities» when there would be fireworks.
As I grew older and more observant, I noticed that my grandfather would go missing just before the fireworks were scheduled to start and reappear shortly after they finished. I asked my mother about this and was told that Grandpa didn't like to hear the noise of the explosions. They reminded him of the war and his fellows who died in the war. So every time there was fireworks 9 he would go inside the bathrooms until they were done. I felt surprised because my grandfather was such a strong man.
One summer night, somewhere near my tenth birthday, my family and I exited a ride just in time to hear over the loudspeakers, “In only two minutes, the lights will be turned off around the Rivers of America, and Disneyland will present their fireworks in the skies over the park.” At this moment, Grandpa was just in front of me, and when he heard the announcement, he started jogging ahead without a word to anyone. Without really thinking, I took off after him, against the orders of my mother, who repeatedly called after me to stay with the rest of the family. Grandpa, unaware that I was behind him, tried desperately to walk through the masses of people who were stopped in the street waiting for the show to begin.
As he tried to reach the restrooms, the first shell broke in the skies above us. Grandpa paused and looked up, just looking as if he had been hit by a shot. And then he kept moving forward. As shell after shell burst overhead, he struggled forward and almost fell over before he could sit onto a bench nearby.
注意：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。
Instantly, I went forward and was by his side.
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When the fireworks show ended, he straightened suddenly and wiped the tears.
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I remember the first time I met Roy. He was telling a joke. When he reached the final line, everyone burst out laughing. “A popular boy,” I thought to myself. My name is Daniel. I was the new boy in the class. There were 33 students in my new class, and most people weren’t very interested in a shy new boy. Roy was kind to me. He often invited me to join his particular group and we became good friends. We trusted each other and we could talk about personal matters.
Five years later, Roy and I were still in the same class. But just a year ago Roy’s father was knocked over by a car. He died a few days later. The family had difficulty with finance. Roy changed completely. He started losing friends, including me.
About three months ago, a group of us were playing football together after school. Having left something in the classroom, I went inside to get it and found Roy going through the pockets of people’s coats. In his hand he had a wallet and I knew it wasn’t his. Roy went bright red. “I will put it back right now,” he said, and he did so. I turned round and walked out without saying a word. I really hoped that Roy would explain why he had been stealing, but instead he started avoiding me.
Last week, our school had a big fair in order to raise money for a charity and we made about ￡500. But to our surprise, the next morning, we were told that the money had been stolen. This morning I decided to ask Roy about the theft so I went to see him. Roy was out. I put his jacket on and put my hands in the pockets. I could feel a lot of notes and I pulled them out. It looked as if there were about ￡500 there. I was so surprised that I just stood there, holding the notes in my hand. And that moment, Roy walked in.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150词左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
Seeing me standing there with money in my hand, Roy felt panicked (恐慌的).
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Paragraph 2:
We went to the head teacher Mrs Smith, together.
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There was once a boy called Mario who loved to have loads of friends. He showed off a lot, always talking about how many friends he had at school, and how he was so friendly with everyone else.
One day his grandfather said to him, “Mario, I bet you a big bag of popcorn that you don’t have as many friends as you think. I’m sure many of them are nothing more than companions, acquaintances, or partners in crime.”
Mario accepted the bet without hesitation. However, he wasn’t sure how he could test whether or not his schoolmates were real friends, so he asked his grandpa. The old man answered, “I have just exactly what you need. It’s in the attic. Wait here a minute.”
Grandpa left, soon returning as though carrying something in his hand, but Mario could see nothing there. “Take it. It’s a very special chair. It’s rather tricky to sit on because it’s invisible, but if you take it to your school and you manage to sit on it, you’ll activate its magic and you’ll be able to tell who your real friends are.”
Mario, brave and determined, took the strange invisible chair and set off for school. At break time he asked everyone to form a circle, and he put himself in the middle, with his chair. “Don’t move. You’re about to see something amazing.”
And Mario attempted to sit on the chair. Having difficulty seeing it, he missed and fell straight onto his backside. Everyone had a pretty good laugh. “Wait, wait, just a slight technical problem,” he said, making another attempt. But again he missed the seat, causing more surprised looks, and a few catcalls. Mario wouldn’t be beaten. He kept trying to sit on the magic chair, and kept falling to the ground… until, suddenly, he tried again and didn’t fall. This time he sat, staying in mid-air—some friends were standing behind 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。
Looking around, Mario saw three of his best friends holding him up, so he wouldn’t fall.
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After the show, Mario told the three best friends about the bet and took them to see his grandfather.
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“I never wanted to come on this stupid hiking trip anyway!” Jeff’s voice echoed across the narrow canyon (峡谷). Nothing was as pretty as it had seemed when they first hiked this way to their campsite yesterday morning. Before, the rocks had been an interesting challenge. Now, they were obstacles that were threatening their lives. Steep cliffs had earlier been natural curiosities, but now they were nature’s weapons, beating and rubbing Jeff and his father who pushed through as quickly as they could.
His father stopped for a third time, pale and out of breath, and turned to look at the 12-year-old boy. “This is hard on you, son, I know. But you’ve got to come through with courage and calmness.” “But I’m scared! I don’t even want to have courage!” he complained, turning his head the other way, and wiped his eyes across his arm. “If not courage, fine.” his father replied strictly. “Then have enough love for your sister to think this through!” He gently placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder and continued, more softly this time. “I’m just holding you back. You’re young, but you’re strong and fast. Do you remember the way back from here to the road, if you had to go alone?”
Jeff flashed back to the painful scene of his sister at their campsite this morning. She’d been bitten by a snake, before long she could barely move, and the pain seemed to be getting worse. She needed medical attention right away, so leaving her at the campsite and seeking help was their only choice. “Jeff? Jeff, could you do it? Could you climb up the canyon and make it without me?”
Jeff looked past his father’s encouraging eyes to the end of the canyon, several miles away. He nodded slowly as the path and the plan began to take hold in his mind. “What was the name of that little town we stopped in, Dad?” “Flint. We parked at the side of the main road a few miles out of town.” Jeff thought about this and then nodded.
Paragraph 1:
He waved goodbye to his father and moved on.
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Paragraph 2:
Finally, he made it to the main road.
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