1 . It was 1939, and the Great Depression had made all our lives much harder. But we didn’t know how poor we were until our father sat my brother and me down on the couch in our living room to have a talk.
I will always remember the sad look in Father’s eyes as he stared down at his hands, rubbing them back and forth, while he searched for the words to tell us that our family wasn’t going to be celebrating Christmas this year.
A month later, on Christmas Eve, I lay awake in bed late into the night, trying to talk myself out of sneaking into our living room to see if Santa had come. I gathered my courage, then tiptoed down the hallway, hoping I would see the bright sparkling lights of our Christmas tree standing proudly in the corner of our living room, like it did every year.
Instead, I was greeted by my seventeen-year-old brother, Frank, who slept on our living room couch. “Hey, little one, what are you doing up?” he whispered.
I started to cry. “There’s no Christmas tree.”
There would be no presents, no singing, no Christmas dinner. It felt like we were the saddest family in the world. My disappointment overwhelmed me. I looked forward to Christmas each year. It wasn’t only the presents. It was that special feeling I got from seeing my family happy. We hadn’t been happy in such a long time.
On Christmas morning, the sun shone into our chilly bedroom, waking me up. “Maybe Santa came! Maybe he came!” I suddenly insisted. My eyes searched the living room, but there was no Christmas tree. I broke into uncontrollable tears.
I ran to Father in tears and threw my arms around him. “ We aren’t going to have Christmas this year.”
“Now, now, now, calm down. Go on in and see your mother. She will comfort you.” Dad slowly pushed the bedroom door open, leading me into the room.
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。
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something different in the bedroom.
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With my question answered, everything dawned on me.
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One Saturday morning, Jeremy woke up to a quiet house. Usually at this time, Mom was making breakfast and cleaning the kitchen, but not today.
Jeremy knocked at her bedroom door. "Mom?" he called anxiously. "Don't come in. Jeremy," answered a weak voice. "I have a terrible cold. I don't want you to get sick. You can have cereal for breakfast and watch cartoons. I'm going to stay in bed."
Jeremy poured some cereal and milk into d bowl and ate breakfast. Mom must feel very bad if she was staying in bed all day. How could he help? Jeremy thought to himself. Saturday was the laundry day. He had watched Mom do laundry many times, so he knew where to find the soap and how to pour it into the machine. Jeremy opened the door to the washer and put all of his clothes inside. Then he closed the door and pressed the big button that said "START". Jeremy looked through the round, glass window. Water was pouring in, and the machine was starting to spin, making this clothing tumble around. That was easy! His eyes twinkled with pleasure.
Jeremy watched cartoons until he heard the washing machine beep. He took out a few damp clothes at a time and moved them into dryers. Everything seemed clean, and Jeremy felt proud. Then he paused in surprise when he pulled out a pink shirt. He didn't own a pink shirt. Where did it come from? He reached further into the washer and took out more pink clothes. And all of his underwear had turn pink! What happened?
The last thing Jeremy pulled out of the washer was a bright sock. When he picked it up, he noticed that the sock turned his hand red. "The sock must have turned all of my white clothes pink!" Jeremy thought.
注意:
1. 所续写短文的词数应为 100 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
Jeremy didn't want to bother Mom while she was sick.
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Paragraph 2
The next day, Jeremy wore one of his new pink shirts to breakfast.
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A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.
—Tenneva Jordan
I knew I was not supposed to be quite so excited. I was too old for that. At age eleven, the oldest and my mom’s “grown up” girl, I had to keep my cool. I was in middle school after all. But every chance I got, when I was alone, I checked each present under the tree. I read every tag and felt every package, guessing at the contents within. I had examined each gift so often that I could tell which present went to which person without even looking at the tags.
It had been a tough year for my family. Whenever my mom looked over at the tree and scattered(撒) presents, she would sigh and warn us, “There won’t be as much for Christmas this year. Try not to be disappointed.” Christmas had traditionally been a time for my parents to spoil us. In years past, the presents would pile up and spill out from under the tree, taking over the living room. I had heard the phrase “giving is better than receiving,” but thought that whoever had said that must have been out of their mind. Getting presents was the whole point! It was the reason I couldn’t get to sleep on Christmas Eve.
On Christmas morning, we eagerly waited in the hallway until Dad told us everything was ready. We rushed into the living room and let the wrapping paper fly. We made weak attempts to wait and watch while other family members opened their presents, but as the time passed we lost our self-control.
“Here’s another one for you,” said Mom as she handed me a package. I looked at it, confused. Having spent so much time examining the presents before Christmas, I recognized this one. But it had not been mine. It was my mom’s. A new label had been put on it, with my name written in my mother’s handwriting.
“Mom, I can’t…”
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 was stopped by my mother’s eager, joyful look.
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Paragraph 2:
I have always remembered that Christmas fondly.
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As he lay awake that night, Tony could hear his parents discussing his sister Alice’s birthday. It was just two days away. Birthdays were always a lot of fun, even though there was no money for store-bought gifts. Nearly all of toys he and his sister had were homemade. There was nothing wrong with that, he knew. Like many families in this part, they were poor.
This birthday would be different, though. Alice was older now, and he’d seen how her eyes lit up when she saw the new doll at Honey House, a neighborhood store just down the road from their house.
How he longed for her to have it! An idea finally came to him just before he went to bed. After a quick breakfast the following morning, he tied a bag to the handlebars of his bike and headed toward a village hill.
After a long journey, he reached his destination, the mango forest. There were already two other boys there. Tony grabbed his bag and set to work immediately.
The sun was high overhead. The weather was hot and nearly all of the taller trees held ripe mangoes but they were well beyond reach. Tony struggled to climb the trees to pick mangoes, though he fell off many times.
His efforts were sometimes rewarded when a mango dropped into the bag. After a while his neck ached from looking upward, and his arms grew sore. He kept at it, though, and by late afternoon his bag was nearly full.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右。
2. 续写部分分两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1：
Tony rushed back to Honey House, out of breath, only to find the owner of the store was going to close the door.
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Paragraph 2：The following morning, Alice walked into the kitchen and took a seat at the breakfast table.
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This particular day began at seven in the morning in Casablanca(卡萨布兰卡). My friend Mike and I were going to visit Abdel, a young man we’d worked with on a volunteer project in Kenitra, an industrial city on the Moroccan(摩洛哥) coast. He’d been expecting us to arrive in Casablanca for a few days now, and since he had no telephone, he’d written down his address and name and told us to just show up-his mother and Sisters were always at home.
Apparently the address he had written down was hard for foreigners like us to understand. When we got into the neighborhood, our taxi driver started asking directions. Eventually, with the help of a policeman, we were led to a house down a winding road. Our driver went to the door and inquired. He came back saying Abdel’s sister was in this house visiting friends and would come along to show us where they lived.
Soon a girl of about sixteen emerged from the house. Surprisingly, she didn’t look like Abdel at all. Still I’d seen other families where children didn’t look alike, so I didn’t give it too much thought. She then brought us to a yard. We waited in the yard while the sister went in and returned accompanied by her mother, sisters and brother-in-law, all of whom greeted us with cautious warmth. We were shown into the living room. The mother told us in broken French that Abdel was out, but would be home soon. We sat on low, cushioned seats, drinking sweet mint tea and eating sugar cookies, while the family members sat with us and made shy, polite conversation that frequently fell into uncomfortable silence.
An hour passed, more family members emerged from inner rooms. I was again struck by the fact that none of them looked a thing like our friend.
After another two hours had passed with no sign of Abdel, the family insisted on serving us a meal in their kitchen next door. “Soon,” was the only response I got when I inquired as to what time Abdel might come back.
注意∶续写词数应为 150 左右
Finally we heard the words we had been waiting for from the mother. “Please, Abdel is back in the living room.”
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I took out the piece of paper Abdel had given me in Kenitra and showed it to the new Abdel.
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With a wide smile on her face, 15-year-old Sirin eagerly rushed to her mom to show off her new painting. But Mom raised her eyebrows with eyes wide open, and spoke impatiently, “No time, baby. Right now I am busy with an important talk. Just wait for some time, OK?”
Holding her oil painting, she frowned (皱眉),and then searched for her dad. “Dad, see what I have done,” Sirin exclaimed cheerfully. Her dad turned around while adjusting his tie, grinned at her, and showed his thumbs up!
Immediately, Sirin replied angrily, “Dad, you haven’t seen it yet.”
He smiled at her saying, “No time, baby. I will see it later.” He just patted her back lovingly, kissed her forehead, and rushed for his office.
She was not a kid to be pleased with simple gesture or smile. She stood there for a few seconds, and then stormed off to her own bedroom. Hot air was blowing from her nostrils (鼻孔) ; her face turned into apple red. She threw the painting on the table, slammed the door and threw herself on her bed.
“Why is everybody so busy?” She recalled thousands of incidents that hurt her in preschool, middle school and even in high school too! She assumed at least her own family members would give some values to her thoughts, but they were no exception. Unconsciously, her eyes were filled with tears.
The knocking sound on the door put a sudden stop to her thought. Her mom was calling her for dinner. Sirin deliberately (故意地) came late to join them. She kept silent and didn’t look at anyone, scratching the table mat with her nail. Her mom was puzzled at the unusual behavior. Suddenly the morning incident came to mind. Softly, she asked, “ Honey, did I do anything wrong? ”
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。
At this very moment, Sirin could no longer resist her anger.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When back from school the next day, Sirin was surprised to see her beautifully-decorated paining on the wall.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Every Saturday, Grandpa and I walk to the nursing home (养老院) a few blocks away from our house to visit some of the old people who live there.
First we visit Mrs. Sokol. I call her “The Cook.” She likes to talk about the time when she was a well-known cook back in Russia. People would come from miles around, just to taste her famous chicken soup.
Next we visit Mr. Meyer. I call him “The Joke Man.” He tells us jokes, and laughs at his own jokes, shaking up and down and turning red in the face. Grandpa and I can’t help but laugh along with him, even when the jokes aren’t very funny.
Next door is Mr. Lipman. I call him “The Singer” because he loves to sing for us. Whenever he does, his beautiful voice fills the air, so clear and strong that we always sing along with him.
Then we visit Mrs. Kagan, “The Grandmother,” who shows us pictures of her grandchildren. They’re all over the room, in frames (画框) and even taped to the walls.
One day Grandpa got sick and had to go to the hospital. The doctors said they didn’t think he would ever get better.
Saturday came. How could I go visiting the nursing home without Grandpa? Then I remembered what Grandpa once told me: “Nothing should stand in the way of doing a good deed (行为).” So I went alone. Everyone was happy to see me. They were surprised when they didn’t see Grandpa. When I told them that he was sick and in the hospital, they were sad. They told me that Grandpa would have a complete recovery.
The Cook went on to reveal (透露) some of her secret recipes (食谱). The Joke Man told me his latest jokes. The Singer sang a song especially for me. The Grandmother showed me more pictures. After a while, I said goodbye to everyone.
A few days later, Grandpa was still in the hospital. He was not eating, he could not sit up and he could hardly speak. I went to the corner of the room so Grandpa wouldn’t see me cry.
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。
Suddenly the nurse came into the room and said, “You have some visitors.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________That evening, Grandpa called the nurse in and said he was hungry. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Emma had two exams that day — physics and history. She really hated physics. It was her worst subject. Alice looked at her, and then looked away quickly. Emma thought Alice looked pleased, because she didn’t have a problem with physics, she didn’t have a problem with anything...Miss Perfect!
“I thought we were friends, but she hasn’t spoken to me for two weeks now. she promised to help me go over for the physics exam too, but then she’s forgotten all my calls and texts. And when I rang her house, her mum just told me she was busy.” Emma thought angrily. At that moment, Mr. Read asked all the students into the exam room.
Emma couldn’t answer some physics questions. Suddenly she saw Alice sitting two rows in front of her. Emma couldn’t believe it! Alice was holding her phone on her knee under the table and reading from it. Is that how Alice always got such good grades? She felt really angry at Alice, and thought about telling the teacher, but...“Stop writing,” said Mr. Read and started to collect the exam papers. Oh no, Emma hadn’t answered two of the questions. She was going to fail again!
Emma wanted to talk to Alice at lunchtime, but she couldn’t find her anywhere. Emma went to the library to prepare for the history exam, which was her favorite. But she couldn’t concentrate. “Unfair! Alice was getting good grades by cheating all that time.” She thought about telling a teacher, but everyone would hate her if she did that. Just then, Mr. Read walked past her table. “Mr. Read...”
Emma was sitting behind Alice again in the history exam that afternoon. Mr. Read wanted her to look at Alice and agreed if she saw that Alice was cheating in the exam.
注意：
1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
She was working on the last question when she saw that Alice had her phone under the table.
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Paragraph 2:
Emma was walking towards the school gate when she saw Alice waiting for her there.
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One Saturday afternoon, I was watching TV in the living room with my grandpa when a blinding flash of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a deafening sound, and the pictures on TV disappeared with that sound. Before I realized what had happened, a gray-white shadow rushed in through the open window and flew over my head. Bang! It hit the wall and slid off to the floor. Shaking with fear, I approached it cautiously and saw that it was a pigeon. It looked at me in fear, trying to open its wings and struggling its feet, but apparently powerless.
So I called my grandpa and immediately set out to give it a helping hand. Taking it in my hands, I felt a few drops of warmth on my hands. It was blood! I gently spread its wings and there were a few red feathers inside. “Don’t worry. We’ll get it out alive,” Grandpa said to me. Then he got the first-aid kit. With some cotton, we dried the blood, cleaned the wound and then put it under a hairdryer to dry. All went smoothly, for the pigeon had no strength left to resist. There happened to be an empty birdcage at home, so I put it in gently and added a little water and some grains.
For the next few days, the moment I got home from school, I would run to feed the pigeon. And Grandpa helped a lot, tidying up the cage daily. Little by little, its strength returned. One evening, I fed it with the biscuit I was eating. It enjoyed it! One week later, its wound almost healed (痊愈); its feathers grew and it became brave. Whenever I sat at the table eating biscuits, it looked up at me, cooing (咕咕地叫) constantly. To my joy, I could also reach into the cage to touch it. When I gently fingered its head, it playfully pecked (啄) at me. Finally it completely recovered. But every time I was with it, it seemed restless in the cage. To make it happy and pretty, I tied an orange string (线)around its leg.
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。
One day, however, when I returned home, Grandpa met me at the door, looking embarrassed.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Sure enough, I saw a pigeon flying into the house the next afternoon!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My dad was the gentlest， most loving and caring dad in the world-until we had an argument． During those moments， my words surely never reached his "open mind" because his ears were closed． There was no point trying to argue with my dad． He always had the last word． I could never win．
At one time， when my father refused to understand that I needed the privacy of a phone in my room， my frustration turned to tears． He ended our "discussion"， leaving me silently defeated and miserable． With the hope that his eyes would be more open than his ears， I began to write a note that began with "Dear Daddy"． In a most touching tone， I told him how much I respected his opinion， and how much I hated to talk back to him． 1 stressed that I cherished our relationship and， above all， I loved him deeply． It was only minutes before I heard a knock at my door． When I saw the look on my father's face， I knew that my note had melted his temper and touched his heart． The victory of winning my dad's permission was sweet．
This morning I woke up at a text message from one of my best friends， which said "Who's excited for a snow day？" My initial reaction was why on earth we would have a snow day． It was not supposed to snow last night． My second reaction was that that was not true． So I called my dad to make sure whether what I heard was correct． Sure enough it was． After finding this news out， I fell back asleep almost immediately． My dad had said to call him when I woke up． About two hours passed， and I woke up， calling him as planned． No answer． I figured he was just out for business， so I left a message． I called him multiple times on his work， house， and cell phones． Still， no answer． Around noon I got worried． He should have answered something by now． Thinking of his suffering a stomach flu two weeks ago， I decided I would go to make sure he was okay．
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．
After I got over there， I was worried．
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At once， I called my mom and told her what had happened．
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