The routine practice in the school band came to an end. Mark and Steven smiled at each other, happily talking about the weekend arrangements. Steven was putting his saxophone (萨克斯) into the case when he tripped over a shelf. Unfortunately, it fell and hit his saxophone. Clang! “Oh no!” Steven yelled.
Mark quickly picked up the saxophone, checked it and then handed it to Steven, who stood still, at a loss. Mark helped Steven put away all the things and comforted him with the thought that it was not a new saxophone. Anyway, it already had a lot of dents (凹痕).
“I know. But it’s my grandpa’s. He is visiting us this Sunday.” Steven lowered his head, upset.
Steven’s grandpa used to be a great saxophonist in the national band. When Steven was even a baby, his grandpa always played some famous tunes like “Edelweiss,” “Rivers of Babylon,” “Forever in love” for him.
Staring at Steven in confusion, Mark asked what was wrong. Steven sighed deeply and then showed his concern that whenever his grandpa came, he would ask Steven to play with his beloved saxophone. “Maybe he won’t notice the new dent or maybe he won’t care,” Mark said with a shrug (耸肩). “But what if Grandpa notices the dent? How is he going to react? And how shall I tell him about it?” replied Steven.
On the bus home, Steven thought about all the possibilities. To avoid playing the saxophone, he could pretend that he had a fever. Oh no! He didn’t like lying. He could get his baby brother, Joseph, to take all of Grandpa’s attention. Or, he could turn to mum for help...
When Sunday finally arrived, Steven still had no idea what he was going to do.
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Steven would have been delighted to hear Grandpa’s praise, but actually he was not.
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In the farmers' market, there were many other stalls (摊位) with all kinds of food for sale as well as colourful rows of fruit and vegetables set out on tables. Cooked food stalls filled the air with the wonderful smells of hot tasty snacks, and the smell of fresh coffee was everywhere.
"Wow," Gus cried out, "Jam (果酱)!"
Just in front of him, there was a jam stall that sold all kinds of home-made jam. But the only kind Gus wanted was strawberry, so he bought a jar. He couldn't help but taste the jam immediately. It was OK, he frowned (皱眉) and shook his head, but never as good as Rose's, whose jam was just magic.
Rose was his neighbour, an elderly lady who lived alone but liked company now and again. Her doorbell was usually too quiet before Gus and his mom moved to the village after his father's death. Gus often rang her doorbell and asked whether she needed anything from the supermarket as he and his mother were going to town. In return, Rose would often give Gus a jar of jam. Gus was amazed how jam could be so delicious, so whenever free he would be at Rose's home watching her make the super jam.
Suddenly, an idea struck Gus. Probably he could try that to make some money and help his mum. He then bought a bag of potatoes for Rose for her kind offer of wonderful jam.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为100左右；
2. 至少使用3个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分为一段，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。
The next morning, Gus rang Rose's doorbell.
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All through school, I had only one close friend. We spent years together, essentially joined at the hip. But then Greg moved away, and I never thought it would take more than 40 years to bring us together again.
As children, Greg and I dove into everything with passion. At that time, we were pure and kind, full of curiosity and expectation for life. We raced our bikes and illustrated our own comic books. We even became attracted to the same blonde girl from around the corner, a sixth-grader named Joanne who barely knew we existed.
The last time I saw Greg was sometime in 1966. It was so short a meeting that I couldn't recall saying goodbye before he moved. Since then, we lost touch.
But then, a few summers ago, I saw a familiar woman. "Excuse me. Would your name happen to be Joanne?”
“Uh, yes…” She didn't recognize me until I explained who I was. We hadn't exchanged more than a few dozen words in our entire lifetime. “Have you stayed in touch with Greg?” she asked. I was surprised she even knew of our friendship.
“No. I haven't,” I admitted. “I wish I had.”
Back at the cabin I checked my messages. I glanced at one email, and then read it from start to finish. The email was from Greg.
Greg had tracked me down through social media. He was now married, had two children and had become a musician and entrepreneur（企业家）. We exchanged several emails before connecting by phone. A month later, my wife and I drove to meet Greg and his family in person.
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。
Standing at his front door, I felt unsure of what to say or do.
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As he gazed at the photo, Greg handed me a small, old card.
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One weekend in August, Daniel and his father drove five hours to camp over night by a lake in the forest. On the way, unfortunately, his father received a phone call from Daniel’s teacher saying Daniel had broken the school rules, and then he started to criticize (批评) Daniel. By the time they reached the lake, Daniel was so angry that he said to his father, “I’m going to find a better place for us to camp” and walked away alone.
With no path to follow, Daniel just walked on for quite a long time. After he had climbed to a high place, he turned around, hoping to see the lake. To his surprise, he saw nothing but forest and a snow capped mountain top. He suddenly realized that he was lost.
“Dad! Mom! Dad! Mom!…” he cried. “Help! Help me!...”
No reply. If only he had not left his mobile phone in that bag with his father. Daniel kept moving, but the farther he walked, the more confused he became. As night was beginning to fall, Daniel was so tired that he had to stop for the night. Lying awake in the dark, Daniel said to himself, “Hadn’t I walked away angrily, I wouldn’t be trapped in this awful place, facing with the danger of dying.” He regretted with endless anxiety, and then became asleep with shining tears in his eyes.
Daniel rose at the break of day, hungry and thirsty. He could hear water trickling (滴落) some where in the distance. Quickly he followed the sound to a stream. To his great joy, he saw some apple trees. He ate some. Never in his life had he tasted anything better. Feeling stronger now, Daniel began to walk along the stream and hope it would lead him to the lake.
注意：1. 续写词数应为120-150；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
As he walked along the stream carefully, Daniel heard a strange sound in the distance.
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Paragraph 2：
It was early in the morning when Daniel woke up.
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Sarah grew up in West Virginia as a normal American girl. Jim, a professor at WVU, and Judy, a teacher, showered their youngest daughter with love and encouragement. Sarah picked roses in her garden, rode her bike around the neighborhood, and enjoyed vacations with her parents and two sisters. Sil, she could never quite shake off the sense that she didn’t belong in her fair-haired family or the community with few minorities. Worse, she felt the anxiety shared by many adopted children: if one set of parents abandoned you, why wouldn't another? She tried very hard to be a good kid so that her present parents would never want to give her up. This feeling kept haunting her all through her childhood and teen years.
Sarah studied drama and in 2001 got some minor roles in films after graduation. She moved to California to pursue her career. It was then that she felt the urge to find her birth parents. She hired a private detective, who, after some investigation, found that her biological mother was long dead, and her father was then an exchange student from the Mende tribe in Sierra Leone, an African country on the Atlantic coast. In fact, her father, Kposowa, belonged to the ruling family, which made Sarah a princess in her father’s tribe.
But she leaned through the news that a brutal civil war had been raging in Sierra Leone, and her native county was let in ruins. Sarah also noticed that the local news in Sierra Lcone made no mention of her father as the head of Mende tribe, and she couldn’t help wondering if her inquiry was too late. But she sent a letter anyway, with her contact information, hoping it would somehow reach her biological father half way across the globe. To drown her doubts and regrets, she threw herself into her acting and was on the fast track to success, the letter to her father half forgotten amid actress’s life.
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。
Then one day, her cell phone suddenly rang out, showing an African number.
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Sarah talked it over with her American parents who encouraged her to go and find her roots.
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In gift shops, it is likely that many tourists would pass by what may be a symbol of Portugal: swallows made of glass. In Portugal, people gift the birds for weddings, anniversaries, housewarmings and going-away gatherings.
Farewells were on my mind when I met Apolinario in February 2020. At the time I was well aware of my oldest child’s upcoming graduation and departure for university in a city far from home.
Ethan, my oldest child, has been away from me before. There have been camps and school trips, but each time I have rested easy in the knowledge that he would come home. He always comes home.
But this time I feel less certain.
The feeling was at its peak when I entered Apolinario’s gift shop that specialized in Portuguese souvenirs. I was aimlessly walking among the shelves when I noticed the abundance of glass swallows.
“The swallow is connected to a lot of things that are dear to us,’’ explained Apolinario who stood behind me. The birds’ qualities —they mate for life and raise their babies together—make it a nostalgic (怀旧的) symbol. “They don’t leave the nest until all of the babies do and they always return.”
Apolinario also told me that the swallow also marked an important time in the country’s history when the Portuguese sailed around the world. A lot of people missed their homeland and wanted to come back. The swallow represented that there was a nest somewhere in Portugal, although people were living all over the world.
“The concept is best described as the feeling of connection you get when you taste your grandmother’s cooking or a familiar smell that takes you back to your childhood. The swallow is thought to be the embodiment (体现) of that feeling. When you have one in or on your home, it carries those good memories with it,” he added. “When you’re giving this as a gift, you’re basically giving a part of yourself that stays there. You’re creating a connection.”
注意：1.写作词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
When Apolinario told me about the bird, I knew I needed one.
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This past September, my husband and I accompanied our son to his university.
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One day in September 2020, Mom got a call from my aunt. “I don’t feel well these days and I keep coughing blood,” my aunt said in a sad voice.
We were all in shock and after hanging up, we hurried to my aunt’s home and sent her to the hospital immediately. Having stayed in the hospital for several days, my aunt’s situation became worse and worse. Mom knew what was to come, and this frightened us all. As days went by, my aunt got to a point where it was hard for her to breathe and to move. Mom said that she would try everything to save her sister.
As the healthcare in our country is so poor that my parents both decided to send my aunt to Istanbul, Turkey. My parents knew some good doctors in Istanbul and they thought they would offer her the best help. Even though it was a huge risk for Mom to travel with my sick aunt, she believed it was the only way that someone could help her.
On the day Mom and my aunt were leaving for Turkey, Dad and I sent them to the airport. We had bought a wheelchair for my aunt because she did not have enough strength to walk. When I saw my aunt sitting in the wheelchair, my tears started to fall out of my face. “Everything is going to be alright,” Mom said while leaving the car.
As days went by, my aunt was in an ICU in Istanbul. Mom was in a different room waiting to hear every update on her situation. My aunt was put on so much medicine and serums (血清), and her whole room was filled with things that her body needed Mom once took a photo from outside my aunt’s room. It showed everything there, and as soon as I saw that, I started to cry again. I could not handle the pain of seeing my family member like this.
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。
A day later, my aunt’s condition was uncontrollable.
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Mom told us the good news immediately.
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My dad, George, only had an eighth-grade education. A quiet man, he didn’t understand my world of school activities. From age 14. he worked. And his dad, Albert, took the money my dad earned and used it to pay family expenses.
I didn’t really understand his world either: He was a livestock trucker, and I thought that I would surpass anything he had accomplished by the time I walked across the stage at high school graduation. Summers in the mid-70s were spent at home shooting baskets, hitting a baseball, or throwing a football, preparing for my future as a quarterback on a football team. In poor weather, I read about sports or practiced my trombone. The summer before my eighth grade I was one of a group of boys that a neighboring farmer hired to work in his field. He explained our basic task, the tractor fired up and we were off, riding down the field looking for weeds to spray with chemicals. After a short way, the farmer stopped and pointed at a weed which we missed. Then we began again. This happened over and over, but we soon learned to identify different grasses like cockleburs, lamb’s-quarters, foxtails, and the king of weeds, the pretty purple thistle. It was tiring work, but I looked forward to the pay, even though I wasn’t sure how much it would amount to.
At home, my dad said, “A job’s a big step to growing up. I’m glad you will be contributing to the household.” My dad’s words made me realize that my earnings might not be mine to do with as I wished.
My labors lasted about two weeks, and the farmer said there might be more work, but I wasn’t interested. I decided it was not fair that I had to contribute my money.
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 pay day arrived at last.
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I understand immediately what my parents were worried about.
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Once there was a little girl Lily who was very friendly and popular in her class. She was friends with everyone in her class. She felt very happy that she had so many friends at school.
On Friendship Day, her class had an event, in which everyone had to give gifts to their best friends. Lily was really looking forward to the Friendship Day because she wanted gifts from her friends. However, she was the only one who hadn’t received any gifts. She felt sad and cried a lot.
Everyone came and tried to comfort (安慰) her but each one only stayed for a short time. This was what Lily had done so many times to others.
When she got home, her mother saw her sad face and asked her why she was sad. “Where can I find true friends?” Lily asked. Her mother was surprised. Then she asked Lily what had happened in school. Her mother comforted her and said, “You cannot buy friends with a smile or a few good words. If you really want true friends, you will have to give them real time and love. For a true friend you must always get along with them, in good times and bad.”
Lily replied (回答), “But I want to be friends with everyone!”
注意:
1. 续写词数应为100左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Her mother shook (摇动) her head.
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Lily decided to change her ways and thought how she could make true friends.
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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. Every 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 speech now kept him housebound. For nearly a year he hadn’t even 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 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. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 应使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:
Desperately, she scanned the street in both directions.
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Paragraph 2:
Just then, Grandpa came around the corner.
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