Ali and his younger sister, Zahra, lived with their parents in a poor neighborhood. Their mother was very sick and their father was struggling to find a job, and they had only a little money with which to buy food. As they had not paid the rent for several months, the landlord was breathing down their necks.
One day, Ali took Zahra's shoes to a shoe repairman to be fixed, but he lost them on the way home. It wasn’t until he got home that he realized he had lost the shoes. He was afraid that his parents would be angry and disappointed, so he begged his sister to keep it a secret. Zahra agreed and the two decided to share Ali’s running shoes. Zahra's school hours were in the morning, so she would wear them first. After school, she would rush back and give them to Ali. He could then run to his school, which began in the afternoon. Although he ran as fast as he could, Ali often arrived late and was warned by the school.
Ali heard about a long distance race that was held for the boys in the city.When he learned that the third prize was a new pair of shoes, he decided to take part. He ran home excitedly and promised his sister that he would win her the new shoes.
The day of race arrived. Ali had a strong start, but halfway through the race he began to get tired and his legs began to ache. Getting more and more exhausted he thought only of Zahra and his promise to her. Dreaming of the new shoes he would win for his sister gave him strength, and he stayed right behind the two fastest runners, determined to finish third. Suddenly, as the finish line drew near, another runner collided(碰撞) with Ali from behind and he crashed to the ground.
Ali looked up and saw the other boys rushing ahead.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Filled with delight, Ali walked home quickly.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As a sixth grader, I began noticing how other kids were separating into groups. I wasn’t sure where I belonged. I found it hard to fit in.
Our teacher had assigned “secret friends” for the coming week. She wrote each kid’s name on a piece of paper and threw them into a glass; then we each closed our eyes and catch one piece of paper from the glass on which was the name of a classmate who we were to secretly befriend and support each other over the next five school days. By the middle of the week, everyone, including me, had turned this assignment into a competition to see whose secret friend could leave the best gift. We left cards, pens and even money. It seemed that everyone was getting cool presents from their friend except me.
On the last morning of our assignment, I walked into my classroom and noticed there was a package. I opened the wrapping paper and inside was a box of powder (胭脂). The girls sitting near me laughed at the gift I had received. To make matters worse, the powder had already been opened.
I tried to forget about the embarrassing gift, but when I was in the bathroom during the break, the girls who had seen me open the powder started speaking ill of my secret friend. I quickly joined in: “How terrible”. I heard myself saying “What could my friend be thinking by giving me such a stupid gift? My grandmother wouldn’t even want it.” The girls laughed at my remarks and rushed out of the bathroom. I stayed to wash my hands and let the water run through my fingers as I thought about what I had just said. It wasn’t normal like me to say mean things like that about someone.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式作答。
Then I saw my classmate Janet come out of a bathroom booth (厕所隔间), tears streaming down her face.
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___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. 我的爷爷是一所部队的杰出的指挥官。（troop, outstanding, commander）
2. 他在与敌人的一次激烈战斗中牺牲了。（violent）
3. 他们的目标是解放那座城市。（objective, liberate）
4. 今天是清明节，我和家人都表情严肃地参加了纪念仪式。（solemn, memorial）
5. 父亲回忆起和爷爷一起度过的美好岁月，眼中含着泪花。（recall, with的复合结构）
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It was somewhere between spring and summer, and my mom and I were driving through the countryside. Back then, I was 13 years old, and always felt unhappy with Mom. But I didn’t know that this trip was going to be a special one.
A pot of flowers sat in the back seat, whose heavenly fragrance(香味)filled the car. Suddenly, in the middle of nowhere, my mom stopped the car. “What are you doing?” I shouted, fearing that the car had broken down and we’d be trapped there, so far from home. But that wasn’t the case. My mom jumped out of the car, grabbing(抓)the flowers from the back seat. “It’ll just be a minute,” she called back through the open windows.
I impatiently looked at the side of the road before finding a little sign showing that it was a nursing home. I looked back to the building, a little annoyed, as my mom reappeared ——empty- handed.
Before she started the car, curiosity drove me to ask, “Do you know someone there?” She shook her head. “Then what did you do with the flowers?” She smiled slightly, “I gave them to the receptionist (前台接待员).” “What?” She laughed at my confusion. “I told the receptionist to give the flowers to whoever needed them, especially those who haven’t gotten any in a while.”
I kept silent for a moment. Not long after we continued our driving, I spoke again, “Did you leave your name?” To this, she answered instantly, “No. Leaving flowers there for someone who will appreciate them makes me feel good, which is enough of a thank for me.”
Suddenly, still thinking about Mom’s deeds, I heard something burst loudly. It was our car that broke down! Nothing could be worse, because neither my mom nor I understood how to repair it, and we didn’t know where the garage was. It also seemed impossible to wait for any passer-by, since we had seen so few people along the way.
注意：1. 续写的短文的词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式作答。
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We were worrying about what could be done.
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As we drove along, a flower shop came into sight on the road.
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I walked to Mrs. Windsor’s house and waited outside. She was working with another student, and I was not supposed to bother them by ringing the bell. I stood against the wall and daydreamed what I’d rather be doing. I had been tutored enough to read, understand, and even write some musical compositions, but I just didn’t have a gift for it. Mrs. Windsor had offered to give me the lessons for free, so I felt it my duty to try.
The door opened and Wendy Barton came out. I walked in, sat down on the piano bench and began to sort through my sheet music. Today Mrs. Windsor introduced her niece Pasha to teach me.
With a smile, Pasha sat beside me on the piano bench, opened my sheet music to the beginning page and asked me to play. I arranged my fingers on the keys. Then I frowned (皱眉) and concentrated to make the notes on the page match the finger movements. I had to admit I was a rather mechanical (不加思考的) pianist.
After about a page or two, Pasha gently put her hand on top of mine as if to calm my fingers. There was a long pause. “What are you hearing in the music?” I looked at her rather strangely and admitted I didn’t know what she meant. “Like a story. Here, let me try and you listen,” Pasha advised.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting her fingers dance lightly over the keys. Then, she began to play. “See, it begins here beside some kind of river. Hear the water flowing beside you?” Her fingers rose and fell gently on the keys. “Now a princess appears and she’s picking flowers from the water’s edge.” A happy piece of music filled the air in time to Pasha’s dancing fingers.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
Suddenly the music changed.
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That day means a lot in my musical life.
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A few weeks before Thanksgiving one year, my husband and I decided to invite a guest over for the holiday. I called a senior centre and they suggested Ilse. She was a stubborn 78-year-old lady, who favoured sequinned(亮片的) T-shirts.
On Thanksgiving, within minutes of arriving, Ilse welcomed the glass of wine my husband offered with a wide smile. By the end of the evening, we felt as if we were old friends. The more time I spent with Ilse, the more she became like a surrogate (替代的) grandma. So when her only son Ralph died, I realized she was too upset to be left alone and helped her hire a caregiver. For me, she was like a family and I was the only one left in her tribe.
Each time I stopped by her apartment, Ilse seemed more disconnected than the time before. Late one afternoon, when I called her, I was unable to understand what she was saying. I drove her to the emergency room, where the doctor confirmed she had suffered a mild stroke. During the next few days, I dropped by her apartment, but she was no longer the energetic, stubborn Ilse I knew. At the end of the week, I received an early-morning phone call from her caregiver. “Please come over now,” the woman said, her voice matter-of-fact. “She’s passed away.” When I arrived, I saw Ilse lying on her bed, motionless, her eyes closed. I sat on the edge of the bed, too shocked to cry.
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The morning after Ilse’s death, I read through her will and saw my name.
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I donated the money to a cause she cared about deeply: children.
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After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. It’s hard to imagine that the other woman was my mother, who has been living alone for 19 years, but I am too busy to visit her often. That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.
“What’s wrong? Are you well?” she asked. My mother always doubts that a late night call is a sign of bad news.
“It would be pleasant to spend some time with you,” I responded.
As I drove over to pick her up, I noticed that she seemed to be nervous about our date. But she smiled from a face that was as beautiful as an angel’s. “I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed,” she said.
We went to a restaurant that was very nice and comfortable. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. I saw mom sitting there looking at me with a smile on her lips.
“I used to have to read the menu when you were small,” she said. “Then it’s time to let me return the favour,” I responded.
During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation-nothing special but catching up on recent events. We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said, “I’ll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.” I agreed.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
When I got home, my wife shared her story about her mom who passed away years ago.
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Several days later, I received my mother’s invitation.
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Family problems are a universal phenomenon, and they can always cause people pain, especially around family-centered times, like holidays. However, there are ways to solve the problems. Life is too short to waste. How a person approaches the family members and what he says can make a big difference.
If the family members are arguing, waiting until everyone calms down can help deal with the argument. A person shouldn’t discuss the family problem when he is still feeling upset or emotional. If he waits even a single night, the intensity (强度) of the emotion is likely to calm down somewhat, even if he is still unhappy. So it is advised that he should wait rather than react emotionally. If he takes a step back and gives himself some time to think before dealing with the problem, he will deal with it wisely.
There are lots of people who want to send off a text or an email and wish they could take things back. Actually, the tone (语气) can be easily misunderstood by electronic communication. The man who sends off a text message or email might not think he sounds angry to the person receiving it. Instead of sending off a text, pick up the telephone, or better yet, arrange in-person communication. Electronic communication means people lose the true meaning of body language, which can convey feelings and reduce the sting (刺痛) of a painful conversation.
As the saying goes, “Blood is thicker than water.” People can choose their friends, but not their family. You might be able to cut family members out, but it could cause you more pain down the road. Understanding that family members have faults, but they can still love their families, is the first step towards dealing with problems. Accept your own faults, too.
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As we get older there are certain gifts standing out in our memories for a variety of reasons.
One gift I was given and treasured most was a doll named Patsy. She wasn’t originally mine but was my younger sister’s Christmas gift, but on holding Patsy I immediately fell in love with her and couldn’t bear to part with het. Luckily, my sister was quite happy to exchange dolls. From then on Patsy was my baby and I continued to love her dearly and would have died for her.
Another gift I offered my Mom has been shining in my mind. On a Saturday, I was on my way to the local cinema when I happened to glimpse(一瞥) at the window of the gift shop at the corner of our street. There were lovely gloves, pretty flowered handkerchiefs, and rose patterned teacups and saucers, all in pretty boxes. Seeing all these lovely gifts reminded me that it would soon be Mother’s Day and my mother’s birthday. Wouldn’t it be nice, I thought, if I could give my mother something really special, something I’d bought myself? So I stepped inside the shop and admired a dressing table set, which was a green cut glass with ornamental tray(装饰托盘) and several matching pieces. I was sure my mother would love it.
The lady must have seen my disappointment when she told me the price. But she had a suggestion which immediately lifted my spirits. She pulled out a large notebook and wrote my name in it and the gift I wanted to buy, and in return I paid her a penny from my pocket money. It meant no sweets that day but I didn’t care. At the age of nine, I’d made my very first lay-by(分期付款)…and felt like a grown up. From then on, every Saturday I dropped in at the shop on schedule and paid a penny, which the lady dutifully recorded in her notebook.
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 day before Mother’s Day I paid the last two pence.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Too excited to wait till Sunday, I excitedly presented the gift to my mother.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Pumpkin (南瓜) carving at Halloween is a family tradition. We visit a local farm every October. In the pumpkin field, I compete with my three brothers and sister to seek out the biggest pumpkin. My dad has a rule that we have to carry our pumpkins back home, and as the eldest child I have an advantage-I carried an 85-pounder back last year.
This year, it was hard to tell whether my prize or the one chosen by my 14-year-old brother, Jason, was the winner. Unfortunately we forgot to weigh them before taking out their insides, but I was determined to prove my point. All of us were hard at work at the kitchen table, with my mom filming the annual event. I’m unsure now why I thought forcing my head inside the pumpkin would settle the matter, but it seemed to make perfect sense at the time.
With the pumpkin resting on the table, hole uppermost, I bent over and pressed my head against the opening. At first I got jammed just above my eyes and then, as I went on with my task, unwilling to quit, my nose briefly prevented entry. Finally I managed to put my whole head into it, like a cork (软木塞) forced into a bottle. I was able to straighten up with the huge pumpkin resting on my shoulders.
My excitement was short-lived. The pumpkin was heavy. “I’m going to set it down, now,” I said, and with Jason helping to support its weight, I bent back over the table to give it somewhere to rest. It was only when I tried to remove my head that I realized getting out was going to be less straightforward than getting in. When I pulled hard, my nose got in the way. I got into a panic as I pressed firmly against the table and moved my head around trying to find the right angle, but it was no use. “I can’t get it out!” I shouted, my voice sounding unnaturally loud in the enclosed space.
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。
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It was five or six minutes though it felt much longer.
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The video was posted the Monday before Halloween.
