I was a proud mother of three children, my last little one being delivered in the middle of this pandemic. She was born in August and her name is Aida.
Shortly after having Aida, my mother-in-law showed me something she learned from her friend’s mother in an art class she attended weekly. She had shown me how to knit a scarf. She showed me stitches and gave me her half done project.
I spent a lot of time breastfeeding my sweet little girl, so I had some extra time to do something with my hands throughout the day. I enjoyed making the scarf so I purchased tons of yarn (纱线) since it was winter. I wanted to make scarves for my three children as Christmas gifts.
There was a new family that moved in down the street. The only daughter of the family was Jane, a shy girl, aged 14, the same age of my oldest son David. It seemed that she came from a financially disadvantaged family, for she always wore old clothes. Worse still, in such cold days, she had no more clothes to wear and trembled with cold.
Due to the pandemic, society was thrown into crisis mode. Schools were closed, food supplies and deliveries were suspended and children were stuck at home. In such discouraging times, however, they became good companions, talking and playing at home or around the houses.
It was dreadfully cold this winter. Every time David came back from outside, with red face, he always cried, “Mum, it’s freezing outside!” then he came over to see whether I finished the scarf. I could tell how impatient he was to wear my scarf sooner! I had to speed the project to satisfy his expectation. But David comforted me saying he could wait a few days. What a kind and considerate boy he was! Then my great project finally was accomplished on the morning ahead of Christmas.
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 wrapped the scarf around David’s neck.
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Paragraph 2
Later that day David came back saying Jane also deserved a scarf.
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“It’s more important to keep your old friends than it is to make new friends.”
对这个观点，你是同意还是不同意？请结合实际，写一篇短文阐述你的看法。
内容可包括：
•你在这个问题上的立场；
•你选择这个立场的原因；
•通过具体事例或实际生活经历分析或证明你的观点。
Honesty Carries Kindness
By morning, Fred knew what he had to do. He had not slept a wink but had sat in the corridor all night thinking. He stretched his body and went back to his room. His brother Gray was still asleep.
It was Saturday and there was no school. Fred’s mother asked him to do some shopping for her. On his way out, he glanced at his motorcycle which was parked at the side of the house. There was no hiding the broken front lamp and the dent (凹痕) and scratches (刮痕) on the side of the motorcycle. Fred took a deep breath and went to complete his shopping.
It was late morning before Fred was free to carry out his plan. He marched down the road to Mr. Green’s house. When he arrived and called out the usual greeting, Mrs. Green appeared at the doorway and greeted him warmly. She invited him in and served him tea and some cakes. Fred nervously asked to speak to Mr. Green. She told him that her husband was out but would be home very soon. Sure enough, the elderly man returned in ten minutes.
Fred cleared his throat a few times while his host waited patiently. Finally, he started to talk, admitting that he had come to take responsibility. “I’m so sorry. I was careless yesterday and knocked into your parked car in front of the post office,” said Fred.
Mr. Green looked at the 17-year-old youth, surprised. “So, you are saying that you dented my car and then ran away?”
Fred went red. He nodded. “I’m sorry for not telling you earlier. I was too frightened.”
The elderly man smiled and said, “but you’re not too frightened to acknowledge the mistake now?” Fred said with uncertainty, “I could not sleep last night thinking about it. I knew I had to do the right thing.”
Mr. Green was silent for a minute before saying in a kind voice, “you think that it is the right thing to cover up for your brother?”
Paragraph 1:
Fred went pale, his eyes wandering.
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Paragraph 2:
Fred thanked Mr. Green for his kindness and what he had taught him.
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It was a fine summer morning, perfect to be outdoors. Two sisters had been out mushroom picking, and were on their way home with heavy baskets full of mushrooms. They sang songs on the way, and played with each other.
Soon they reached a point where they had to cross a railway track. They did not think twice about crossing it since there was no train coming, and they could not hear any whistle. They slowly climbed the steep railway embankment, taking care not to drop the baskets. They were very near the track and the little sister Mary was about to cross it first when a train whistled in the distance.
Hearing the train coming, Rose the elder sister quickly ran down. She thought that the young one was following her. But as she turned back, she was shocked to see her little sister still up there crossing the track. “Come back here! Run back fast!” she shouted.
Mary seemed not to hear the whistle nor her sister’s cry as she was concentrating on stepping over the track with her little feet, and holding on to the basket. Then she tripped and fell on the track, scattering her mushrooms around.
The engine driver panicked on seeing a girl between the tracks who was on her hands and knees and he blew the horn with all his strength. Poor Mary, who was frightened by the coming danger, froze and didn’t know what to do. When Rose saw the scene, she screamed at the top of her voice for Mary’s attention. Mary noticed that her sister was not around and cried for help.
With the train drawing near, the engine driver grew extremely anxious. As hard as he could, he kept blowing the whistle and started reducing speed. Yet it was not possible for him to stop the heavy train within such a short distance.
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。
Rose wouldn’t watch the tragedy happen before her eyes.
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The train rolled over and finally stopped.
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A GIFT FOR GRANDPA
Summer vacation was coming. Jack and his brother Berlin were filled with excitement as they thought of visiting their grandparents again.
The big day came at last. After the happy family got ready, they set out for the grandparents’ eagerly. On the way, the brothers were excitedly talking about the fun they had with grandparents.
A little blue house with a tall white chimney finally appeared. Behind the property was the forest carrying their good memories with Grandpa. They arrived at the driveway, at the end of which Grandma was waiting for them joyfully.
Jack and Berlin each gave Grandma a big hug and then swept to the living room, shouting excitedly “Grandpa, we are back!”
Seeing his grandsons, Grandpa was wild with joy and tried to get up with all his strength from the chair but in vain. A helpless expression flashed on his face. Grandma explained that his health was declining rapidly and maybe couldn’t stand up on his own forever. But Grandpa declared stubbornly (倔强地), “I can!” Certainly, he was stuck in his boyish way. Mum and grandparents were happy to meet again after a long time. They sat together and chatted about what happened recently.
The brothers were soon bored with adult conversation, went out and wandered into the forest. Tall trees stretched up to the heavens with large branches crossing each other, while young ones rose straight like soldiers. Grandpa was once a great explorer full of wisdom. He could tell where the birds came from only by their calls and songs. The trees, birds, lizards, lots of bugs...How many merry moments they spent with Grandpa in the kingdom!
But now Grandpa couldn't get up. This made them worried. “We’d think out a way to cheer him up.” Jack said. “Grandpa is a bird lover, and we can catch him a bird.” Berlin suggested. “But he hates birds being caged!” Jack shook his head.
Then a bright idea came to Jack’s mind. “Why not make a cane (拐杖) out of a young tree!”
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。
Berlin thought it was a good idea.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jack and Berlin handed the cane to Grandpa.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A few years ago, my mom went to the doctor to ask him about her neck, which had been a little bigger than usual. It turned out there was something wrong with her lymph glands, and soon they scheduled Mom to have a biopsy on the seventh of September.
As soon as I found out, I was very angry, as September 7 is my birthday. They had promised to take me to see a spider-man movie and had a picnic in the yard. I shouted at her and everyone else, too. I even shouted at the dog. I started begging her to reschedule the biopsy. She gave me this look like she was about to cry and said, “I've done everything I can. I've got a disease. Could you forgive me?” Finally, I just shouted, “I hate you!” and ran into my room, crying. I sat on my bed thinking—Why do things always have to happen to me? Everyone gets diseases Why couldn't mum just go to hospital another day?
For the next couple of weeks I remained silently angry. Deep down I knew I shouldn't act that way, but I did anyway. Anyone could see how sad I was making my mom. I knew it wasn't her fault, but I had to have someone to blame.
Finally, my birthday came. My parents left early in the morning for the hospital, and I was sent to our neighbor's house. No spider-man movie, no birthday present, and no picnic. Though I was taken good care of, I was not having a good time. “This isn't fair,” I thought. “This was supposed to be my day.”
My parents came home late that night. Mom walked in with a bandage on her neck She sat down and rested her head on my dad's shoulder. It hurt so badly that it was difficult for her to talk.
Later that night, Mom asked me to get into her room and she pulled out a box.
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Being sent to New York to help develop a new project, my parents would be too busy to look after me. So they decided to drive me to the village where my grandpa lived. He had been a teacher in a high school before he retired 3 years ago. I haven’t seen my grandfather for a long time. I could only remember he was a serious, well-dressed and handsome man.
When Mum pulled in the driveway, Grandpa Michael was weeding his garden. He stood up and greeted us with wide-open arms. In his muddy gloves and jeans, he looked nothing like the grandfather I remembered. I wasn’t expecting him to look so different.
After the hugs and kisses, Grandpa couldn’t wait to show off his garden, pointing out his almost-ripe tomatoes and complaining about the rabbits eating his lettuce. The man who had been devoted himself for ages to helping his students improve their grades, form good habits or change their bad behaviour now cared so much about gardening. He used to be a perfect teacher but now he was only a perfect gardener.
Mum returned, leaving only Grandpa and me. I was a little nervous as if we were strangers. My grandpa was a little, too. “Are you hungry? Let’s prepare for our dinner together, OK?” My grandpa turned to me and said proudly, “Now, Adam, you know I am very good at making pasta（意大利面）with delicious sauce. Would you like to try?” I eagerly nodded. “That’s good!” Grandpa said. “We’ll make some.”
We pulled up some vegetables from the garden, and then drove 15 miles to the nearest grocery, where Grandpa bought cheese and nuts. On the drive home Grandpa told me his students all liked the pasta he cooked especially the sauce.
Then Grandpa showed me how to mix eggs with flour to make pasta and then how to prepare the sauce. When everything was ready, he proudly served me a large plate of pasta. I put a forkful into my mouth and it was just terrible.
Paragraph 1:
“So,” Grandpa said, his eyes shining, “what do you think?”
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Paragraph 2:
My grandpa hugged me warmly.
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There is no school equal to a decent (体面的) home and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent.
There are two typical examples: Edison’s mother and our mother. As you all know, Thomas Edison is one of the most outstanding scientists and inventors in the world. Unbelievably, young Tom was in school for only three months. It is said that he liked to ask strange questions, many of which have nothing to do with learning. His teacher didn’t understand why he had so many strange questions. He didn’t want to teach Tom any more. He asked Tom’s mother to take the boy home. Tom’s mother taught him to read and write, and she found him to be a very good pupil. He learned very fast and became very interested in science. It was she who played an important role in Edison’s growth. Although we can’t compare with Edison, our mother played a more important role in our growth than his mother. Our dad was an English teacher who taught high school students. For many years, he had been cautious and conscientious (认真的) towards work. Mom stayed home and homeschooled their four children. Three of us had no trouble in learning but my sister Catherine still could not read by fifth grade, and worse still, did not even know the alphabet (字母表).
My mother did some research and found that Catherine had some sort of learning disability. She sent Catherine to a public school to get some help. Catherine made many friends at school and amazed everyone with her gift for telling creative stories in class, but she still couldn’t master reading skills. After all the testing was done, the school had my parents come in. They were told that based on the test results, they should just take Catherine home, which was very similar to Edison’s experience. However, the biggest difference is that Edison was not stupid, and my sister really had learning disabilities.
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。
Tears of sadness ran down my dad’s cheeks.
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In time, Catherine got it.
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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. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
Paragraph 1：
I was stuck for five to six minutes though it felt much longer.
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That video was posted the day before Halloween.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It took place in a teacher’s family. One day, Ben was playing basketball in the living room after school, when he accidentally threw the ball at a vase sitting on the shelf. The vase dropped to the floor and a large piece broke off. What made Ben more upset was that the vase was not a common decoration but an antique(古董), which was handed down through generations from the 18th century. It was also his mother’s favorite thing. To cover his terrible action, the terrified boy glued the pieces together quickly and put the vase back to its place.
As the mother herself dusted the vase every day, she naturally noticed the cracks(裂纹) that evening. To her surprise, the repair work was actually very good. At dinner time, she asked her boy if he broke the vase. Fearing punishment, the suddenly inspired boy said that a neighbor’s cat jumped in from the window and he couldn’t drive it away no matter how hard he tried. It raced around the living room and finally knocked the vase off its shelf. His mother was quite clear that her son was lying, for all the windows were closed before she left for work each morning and opened after she returned. However, in the face of her son’s nervous eyes and the suspicious(怀疑的) looks of the other family members. Ben’s mother remained calm. She realized she shouldn’t just simply blame and punish her son for lying. She came up with another idea.
Before going to bed, the boy found a note from his mother in his room, asking him to go to the study at once. The boy thought he would now be punished but, as he had already lied, he was determined to deny everything to the end, no matter how angry his mum became.
In the study, calmly bathed in the light, his mother’s face showed no sign of anger. On seeing her son push open the door and cautiously enter, she took a chocolate box out of a drawer and gave him one.
注意：
1.所续写的短文词数应为 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.续写部分分为二段，每段的开头语已经为你写好；
4.续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1：The mother said, “This chocolate is a reward for your imagination: a window-opening cat!”
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Paragraph 2: Now with some chocolates in hand, the boy’s bad attitude disappeared.
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