The Charm (魅力) of Schoolyard
In the charm of school life, where classrooms are seats of knowledge and the schoolyard becomes source of memory, there are a fund of stories mixed with humor, warmth, and teacher-student relationships.
Mr. Smith was a country teacher, but not an ordinary one; he was a storyteller, a mentor (人生导师) , and a friend to all his students. His classroom was a world of its own, full of colorful characters and brilliant ideas. One day, during the noon break, a student named Alice noticed a wandering kitten padding (潜行) through the familiar grounds where many schoolyard tales were born. Alice took her to Mr. Smith, who had magical Tricks for handling even the smallest things. With Mr. Smitt’s permission, Alice and her classmates built a shelter for the kitten in a corner of the campus.
The days turned into weeks, and the kitten grew under the tender care of Mr. Smith and his students. Once in a while, she became a temporary resident of the classroom, much to the delight of the whole class. They named her “Schoolyard”, a name that generalized the spirit of their school days.
As the year progressed, Schoolyard became not just a kitten, but a tie connecting each of them and a thread of continuity in their lives. She played on desks, slept in chairs, and hid in folders, thus becoming an unofficial mascot (吉祥物) of the classroom. The students found comfort in her presence, and Mr. Smith, joy in watching them grow through her company.
As graduation neared, Mr. Smith gathered his students for one last lesson. He told them that they would soon be exploring new horizons. He reminded them that life was full of unforeseeable twists and tums along with unexpected potentials, just like the appearance of a kitten in their schoolyard. At the moment, the students were greatly touched and deep down there arose a strong love for those memorable warmth and hearty laughter of their school days.
Thereafter, Mr. Smith and the students agreed to meet here once again in ten years.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
A decade later, Mr. Smith greeted his former students at the school gate.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Isn’t that our Schoolyard?” cried Alice, gazing at the classroom door.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I entered Berkeley, I hoped to earn a scholarship. Having been a Straight-A student, I firmly believed that I could take tough subjects and really learn something. One such course was World Literature given by Professor Jayne. I was extremely interested in the ideas he presented in class.
When I took the first exam, I was shocked to find a 77, C-plus, on my test paper, for English was my best subject and I had expected to score much higher. Upset and disappointed, I went to Professor Jayne, who listened to my arguments but remained unmoved.
I decided to try harder, although I didn’t know what that meant because school had always been easy for me. I read the books more carefully. But my efforts seemed in vain as I received another 77. Again, I reasoned with Professor Jayne. Again, he listened patiently but wouldn’t change his mind.
One more test before the final exam. One more chance to improve my grade. So I doubled my efforts, reviewing my notes carefully and for the first time, I truly understood the meaning of the word “thorough.” But my effort did no good and everything went as before.
The last hurdle (障碍) was the final. No matter what grade I got, it wouldn’t cancel three C-pluses. I realized that I might as well give up on the idea of receiving a scholarship, as it was highly unlikely that I would achieve a high enough grade.
As a result, I stopped working hard. I felt I knew the course material as well as I ever would. In the days leading up to the final, I spent less and less time on study, and was even caught absent-minded in class. Without punishment, Professor Jayne just shook his head and said, “You alone must set your own standard of excellence.”
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。
That day, the words kept ringing in my mind.
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A week later, I was surprised to find I got an A.
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One morning, John Evans entered my life. He was a newcomer, whose parents had recently arrived in our town for seasonal apple picking. In worn-out clothes, he stood in front of our class, shifting from foot to foot. As our teacher, Mrs. Parmele, penned his name in the roll book, whispers of disapproval began floating from row to row.
Mrs. Parmele looked up at us and the whispering stopped. “Class, this is John Evans,” Mrs. Parmele announced, trying to sound friendly. John looked around and smiled, expecting somebody would smile back. Nobody did. I held my breath, hoping Mrs. Parmele wouldn’t notice the empty desk next to mine. She did and pointed him in that direction. He smiled at me as he slid into the seat, but I turned my eyes away.
A week passing by, John still had no friend. “It’s his fault,” I told my mother one night. “He barely even knows how to count.” My mother had grown to know John through my nightly comments. She always listened patiently and sometimes nodded thoughtfully.
Another day at lunchtime, “Can I sit by you?” John stood by me, plate in hand and smile on face. I looked around and agreed a bit unwillingly. As I watched him eat and listened to him chat, it dawned on me that he was actually pleasant to be around. And I was determined John would remain friendless no longer.
One evening, when Mother kissed me good night, I uttered, “Mom, tomorrow is John’s birthday. He’s not going to get anything. No cake. No presents. Nobody even cares.” Mother and I both knew whenever a kid had a birthday, his mother would bring cupcakes for the class. But John’s mother worked all day. His special day would go unnoticed! “Don’t worry,” Mom said, “I’m sure everything will turn out fine.”
The next day, I wished John a happy birthday first thing in the morning, and his embarrassed smile showed me he was glad I had remembered. Till the last class, nothing special happened.
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。
Suddenly I heard a familiar voice singing the birthday song.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________John kindly shared his cupcakes with the class.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Ollie Simmons was good at maths, but Ruby Riley wasn’t. Well, Ruby didn’t think she was. She sat next to Ollie and so she just copied him. This was the best way she had found to do maths and she didn’t have to think at all.
One day the teacher said, “We will be having a maths test after lunch.” Ruby felt there were butterflies in the stomach. “Can I copy off you?” she whispered to Ollie. Ollie thought for a minute. “What will you give me?” he whispered back. Ruby showed Ollie a stone she had. It was round and smooth and the colour of the sea. “OK!” he said, “Give me the stone, and then you can copy my answers.” Ollie got full marks in the maths test and so did Ruby. Their names went on the top of the maths champion chart.
Every week there was a maths test and every week Ollie and Ruby got full marks together. Ollie had to share the top place with Ruby, but it was worth it. He had a torch, a key chain, a golf ball and a gift box!
One day, there was a maths test again. This time, Ruby picked a watch, thinking everything would go as usual—Ollie would let her copy and they would be on the top of the chart together again. But she was wrong. The headmaster came into Ruby’s class. “I want to see Ollie Simmons,” she said. Ollie was gone for a long time. Then the door opened. It was the headmaster again. “Ruby Riley,” she said, “Come with me, please.” Ruby felt like a bird in a cage—there was no way to escape. The headmaster told Ruby that every lunchtime for five weeks she had to do maths. “You have to learn to think for yourself,” she said. “And Ollie has to learn a lesson, too. He’s going to teach you.”
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。
Hanging her head down, Ruby felt so regretful for getting Ollie into trouble.
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Ollie proved to be a good teacher for Ruby.
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Back to first grade
“Criss Cross Applesauce!” The teacher’s voice bounced off the walls of the first-grade room. Immediately the six-year-olds ran to the reading rug (毯子)and took their seats with their legs crossed. I looked at the students and gave them a thumbs-up.
Just six weeks ago. I had been the envy of my classmates. For my mentoring (导师) project. I had been assigned to first grade. Everyone figured that working with little kids would be less challenging than working with the older elementary students.
“You’re so lucky, Chloe,” said my best friend Maneya. “I have to work with fourth graders. Ugh!”
“I know! It'll be like having a couple of hours off from school each week!” I said.
But I soon learned that helping teach first grade was no vacation at all. I was assigned four students: Sara, Allie, Fernando and Cameron. Sara cried every morning. Allie continually wiped her hands on the back of my shirt. Fernando refused to speak. Cameron didn't want to participate in anything.
“I think first grade has changed a lot from when we were first graders,” I told Maneya. Maneya smiled at me, and secretly I thought she was thanking her lucky stars that she was working with fourth graders. Her students completed their exercises without complaining. It sounded like a great classroom to spend time in.
Twice a week, I worked with my group. Most days I returned to my own campus really tired. Once, my teacher asked me why I was wearing a paper crown. I had completely forgotten that I had been filling in for Cameron. who had decided he no longer wanted to be the king in the group’s rehearsal (排练) of their performance “King for a Day”.
Maneya comforted me as I told story after story about first grade. But as the weeks went on, I began to notice I wasn’t the one who was complaining anymore. I had figured out how things worked in the first grade, and Maneya was the one who started to complain. Her experiences with fourth graders began to dull in comparison with my adventures with the six year olds.
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。
Now the mentoring project was about to finish, and overall, things had changed for the better.
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Finally, the performance day came.
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The New Girl at School
One morning Eric’s teacher began the day with an announcement. “Today we have a new student joining our class, ” she said. “Please welcome Akiko to second grade and to America.”
Everyone said hello. Akiko seemed nervous and looked down at the floor. “Akiko is from Japan. She doesn’t speak English yet and I am sure you will do your best to help her.” Ms. Sloane said.
Ms. Sloane showed Akiko to the desk next to Eric. “Akiko, this is Eric.” Ms. Sloane said. She spoke slowly and pointed to Eric. “Eric, ” she said again.
Akiko nodded and sat down next to Eric, Eric was excited to meet the new student in his class, but she didn’t speak English yet. How could they find a way to talk to each other?Erie noticed that Akiko looked nervous. so he wanted to make her feel better.
“Hello. Akiko!” he said.
“Konnichiwa, ” said Akiko.
“That must mean hello.” Eric thought but he wondered how they could be friends if they couldn’t talk to each other. After thinking the matter over for a while, he came up with a good idea：Sign language. Ms. Sloane had ever taught them some sign language to communicate with those who couldn’t speak English.
With the help of sign language Eric conveyed his intention to make friends with her. Akiko understood the meaning of his gestures. She didn’t feel nervous any more and smiled.
Ms. Sloane began the day with math lessons. Eric had trouble remembering all of his math facts, so it took him longer than most kids to finish his worksheet. He glanced at Akiko. who had already finished. “I guess numbers are the same everywhere, ” Eric thought.
Eric looked at Akiko’s paper and pointed to a question. Akiko turned to him and said “Go.”
“Go where?” asked Eric.
“Go. Ichi, ni, san, shi, go.” Akiko said again.
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。
With the words, Akiko tapped her hand five times on the desk.
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Akiko felt better when she and Eric found a way to talk to each other.
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Before I was ten, my parents worked very hard at ensuring that everything seemed pleasant for me. I had to admit that I had a very peaceful childhood and I mostly ignored the fact that my elder sister was different. She was diagnosed(诊断)with “Asperger Syndrome”. This diagnosis turned my parents’ world upside down, but they never let it affect me.
It was only at the age of ten that I started to notice the differences and become conscious of my social life and self-image that I had carefully developed. My sister, on the other hand, was socially awkward. She could not look at people in the eye. She would say to herself and repeat what she had just said. She, however, was good at studying, and thus we attended the same primary school. Despite this, I never accepted in public that she was my sister. There was one incident, however, just two years ago, that remained in my memory. It was the incident that changed how I viewed my sister. It was the incident that changed me.
When she was about to graduate in primary six, the school made it a must for everyone to put up an performance, in a group or individually. Due to her inability to integrate(融入群体), my sister was the only one left without a group, so my sister had to perform individually. “I’ll sing, ”my sister told my parents, somewhat confidently. Hearing that, I was completely shocked. How could my sister, who was socially awkward, sing in front of the school? I knew so very well that if I allowed this to happen, she would embarrass me, one way or another. “No!” I remembered protesting. My parents shot me a look. I knew my sister was to perform, and I was to be part of the audience watching her. Silently, I prayed that something would happen and I would not have to watch my sister shame herself. The day finally came.
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 sat in the hall, restless and uneasy, waiting for my sister to start her performance.
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How did I not know that my sister could sing so beautifully?
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It was exam time at Marc’s school. Every day, their teachers gave them loads of homework and told them the test was very important and that they ought to spare no effort to perform well in it. Everyone followed the teachers’ instructions and made preparations for it, except Marc. He just turned a deaf ear to it. He thought he would rather play football than study.
His mum and dad repeated the importance of revision for exams over and over again. They told him that he should be working hard preparing for the test. But the weather was sunny and he thought he had better things to do.
“Shall we go to the park?” he said to his friend Huck one afternoon. “It’s a nice day. We could play football and kick around.” Huck shook his head. “I’m supposed to review my lessons,” he said. “I’m going home to do some math.”
Marc was amazed. “You’d rather do math than play football?”
“Math is important. Besides, my mum says she will buy me a mountain bike if I do well in the math exam.”
“That’s crazy,” said Marc. Huck shrugged (耸肩) and replied, “Wait until I beat you in the test and you will watch me riding past on my mountain bike!”
“You won’t beat me,” said Marc.
“Oh yes, I will.”
“Oh no, you won’t! That will never happen. Just wait and see!”
For the first time ever, Marc wanted to perform well. He couldn’t bear it if his friend came top and he did badly. So when he got home, he opened his math book. But there was so much to do. All of a sudden, he felt like he’d forgotten everything he had learned that year! He didn’t know where to start. When his sister Lily came in, he was sitting expressionlessly by the desk, just staring out of the window.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式作答。
“You don’t look happy, Marc. What’s wrong?” she said.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________On the day of the exam, Marc went to school with great confidence.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My stomach dropped as Mrs. Nelson said, “This is just a reminder that tomorrow is the Open Day!”
I hoped Mom to be free tomorrow so Dad would not have to come. What would people think of him? I put all negative thoughts aside with the determination that Mom would be able to come, and that was the end of it!
When arriving home, I walked in the kitchen and smelled fresh bread. It was one of Mom’s baking days! She greeted with her usual warmth, asking. “Well, hello there! How was your day?” “Nothing special. It was just another day,” I replied casually. Hearing this, her face showed her disappointment, but then here yes kept probing(探查) mine trying to read if I was being honest. It worked. She saw there was something on my mind. “Heidi, are you sure you have no news for me?” she continued.
I explained that tomorrow was the Open Day. And Dad was walking in the backdoor just in time to hear the news. I quickly asked Mom, “You are free, aren’t you?”
“Sorry dear, Ⅰ have made lots of arrangements for tomorrow. Maybe Dad will be willing to go.”
“Do you want me to come with you, Heidi?” Dad asked with a smile, “I would really love that!”
“Sure, Dad. That would be cool,” I said. But Dad really did not notice my lack of enthusiasm as his face brightened and he started talking about how much fun it was going to be.
I loved Dad’s optimism and enthusiasm. He had made life so exciting and adventurous for the family and I adored him for it. But would people see him the way I saw him? His thin body with practically bald(秃的) head was not exactly what my friends would consider a “cool dad”. Dad was also much older than most of my fiends’ parents. Their dads would be professional businessmen, doctors, dentists, or engineers. Dad was a draftsman(绘图员)and he worked in an office at home.
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。
Well, whether I liked it or not, the next morning came.
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When we arrived,we walked into my class.
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Hector stood in the front of his fifth-grade classroom as one of the last two competitors in the Room Five Geography Bee. His opponent having missed the last question, it was Hector’s turn. If he answered his question correctly, he would be the Room Five champion.
“Where did I put that second sheet of questions?” Mr. Adler whispered while searching through a thick pile of papers on his messy desk. Mr. Adler, though a great teacher, had a reputation of being disorganized with a long history of misplacing things. “Oh well, I apologize for the delay.” said Mr. Adler after what seemed like a long time. “Hector, please tell us the capital city of Brazil.” Hearing the question, Hector smiled. Then, there was the answer.
Later that day in the courtyard, many classmates congratulated Hector. Wearing a proud smile, he greeted and thanked them all. Oh, the sweet taste of victory.
As it was getting late, the courtyard became deserted. But Hector still didn’t want to leave. Then he saw Mr. Adler crossing the courtyard and holding a half-open bag full of papers. As he hurried past, an envelope dropped out but Mr. Adler was unaware, turned a corner and disappeared out of sight. Hector picked it up. On the envelope were the words “Fifth Grade Geography Bee Questions and Answers”. Hector stared wide-eyed at the envelope. Before he even had time to reflect on the consequences, he opened it and read the questions.
As soon as Hector had done it, he knew it was the wrong choice. He’d cheated and whatever he did now, he couldn’t change the fact. “What if Mr. Adler thought I stole this morning’s questions too?” Hector thought. “He’d take away my Room Five victory for sure.” Little did he know that one of the best days in his life would be turned into the worst so quickly. Torn by his conscience, Hector was totally at a loss what to do.
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。
Before he realized it, Hector found himself standing in Mr. Adler’s room.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The next day the entire school came to watch the Fifth Grade Geography Bee.
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