After 20 years as a full-time wife and mother, I decided to be a school bus driver for I loved kids. When I think about my years of bus driving, many things crowd in, but mostly, I remember Charlie.
Charlie, eight years old, with blond hair and crystalline gray eyes, began riding my bus in September of my fourth year driving. They all had stories to tell me about their summers. Charlie, though, ignored me. He didn’t even answer when I asked his name.
From that day on, Charlie was a trial. If a fight broke out, I didn’t have to turn my head to know who had started it. If a girl was crying, chances were Charlie had pulled her hair. No matter how I spoke to him, gently or firmly, he wouldn’t say a word. He’d just stare at me with those big gray eyes of his.
I later found out Charlie’s father was dead and he didn’t live with his mother. He deserves my patience, I thought. To my cheery “Good Morning”, he was silent. When I wished him a happy Halloween, he sneered (冷笑). Still I was sure that this child needed to feel some warmth from me. So, when he’d pass by, I’d pat him on the arm or sometimes gave him a hug.
Toward the end of that year, the kids on my bus gave me a small trophy inscribed (刻) “To the Best Bus Driver Ever”. I propped it up on the dashboard (仪表盘). On top I hung a small tin heart that a little girl had given me. In red paint she had written, “I love Polly and Polly loves me.”
The next day, I was delayed a few minutes talking to the principal. When I got on the bus I realized that the tin heart was gone. “Does anyone know what happened to the little heart that was up here?” I asked. For once with 39 children, there was silence.
One boy piped up, “Charlie was the first one on the bus. I bet he took it.” Other children joined the chorus, “Yeah! Charlie did it! Search him!”
I asked Charlie to come forward, stuck my hand into his pocket and immediately I felt it—the small tin heart. Charlie stared at me and seemed to be waiting for what he’d come to expect from the world. I was about to pull out the tin heart when I stopped myself. Let him keep it, a voice seemed to whisper.
“It must have fallen off before I got here,” I said to the kids. “I’ll probably find it back at the depot.” Without a word, Charlie returned to his seat. When he got off at his stop, he didn’t glance at me as usual.
That summer Charlie moved away.
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150词左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
3. 请按如下格式作答。
Paragraph 1:
A dozen years after my retirement I was in a department store, when someone said, “Polly?”
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Paragraph 2：
That night I thought over his words.
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Mom was in extreme pain of cancer. I sat outdoors, watching the bees flying from one flower to another. I studied Mom's face, thinking how I could take her mind off the pain she was suffering. Her strong belief had always inspired and encouraged me. It was my turn to do the same for her—to encourage her to cheer up.
“Are the flowers in the field beautiful?” Mom asked weakly. She managed to find beauty in nature. Suddenly, I had an idea and asked her, “How about getting some flowers we can plant together in front of the house?” Mom's face slowly lit up and smiled. She said, “It sounds great.” Then we slowly climbed into the car.
Soon, we were wandering through rows and rows of colorful flowers. Mom's pain was forgotten temporarily as she bent over to choose a bunch of red roses. “Oh, how beautiful,” she whispered, pressing the flowers against her face.
A young lady approached and said, “Hello, ladies. It's a beautiful day for planting flowers. My name is Jenny. You can choose and buy whatever flowers you like.”
She was young and beautiful and I said thanks to her. I hurried to Mom's side, “I think we will have enough flowers to plant, Mom. Would you mind waiting in the car while I pay for them?”
“Let me carry the flowers for you,” Jenny smiled and said, “You are so kind and patient with your mother.” I replied, “Thank you. Mom is experiencing great pain because of her cancer. What I am doing is make her happy and forget her pain.” Suddenly, Jenny froze in her tracks.
She said, “My mom has cancer, too. May I please add your Mom's name to hers? I'd be proud to pray for both of them—overcoming the difficulties and achieving a victory as soon as possible.”
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。
Hearing what she said, we were very inspired.
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Mom was so happy that we talked a lot on the way home.
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Wide awake, I sat up in bed before dawn. I'd had another dream about Jennifer, my middle child. She's 38 now. Usually in my dreams she's still a little shy girl.
Jennifer had been five years old and her older sister seven, when the twins were born. Everything changed. The boys demanded much of my time and energy, so I hardly had any left for their older sisters. Sweet, quiet Jennifer, sandwiched between the others, required almost nothing from me. Eventually Jennifer had her own children and lived about an hour and a half away. But it seemed as though she were worlds away.
I often dreamed about her. In this one she was a grown woman and mixed in with a crowd. I waved hard, “Jennifer! I'm over here!” But she didn't notice me.
I longed to hear my daughter's voice and called, “Hey, I had a dream about you.” Then Jennifer surprised me. “I dreamed about you too. But it was terrible. I won't even tell you.”
“But I am eager to hear.”
Her words came out without thinking, “We were walking through a vegetable garden. A farmer shouted that I'd stepped on one of his tomatoes and asked for 43 cents. I didn't have any money and turned to you. You said no. I begged. I woke up in tears.”
The pain in her voice almost cut my breath off. “There were so many things I should have done for you. I overlooked you. You seemed so competent and independent. I forgot you were just a child.”
There was silence on her end of the line. The communication seemed broken again. I called an old friend and told her about Jennifer's dream and our awkward attempt to connect. “Your relationship probably broke down over a lot of little things,” she said.
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 realized what I should do to mend our relationship.
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The next day, my daughter called me excitedly.
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