I was a broke university student. I should have been going to university on a scholarship because I came from a low-income family, but a last-minute £100-a-year pay rise for my mum pushed my family over the threshold (门槛) for what defined “low-income” and I was suddenly no longer qualified for £15,000 a year in scholarship money. This news came after I’d been accepted by the university and signed the lease (租约) for my accommodation.
Despite my family not being labelled low-income anymore, I still wouldn’t receive any financial support from my family as all the income went toward taking care of my disabled brother and paying their own bills. It would be tight, but because I had savings from my part-time job, I decided to go to university anyway. After paying my rent, I had £10.20 a week for everything else including food, toiletries, and school supplies.
As I was in a new city, I really wanted to make friends, which was difficult when most of the social activities were expensive. Therefore, I jumped at the chance to do a relatively cheap coffee shop trip with my roommates who were pleasant to me.
I had £20 with me to get a cheap cup of coffee and my food shopping for a few weeks. So I headed for the coffee shop. While paying, I pulled out the note and a handful of change and realized I could pay without breaking the note, so I put it back in my pocket. It wasn’t until I arrived at the supermarket that I realized the note was gone. What should I do? I was desperate it was the equivalent (相等物) of two weeks of money. My roommates helped me look for the note. However, it was in vain. Finally, I went to school empty-handed.
注意：
(1) 续写词数应为150词左右；
(2) 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
P1: As a final attempt, I messaged the coffee shop’s Facebook page asking if they’d seen it.
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P2: I said, “Oh, ...This isn’t mine; my note was an old worn one.”
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2 . The journey towards self-improvement and personal success is often paved with challenges and obstacles.
Mindset rests on a fundamental principle: your inner beliefs and thoughts can form your reality.
Factors like talent and hard work are often highlighted in professional success.
To make full use of the potential of your mindset, it is crucial to confront and overcome limiting beliefs. You may never realize it.
| A．This isn’t merely hopeful thinking. |
| B．Effort and ability can equal a positive mindset. |
| C．The growth mindset means continuous improvement. |
| D．In fact, mindset emerges as an equally critical element. |
| E．Such beliefs can act as invisible barriers to your success. |
| F．Mindset plays an important role in building good relationship. |
| G．However, a crucial element that influences this journey is the mindset. |
3 . There are a lot of emotions, including anger. Anger can be a powerful emotion, and if not kept tame (驯服), it can quickly get out of control. You can damage and destroy relationships by letting your anger get the best of you.
Give yourself a timeout. If you find yourself getting upset and the anger is building, give yourself a timeout. Walk away from the situation, practice deep breathing techniques, calm yourself down, and relax.
Collect your thoughts. Before you just speak out the first thing that wants to come out of your mouth, take a few minutes to collect your thoughts.
Forgive. Practice forgiveness. When someone does something wrong to you, practice forgiving rather than getting upset.
The more you work at handling your anger, the more natural and easier it will be to keep calm. You will eventually find that you do not get upset and angry so quickly.
| A．Use humor |
| B．Find an outlet for your anger. |
| C．Before you put yourself back in the situation, |
| D．Learn some tips to help you manage your anger. |
| E．The more you forgive, each time it will get easier. |
| F．If you find you still anger easily and it gets out of control, |
| G．This way, what you say is planned, rather than spontaneous, which can lead to saying things you don’t mean. |
“I’m sorry, but visiting hours are over,” the nurse said apologetically. “You can come back in the morning.”
My husband Eric had just got out of the operating room and was still struggling with being sick from the anesthesia (麻醉). I really wanted to stay with him until he was more comfortable, but I knew that the hospital’s visiting policies must be followed.
“I’ll take care of him before you get back, I promise.” The nurse handed me a piece of paper. “That’s my cell number. You can call or text me anytime tonight if you’re worried or just want an update.”
I thanked her and then turned to Eric. “Can I do anything for you before I leave?” He shook his head slightly without opening his eyes, and I could tell he was uncomfortable. “I can’t believe I have to leave while you’re like this,” I said, tears filling my eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
He patted my hand and signaled to me to leave. “I’ll be right here in the morning.” I said and headed to my car, still fighting tears. In my head, I knew that Eric wasn’t in danger, and he would be physically okay when I returned in the morning, but it still broke my heart that I couldn’t be with him when he needed me.
The hospital was a few hours from our house, so I was spending the night in a hotel. When I got to my room, I texted Eric’s nurse. She texted back, saying he was still sick to his stomach.
I sighed, feeling the worry rush in. What if getting sick caused his stitches (缝线) to break open? How much of the pain medicine was still in his system? What if he was in pain from his incision (切口)?
注意：1.续写词数应为 150个左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I turned on the TV to shift my focus, but it didn’t work.
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Around midnight, I heard my phone receive a message.
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As the bell was about to ring, our teacher announced a special assignment for next Monday: to share our gratitude for someone instead of giving a daily report. Hearing this, anxiety crawled over my body as the last thing I would do was speaking in front of the entire class! I couldn’t help complaining to my best friend Jenny.
“You are the chief violinist in our school orchestra, aren’t you?” she said. “So what’s the point of being afraid of speaking to a few our own classmates since you can handle acting in front of a large audience?”
Her point made sense, but being in a performance meant being part of a team. I shook my head. Besides, there were so many people I was grateful to, and choosing just one seemed difficult. Even if I could pick someone, I wouldn’t know how to say thank you. And even if I figured out what to say, I was sure I’d stumble(结巴地说) on my words when speaking aloud! Standing there, with everyone’s eyes on me, I would feel the spot light was wholly on me, and there would be no place for me to hide! “Oh no!” I covered my face with my hands and said, “I can’t do it, just can’t!” Real friends, the ones who know you well, don’t just do exactly what you ask. Jenny, always supportive and helpful, wrote something on a piece of paper and gently removed my hands from my face. She had drawn a cute cat with the word “CALM” written below it.
“Nice meeting you; I am the ‘everything will be fine’ cat,” Jenny laughed and sounded exactly like a cat. Pretending to listen to the cat, she asked, “Well, kitty, you think my friend should come to my house tomorrow, so we can prepare our speeches together I laughed out loud and relaxed a lot. I have to say Jenny was there for me, always!”
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 next day, I went to Jenny’s house.
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Before the speech, however, I changed my mind and wrote “Jenny” on the blackboard.
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6 . One day, my wife and I were listening to Disney songs with our two little girls when the romantic love song I See the Light came on. I walked over to my wife, who was in the kitchen, took her in my arms and started dancing with her slowly. I could tell it caught her off-guard and embarrassed her a little. Thankfully, she stayed in my arms and danced with me anyway. As the song approached the final chorus, I suddenly realized we weren’t alone. Our daughters were standing there watching us in silence.
The song approached the end and as the strings played the last notes, I decided to give the girls a Hollywood ending. I took my wife’s face in my hands and kissed her. After I pulled away, I looked over and saw my elder daughter’s face lit up with admiration, and her eyes filled with tears. Then she came over, buried her face in my wife’s legs. and cried.
“Why are you crying?” my wife asked.
My daughter was at a loss for words, so I tried a different angle.
“Can you at least give me one word to describe how you’re feeling?” I asked.
My daughter paused, looked up at us and said,“Loved.”
It reminded me of seeing my dad kiss my mom, leaving me feeling pleasantly embarrassed as a child. I wanted to watch them kiss each other and hide my face at the same time. And while there were no words to describe how I felt at the time, looking back, I know what it was: I felt loved.
Never overlook the power of your love for your spouse (配偶). Your kids are watching as you smile and give each other a kiss when you say goodbye to each other in the morning. They’re listening when you praise one another. Showing marital love in front of our children is a unique chance to be both a good parent and a good spouse.
1. What were the author’s daughters doing while he was dancing with his wife?| A．Cooking in the kitchen. | B．Watching a Disney film. |
| C．Looking at them silently. | D．Exchanging loving kisses. |
| A．She was desperate to be kissed by her mom. | B．She hated it when her dad kissed her mom. |
| C．She felt deeply touched by her parents’ love. | D．She thought her dad completely ignored her. |
| A．Proud and calm. | B．Sad and ashamed. | C．Interested but annoyed. | D．Embarrassed but pleased. |
| A．Remember to praise their children in public. | B．Avoid close contact in front of their children. |
| C．Set a good example in terms of good manners. | D．Show their love for each other to their children. |
My daughter and I were fans of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, an educational children’s television series that was created and hosted by Fred Rogers, more commonly known as Mister Rogers.
Around my daughter’s second birthday, I had a Mister Rogers-inspired idea. Why not invite one key person in my daughter’s world to dinner each month? The local children’s librarian could visit one evening, and perhaps the borough mayor (区长) could drop by a few weeks later.
But I wanted to start at the top.
“Let’s invite Mister Rogers himself, ” I said to my wife. “After all, he lives just a few neighborhoods away. I bet he’d come.”
She looked at me as if I wanted to invite the President. “You really think Mister Rogers would come to our house for dinner? Fat chance.”
Undeterred (不气馁的), I sent a letter to Mister Rogers that fall, telling him of my newfound delight in his show and my idea for inviting neighborhood people over to talk about their lives, and asking him and Mrs. Rogers to be our guests.
I told my daughter about the letter. Her eyes glistened (发光). “Mister Rogers coming? Really, Daddy?”
One month later, no reply. My daughter hadn’t forgotten and periodically asked when Mister Rogers would be visiting. I always told her that he hadn’t called yet and that it was a good opportunity to learn about patience.
Two months later, no response. At the three-month mark, my wife simply rolled her eyes when I raised the topic. I was beginning to lose optimism. Mister Rogers had let me down.
Sadly, Mister Rogers passed away in late February of the following year. I was unaware of his illness and now understood why our invitation had gone unanswered. Mister Rogers would not be coming to dinner after all. Yet, even after his passing, Mister Rogers gave us a far greater gift than I ever could have imagined.
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 week later, I was surprised to find a letter in our mailbox from Mister Rogers.
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The letter is a treasured gift and his kind words touched my life and my daughter.
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My three-year-old son, Charles, has loved watching trucks, cars and all types of vehicles (交通工具) since he could sit up and look around. Charles was a fan of fire trucks, ambulances, garbage (垃圾) trucks and other vehicles which have wheels.
Because of his deep love for anything with wheels, I always made it a point to take him outside to watch garbage trucks drive up and down. Charles loved watching the workers and would get so excited when the drivers beeped the horns (鸣喇叭) at him as they went by. Charles would wave and shyly say, “Thank you.”
There was a particular waste management employee who was extra friendly. Charles was attracted by him, and after we knew his name — Lonnie, Charles talked about him throughout the day. One day, Lonnie rode by and said, “Charles, I promise when this pandemic (流行病) is over, I’m going to let you ride in my truck.” However, we were going to move out of the state about a week later. I had to tell Lonnie the truth.
The next week, we waited for the garbage truck. Finally, late in the afternoon, I heard the loud noise of the truck. I raced to the door, carrying Charles. We did not want to miss seeing Lonnie on our last week in Birmingham. Lonnie stopped the truck and got out. He told me he had some things for Charles — a hat, a yellow safety vest, two toy garbage cans, coloring books and so on. Charles was absolutely excited, especially by the garbage cans, and I was so touched. The next day, Charles and I were playing in the front yard when a man approached me. He said, “I’m Lonnie’s manager, and he has something special planned for Charles. Are you going to be here around 11 am?” I said, “Of course we will.”
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。
At noon, something surprising happened.
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Even though we moved out of the state, Charles still misses Lonnie.
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1. 春天对你的影响；
2. 你对春天的感悟。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 题目已为你写好。
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10 . Feeling tired and stressed? You are not alone.
●Start your day with a short morning workout.
Modest amounts of exercise first thing in the morning can set you up for a good day. You can do some jumping jacks, run for a few minutes, go for a bike ride or take your dog for a walk around the block.
●Remove clutter(杂乱) to reduce stress.
Clutter can easily cause stress-and stress contributes to poor sleep, which can also affect your overall productivity and general health.
●Write down three things that went well today.
What went well? This simple question can help you focus on all the good things that happen in your life every day. At the end of your day, look back and find three things that went well. Reflect on them, and even replay them in your mind, revisiting those good feelings. This exercise focuses your attention on the positive experiences in your day and away from the negative.
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Starting a new project you care about can be the healthy distraction(消遣) you need to improve your mood, reduce stress and increase your sense of accomplishment. You can use your mornings just before your normal work routine or an hour of your evening to accomplish some pretty amazing things.
| A．Work on a passion project . |
| B．Accomplish amazing things early. |
| C．The causes of cluttering are varied. |
| D．It can help you think more positively. |
| E．It’s normal to feel uninspired or unmotivated every now and then. |
| F．Besides, research also shows that clutter can be bad for your mental health. |
| G．Even short exercise sessions of just 10 minutes can do wonders for your mood. |
