When the final school bell rang, Eli walked home as usual. His trip took him across the playground, past the T-shirt factory, and across the main street. From there, Eli often cut through a blank lot (空地) where a house used to be. The house burned down years ago, but there were still flowers and trees to show that people used to live there. Everything was usual, but everything was immersed (沉浸在) in Eli’s sadness.
At that time, Eli watched a blue jay (蓝松鸦) fly into the old maple tree at the blank lot. The bird sat on a low branch and screamed loudly. It was as if the blue jay knew that he was sad, for he had failed his math test again. And he wrote a letter to Aunt Lucy. But Aunt Lucy did not reply to him.
When he got home, there was something in his mailbox. He found it was from Aunt Lucy, who lived in a different town. Upon opening it, his eyes widened with delight. It was a letter he looked forward to and a book! Eli read the letter.
Dear Eli, You told me that you didn’t do well in math. I hope you don’t give up and don’t get discouraged by a few failures. Because you once told me that you wanted to be a math teacher when you grew up and helped more children. I gave you a book. It’s about a great scientist you liked, I hoped you, like him, had been studying hard and sticking to your dream.
Love,
Aunt Lucy
After reading Aunt Lucy’s letter and receiving her encouragement, Eli’s sad mood improved a lot. Eli took the book and rushed to show it to his father, saying that it was the best gift he had ever received. His father smiled, noting Eli’s happy smile. Touched by Aunt Lucy’s thoughtful present, Eli felt an immediate urge (强烈的欲望) to thank Aunt Lucy right away. So with his father’s help, he decided to call Aunt Lucy.
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。
Eli called Aunt Lucy but couldn’t get through.
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Just then, there was a knock at the door.
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My mother used to love strawberry pie. It was a thrill for me to drop in to see her and surprise her with her favorite food.
In her later years, both my mom and dad lived in a life-care retirement center. Partially due to the stress of my mom’s Alzheimer’s condition(阿尔茨海默症), my dad became ill and was unable to care for her anymore. They lived in separate rooms, yet were together as much as they could be. They loved each other so much. Hand-in-hand, those silver-haired lovers would stroll the halls, visiting their friends and passing out love. They were the “romantics” of the retirement center.
When I realized that her condition was worsening, I wrote her a letter. I told her how much I loved her, that she was a great mother and that I was proud to be her son. I told her things I had wanted to say for a long time and had been too stubborn to say until I realized she might or might not be in a position to understand the love behind the words. It was a detailed letter of love. My dad told me that she would often spend many hours reading and re-reading that letter.
It saddened me to know that my mom no longer knew I was her son. She would often ask, “Now, what was your name?” and I would proudly reply that my name was Larry and I was her son. She would smile and reach for my hand. I wish I could once again experience that special touch.
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。
Last weekend，I visited my mom with some strawberry pie.
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Without a word, I pulled a chair close to the bed and reached over to hold her hand.
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One sunny day, I drove to the airport and was waiting to pick up a friend. That day I had one of those experiences that change people’s lives.
It happened just two feet away from me. I was sitting on a bench and looked around the big waiting hall. Just then I noticed a man, carrying two bags, coming toward me. He stopped next to me. There stood his family, the wife and three lovely kids. He greeted them, with a big smile on his face.
First of all, he laid down his bag and came closer to his younger son (about six years old). They gave each other a warm, loving hug. Then the father looked in his son’s eyes with words, “I missed you so much. It’s so good to see you, son!” The boy smiled and said, “Me too, dad.”
Then the man talked to his older son (nine or ten years old). “Oh, you are quite the young man. I love you very much!” and cupped his face. Then they had the most tender hug too.
Afterwards the father said, “Hi, baby girl” to his baby daughter. She was moving excitedly in her mother’s arm and watching her returning father all the time. The man gently took his little daughter, quickly kissed her face all over and then held her close to his chest. The little girl laid her head on his shoulder in pure contentment.
After several moments, the man put down the baby daughter slowly. He turned to his wife and looked at her gently and said, “I’ve saved the best for last.” He shared with her the most passionate kiss. They stared at each other, having big smiles. They reminded(使想起) me of newlyweds(新婚夫妇).
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 myself asking, “Wow, how long have you been married?”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was shocked, as I imagined that he had been gone for several weeks at least.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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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The Feel-Good Shoebox
Catherine sat on her bed with her chin in her hands. “Why aren't you getting ready for Grandma's birthday party?”asked Mother.
“I can't bake like Sylvia or knit like Anne,” Catherine grumbled. “They made good presents. All I made for her is an ugly card.” “It's a lovely card. And no one can be good at everything,” said Mother. She sat on the bed next to Catherine. “When I was your age, I felt sad when I couldn't do certain things. But one day Grandma showed me the shoebox game, and it made me feel a lot better.” Catherine frowned （皱眉）. “How can a shoebox make me feel better？”“You＇ll see，” said Mother. She disappeared down the hall, then came back carrying a shoe box, a pencil, paper, and scissors.
Catherine watched as Mother cut several pieces of paper into squares. “Nôw, I want you to write down all the things you can do,” said Mother. “Like what?” asked Catherine. “Why not start with things you've learned in school? Give it some thought while I ice Grandma's birthday cake.”
Catherine sat for a while wrinkling （起皱纹） and unwrinkling her eyebrows.Slowly Catherine began to write and write. Before long she had written on every square of paper. She was so busy that she didn't hear Mother come into the room.“My goodness!"said Mother.“Do you think they'll all fit in the shoebox?”“I hope so,” said Catherine. “It was fun thinking of all the stuff I can do.”“And the next time you feel sad because you can't do something, your feel-good shoebox will remind you of how much you can do-just as mine did when I was a little girl,” said Mother,“Now let's finish getting dressed for Grandma's party.”
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。
“Happy birthday！” yelled（欢呼） the children when they arrived at Grandma’s house.
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Then Catherine gave her card to Grandma.
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