要点：
1.让你引以为傲的人或事物;
2.你以此为傲的原因;
3.你从中获得的感悟。
要求：1.请补全标题，用英语写一篇短文，词数不少于90;
2.语言流畅、语意通顺、书写规范、卷面整洁;
3.文中不得出现与考生本人相关的真实姓名、校名和地名等信息。
I’m so proud of _________
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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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When I drove my sister Connie from Michigan to Arizona to start her junior year of college, I didn’t realize it’d be the last time that I’d see her alive. Four months later, when she was traveling back to the Midwest for winter break with four of her college friends, the driver of her car fell asleep. The car went off the road and rolled over several times. My sister, unfortunately, was thrown out from the car and died within minutes.
As a nineteen-year-old away at college myself, I was already dealing with my own confusion and uncertainty about where my life was headed. I’d thought I wanted to become an engineer, but the related courses I’d taken left me wholly uninspired. Now, with the struggle from my sister’s sudden death, I knew leaving my family to return to school hours from home would only heighten my confusion. Yet, when my parents expressed their belief that Connie would’ve wanted me to return to college, I knew they were right.
During the first term following her death, I felt like I was sailing through a personal fog in a rudderless(无舵的) boat. I was aimlessly drifting, fearful of what lay beyond the horizon. My grief(悲伤) consumed me as I continually questioned how the college courses I was taking would affect my life. And, more importantly, I missed my sister. Born just ten months apart, she’d always been there for me.
When I began my junior year, I still hadn’t declared my major, but I signed up for one particular class for personal reasons: Death Education and Suicide Prevention. One day, the professor had a guest speaker come to our class. At some point during the presentation, the speaker said, “Joy shared is joy increased. Grief shared is grief decreased.” The speaker explained the saying by breaking it into parts, saying, “Joy shared is joy increased. If you don’t believe it, go into a closet and tell yourself a joke. It isn’t funny unless you share it with others. Or you can try to share your sadness with your beloved one, even in the journals.” I was locked in “Joy shared is joy increased. Grief shared is grief decreased.”
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 silently repeated this message to myself over and over again, trying to absorb these words into my being.
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After that day in class, I began keeping journals about my sister.
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I like staying overnight at my Gramma’s house — that is, until Gramma starts telling me how wonderful my cousin Maya is. Then it’s Maya this and Maya that until I don’t ever want to hear another word about her.
That’s why I wasn’t too excited when Gramma called me on the phone to “come on over and bring your pajamas.” When I got there, it was worse than I’d expected. There, in Grandpa’s big leather rocker, sat Maya, all dressed up and formal-looking and wearing fancy shoes as if she’d just been to a party.
“Surprise, Kristen!” Gramma said. “Your cousin Maya and her parents have traveled in from the East Coast on business. Maya gets to stay with us this afternoon.” Gramma chattered away about how excited she’d been for this surprise get-together, and how cousins ought to get to know each other better.
I hung my baseball cap in the closet and set my backpack by the stairway, all the time smiling and nodding as if I’d been waiting forever for this chance to spend an afternoon with Maya. Grandpa’s chair squawked (咯咯叫) as Maya rocked back and forth. It’s the chair I like best in the house, the one I usually sit in. I sat down on the sofa across from her.
Shortly, Gramma went off to the kitchen to “see about some lunch,” she’d said. That left me stuck in the living room with rocking Maya.
She was still small but taller than I’d remembered her from her last visit four years ago. She was good at small talk, though, and was chatting away about how nice it was to see me again. But I could tell that she didn’t really think so. The last time she was here, we’d had hours of fun together building caves out of Gramma’s sofa pillows.
After that, I’d heard about her only through Gramma’s tales. Maya taking piano lessons. Maya learning math. Maya, Maya, Maya. Now Maya was here, looking great with the latest haircut and a fancy dress.
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。
Glancing down at my jeans and my old sneakers, I wished I hadn’t come.
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“How do you know all these things about me?” I asked.
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Tim’s heart raced as he drove to the lawyer’s office. He was bequeathed (遗赠) a mysterious box his dad had never allowed him and his sister to even go near. He signed papers, but was shocked to learn he didn’t get the key to open it and nothing about the key was mentioned in the will. “You’ll have to figure that out!” the lawyer said. Tim left the office, puzzled about what his late dad had left him.
Just then, he remembered his childhood home where he and his twin sister Karen grew up. They had lost their mother just two months after they were born. They were raised by their dad Jonathan, and the two were the best friends! As they grew older, they were drawn to the mysterious box, but their dad warned them never to touch it, and even hung the key on a nail high above the fireplace so that they would never get their hands on its contents. Whatever he was hiding from his kids, he was on guard at all times.
As the years fleeted by, Tim and Karen moved on with their respective lives. And their brother-sister bond went downhill. The twins fought over who would inherit (继承) their dad’s house. Jonathan was heartbroken and whatever trick he tried to reconcile (和解) them, nothing worked. Meanwhile, Jonathan’s health began to decline, and even on his deathbed, he wished his kids would put aside their differences and get back together.
What would Tim do with the inherited box now? He went to his childhood home to find the key. The house no longer appeared like that loving home Tim remembered growing up in. When he reached to grab the key above the fireplace, he sensed someone behind him. “What are you doing here?” screamed Karen, casting the cell phone flashlight on Tim’s face.
“Dad bequeathed me his old chest, and I came here looking for the key. But what are you doing here?”
“Dad bequeathed me the key! So I came here to find the chest,” said Karen, puzzled about his father’s decision.
注意：
1.写作词数应为150左右；
2.请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
“Something had to be wrong,” they thought and stared at each other.
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Tears ran down their cheeks at seeing their childhood photos with their father and mother.
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I still remember the day when we decorated the house, I was ten and it was two weeks before Christmas. I was looking forward to my presents. Since I’m the youngest in the family, all of the family members would give me a gift one way or another. Sometimes it was a cookie or a hug but it was always there. I was the only center of attention and it was feeling good.
My uncles usually would ask me what I wanted before Christmas and that year I knew what I wanted. It was the spaceship I saw in the ads. I was dreaming of opening a big gift box, and it was there. But that year it came in a way that I wasn’t expecting.
It was two weeks before Christmas. Just two weeks. She couldn’t wait. My dear mother told my father that it was time, and then we went to the hospital. After an hour, they told me that I had a sister now. But I didn’t want a sister. I wanted a spaceship. The next few days went so fast. No one was caring about me. Everyone was talking about her and I knew that my life is never going to be the same ever again. I wasn’t ready to grow up, to be a big brother. But it just happened in an instant.
On the day before Christmas, everyone was in our home, talking only about my newborn sister. My family was becoming hers. Even my uncles didn’t ask me anything about the gift. She stole everything I’d ever had, my life and my presents. Thinking about this, I cried to sleep. I had a nightmare (噩梦) and woke up at the middle of the night. Shadows were all around me, and I was defenseless and so weak. I ran into my parents’ bedroom but couldn’t wake up my poor parents who were just too worn out. I was standing near their bed, trying not to cry when I saw her. She was awake and looking at me with her big eyes in her small bed.
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 a long shadow came into the bedroom and she started crying.
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After having comforted her, something slowly changed inside me.
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I was sorting through old photos with my mother, looking for a specific picture of my father. I’d recently gotten a scanner and was in the process of digitizing our family pictures.
“Where on earth is that picture of Mumpsy and Dad?” I asked. I’d seen the picture in a frame at my grandma Virgie’s house when I was a child. It showed my father as a boy, in a suit, holding his beloved Boston terrier (波士顿狗), Mumpsy. It was one of my favorite pictures of him, and the only one I hadn’t found yet.
“Maybe Jean has it,” said Mom. “We could ask her.”
I looked at Mom as if she had three eyes. She could not be serious!
Grandma Virgie had had two sons, Dad and Uncle Ralph, who was married to Jean. Mom and Jean had always had a difficult relationship. Jean would say mean and unfavorable things to Mom while Mom tried to rise above it. Grandma Virgie wanted to help but there wasn’t much she could do. After Grandma passed away, Uncle Ralph’s family stayed in the house and took care of what Grandma left. My parents bought a new house and we moved out. As Mom and Aunt Jean was not on good terms, they purposely broke contact with each other.
With that, any connection we had with Uncle Ralph and Aunt Jean fell apart, and our big family split in two. Both my dad and my uncle were dead now. Mom and I had no contact with Jean.
Yet here was Mom, proposing to reach out to Jean nearly 30 years later.
“I’m in my eighties,” Mom said with a shrug. “Jean’s just a little younger. Neither of us has many years left. Why not give it a try?”
I couldn’t argue with that.
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。
Mom looked up Jean in the dusty phonebook and decided to call her.
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I thought Mom would be back in an hour or so, but she didn’t return until close to dinner.
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I was in 7th grade when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was very sudden and unexpected for our family and obviously I was beaten. I tried my best to balance my first year of middle school and my home life, even if I knew this was impossible. I hated coming home from school every day for fear of what I would see when I got home. I hated seeing my mom sick all the time; she was not herself and all I wanted was for her to stop treatment and get better. Luckily, I had lots of support from my family, friends, and teachers during this hard time to help get me through it.
At the beginning of the year, I was determined to stay on track with my homework and studying and get through my first year at middle school successfully. Slowly, I started to become more distracted while at home with taking care of my mom, cleaning the house and helping my grandma cook our meals. While I was at school, I could escape and put my mom’s sickness in the back of my mind while I hung out with my friends and enjoyed playing. I noticed that my quiz and test grades were increasingly getting worse, but I never brought this to the attention of my mom because I did not want to worry her. Eventually, all of my grades were lower than C’s.
I knew that I was not doing well at school, and I needed to get my grades back up. I knew that a lot of my teachers were cutting me some unimportant work because they knew what was happening at home. Ms. Zazoski, my English teacher was the most supportive teacher that I have ever had and I am so glad that I was in her class that year.
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。
One day my teacher had me stay after school to have a talk with her.
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That was the motivation that I needed to improve my grades.
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Like every boy there ever was, what Kyle Hrenwood most wanted in this world was a dog. Unfortunately for Kyle, his mom didn’t think he was responsible enough.
The day before Kyle’s thirteenth birthday, he went to the park and found a woman sobbing. He was immediately worried. Was the woman hurt?
He bent over and said “Miss, Are you OK? Do you want me to call anyone?” The woman shook her head and said, “My husband died two weeks ago, and I feel alone. We’d been together for thirty years. I can’t stand the silence inside that house. I’m Deidre. What’s your name?”
Kyle introduced himself and they talked for a long time. Kyle’s encounter with Deidre left him very sad, and he decided to go home. “Mom,” he said. “I don’t want to get married.” “Why not?” asked Kyle’s mom. “What if you spend thirty or forty years with someone,” Kyle said. “And then he is dead, and you’re alone?” Mom said, “Then you’ll miss out on love. You see, if you protect yourself from feeling pain, you’re cutting yourself off from happiness. You may discover those thirty years alone are not worth living.”
The next day, he had one of the biggest surprises and greatest joys of his life—a puppy! That was when he remembered Deidre was alone in her huge house.
A few hours later, Kyle knocked on Deidre’s door holding the puppy. He said, “Today is my birthday, and my parents gave me this puppy. You need this puppy more than I do.” “Give my heart to an animal just so it can die in a few years’ time?” Deidre asked bitterly. “I don’t think so. I don’t need any more pain in my life!”
“My mom said that if you protect yourself from feeling pain, you’re cutting yourself off from happiness. too,” Kyle said.
“You’re right, Kyle!” Deidre said. “I do need this puppy. Maybe you can visit us both; I’ve never had a dog before and may need some advice!”
Over the next few years, Kyle and Deidre, and Max (that was the dog’s name) became great friends. Then Kyle’s dad was offered a job in another state, and the family moved away.
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。
Kyle grew up and fell in love, and his wedding was drawing near.
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“This is Gemma, Max’s daughter,” Deidre said.
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