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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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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Rick, a ten-year-old boy, was constantly angry at everything around him. He always fought in school with the other kids. Once he had an outburst in school. Upset by something a classmate said to him, he pushed the boy, and a fight happened. When the teacher stepped in to break it up, Rick went crazy, throwing papers and books around the classroom and rushing out. His teachers couldn’t say anything that would comfort the kid. And the parents of his schoolmates were getting concerned. Rick was earning quite the reputation. After talking with school officials, Rick’s mom tried everything she could to calm Rick down.
She tried different methods until one day she came home with a canvas (画布) and paint. “What’s this?”, Rick asked. Rick’s mom handed over the painting equipment and said, “Whenever you feel angry, paint whatever you’re angry about instead of bursting out.” Rick wasn’t that happy about it but he gave it a try anyway. Over the next few weeks, the young boy created several artworks. They mostly showed disturbing images though. So his mom took all of the paintings and called Rick over so that they could talk about them. “Tell me, Rick. What are these paintings about?”
“Well, the first painting is about how some of the kids show off their new clothes and pencil cases. The next painting is about my teacher who keeps telling me about how I’m doing things wrong. And the last painting is about how one of my schoolmate’s father suggested that I change my attitude. All of them make me so angry.” Rick’s mom, in a calm voice, took Rick by her side and told him: “Don’t you see it, Rick?” “See what?” Rick asked. “You’re so angry at all of these things but not once did you try to understand why you’re getting so angry. What have all these people done to you, really?”
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。
Rick was lost in thought.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Rick knew it was time to change.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Mark Mancuso’s phone rang. He looked at it. It was a calendar alert, telling him it was his mother’s birthday. His mother Amelia lived 200 miles away, a bit of a drive, but Mark had driven further for a lunch with a friend. He just couldn’t stand his mother’s complaints. Then he found a florist(花店). He smiled and got an idea.
Entering the florist, Mark smiled broadly, “Can you arrange to have flowers delivered in Syracuse, N.Y.? It’s my mother’s 65th birthday and I wanted to send her some flowers.” Mark explained.
The florist said, “Of course, I just need your mother’s name and address, and I guess you want to send a note, a birthday message?”
“Yes,” said Mark, and he quickly recited his mother’s name and address and then added, “Please write: Happy birthday to the best mom in the world, love you and miss you. Your son, Mark.”
Mark was walking out with a feeling of accomplishment when he saw a girl sitting on the corner with tears running down her face. Mark squatted down(蹲下来)next to her and asked, “Hey dear, are you OK?”
“I’m Mandy and I wanted a rose for my mom,” the girl wept.
“But I don’t have enough money! The flower lady said I could only buy a daisy, but my mom loves red roses.”
“You just wait here,” Mark said, and then he walked back into the florist and bought a lovely red rose for Mandy. “Here you go,”he said, placing the rose in her hands. Mandy took the rose in her hands, smiled up at Mark and said,“Thank you! But could you take me to my mom? It’s not far but I’m not supposed to go on my own.”
Mark nodded. Mandy took his hand and walked with him down the street. After a while, Mandy turned right and Mark was surprised to see they were standing by the gates of a cemetery(墓地).
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。
Paragraph 1
The girl gently placed the rose on a grave(墓碑).
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Mark felt tears well up in his eyes.
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“Can I see my baby?” the happy new mother asked.
When the bundle (襁褓) was nestled in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look at his tiny face, she suddenly breathed deeply. The doctor turned quickly and looked out of the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.
Time proved that the baby's hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was spoiled. When her son rushed home from school one day and threw himself into his mother's arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be a succession of heartbreaks.
He cried out the tragedy, “A boy, a big boy…called me a freak (怪物).”
He grew up, handsome except for his misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a talent for literature and music.
“But you might look the same as other young people, ” his mother whispered to herself, feeling a kindness in her heart.
The boy's father had a talk with the family physician. “Could nothing be done？”
“I believe I could graft (移植)on a pair of outer ears, if they could be obtained,” the doctor decided. So the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for the young man.
Two years passed through. Then, “You're going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it's a secret,” said the father.
The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person emerged. His talents blossomed into genius, and school and college became a series of triumphs.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
Later he married and entered the diplomatic service.
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The years kept their profound secret, but the day did come.
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