Rescue in a Bottle
Curtis Whitson had rafted (v.乘筏) down the Arroyo Seco, a river in central California, several times before.
This year, Curtis Whitson knew the water-fall was coming. He figured he would get out of his raft into the shallow water, get down the rocks along ropes on either side of the falls, and continue on his way, as he had on a previous trip.
But this year was different. Heavy snow and spring rains had turned the usually manageable falls into something fierce. And this year, instead of his friends, Whitson’s companions were his girlfriend, Krystal Ramirez, and his 13-year-old son, Hunter. As the three of them approached the falls late in the afternoon of the third day of their camping trip, Whitson could tell from the increasing roar of water in the narrowing canyon(峡谷) that they were in serious trouble. There was no way they’d be able to get down the rocks as planned.
“The water was just roaring through there with tremendous force,” recalls Whitson, 45.
They had no smart phone service, and they hadn’t seen a single person in the past three days. And Whitson knew that they’d be sharing the ground there with rattlesnakes and mountain lions.
As he was thinking what to do, Whitson hit on a bit of luck---he heard voices coming from the other side of the falls. He yelled, but the sound of the rushing water drowned him out.
“We have to get these people a message,” Whitson thought.
He grabbed a stick and pulled out his pocketknife to carve “Help” in it. Then he tied a rope to it so the people would know it wasn’t just any stick. He tried throwing it over the falls, but it floated away in the wrong direction.
“We’ve got to do something!” Whitson yelled to his son. “Have we got anything else?”
Then he spotted his water bottle. Whitson grabbed it and carved “Help!”on it. Ramirez also reminded him that he had a pen and paper in his backpack.
Whitson knew it was a slim hope. But he wrote “6-15 19:00 We are stuck here@ the waterfall. Get help please” and pushed the note into the bottle. This time, his throw over the waterfall was perfect.
“All right, that’s all we can do,” Whitson told Hunter.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段开头语已为你写好；
Paragraph 1:
It took 30 minutes to get back upstream to the beach where they’d had lunch.
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Paragraph 2:
The next morning, the helicopter returned.
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内容包括：
1）不要泄露个人隐私；
2）不要单独约会在网上碰到的人；
3）要有礼貌。
注意：1. 词数100字以上；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
“If mum finds out that I’m going to the beach, I’ll be in big trouble.” I said to myself softly in a low voice. I went downstairs slowly and tried to walk quietly out of the house. As I was heading towards the back door, Mum asked “Where are you going?” I answered without hesitation, “I am going to the garden to play.” After I got out of the house, I breathed a sigh of relief(松了口气) and ran toward the bus stop at top speed. Half an hour later, I was at the beach playing volleyball happily with my friends, Jim and Bob. Nearby two young men were racing in the canoes(独木舟). Suddenly, Bob hit the ball too hard and the ball fell into the sea. Just as Bob was going to pick up the ball. A wave came in and carried the ball further and further away from the shore. I wanted to show off my swimming skills so I volunteered to help get the ball. I dived into the water and started swimming towards the ball. After swimming for about ten minutes, I became tired but when I saw the ball was only a few feet away from me, I put in an extra burst of speed. “Oh, no!” Another big wave swept the ball further away from me. Just at that moment, I found my feet got tangled(缠绕) by a string of weed(水草) and I couldn’t swim properly.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为80左右；2. 续写部分为一个段落，开头语已为你写好；
I struggled to keep myself above the water but it was no use.
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1. 劳动内容（做饭、洗衣服……）；
2. 你的收获。
注意：1. 词数：90 左右；
2. 根据提示要点表述，可适当增加细节，使行文连贯；
3. 开头已给出，不计入总词数。
Do Housework and Develop Ourselves
Do you often do housework? I often
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One fall evening, 13-year-old Briar Omar agreed to look after his four younger sisters when his parents went to the grocery store to pick up the family dinner. The parents were confident that responsible big brother Briar with their protective dog called Mandy, was capable of managing the family in their absence. During that brief time, an unexpected thing happened: The home suddenly went up in flames(火焰). It was up to Briar and Mandy to save his family.
The children smelled smoke soon after their parents left for the store. They turned around to search for where the fire came from and were shocked and frightened to find their baby sister’s playpen(玩耍护栏) on fire.
The first thought that came to Briar’s mind was to rescue his little sisters. The family had previously discussed what to do in the face of danger, so he was prepared to act.
In a few minutes, flames were climbing the ceiling(天花板). Smoke was filling up the hallways. The horrible fire quickly spread throughout the home.
Briar remained calm and focused on the urgent task of saving his four younger sisters: Peyton, 12, Jocelyn, 3, Willow, 1, and 6-month-old baby Sawyer. He quickly picked up the two babies and rushed the older sisters out of the door to safety. After making sure his sisters were far away from the danger and breathing in fresh air, he ran back to save their home despite the flames surrounding him.
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。
He quickly held the fire extinguisher(灭火器) from the kitchen and tried to put out the flames.
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Briar cheered up immediately and managed to escape from the fire to safety with the dog following the way.
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It was the first warm day of spring, and the sun poured over the hill that borders Doyle and Rose Martin's countryside property outside Mifflinburg. It had rained heavily the day before, melting the better part of the long winter's snow, and the sun was now taking care of what the rain left behind. Water was running down the hill, filling the normally shallow rivers until they nearly jumped their banks. The stream that ran through the Martins' yard was usually ankle deep, but now it coursed (奔流) angrily at an unexpected speed, up to a man's waist (腰). And the water was rather cold.
The Martin boys, Henry,11, and Greg,7, would not waste such a lovely afternoon. After the school bus dropped them off, they ran outside to ride bikes along the stream. They were what people call free-range kids. Doyle and Rose had three boys, and they expected their children to learn independence and responsibility, the older ones looking after the younger. Now, Henry and Greg were chasing (追逐) each other on their bikes with little Gardell, who was not yet two, playing nearby. Doyle, a truck driver, was away from home. Rose was busy in the kitchen, where she could check on the boys now and then through the window.
Suddenly Greg burst through the door, his face wet with tears. “I can't find Gardell!” He screamed. “He was just with me!”
Rose rushed outside immediately and ran around with Henry and Greg calling Gardell's name anxiously.
Their neighbor Bob was reading a newspaper by the window when he heard the shouts. He looked out and saw Rose and her two sons running and shouting wildly. “Something must have happened,” Bob thought to himself and went outside quickly.
“What's wrong?” He called out to the Martins.
“We can't find little Gardell!” Rose shouted back, half crying.
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。
Bob's heart sank.
“Here's Gardell!” Bob cried.
In 1968, I was a student at the Sophia Hagopian High School in Beirut, Lebanon. One day, I went to the head teacher’s office and told him that my parents could not pay the tuition (学费). Although I was the top student in my class, I was sent home because of being short of money. This was a heartbreaking experience for me, as I really wanted to continue my education.
I went home and spent my day at my father’s tire-repair shop. One day, a very old man saw me in the shop and wondered why I was not in school. I told him the reason. He offered to help by calling the head teacher of the Hovaguimian-Manougian High School and asking him to accept me without tuition. The next day, I took a city bus to the school and went to the head teacher’s office. However, when I told the head teacher the reason for my visit, he shouted at me that there was no free tuition. I immediately turned around and rushed back to my home.
On the third day, one of my classmates from Sophia Hagopian High School came to inform me that the head teacher had sent him to tell me that I should come back to school and register (登记). When I arrived at school, I told the registrar that I could not pay the tuition. She said that my tuition had been fully paid. I asked the registrar who paid for my tuition so that I can thank him, I was told that the kind person wanted to remain unknown.
I went to my classroom, but kept wondering who was the person that gave me the golden opportunity to continue my education. I went back to the head teacher's office after classes and begged the registrar to tell me the name of the kind person. Finally, on the condition that I wouldn’t go and express the thanks, she told me that it was my English teacher, Olivia Balian. I promised that I would not talk to her.
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 year later, I came to the United States and finally received two Master’s degrees.
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After visiting my former high school, I really wanted to see Ms. Balian and thank her for her generosity (大方).
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People who live in the countryside generally live longer than those who live in the city. A number of reasons may also help explain this point.
To start with, farmers are in close contact with nature. They breathe fresh air. They make friends with trees and stones, cows and dogs. They listen to the songs of birds. They fight with strong winds. This contact with nature is good for the health of both body and spirits.
Next, hard physical work keeps farmers fit and healthy. It is widely believed that farmers suffer from far less diseases than people in the city. They are many diseases that are common in the city, but not in the countryside. For example, near-sightedness is almost unknown to farmers. Besides, being free from urban pressure does good to the health of farmers.
Moreover, because there are less cars, motorcars and other kinds of vehicles in the countryside,one can walk more freely without being afraid of accidents. The environment is better in the countryside, which makes the farmers live a quiet and peaceful life.
The farmers can also get fresh grain, vegetables, fruits and milk easily. They enjoy these advantages that people living in the city cannot.
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Is Fast Fashion Taking Over?
The fashion industry has changed significantly in recent years. Traditionally, fashion retailers(零售商) created two clothing collections per year, called seasons. Nowadays, in contrast, they can design and manufacture(生产) clothes in as little as four weeks. Fast Fashion means that the latest designs shown at the fashion shows in Paris, London, New York, and Milan can be coped and sold in shopping malls within a month.
The advantages of rapidly changing fashions are clear. Shortening the life cycle of a product means that if a design doesn’t sell well within a week, it is taken out of the stores and replaced with a new one. This is good for manufacturers, as it means a greater volume of sales. It is also good for customers, who can keep up with fast-moving trends cheaply and who can enjoy finding something new every time they visit the store.
However, there are also a number of disadvantages to the fast-fashion approach. Perhaps the biggest concern is the impact of wasted clothes on the environment. The low cost of most fast fashion enables shoppers to buy several new sets of clothes each season. This means that huge amounts of clothing are thrown away. Furthermore, with fashions changing so quickly, cotton growers need to produce more cotton more cheaply, and that means using more pesticides and chemicals. A third problem is the theft of ideas. Fashion houses invest a lot of time and money in new designs, only to see these ideas stolen and copied by fast-fashion companies.
In short, these days it seems that the fashion industry is changing almost as fast as the fashion it produces. What do you think of this?
