Being without work can be scary and overwhelming, especially when you have a family to support.

Patrick Hoagland is a 30-year-old dad of one who was suddenly laid off from his job at a metal recycling company. He was desperate to find another job and in this economy, that isn’t very easy. However, as a father, he couldn’t afford to be without work.

“I definitely had fear,” Hoagland admitted. “My wife and I, we don’t make a whole lot of money individually. Once I lost my job, everything was put on her.” So a month after being laid off, he decided to stand on a busy roadside of a Phoenix highway and simply hand out copies of his resume!

Before figuring out his unconventional strategy, Patrick had tried to apply to many jobs, both online and in person. The lack of response eventually led to his idea. “I wasn’t getting any responses,“ he said.” I was getting frustrated. It popped into my head, stand on a corner and hold a sign and hand out resumes. At first I laughed about it... but I kept thinking about it. I figured, why not?! There are millions of people in Phoenix driving around; someone might give me a job offer.”

For three days, for a few hours each day, Patrick handed his resume out to strangers. He also held a sign which read “Please take a resume. Laid-off. Looking for a job.”

During one of these sessions, a woman named Melissa DiGianfilippo, owner of Serendipity Consulting, passed by. She was driving down Camel back Rd in Phx near her office and saw this guy on the side of the road with a smile in 110-degree heat, with a sign asking people to take his resume. She was impressed with Patrick because it was 110℃ outside and what she saw was really unexpected.

Melissa noticed how much creativity this move took, so she grabbed a copy of his resume and decided to post it on social media.

Patrick is thankful to everyone who has helped him get his dream job.

3 . The post office is not my favorite place. However, that was the day I went through the door with a huge smile. My story had been accepted for publication. I had read the e-mail three times before I actually believed it.

Grasped in my hand was the form giving permission to print my story. No faxing for me — I decided to send it back through the mail just to be sure it reached its destination. Filled with excitement, I told the clerk about my good news. “Wow, look at you go!” she said. “That will be ten dollars.” I reached for my credit card. “Our system doesn’t work today, so we can only accept cash,” said the clerk. I searched through my purse. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I carried cash. But now, I rarely did. Then a deep voice behind me said, “I’ll take care of it.” I hadn’t noticed the man behind me. I turned to meet him as he held out a ten-dollar bill.

“Congratulations on your story,” he said. “Just pay it forward.” I thanked him. Then I drove to the seaside restaurant to meet Tina. As we walked back toward our cars, I noticed something on the sidewalk, shining in the sun. I picked up a credit card.

“How are we going to find the person who dropped this?” Tina asked. “First, let’s try to spot someone who seems to be searching anxiously,” I said. A moment later, Tina said excitedly, “I’ll bet that’s her!” A young mother had a baby on her back as she dug through some bags.

I approached the woman. “Are you Jessica Slate?” I asked.

Her eyes grew round. “Yes!”

“I believe this is yours,” I said, handing her the card.

“Thank you! During normal times, I’d give you a hug,” she said. We laughed and bumped elbows instead.

I realized being on both the receiving and the giving end of kind gestures felt equally good. I had experienced an interpretation of paying it forward-first with cash, then with credit.

“Why are we bringing groceries for Mrs. Killinger?” Bobby asked his mother, Anna, as they walked back from the supermarket with a few extra bags for their elderly neighbor. He enjoyed helping his mother with these tasks, but they had never bought anything for any neighbor before.

“Honey, Mrs. Killinger is now having trouble walking around, so I offered to bring some things from the market,” Anna explained as they climbed up the wooden steps to Mrs. Killinger’s house and rang the doorbell.

“Ok, but she could get a wheelchair and move around,” the boy commented as if it was the most straightforward solution in the world.

“You know, Bobby. Mrs. Killinger doesn’t have the money to buy one right now.

They can get expensive.”   Anna explained, and Bobby pursed his lips in thought.

Mrs.Killinger answered the door, smiled, and invited them for some coffee and cookies. Bobby noticed how slowly she moved, and an idea formed in his mind. He told the older woman and his mother all about it, and they grinned at him indulgently (宽容地笑).Neither of them thought Bobby would do it.

That’s why Anna was surprised the following day when Bobby had made several ads. “Mom, can you add your phone number here, so people can call me with work?”

“Oh, honey. This is very sweet. But I don’t know if it’ll be enough to raise the money she needs to buy a wheelchair,” Anna explained. She loved that her son had such a big heart, but he didn’t want him to be heartbroken if no one called or he couldn’t raise the money.

“Well，at least，I can say that I tried to help，” Bobby chirped (欢快地说)with his bright smile and eager eyes. Anna nodded and added her phone number to the ads. In his ad, Bobby offered his “services” which included helping with shopping, mowing lawns, keeping company, and walking dogs. He also left the price of his services, which made Anna smile. He honestly just wanted to help.

Anna helped him put up the ads around the neighborhood.

Two weeks later, Bobby still hadn’t raise the amount of money he wanted.

5 . In my childhood, my family struggled to make ends meet. With three children to feed,my father worked as a janitor(看门人) and farmed our small field until dark. Despite our________difficulties, my parents always did their best to________for us.

One day, Mrs.Harper,   my headteacher, brought a box of toys to school to give to ________children. Everyone was________to contribute some of their own toys, but I hardly had any toys of my own. Glued to the toys in the box, my________got wide with excitement. Mrs. Harper________my expression and allowed me to choose two toys for myself. I was so________feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.

Upon my arrival at home, I couldn’t wait to________them to my mother. But she gently explained that I couldn’t________the toys because there were many other children who were less________than us. Although I was________, I was proud to________them to the box because they were for those who needed them more.

Despite our financial struggles, my mother taught me to see myself ________and make me believe that we were rich in________. My mother’s________has remained a constant source of inspiration,reminding me of the importance of empathy(同感能力),generosity，and sympathy.

As far back as I can remember, the large pickle (泡菜) jar sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents’ bedroom. When he got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pocket and toss his coins into the jar. As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They landed with a merry jingle to a dull thud (沉闷声) as the jar was filled. I used to kneel down on the floor in. front of the jar and admire the copper and silver circles that shone like a pirate’s treasure when the sun poured through the bedroom window.

When the jar was filled, Dad would take it to the bank. Stacked neatly in a small cardboard box, the coins were placed between Dad and me on the seat of his old truck. Each and every time, Dad would look at me hopefully. “Those coins are going to keep you put of the textile mill, son. You are going to do better than me. ” Also, each and every time, as he slid the box of rolled coins across the counter at the bank towards the cashier, he would grin proudly. “These are for my son’s college fund; He’ll never work at the mill all his life like me.”

We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice-cream cone. I always got chocolate. Dad always got vanilla. When the clerk at the ice-cream parlor handed Dad his change, he would show me the few coins nestled in his palm. “When we get home, we’ll start filling the jar again.”

He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar. As they rattled around with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each other. “You’ll get to college on pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters,” he said. “But you’ll get there. I’ll see to that.”

Years later, I finished college, landed a job in a big city, met my wonderful wife Susan and had our daughter Jessica.

Once, when we visited my parents, I led Susan into the bedroom.

Looking at the jar with the shining coins,   Susan’s eyes were misted with tears.

8 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Catherine’s nine-year-old son, Chirag, won his first silver prize at a swim meet. It seemed like he could swim before he could walk. His dad is a competitive swimmer and a former champion, so many people think it is surely in his genes.

That’s wrong! Until a few years ago, Chirag was afraid of water. It wasn’t his fault. His dislike came from Catherine’s childhood phobia (恐惧症).

One summer when Catherine was a child, she and her brother went to a pool to learn basic swimming skills. All that went well and soon it was time for class. A coach was hired and he agreed to do a trial round. He took children to the deep end and asked then to swim across the breadth of the pool. While Catherine’s brother stayed calm and made it, she, however, immediately disliked the task. It was Catherine’s first time in such deep water, and the bottom of the pool seemed so far away that she felt really frightened. She felt she was going to drown (淹死) for lack of air. At that moment, she thought that swimming wasn’t for her. After being rescued from the water, she didn’t swim again.

Fast forward to her thirties, she was a mother of a child and living in an area with a lot of rivers and beaches. Then her son, Chirag, started school, and swimming was a compulsory course. Every Wednesday, the day for the weekly swimming lesson was Chirag’s bad dream. From the previous evening, he would be anxious and teary-eyed about going to school. It turned out that Catherine had passed on her anxiety about swimming to her little boy.

She was always worried about keeping her child safe around water and was starting to realize that the best way to do that was making him learn how to swim. Words of comfort were of no use to Chirag. He still sat outside the pool during his classes. It was obvious that he needed professional lessons to help build his confidence. She needed to challenge herself to encourage her son.

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。

So Catherine signed up for swimming classes with her son.

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To Catherine’s amazement, she didn’t drown!

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9 . My biggest problem is that I’m too busy. When I was young, I used to have so much time, but these days I get up early and stay in school all day. Then I go right home and eat dinner before I started high school, I used to spend a lot of time playing games with my friends, but I just don’t have the time anymore.In the evening, I used to watch TV or chat with my grandmother, but now I have to study. I love music, and my father used to take me to concerts. These days, I hardly ever have time for concerts. I do my homework and go to bed. I really miss the old days.