I begged my mom to let me make cookies by myself. Even though I had never attempted baking before, I was nine years old and my friend Emmie had been baking cupcakes by herself for a year. I was determined to prove that I could make it.
My brother, Caleb, laughed at the idea of me cooking alone, calling it a disaster. Having a big brother can be annoying. Despite his laughing, my mom agreed to let me try. She reminded me to take my time and be careful because I’d had some messy spills before I was nine.
I raced to the kitchen and went to work. I cracked eggs and put a cold stick of butter into the bowl. I turned on the mixer at medium speed—and whoa. Whoa. Whoa! What a disaster! I had to wipe butter off my face, then off the table and floor.
Caleb made fun of me again, calling me a mess. I chased him away with a spoon and turned back to the mixing bowl. I started again with softer butter. Referring to the recipe, I poured everything needed into the bowl and mixed it. After that, I put round batter (面糊) onto the cookie sheet and put it into the oven (烤箱). Within a minute, a fantastic smell filled the kitchen—the smell of cookie success!
I was going to prove that I was responsible. No more eye-rolling from my brother. No more “You’re too young” from my parents. I was grown up and in control.
I stared into the oven, and my heart sank. The neat, little balls had melted (融化) and overflowed to the edges of the cookie sheet. I pulled the pan out just as Caleb wandered back into the kitchen.
“What in the world?” He started to laugh. “Cookie soup?”
“You just be quiet,” I whispered, trying not to cry. “Just leave me alone.”
“How’s it going in there?” Dad called from the living room.
Caleb raised his eyebrows and bit his lip. I responded that everything was fine, pouring the melted batter into the bowl quickly.
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: I picked up the directions, wondering what had gone wrong．
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Paragraph 2: I brought a plate of cookies into the living room for my parents．
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Eli looked up at the sky. It was bright blue, his favorite color. As he lay on his back, the soft green grass brushed against his arms and legs. The cool wind kept him at the perfect temperature, and the weather was just right for playing outside. Every summer vacation, he and his family drove to the small city of Ithaca to visit his mother’s family.
Just as Eli was starting to fall asleep in the backyard, his stomach growled (饥肠辘辘). “Time for dinner” he thought. So he stood up and began to walk back to the house. Suddenly he noticed something move out of the corner of his eye. It was near the woods in the back yard. Then he heard some rustling (沙沙地响). So he went to check what it was. When he got closer, the object stopped moving. He walked over quietly until he could see something lying in the grass — it was a baby deer!
Even though Eli was standing very close to the animal, he found it strange that the baby deer didn’t try running away. Eli rushed into the house and told his mother what he had found. “Well, we should check if the deer is injured. If not, we shouldn’t do anything because its mother will come back and take care of it,” she told Eli. So the two of them walked to the baby animal. Eli’s mother walked very slowly and finally got close enough to the deer.
Eli watched his mother frow n as she examined the baby deer. She walked back to Eli. “I think its back le g is injured,” she said. “But we’ll wait for a few hours and see if the deer’s mother comes back for it. If we do anything now, we might scare it and hurt it more.” Eli wanted to help the baby, but he knew his mother was right. They went back into the house and had lunch. They both kept checking the clock.
注意：1.续写词数应为150个左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
As the sky was getting dark, the little deer was still lying there.
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Twenty minutes later, a big rescue truck drove into their driveway.
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3 . An Indiana man ordered a Sausage McMuffin at his local McDonald’s and got much more than he expected.
On January 6, TikTok user Josiah Vargas, aka @ dookiedoeboy, shared a video detailing his trip to a McDonald’s drive-through in Elkhart, Indiana that resulted in him receiving much more than he ordered. In the video, which has attracted over 2.3 million views, Vargas is shocked by what he finds in his to-go bag instead of breakfast: thousands of dollars.
“Why? There’s a couple thousand dollars here,” Vargas says, holding up a baggie full of $20bills. “Like, why would they do this? Why would they give this to me?”
Vargas took to TikTok to share his shocking discovery, knowing that he could easily take the money and leave the McDonald’s workers in quite a bind. But, ultimately, he says he knows what he needs to do.
“Now I have to return it because I’m a good person, I guess,” Vargas says, putting the money back in the bag. “How interesting!”
After he walks into the store, he gives the bag to a worker at the register. The worker realizes he’s returning the cash they had been looking for. Amid all the relieved reactions from staff that can be heard from McDonald’s staff, one employee asks if they could give him a hug — which he accepts.
Back in the car, Vargas reflects on his good deed. “They were just all hugging me and thanking me,” he says. “When I was driving away, they called me back in. They gave me $200as well as free McDonald’s for a month.”
The TikTok ends with Vargas sharing what he believes to be the moral of the story. “Do good, people. Returned $5,000, got $200 and free McDonald’s for a month,” he says. “Good trade value and maybe a viral TikTok.”
1. Why was January 6 a special day for Josiah Vargas?| A．His video views ranked top in TikTok. | B．His bag was taken by others by mistake. |
| C．He was given a lot of money unexpectedly. | D．He was awarded a big prize by McDonald’s. |
| A．In serious trouble. | B．At great ease. |
| C．With extreme caution. | D．Under strict control. |
| A．Responsible and generous. | B．Considerate and honest. |
| C．Confident and humorous. | D．Curious and lucky. |
| A．Every man has his price. | B．Money is not everything. |
| C．Details determine success. | D．One good turn deserves another. |
4 . Superman Learns How to Ride
It was the summer of 1967, and the moment was nearing when I would cast off my training wheels and learn to ride a bike.
As an adventurous little boy, I sure put my overactive imagination to good use. I would pretend to be the bookish reporter, Clark Kent. Then, at the first sign of something wrong, I disappeared and emerged moments later with a red towel hanging from the collar of my dirty blue T-shirt and an ironed-on letter “S” on my chest.
“This is a job for Superman!” I would cry out as I flew to meet imaginary dangers that threatened the world.
“Hey, Superman, when are you going to learn to ride a bike?” the neighborhood kids would taunt as they rolled past. “The Man of Steel still uses training wheels!” they laughed.
As I watched them ride away, I realized I was being left behind. To claim my place among their ranks, I needed to cast off my training wheels and learn to ride with the big kids. I turned to my father for help.
“Okay, I’m going to let go, and you just remember to balance,” Dad advised patiently on my tenth try. Suddenly I was riding! I dared to smile as my father’s shouts of encouragement faded into the background. My smile widened. Victory was mine.
You are going to fall. The thought was at first a whisper and then grew louder and more convincing until I believed it must be true. After all, I had always fallen before. Why should this time be any different? Fear seized me, and my confidence weakened and I couldn’t grasp the handlebars tightly. Sure enough, I fell to the grass.
“You almost had it,” Dad said, catching his breath. “You are seized with a sense of fear so you fell.”
“I quit,” I said angrily, trying to fight back the tears of frustration. “I don’t want to learn to ride.”
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: However, on thinking of Superman, I decided to behave like a real hero.
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Paragraph 2: I gripped the handlebars with strong determination.
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I taught English as a Second Language (ESL) at a school. One particular sixth grader, Pablo, was struggling with fluency in reading, so after class I suggested that he get extra practice by reading aloud to his mom while she prepared dinner each evening. This was something I routinely encouraged my struggling students to do. Imagine my surprise when Pablo responded by starting to cry. He said, “My mom can’t cook dinner!” Then he cried harder. Eventually, he calmed down enough to tell me that his mom was only able to “cry in her bed” when he got home every afternoon. He said that he was caring for his six-month-old baby brother by himself from the time he got home each day. His mother, it seemed, had a bad tooth and was in extreme pain. He said that his father didn’t have enough money to get it fixed, and that there was no way for her to go to a dentist. This child’s heart was broken for his mom.
I was speechless! He was still crying when he left me that day, and I promised him I would try to help. I kept asking myself how I could help this student. How could I help his mother when we didn’t even speak the same language?
The next day, I sent a note, which a friend helped me translate, to Pablo’s mother asking if she would like me to find someone to help her. The following day, Pablo brought me a note from his mom accepting my offer to help.
Meanwhile, I had been doing some networking among my friends asking if anyone knew a dentist who might do some free work for this lady. At the time, I was not able to pay for the work to be done myself. Several friends suggested a dental office that had recently opened up in the area, thinking that they might be willing to provide the services. I didn’t want to waste a lot of time going to several dentists, so I prayed that this would be the one.
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。
Stopping by the dental office, I went to the reception desk.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Pablo’s mother came to meet the dentist at the appointed time.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . It was graduation day at Desoto Central Middle School. Brandy, a single mom, wanted her daughter, Aria Thomas, to feel loved and
Brandy posted her
The video moved millions of viewers. They loved it, praising Pop Pop for his incredible response and infectious energy. Even Brandy herself commented on the
Thanks to the kindness of a literal
| A．Relieved | B．celebrated | C．respected | D．connected |
| A．remind | B．represent | C．force | D．hire |
| A．search for | B．stand for | C．cheer for | D．wait for |
| A．request | B．concern | C．experience | D．doubt |
| A．eventually | B．immediately | C．unwillingly | D．secretly |
| A．noises | B．demands | C．protests | D．complaints |
| A．approached | B．passed | C．ended | D．arrived |
| A．award | B．issue | C．receive | D．display |
| A．shyly | B．excitedly | C．anxiously | D．silently |
| A．ashamed | B．scared | C．annoyed | D．astonished |
| A．heart-warming | B．face-saving | C．risk-taking | D．record-breaking |
| A．speaking up | B．dressing up | C．showing up | D．making up |
| A．relative | B．colleague | C．neighbor | D．stranger |
| A．strong | B．brave | C．patient | D．modest |
| A．free | B．lost | C．alone | D．sick |
I’d lived next door to Debbie and her 84-year-old mother, Nan, for about six months and we’d become fast friends. Nan was blind and was also hard of hearing. One day, when Debbie was at work, she asked me to check on her mother. She fixed some baby monitors (监控器) and gave me a receiver.
I was glad to help. But I also felt a little funny about it. After all, what could I do? I’ve been born blind, too. In fact, at 54, I’d come to wonder if I had much value anymore.
At 9:00 pm I grabbed up my cane (手杖) and headed over to Debbie’s. After a brief check, I felt everything was fine, so I said goodnight to Nan. Then I locked the door and found my way home. I sat on my chair, switched on the receiver and laid it on an end table. However, Minutes later I heard a sound. It was Nan on the receiver. She was walking slowly across the floor. A door opened. Maybe she’s heading to the bathroom. Then I heard something strange, something I couldn’t identify. Had she turned on the shower? Why? Maybe the sound was something else. Something catching fire?
The monitor was one-way. I couldn’t call her. I reached for my cane and starting to get worried. I got out of my chair and headed for the door. “Jim! Jim!” I heard over the monitor. “The house is on fire! Help!”
I went as fast as I could to Debbie’s. I had to get Nan out. But how? I wasn’t even sure where Nan was, let alone how I would get to her. One thing I knew: There wasn’t much time. When getting to the front door, I could smell heavy and thick smoke. I reached for my key and unlocked the door. “Nan!” I called. No sound. Was I too late?
“Here, Jim. Help!” Her voice was weak.
“Nan, where are you? Keep talking!”
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右。
2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
“Here, Jim, here!” Sounded as if she’s right in front of me.
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I tapped with my cane until we found the front door.
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8 . Bailey, a recently adopted dog ran away from her new owner. The adoptive family had searched for it for several days, but
They
Bailey
“At 1:42am Bailey is ringing the doorbell like, ‘I’m
Hyde
Bailey is now home with her new family.
1.| A．in trouble | B．in vain | C．at risk | D．under attack |
| A．jumped | B．brought | C．turned | D．took |
| A．watch | B．exhibition | C．business | D．sale |
| A．believe | B．change | C．expect | D．hope |
| A．flight | B．drive | C．length | D．journey |
| A．mental | B．digital | C．local | D．good |
| A．left | B．reached | C．abandon | D．adopt |
| A．new | B．former | C．old | D．forever |
| A．tired | B．fine | C．honored | D．home |
| A．going | B．singing | C．falling | D．shouting |
| A．reaching | B．crying | C．waiting | D．waving |
| A．got | B．took | C．blew | D．rushed |
| A．hard | B．aloud | C．far | D．little |
| A．night | B．evening | C．afternoon | D．morning |
| A．special | B．long | C．critical | D．short |
In middle school, my family moved to New York, where my parents established a small grocery store beneath our new home. As a reserved girl adjusting to the complex city life, I faced the challenge of fitting in. One day, my school announced a talent show for the local food bank, sparking excitement and anticipation. Despite my self-doubt, a popular classmate, Lily, approached me with an unexpected proposal.
Lily, known for her charming personality, suggested we collaborate(合作) on a singing performance for the talent show. Surprised and thrilled, I couldn’t believe someone with her status acknowledged my modest singing talent. With Lily’s beautiful voice, it felt like a bit of good fortune. Encouraged by Lily’s enthusiasm, we decided to embark on this musical journey together.
As we started preparing for the talent show, we faced numerous challenges, from selecting the right song to coordinating(协调) our harmonies. The process became a bonding experience and I began to embrace the idea of sharing my talent with the public. Lily’s infectious energy and encouragement helped me overcome my shyness.
Days turned into weeks, and our rehearsal sessions became a regular after-school routine. Lily and I poured our hearts into perfecting our act, drawing inspiration from various musical genres(音乐流派). However, fate took an unexpected turn the day before the performance. Lily fell ill with a sudden fever, leaving me in a state of panic.
Worried about Lily’s sudden illness, I felt a mix of fear and determination. With the talent show only a day away, we had to come up with a plan quickly. In the midst of my concern, Lily, despite her weakened state, reassured me and insisted that the show must go on. Drawing strength from Lily’s determination, I took on the responsibility of carrying our performance. The night before the talent show, I practiced tirelessly, determined to do justice to our hard work.
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。
The following day, I stepped onto the stage alone.
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After the performance, I saw Lily backstage.
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Thirty years ago, I was a sixteen-year-old boy, tall and thin. It was the end of summer and the cool winds of fall were in the air. In front of a house, there was a truckload of wood, which my father, my brother and I had unloaded the day before.
My father and my brother were out to do farm work, so I needed to move these pieces of wood around the house again and again to where we were piling the chooped wood. And then I would cover it with oilcloth to keep it from getting wet. In those days, we used to use these wood fires to cook. We tried our best to collect firewood because we still needed some to get through the whole winter.
I worked fast at first, but soon I realized that I needed to go slower if I didn’t want to make myself too tired. Then I spent much time piling the wood and tying it together with a rope in case of falling down. To start with, I thought the work was boring. But then it became a game for me. Seeing that I could pile the wood so neatly, I smiled during the hard work.
After a while, the wood was all piled up, and my skinny arms felt a little sore. However, I didn’t stop working. I still needed to fetch some water with containers from the spring near our home. Our well water was so full of iron that it tasted terrible, so all cooking and drinking water had to come from the spring. The five-gallon containers felt like they weighed a ton, but I picked one at a time and carried them all up the hill to my house.
As I carried the last container back home, I saw my mother smiling at me at the door with a glass of tea in her hand. She said to me, “Here you are, baby. Just take a break.” We sat down with our dogs at our feet, watching the leaves blowing in the wind. Relaxing in the moment of peace and harmony, I figured out a good way to get water easier.
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 decided to make a pipe to convey water.
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My neighbors came to my house to get water at dusk.
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