1 . I was born in a poor community on the north side of Boston, US, raised by a single mother who didn’t finish 3rd grade, lived each day on food stamps and attended what the media called “the most dysfunctional (功能失调的) public school district”. Not many people expected much of me, so I had to expect.

On my 13th birthday, I bought a poster of Harvard to hang in my room. Being at Harvard became what I dreamt about. Even if my electricity was cut off, I still woke up at 5:30, because I knew that my poster of Harvard was still hanging only two feet away from me.

Reminding myself of my goal each day made it easy to say no to the same choices I saw my peers making, because those paths wouldn’t have had me closer to my goal. Being poor could not take away my power to decide what I choose to do with my day. The poster gave me the courage to send emails to about 50 Harvard students to ask for feedback on my application essays; it gave me the energy to study just one more hour on my SATs when my friends were asleep; and it gave me the determination to submit just one more scholarship application when 180 others had already turned me down.

Every day, I could feel myself getting closer and closer to my goal as my writing got better, my SAT score increased, and my scholarship checks started coming in. Finally, an email arrived from Harvard. The first word was “Congratulations!” A month later, Harvard flew me up to visit the campus where for the first time I stepped onto my dreaming land.

Who you are today is the result of the decisions you made yesterday, and who you will be tomorrow will be the result of the choices you make today. Who do you want to be tomorrow?

2 . 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 was the coolest kid in her class. Whenever she went, she was in the spotlight, with a bunch of kids following her and doing everything she did.

Her deskmate, Landy, however, was not in the cool kids’ group. Being the tallest kid in her class, she was teased by her classmates, who were always chanting “Landy, Landy, long as spaghetti (意大利面 )”. Every time Landy heard those silly chants, she could feel her face burst into flames. God knew how she wished the ground to crack and swallow her!

Catherine didn’t really like it when the kids chanted “Landy, Landy, long as spaghetti”. But she never told them to stop either, and nor did she ever talk to her. She liked being popular.

One weekend, Catherine went over to her grandfather for Thanksgiving. Her grandfather lives on a farm at the opposite end of town, where he keeps chickens. While helping to feed the chickens, Catherine noticed a peculiar one. Curling in the corner, it looked smaller than the others and was almost half-bare!

“What’s the matter with it?” She asked her grandfather, with a puzzled frown on her face. Her grandfather told her how chickens could act. “They have a pecking (啄) order,” he explained, wrinkles of concern spreading around his forehead. “If one chicken is different, the others will push it away and keep pecking it. Sometimes they peck it so much that it dies.”

“Oh, what a poor little thing!” Catherine let out a sigh as she scooped the frightened chicken up in her arms, whose heart was beating fast in the bony little body. Suddenly, she thought of Landy, the girl being “pecked” by her classmates. “I’m going to take it home and take good care of it,” she said with a determined look.

Back in school, Catherine told the cool kids about the chicken. “It’s looking healthy,” she said proudly. “It’s fatter and its feathers are growing. Even the cat likes it. She carries it around the garden, and...” Everyone was entertained by Catherine’s story of her lovely chicken, laughter lingering around the classroom.

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. Then Catherine spotted Landy sitting by herself in a corner.

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Paragraph 2. But Catherine walked directly toward Landy, regardless of what they said.

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3 . When I tried out for the football team during the summer before 9th grade, I never imagined how important this sport would become in my life. Football is a _____ sport, at times almost painful, and practices really _____ a team’s physical and mental limits. Without trust in my own ability and a strong sense of commitment, I would never have managed to continue after years of hard work as a player, and with countless _____.

In the first year, I played on the defensive line. This was an amazing _____ that gave me a great sense of achievement. But in the last game of the season, I was seriously injured. I was prohibited from any physical activities for six months. After going _____ a series of physical treatments, I returned to the field as a team captain. I practiced harder than ever to make up for my _____ time.

In September, during my junior year, my name was mentioned in the local newspaper as the key defensive lineman on the team. After playing a fantastic season, I was given the _____ of the Most Valuable Player.

_____, my skills in football do not magically extend to other sports. During the winter break, I went on a snowboarding trip and seriously injured my right shoulder. I had to have four _____. Since I could not use my right arm for two months, I had to learn how to write and eat using my left hand.

______ life must go on. I knew that my own present efforts would decide my future, so I ______ the strict training program to build up strength and improve flexibility in my ______. After an eight-month recovery, I was back to the field playing football, the sport I ______.

In this sense, the world of football has taught me an important life lesson: ______ and commitment make what seems impossible ______. This lesson from football is the one that can be applied to every part of life.

Once a man got lost in a desert. The water in his water bag had run out two days ago. He knew that if he didn’t get some water soon, he would surely die. The man saw a small house ahead of him and moved toward it. After what seemed ages, he dragged his tired body to the door with the last of his strength.

There was no one in the house and it seemed like it had been empty for quite some time. The man entered it, hoping that he might find water inside.

His heart missed a beat when he saw a hand pump (手摇泵). It had a pipe going down through the floor, perhaps tapping a source of water deep underground.

He began working the hand pump, but no water came out. He kept at it and still nothing happened.

Finally, he gave up. He threw up his hands in despair. It looked as if he was going to die after all.

Then the man noticed a bottle in one corner of the house. It was filled with water. He uncorked (拔去……塞子) the bottle and was about to drink the sweet life-giving water, when he noticed a piece of paper attached to it, reading “Use this water to start the pump. Don’t forget to fill the bottle when you’re done.”

What should he do? How would he feel as he watched the water disappear into the pump? What if the pump did not function? What if the pipe had a leak? What if the underground water had long dried up?

But then… maybe the instructions were correct. Should he risk it?

Hands shaking, he poured the water into the pump.

He heard a gurgling (汩汩声) sound, and then water came out.

Karie double-checked the words on her spelling test. If she got 100 scores today, she’d win her class’s First-Quarter Spelling Challenge and a brand new dictionary. Plus, Ms. McCormack had promised to do a handstand if anyone got a perfect score.

Three more words to go. N-i-c-e-l-y. Q-u-i-c-k-l-y. H-o-n-e-s-t-y. Wait! She’d spelled honesty, not honestly. She hurriedly erased the t-y and wrote l-y before handing in her paper. Ms. McCormack graded the test papers at the break. Meanwhile, Karie sat restlessly in her seat with her fingers crossed. Then, Ms. McCormack walked to the front of the room and cleared her throat. As if she were an Olympic gymnast, Ms. McCormack’s feet flipped (翻动) into the air.

“Congratulations, Karie! You did it!” she announced while upside down.

The whole class burst into applause! Ms. McCormack righted herself and presented Karie with her prize. Karie grinned as she read the label on the box:

To Karie Carter, for her perfect first-quarter score in spelling.

“Everything OK?” Mom asked as Karie burst through the front door after school. Karie didn’t answer. As if by magic, she took out her spelling test paper and prize and showed them to her mother. Mom hugged her, asking her to put the test paper on the fridge so that Dad could see it when he got home.

Karie took another look at the test paper before putting it on the fridge. Her hands stopped in mid-air. She just couldn’t believe her own eyes. Honesly?

YES! H-O-N-E-S-L-Y!

Mom sensed something unusual and asked why. Karie stuffed the test paper into her backpack and explained that she was just too excited. Mom brought her some tea. Yes, a “t” was exactly what she needed.

After drinking a little, Karie plodded (沉重缓慢地走) down the hall, lost in thought. How could she tell the class she hadn’t earned the prize after all? That Ms. McCormack did the handstand for nothing?

Later Dad came in with excitement.

The next morning, Karie went to school earlier than usual.

Last Saturday David was taking a walk in the park near his home when he noticed a woman with a boy of about eight years old. When David passed them, he heard the woman yelling: “How stupid you are! You’re good at nothing.” David stopped and looked at the little boy. The boy said nothing. He just stood there, looking upset.

David was reminded of his English teacher Mrs. Brown in middle school. After he entered middle school, David lacked self-confidence because he was often made fun of by others. He was often told that he was good at nothing, which David believed.

But one day it all changed. That day, in an English writing class, Mrs. Brown asked them to read a novel. They were asked to write a new chapter of the novel after they finished reading it. A few days later, David handed in his story. He didn’t give it much thought. But the next day to his surprise, the comment “well done” from Brown came into view the moment he turned to the page where the story was written. When David read that, he almost burst into tears. He had never expected to be praised. He suddenly gained some self-confidence.

That day after he returned home, he wrote another short story and gave it to Mrs. Brown the next morning. And again he was praised. David became very interested in writing. He often wrote short dories and asked Mrs. Brown to read them and correct them for him. Mrs. Brown always gave him good advice to improve them. One year later, David joined the school newspaper and became an editor of it. He gained his confidence and was hopeful about his future.

He succeeded in entering college and kept writing. Several years after graduating from college, he had his first book published, becoming famous as a writer in his country. And he owed his success to Mrs. Brown’s encouragement. Without her encouragement, his life might be very different now.

Inspired by his own life story, David decided to do something for that boy.

The mother was ashamed when she heard that.

8 . Keller is a first-grade teacher at a school in Greenville County, South Carolina. She was on her way home when she noticed a little boy _______ his bike down a busy highway.

The _______ of such a young child in the midst of all that traffic _______ her. Instantly, she decided to _______ her car around. To her surprise, she _______ the little boy. He was one of her former students!

7-year-old Cameron wasn’t out for a casual bike ride. He was on a(n) _______ mission to save his diabetic (糖尿病的) father who had collapsed at home.

Cameron had _______ calling 911, but he didn’t know the code for his father’s phone. In the _______, he didn’t know how to place an emergency call from the phone. Even worse, when he tried seeking _______ from the neighbors, he ________ no one at their homes. Thus, the ________ little boy did the only thing he could think of. He hopped on his bike and ________ to his grandma’s house, which was five miles away from his. Not only did Keller ________ him and stop, but also she ________ emergency services. With the help of Keller, doctors were able to go to the home and help Cameron’s father in time.

This teacher helped a ________ save a life and the whole experience left Keller in awe. Both Cameron and his dad were grateful for the help they received in their time of need.

9 . Yesterday, a salesman called me by phone, on behalf of a telecommunication company, to sell his phone plans. I was at work and while I usually don’t _________to spend time with those conversations, I _________ myself that I couldn’t talk yet and proposed him to call me back one hour later, at 6 pm.

That’s what he did. So we _________ 15 minutes. He explained to me his different phone plans, which he stated to be better than my_________one. While listening to him, sometimes I was lost in my thoughts. I gave several “hmm hmm”, as a _________of approbation (赞同) and to_________ to him that I was still there. Sometimes, I felt a bit_________, especially as he had a bit of difficulty in correctly talking in French. But I stayed calm and _________ until the end of the discussion.

At the end of the conversation, he_________the following to me: “Thank you, Olivier. You are the first person in a long time, with whom I had a(n) __________     conversation. Usually, people__________at us, insult us, and treat us as thieves. Today, since 10 am, I hadn’t had a(n) __________ without an offense. I know you had a long day at work and you could have __________ in front of your TV or done something else. Instead, you listened carefully to me. I am __________ and I sincerely thank you. I wanted to tell it to you.”

I thanked him for this revelation. I realized how much he could have been the subject of verbal __________ , all through his working days. Yet, he was only doing his job. I hope he will have a good weekend.