“WOW. I can’t believe how many people are showing up for this!” Dandelion Pinkley said. She stood in the wide parking lot of the E-Z Life Elephant Sanctuary, watching a lot of cars getting close. Her brother Doodlebug, their cousin Rudyard, and other kids were with her. All of them were ready to wash those cars.
The elephants who lived at E-Z Life had been saved. Now they enjoyed a safe home. And every clean car meant a few more dollars to support their well-being. So working the car wash was a great way to spend a summer day!
The first few cars parked. The drivers paid, and the kids got to work.
“My car is messy!” one driver said as she paid up.
“You’re not kidding.” Doodlebug said. He began washing it.
Nearby, Cousin Rudyard began shining the bumpers (保险杠) on a classic car. “Whoopee!” he shouted. “I love this car, and it’s perfect now!”
He turned to the next car, singing a funny elephant song along with some other kids. A few elephants began to come together at the wooden fence (栅栏).
“They’re happy,” Dandelion’s best friend, Tomiko, said.
“And look at the babies,” Dandelion said, as one put its trunk (象鼻) through the fence and waved at them. “We need to work faster, so we can get them more money!”
All the kids stepped up the action. For a while, it was a lot of fun. The car wash went perfectly. People drove up and paid their money. But the noise and the summer heat began to wear the young car washers down.
“I can’t take this too much longer,” Doodlebug said to his sister.
“I know,” Dandelion agreed, “but there are still so many cars waiting for a wash.” The line of cars seemed endless.
“I need a break,” Rudyard said.
“But we need to help the elephants!” Dandelion said, wanting nothing more than to take a rest. A second later she did.
“What’s the matter with you kids?” one driver complained (抱怨). “It’s only midmorning. You can’t stop working because of tiredness. You’re kids!”
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。
Doodlebug complained, but he started to work again.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________But before Dandelion reached the next car in line, the elephants had begun shooting water out their trunks and spraying (喷洒) each car clean.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Postcards from the World
While the sun washed over the grass of my grandmother’s front garden, I sank into one of her armchairs familiar to me. Life, as I knew it, had changed. My beloved grandmother, my Nanny, as a ”parent“ in the absence of my father, had cancer. It was terminal (晚期的).
As she watched Getaway, a Sunday afternoon TV program, she remarked to me that she’d never left Australia and that now she never would. Seeing her restricted to ”travel" by watching TV, I swallowed the sadness that came with knowing that chapters of her life were to be left unwritten.
At work, feeling helpless, I wiped tables and took orders and thought. Hard. The Saturday afternoon lunch rush was not enough to stop me from my thoughts. Collapsed with growing sorrow, I was reminded of the power of Facebook and the collective strength of human sympathy. I raced from the end of my shift to ask strangers on the Internet for help.
My Nanny Del has cancer. It’s terminal and she will never see the world. Please send her postcards so she can see the world from her armchair. I can offer nothing but gratitude.
I resolved not to breathe a word of this; if nothing came, I couldn’t bear to carry her disappointment along with my own. . And if something should wander into our humble little letterbox, I vould consider it a blessing and embrace it gratefully.
Days turned to weeks: Nothing. And Nanny’s health declined rapidly. I was trying to balance my full-time study, babysitting and waiting tables with the tiring responsibility of caring for my grandmother. As I helped Nanny in the early hours of those mornings, she would chat to me, sometimes reflections of her lifetime, and other times, the disturbance caused by medication. She seldom talked about her regret of being unable to travel, but I was still hoping for something.
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。
One afternoon, about six weeks after my Facebook post, a travel-worn postcard arrived in our letterbox.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My dreams of armchair travels became a reality.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________We had finally decided to skip our traditional family dinner and participate in Manhattan’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with our five-year-old daughter, Kerry. We never expected what Kerry would get from the experience, or how it would affect our lives for years to come.
We caught the early train from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central along with hundreds of other excited people. Like many other families, we packed a small backpack with sliced turkey sandwiches and juice boxes. Eating in New York City is expensive. Kerry was wide-eyed. This was not an ordinary outing with Mom and Dad.
As the train pulled into the station, everyone rose and anxiously waited to get off. We headed towards the parade route along Fifth Avenue. As we walked up to the entrance to the station, Kerry spotted a homeless woman sitting in the shadows. The woman was invisible to all except my curious daughter.
“What’s that?” she asked. Linda and I looked at each other, unable to know how to explain such an unexpected question, something very different from the happy scene that we were about to join. Before that, we had discussed how we would explain topics about love and death. But homelessness? We weren’t prepared. We gave a simple and honest explanation, so that we could continue going to the parade.
The following year, we decided to attend the parade again. So the night before Thanksgiving Day, we went to buy sliced turkey for sandwiches. Again, Kerry surprised us. “Can we bring some sandwiches for those people?” she asked. We knew immediately whom she meant. How could we refuse? More importantly, why would we refuse? This was a golden opportunity to honor Kerry’s sense of charity. Our six-year-old daughter was teaching us an important lesson.
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。
That night, we prepared and packed two-dozen sandwiches into our backpack.
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We were moved by Kerry’s action of kindness on Thanksgiving Day.
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When I think of the word perfect, I think of something only a few can achieve, like high beauty standards, the super-smart girl in my class, or anything that I can compare myself to.
For a few weeks now, I have been noticing this one girl who is in a few of my middle school classes. She has fabulous long dark brown hair, big eyes, and the most beautiful face. She always wears the prettiest outfits and seems to be the most popular girl in school, at least in my point of view. It seems like she has a perfect life, lots of friends, all As (全A), and everything anyone could ever want.
One day, I was in language arts talking to my teacher about one of the upcoming tests, when I saw the girl staring at me in this strange way. I immediately started to get panicked and think, “Why is she looking at me? Did I do something wrong? Is my hair messed up?”
When the class was dismissed and everyone was rushing to their next class, she caught up to me and said, “I just thought you should know, I think you are really pretty.” I replied, “Oh my god, thank you!” I then watched her as she walked away and thought, “She thinks I am pretty?”
The whole day, I ended up thinking about one thing. That was, “Why does she think that?” After thinking about that topic in my head through each second of the day, I met her again in the class.
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:
When I was considering whether to say hello with her, she
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Paragraph 2:
I looked at myself with a big smile.
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An Unforgivable Mistake
A few years ago, the company I work for sent my wife and me to live in New York for a year. I’ve always loved jogging, so I was really happy when I found the apartment they had rented for us was next to Central Park. This meant that every morning I could go for a run before I went to work.
Because a lot of people had told me to be careful of muggers (行凶抢劫者) in the park, I didn’t usually take anything with me. How could they rob me if I didn’t have anything? But one morning my wife asked me to buy some bread on the way home, so I put a $10 bill in my back pocket.
It was a beautiful morning and the park was quiet with very few people walking or jogging around. While I was running, another jogger bumped (撞) into me. He apologized and continued running. For a while, I didn’t think too much of it. However, when I noticed the wide path where I was running, I thought it was kind of strange. The warning of muggers in the park occurred to me. It could have been a mugger! I suddenly became alarmed, so I checked my pocket. The money was missing! I immediately started to run after the jogger. I finally caught up with and grabbed him firmly by the arm. I started shouting and demanding that he give me the $10 bill. I’m not usually a hot-headed person, but I really lost my temper at that moment. I couldn’t believe the robbery was actually happening to me. Filled with anger, I shook my fist at him. This seemed to frighten him. He quickly put his hand in his pocket and gave me the money. Then he ran away as fast as he could.
I bought the bread and went home. As soon as I got home, I couldn’t wait to tell my wife the story. “You won’t believe what happened to me,” I started with pride. She immediately interrupted (插话), “I know, you left the money for the bread on the kitchen table.”
注意：续写词数应为150左右。Paragraph 1:
Looking at the money on the table, I stood there, shocked.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
For several days, I waited at the same place.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One day my grandfather gave me a gift — a piggy bank. It had an opening through which one could put money in, but the opening was not big enough to reach in and get the money out. The only way to get at the money was to break the piggy bank open. My grandfather explained that was the whole idea: the piggy bank would help save my money so that, at the end of the year, I might have enough for that bike I dreamt about. He asked if I would put some of the money he gave me into the piggy bank. I agreed immediately and promised that I wouldn’t break it open until I could afford my dream bike.
Whenever he gave me a little bit of money, he would say, “This is for spending. But you can save some and put it in the piggy bank if you want to save it up.” When he gave me larger amounts, it was clearly for saving in the piggy bank. For some time, this worked fine. I loved shaking the piggy bank and hearing the sound of the coins. As it became heavier, I grew more excited, dreaming about buying my new bike, and all the adventures I could have on it.
Whenever I wanted to take some money from the piggy bank to buy delicious ice-creams or beautiful pens, I would imagine riding my bike on the street, and thinking of that, my thoughts about ice-creams or pens went away. So for almost six months, I only put money into the piggy bank without taking any out. I thought I wouldn’t break my piggy bank for anything. But one day something unexpected happened. I saw a piece of news on the television that a serious earthquake (地震) had happened in a nearby province. As many houses were destroyed, a lot of children became homeless. Seeing their shabby clothes and crying faces, I was sleepless that night.
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，每段的开头语已为你写好；
Paragraph 1: I knew I should do something.__________________________________________________________________________________
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Paragraph 2: My grandfather was surprised by my behavior._____________________________________________________________________
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My dad and I had been looking forward to the Stale cross-country race of my senior year of high school, which would be the climax (顶点) of my existence.
I was the fastest runner on my team, and I was supposed to make it into the top fifteen. We had been working towards this race for three years. It was everything to me, and it was everything to my dad. He was a runner and was wild with joy by my success in running. He made it to every race, even flying home early from business trips to see me run. I always listened for his voice, which rang above the crowd-telling me to relax my arms, calling out my time. He pushed me. He cheered for me. He believed in me. We spent countless hours on the sandy canals of Arizona. Breathing in the dust of the desert, the blossoms of the orange trees, and the terrible smell of the dairy farm, we made our way across the city. We pounded miles and miles into our running shoes, marking with every step the path to greatness. It was a journey that was just ours. A dream passed on from one generation to the next.
Then the big day came. It was hotter than normal - too hot. My throat felt like a field of cotton, cracked with the summer heat, as I waited for the gun to fire. I gazed out at the crowd; dozens of familiar faces from church and school flickered across my view. They had come for me. They were counting on me. I saw my dad set his watch, worry and excitement etched across his face. With the sound of a gunshot, the race began.
For the first two and half miles, I felt great. I had never before been so ready for something. The weeks leading up to the race were filled with hard practices and a strict diet. The scorching sun beat upon my back, blinding me with its brilliance. Nothing was going to stop me, though.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
However, without warning, my strength was running out.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I whispered, “I’m so sorry I disappointed you, Dad.”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________8 . Every Saturday morning Phoenix Young would take piano lessons with a family friend when he was a child. “At that time we would
But when Phoenix was 12, his teacher proposed that he need better
One day, however, Bade
“It was as if all I wanted was just a
That moment
“I went into
| A．walk | B．joke | C．look | D．stick |
| A．announced | B．sighed | C．regretted | D．recalled |
| A．instruction | B．behaviour | C．recognition | D．relationship |
| A．sweet | B．violent | C．tough | D．strange |
| A．expectation | B．standard | C．quality | D．reputation |
| A．something | B．everything | C．nothing | D．anything |
| A．pretended | B．admitted | C．rejected | D．decided |
| A．attended to | B．turned to | C．lied to | D．referred to |
| A．courage | B．faith | C．doubt | D．luck |
| A．in return | B．in vain | C．in time | D．in peace |
| A．promise | B．sign | C．notice | D．vision |
| A．recovered | B．transformed | C．ruined | D．clouded |
| A．stress | B．patience | C．fun | D．argument |
| A．acting | B．singing | C．composition | D．music |
| A．leave | B．lead | C．owe | D．add |
I found the kitten sitting on the front step of our house. He was black and white and looked quite weak. Where did he come from? I noticed he had no collar around his neck. Who would be so irresponsible?
I went inside and opened a can of fish. After I placed the can in the doorway, the kitten hungrily lapped it up and then walked right inside the house. Later, after jumping onto a bunch of pillows on the couch, he began to groom his hair.
I bet his last owners didn’t love him at all! I thought. If someone can’t take care of their kitten, they deserve to lose him! Our family never owned pets, but I had always wanted one. It’s a good thing I found that kitten and took him in. Thank goodness he found me!
The kitten kept meowing quite a lot. And then, it started trying to bite my hand.
“Hey, kitten! I’m not food!” I said. But the kitten tried again to bite my finger. I knew I had to get him some proper cat food. “You stay put, kitten!” I told him. “I’m going to get you food!” Then I grabbed my keys and headed out to the pet store nearest to our house.
On my way to the store, I spotted a sign on the telephone pole:
LOST KITTEN-Black and White, very friendly. If you find him, please call us.
“If you were so worried about your kitten,” I thought, “maybe you should have taken better care of him!”
When I walked into the pet store, I found that the place was packed with kids handing out flyers about the same cat to customers inside. In the back of the store, I saw a boy under 10 years old, crying in his wheelchair. “I can’t believe I lost my kitten!” he said to his parents.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。I looked at the flyers on the wall carefully this time — it was definitely the cat I had back at home!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The little boy began to cry with laughter.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Trevor, a thirteen-year-old boy who could read well. Yet, in spite of his reading skills, Trevor was failing. He had been failing exams since first grade, as he was passed on from Grade 1 to Grade 7. Trevor was a big boy, looking much bigger than a thirteen year old. However, Trevor went unnoticed… until Miss Brown.
Miss Brown was smiling, young, and Trevor was attracted! Yet, still he failed. He never did his homework, and he was always in trouble with Miss Brown. His heart would break under her sharp words! Still, he did not study.
One day, the entire grade was tested for basic skills. Trevor hurried through his tests, and continued to dream of other things. His heart was in the woods, where he often escaped alone. No one checked on him. No one knew he was gone. Strangely, Trevor never missed a day of school.
The next day, Miss Brown’s impatient voice broke into his daydreams.
“Trevor, pay attention!”
Trevor locked his look on Miss Brown as she began to go over the test results for the seventh grade.
“You all did pretty well,” she told the class, “except for one boy, and it breaks my heart to tell you this, but…the smartest boy is failing my class!”
She just stared at Trevor, as the class turned around for a good look. Trevor dropped his eyes and carefully examined his fingertips.
After that, it was war! Trevor still wouldn’t do his homework. Even as the punishments became more severe, he remained stubborn (固执的).
“Just try it! ONE WEEK!” Miss Brown shouted. But Trevor was unmoved.
“You’re smart enough! You’ll see a change!” Totally unmoved.
“Trevor! Please! I care about you!”
Suddenly, Trevor got it! Someone cared about him? Someone, CARED ABOUT HIM?!
Trevor went home from school, thoughtful, that afternoon. Walking into the house, he took one look around. He, for the first time ever, gathered up his schoolbooks and did his homework.
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 Monday he arrived at school earlier, waiting for Miss Brown to enter the classroom.
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“The smartest boy in our class had just passed his first test on homework!” announced Miss Brown.
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