The Meredith family lived in a small community. As the economy was in decline, some people in the town had lost their jobs. Many of their families were struggling to make ends meet. People were trying to help each other meet the challenges.
Mrs. Meredith was a most kind and thoughtful woman. She spent a great deal of time visiting the poor. She knew they had problems, and they needed all kinds of help. When she had time, she would bring food and medicine to them.
One morning she told her children about a family she had visited the day before. There was a man sick in bed, his wife, who took care of him and could not go out to work, and their little boy. The little boy -his name was Bernard-had interested her very much.
“I wish you could see him,” she said to her own children, John, Harry, and Clara. “He is such a help to his mother. He wants very much to earn some money, but I don't see what he can do.”
After their mother left the room, the children sat thinking about Bernard. “I wish we could help him to earn money,” said Clara. “His family is suffering so much.”
“So do I,” said Harry. “We really should do something to assist them.”
For some moments, John said nothing, but, suddenly, he sprang to his feet and cried, “I have a great idea! I have a solution that we can all help accomplish(完成).”
The other children also jumped up all attention. When John had an idea, it was sure to be a good one. “I tell you what we can do,” said John. “You know that big box of corn Uncle John sent us? Well, we can make popcorn(爆米花), and put it into paper bags, and Bernard can take it around to the houses and sell it.”
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。
When Mrs. Meredith heard of John's idea, she thought it was a good one, too.
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With everything ready, Bernard started out on his new business.
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2 . I enjoy throwing stuff away. I’d love to go full minimalism (极简主义), but my wife and two teenage kids do not share my dream of a house with almost nothing in it. I have tried. When the kids were little, I taught them my two favorite games – “Do We Need It?” and “Put It in Its Place”– and made them play every few months. Their enthusiasm never matched mine.
If I’m going to be honest, my own tidying skills are not as great as I’d like. My “discarded” pile is never quite the trash mountain I want because I make up excuses for why things are useful. I consider this unhealthy. I want to be better at moving on.
So, this time I found help – the classics for people like me: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo. Kondo’s commitment to her craft is astonishing. Her philosophy is only to keep things you love. Can I go full Kondo? I will try. One central idea is to clean by category. You start by collecting all clothes and gathering them together for consideration. It makes you rethink how you organize. Next, hold each item and ask if it brings you joy. This way you’re choosing what to keep. And that’s how I find myself with all my clothes on my bedroom floor. My wife walks by and gives me a look that says I’m nuts. She’s probably not wrong.
Somewhere near the bottom of this chaos is my special jacket. I move through the pile: pants, shirts, suits and shoes. Then my last category: jackets. I haven’t worn the thing in about 30 years. Somehow, it has survived. Now that I’m striving to follow Kondo – surely, its time has come?
I hold it in my hand. There is a tear just below the collar that widens as I hold it. It’s literally falling apart. Will I ever wear it again? Not a chance. Does it feel good to wear? Does it bring me joy? Actually, yes. At this moment, my daughter walks in. She asks about the jacket. I tell her the story. She thinks I should keep it. It’s cool and unique and full of memories. She is arguing that nostalgia (怀念) is the very reason.
I’m not entirely convinced by my daughter’s arguments. I believe in looking ahead, not backward. Nevertheless, sometimes it’s hard to let go. So I gently place the jacket on the “keep” pile.
1. What does the underlined word “discarded” probably mean in Paragraph 2?| A．adjusted | B．reserved | C．abandoned | D．tidied |
| A．To learn how to categorize. | B．To improve his tidying skills. |
| C．To persuade his family members. | D．To develop passion for minimalism. |
| A．They don’t understand it. | B．They completely support it. |
| C．They are strongly opposed to it. | D．They are less passionate about it. |
| A．Knowing when to let go | B．Classifying what you love |
| C．Throwing worn-out clothes | D．Keeping valuable possessions |
Morty was checking out his library books when it caught his eye-a poster for Adventure Rocks Kids Camp. “Check this out!” Morty called to Ben and Fred as he grabbed three brochures and dashed to catch up with his best buddies. They all stopped, books in hands, to stare at the pictures of kids flying above canyons suspended from zip lines. They instantly believed the brochure’s headline: Summer won’t be complete until you Take it to the Limit at Adventure Rocks Kids Camp.
Ben broke the silence, “We have less than two weeks until registration opens, and it says the camp fills up fast.” Then an idea popped into Morty’s head. “Why don’t we sell lemonade and snacks by the side of the road? We can pool our allowance savings for the camp.” “That’s a great Idea,” Ben said.
The sun had barely come up on Saturday morning when the kids set up their business. They chose a spot, asked permission from the homeowner, and then asked to use her garden hose for water to make lemonade.
Their business went smoothly until Ben announced that they had a comparatively small stock of lemons shortly after noon. Morty decided to make their stock go further. “Fred, when the jug gets down to one-fourth full, just fill it to the top with the water hose.” Morty was thinking out loud, “I’ll change the sign and charge 30 more cents for each cup of lemonade.” Their business went on and the three were secretly proud of the little tricks they had done.
Just as Morty finished refilling the jug with water for the third time, a vehicle rounded the comer. Morty saw the minivan with his father at the wheel and his family inside. They pulled up to the sidewalk, and his brothers and sisters jumped out, each clutching a coin or two. They were eager to support their brother’s bustling business. Morty’s family bought the last of the brownies and drank the last drop of watered-down lemonade.
注意:1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡得相应位置做答。
Morty’s father frowned at the sip of the lemonade.
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They decided to fix their wrongdoings the next week.
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Sally’s birthday was approaching, and the excitement that usually filled her heart was now replaced with disappointment and stress. Turning eleven was a big deal, and she had always celebrated it with a grand party surrounded by her friends. However, this year was different. The burden of excessive homework and her parents’ struggling business weighed heavily on her, forcing Sally to make the difficult decision of not having a birthday party, even though it was an event she enjoyed dearly every year.
One day, during break, her best friend, Jane, with a curious look in her eyes, approached. “Are you going to have a birthday party this year?” Jane asked, sensing Sally’s sadness.
“No,” Sally sighed and replied sadly, “There’s just too much going on and my parents are going through financial difficulties.”
She smiled weakly, trying to conceal her immense disappointment and stress, but Jane saw through her pretence (假装) easily. Jane nodded thoughtfully and did not say anything. After the break, Sally saw her talking to one of their classmates, Sarah, secretively. Curious, Sally went over to them, but as soon as Jane saw her, she quickly walked away. Sally was startled by Jane’s strange actions and turned towards Sarah.
“What did she say?” Sally asked.
However, Sarah simply shrugged and walked away with Jane, leaving Sally standing there, feeling left out and anxious.
What is happening? Sally wondered anxiously. Are they keeping something from me?
As Sally’s birthday drew nearer, Jane was often found chatting softly with her other classmates. Whenever Sally went over to them, they would just walk away or tell her that they were talking about a secret which Sally was not allowed to know. Jane has never kept secrets from me before, Sally thought. Her heart fell. Even her friends were distancing themselves from her! She swung between confusion and sadness with each passing moment, desperately trying to figure out what was happening. Why were her friends distancing themselves from her? And what were they hiding?
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。
On the day of Sally’s birthday, she went to school and found her classroom in total darkness.
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Tears sprang from Sally’s eyes and her face broke into a radiant smile.
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It was summer, and my dad wanted to treat me to a vacation like never before. He decided to take me on a trip to the Wild West. We took a plane to Albuquerque, a big city in the state of New Mexico. We reached Albuquerque in the late afternoon. Upon Paul, my dad’s friend, picked us up from the airport and drove us up to his farm in Pecos.
His wife Tina cooked us a delicious dinner and we got to know his sons Ryan and Kyle. My dad and I spent the night in the guestroom of the farm house listening to the frogs and water rolling down the river nearby. Very early in the morning, Uncle Paul woke us up to have breakfast. “The day starts at dawn on my farm,” he said. After breakfast, I went to help Aunt Tina feed the chickens, while my dad went with Uncle Paul to take the sheep out to graze (吃草). I was impressed to see my dad and Uncle Paul riding horses. They looked really cool.
In the afternoon, I asked Uncle Paul if I could take a horse ride, and he said yes, as long as my dad went with me. I wasn’t going to take a horse ride by myself anyway. So, my dad and I put on our new cowboy hats, got on our horses, and headed slowly towards the mountains. “Don’t be late for supper,” Uncle Paul cried, “and keep to the track (足迹；踪迹) so that you don’t get lost!” “OK!” my dad cried back. After a while Uncle Paul and his farm house were out of sight. It was so peaceful and quiet and the colors of the brown rocks, the deep green pine (松树) trees, and the late afternoon sun mixed to create a magic scene. It looked like a beautiful woven (编织的) blanket spread out upon the ground just for us.
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
Suddenly a little rabbit jumped out in front of my horse.
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We had no idea where we were and it was getting dark.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One afternoon after school, Mary and her brother, Keith, were eating at a cafe near their home. That afternoon, they had to share their table with another person. That person was a young lady in her twenties. After eating, she went to the restroom. Without realizing, she had left her cellphone on the table. Five minutes later, she came out and walked out of the cafe without looking back.
Mary saw the cellphone on the table. She quickly told Keith, “Keith, the girl left behind her cellphone.”Keith looked at the cellphone. It took his breath away. It was one of the latest models on the market. Keith had always wanted a cellphone. But his parents had told him, “You don’t need one. You can always use the house phone.” He stared at it for some minutes. Then, he said slowly, pausing on every word, “I want to take the cellphone.” Mary could not believe her ears. She only stared at her brother, “You can’t! What if the owner comes to look for it?”
After making the decision, Keith quickly got the cellphone and put it in his schoolbag. Then, he took Mary’s hand and led her out of the cafe quickly.
Once back home, Keith locked his room door with trembling (颤抖的) hands. Inside his room, he took out the piece of beauty. Oh, he liked it so much. He had his own cellphone. Soon, he was polishing it happily. But Mary told him, “Keith, you cannot keep the cellphone. What will you tell our father about this? He will ask you how you got the cellphone.” Keith said quickly, “I will say a friend lent it to me.” Mary said, “Now you are lying too. Oh dear! When had Keith turned so dishonest?”
Then, Mary saw a house phone number on the cover of the cellphone. “This is the girl’s phone number. Why don’t we just call this number? We will talk to her and ask her to come and take back her cellphone,” she was trying to talk some sense into him.
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。
That night, Keith turned over in bed from time to time.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Mary was very happy to hear that.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I couldn’t bear it any longer! My best friend had gone for lunch with the most popular girl in class, leaving me to eat my tuna sandwich alone in the library. Worse still, during dance class, my partner, a boy, refused to hold my hand and bad mouthed me behind my back, further feeding my anger. It was, without a doubt, my worst day in school. I was hurt and mad, and looking for a target to release my anger.
When I got home from school , Mother had baked peanut butter cookies and piled them up on a plate. She even artfully decorated each one with royal icing and topped it with sugar. “Couldn’t you have made chocolate. chip?” I said moodily. “I could have,” she replied from the laundry room, “but I made peanut butter ones. Eat them while they’re still hot, sweetie.” Although I thought Mother was rather unthoughtful, I caved in and took a few bites unwillingly in the end. Later, when she pulled a grilled chicken from the oven and sang a merry tune, I somehow got annoyed again — Never mind that Mother had busied herself the whole afternoon with the cooking just to put this hot meal on the table. I wanted hamburgers.
“Nobody even likes that kind of food, Mum! Why didn’t you make hamburgers?” I complained. Mother took a deep breath, ran her fingers through her messy hair and looked into my eyes with a puzzled look. “Sweetheart, you’ve never complained about having it before. What’s up?” she said matter-of-factly.
It was from there that all went downhill. I screamed and complained nonstop until Mother hit her limit. Unable to contain her anger,” No dinner for you! Go to bed now !”she exploded. It was the first time that Mother had got mad at me. Nobody seemed to care about me, including my beloved mother! Ultimately, we had a shouting match in the hallway. I stormed to my bedroom, anger mounting up within me.
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 screamed and wept bitterly in bed.
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Then a thick, juicy smell of hamburgers greeted my nose.
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Ollie Simmons was good at maths, but Ruby Riley wasn’t. Well, Ruby didn’t think she was. She sat next to Ollie and so she just copied him. This was the best way she had found to do maths and she didn’t have to think at all.
One day the teacher said, “We will be having a maths test after lunch.” Ruby felt there were butterflies in the stomach. “Can I copy off you?” she whispered to Ollie. Ollie thought for a minute. “What will you give me?” he whispered back. Ruby showed Ollie a stone she had. It was round and smooth and the colour of the sea. “OK!” he said, “Give me the stone, and then you can copy my answers.” Ollie got full marks in the maths test and so did Ruby. Their names went on the top of the maths champion chart.
Every week there was a maths test and every week Ollie and Ruby got full marks together. Ollie had to share the top place with Ruby, but it was worth it. He had a torch, a key chain, a golf ball and a gift box!
One day, there was a maths test again. This time, Ruby picked a watch, thinking everything would go as usual—Ollie would let her copy and they would be on the top of the chart together again. But she was wrong. The headmaster came into Ruby’s class. “I want to see Ollie Simmons,” she said. Ollie was gone for a long time. Then the door opened. It was the headmaster again. “Ruby Riley,” she said, “Come with me, please.” Ruby felt like a bird in a cage—there was no way to escape. The headmaster told Ruby that every lunchtime for five weeks she had to do maths. “You have to learn to think for yourself,” she said. “And Ollie has to learn a lesson, too. He’s going to teach you.”
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。
Hanging her head down, Ruby felt so regretful for getting Ollie into trouble.
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Ollie proved to be a good teacher for Ruby.
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9 . Many years ago, I bought a house in the Garfagnana, where we still go every summer. The first time we
What we discovered is that it’s
It’s good to eat things at the correct time, when they’re
| A．waited | B．met | C．camped | D．stayed |
| A．making | B．searching | C．squeezing | D．feeling |
| A．lend | B．send | C．bring | D．show |
| A．choice | B．comment | C．promise | D．gesture |
| A．simple | B．real | C．shiny | D．fun |
| A．more | B．good | C．new | D．easy |
| A．tried | B．sold | C．returned | D．mixed |
| A．unnecessary | B．uncertain | C．unwise | D．unusual |
| A．size | B．shape | C．color | D．taste |
| A．smell | B．look | C．become | D．work |
| A．happy | B．vivid | C．short | D．vague |
| A．clean | B．check | C．count | D．pack |
| A．perfect | B．useful | C．convenient | D．familiar |
| A．on view | B．on sale | C．in season | D．in need |
| A．cooked | B．given | C．bought | D．told |
I was working as a supervisor in a small, rural hospital on a bitter cold Midwestern winter in 1992. I wasn’t even supposed to be working the evening shift, but had agreed to swap with a colleague who needed the night off. Among my many duties was to assist in the emergency room (ER) if our ER nurse needed help. Suddenly, my pager (寻呼机) echoed down the hallway that quiet evening.
“I need your help now,” a nurse in ER said urgently. “We have an ambulance out on a little boy. Not many details, but it doesn’t sound good. He was found outside in a snow bank, and the first responders have started CPR.” My heart sank. It was thirty degrees below zero with windchill. The child didn’t have a chance.
I entered the emergency room. The ambulance was just pulling up, and when the gurney (轮床) rolled into the ER it was met with dead silence. CPR was in progress. The blond boy lay lifeless and pale with little hands frozen so solid. Because of the circumstances, we were obligated to continue CPR until his core body temperature was raised. No one in the room seemed to hold any hope of bringing back this little boy.
The next hour passed quickly as many ways were conducted to warm him up. I stood silently over him, tears running down my cheeks, as I prayed silently for him and his family. I couldn’t even help understanding the pain his parents were experiencing.
He was the same age as my little boy, with the same beautiful blue eyes and blond hair. I thought of how much I loved my son and tried to remember the last time I told him I loved him so. What if he died tonight? Would he die knowing how much I loved him? I realized, watching a group of doctors and nurses desperately trying to do the impossible, that I hadn’t even hugged him before leaving for work. And I deeply regretted that now.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按照如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Then a miracle occurred.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Watching the scene, I made a promise to myself that night.
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