One of the most pleasant sounds in sports is the whoosh of a basketball moving quickly into the netting. Take away the net and all that is left is the unsatisfying silence of a ball pushing air around as it sails through the rim (篮圈). Did it even go through? Sometimes it’s hard to tell.
So it was really a shame that in a small American town to which Anibal Amador moved from New York, there was no basketball net on any basketball court in any park. The retired worker was a basketball addict and so was his son, Frank, a high school student. When they had time, they would go to the nearby playground in the park and join the players there in playing basketball. However, without the nets, it just didn’t feel good and satisfactory. As a matter of fact, no one would like to play that way, for they couldn’t shoot the ball to their hearts’ content. Anibal often heard the players complain about it from time to time.
That was really something that bothered Anibal. One evening on their way home, he mentioned the problem to Frank, who suggested they should do something about it. Soon they took action. They took advantage of their spare time and did careful field research into the playgrounds around the neighborhood. Then Anibal visited the website of the town park department which was in charge of the basketball courts, uploaded what they had surveyed and put forward the suggestion that nets should be attached to the rims on basketball courts.
They waited and waited. After a long time, they finally got the response. The town park department said that nets were non-durable goods. If they did as suggested, they would have to be putting up nets all the time and maintaining so many basketball courts was a great expense, which they couldn’t afford. It wasn’t workable to keep nets on all the rims in all the parks, so they were terribly sorry that they couldn’t manage 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。
Anibal and Frank decided to address the problem on their own.
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Everything ready, they came to a nearby basketball court with a stepladder (折梯).
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A GIFT FOR GRANDPA
Summer vacation was coming. Jack and his brother Berlin were filled with excitement as they thought of visiting their grandparents again.
The big day came at last. After the happy family got ready, they set out for the grandparents’ eagerly. On the way, the brothers were excitedly talking about the fun they had with grandparents.
A little blue house with a tall white chimney finally appeared. Behind the property was the forest carrying their good memories with Grandpa. They arrived at the driveway, at the end of which Grandma was waiting for them joyfully.
Jack and Berlin each gave Grandma a big hug and then swept to the living room, shouting excitedly “Grandpa, we are back!”
Seeing his grandsons, Grandpa was wild with joy and tried to get up with all his strength from the chair but in vain. A helpless expression flashed on his face. Grandma explained that his health was declining rapidly and maybe couldn’t stand up on his own forever. But Grandpa declared stubbornly (倔强地), “I can!” Certainly, he was stuck in his boyish way. Mum and grandparents were happy to meet again after a long time. They sat together and chatted about what happened recently.
The brothers were soon bored with adult conversation, went out and wandered into the forest. Tall trees stretched up to the heavens with large branches crossing each other, while young ones rose straight like soldiers. Grandpa was once a great explorer full of wisdom. He could tell where the birds came from only by their calls and songs. The trees, birds, lizards, lots of bugs...How many merry moments they spent with Grandpa in the kingdom!
But now Grandpa couldn't get up. This made them worried. “We’d think out a way to cheer him up.” Jack said. “Grandpa is a bird lover, and we can catch him a bird.” Berlin suggested. “But he hates birds being caged!” Jack shook his head.
Then a bright idea came to Jack’s mind. “Why not make a cane (拐杖) out of a young tree!”
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。
Berlin thought it was a good idea.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jack and Berlin handed the cane to Grandpa.
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