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.”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . 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 |
Outside the Box
The Harvestfest contest was falling on Friday and everyone in school was talking about it. All the students would show up in their self-made costumes and a winner would be chosen by the principal.
“Do you have your costume for the Harvestfest contest?” Alice asked. “I’m going as a chocolate bar. My mom and I have been working on it all week.”
“Yeah, I have a costume,” said Jordan Eastman, popping up the two front wheels of his wheelchair as he waited for his dad to pick him up. “But it’s boring.”
“Why? What is it?” Alice asked.
“MaxMag the superhero, but Danny, Tom and Izzy are all going as MaxMag too.” Jordan shook his head. “That’s too many to stand a chance at winning the contest.” He waved to his dad, who had just pulled up in front of the school.
Jordan rolled his wheelchair toward his dad, and Alice walked with him to the minivan.
“Maybe you should go as something else.”
“The contest is Friday night.” Jordan sighed. “It’s too late to change costumes.”
“Jordan, you have to think outside the box. Look around your house and see what you have. There’s hidden potential in everyday items.” She took a sip of her drink, and told Jordan that her chocolate-bar costume was made from old fabric her mom had lying around and recycled plastics.
On his way home, Jordan was quiet. He kept thinking about Alice’s words: Think outside the box. There’s hidden potential in everyday items. When he got home, he found his mum handling with some wooden pieces. She was putting a new desk together. On top of the desk was the huge empty cardboard box the pieces had come in. Mom smiled at Jordan, pointing at the desk, “What do you think?”
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。
Jordan’s eyes fell on the box and he smiled, “It’s perfect . … with my wheelchair.”
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Soon it was Friday night, and Jordan couldn’t wait to show his costume.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4 . Age is truly just a number if our hearts are young. Lee Minor, an 85-year-old retired psychologist, has
“I like to run in all kinds of
Minor’s enthusiasm for running is
Last fall, Robert graduated from the university, despite the challenges of his illness. “When I went across the stage, and as I’m getting my
The stories of Minor and Robert are reminders that age and illness need not
| A．proven | B．approved | C．won | D．imagined |
| A．starting | B．center | C．finishing | D．bottom |
| A．depressed | B．thrilled | C．calm | D．uneasy |
| A．weather | B．zones | C．illness | D．phases |
| A．position | B．footprints | C．reflections | D．route |
| A．infectious | B．temporary | C．blind | D．restricted |
| A．wait | B．abandon | C．exist | D．run |
| A．award | B．suspend | C．quit | D．pursue |
| A．powerful | B．visible | C．boring | D．accurate |
| A．uniform | B．application | C．certificate | D．license |
| A．slid away | B．gave up | C．broke in | D．choked out |
| A．emotional | B．identical | C．financial | D．abstract |
| A．enjoy | B．reject | C．doubt | D．expect |
| A．save | B．define | C．distinguish | D．witness |
| A．scholarship | B．fitness | C．passion | D．career |
5 . 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 |
The Christmas holidays were fast approaching, and we had ordered many gifts online. So, when the doorbell rang, I was sure some of the packages had arrived. I ran to the door and swung it open, but no one was there. I sensed something and looked down, only to find a beautiful calico kitten (杂色猫) sitting there, looking up at me with big, intelligent eyes. There was no way that she could have rung the doorbell by herself, was there?
We figured that someone had found the kitten somewhere and left her there, and then rang the doorbell and ran away. They accurately guessed we would welcome an additional family member and take care of her.
My husband called her our little angel, so we named her accordingly. She had a calm aura (气质) about her as she walked straight into our home and hearts, fitting in perfectly. It seemed as if she was always meant to be in this big house with us. She was an old soul and turned out to be the perfect companion. Always by my side, she was more like a puppy than a kitten. Wise beyond her years, she enjoyed wandering through the tunnels and mysterious rooms as much as I did, but with much less fear. Angelica the calico was courageous.
So, I took a page from her book and decided to be brave, too. There was an underground stone cellar (地窖) I had been eager to explore. The only way in was down a rickety (摇晃的) ladder to its murky depths. I guessed it was an old root cellar, probably twelve feet deep.
I had promised my husband that I wouldn’t explore dangerous areas unless he or someone else was around. Though I knew I was stretching it, I figured that Angelica would count as my companion. I was ready to explore this cellar, and so was she.
I equipped myself with a good flashlight and warm clothes, and carefully started down the rickety ladder while Angelica was looking down at me from above. Faint crack and sudden crash were what I could remember.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1
I woke up with pieces of the rotting, broken ladder lying around me on the stone cellar floor.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2
It seemed my companion, Angelica, was my last hope.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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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8 . The next morning Alex was waiting in the FMA president’s suite when Jerome Patterton arrived. Alex filled him in quickly on the Jax report. Then he said, “I want you to give an order to the trust department to sell every share of Supranational we’re holding.”
“I won’t!” Patterton’s voice rose. “Who do you think you are, giving orders---“ “I’ll tell you who I am, Jerome. I’m the guy who warned the board against in-depth involvement with SuNatCo. I fought against heavy trust department buying of the stock, but no one---including you ---would listen. Now Supranational is caving in.” Alex leaned across the desk and slammed a fist down hard. “Don’t you understand? Supranational can bring this bank down with it.”
Patterton was shaken. “But is SuNatCo in real trouble? Are you sure?”
“If I weren’t, do you think I’d be here? I’m giving you a chance to salvage something at least.” He pointed to his wristwatch. “It’s an hour since the New York stock market opened. Jerome, get on the phone and give that order!”
Muscles around the bank president’s mouth twitched nervously. Never decisive, strong influence often swayed him. He hesitated, then picked up the telephone.
“Get me Mitchell in the trust department… Mitch? This is Jerome. Listen carefully. I want you to give a sell order immediately on all the Supranational stock we hold… Yes, sell every share.” Patterton listened, then said impatiently, “Yes, I know what it’ll do to the market. And I know it’s irregular.” His eyes sought Alex’s for reassurance. The hand holding the telephone trembled as he said, “There’s no time to hold meetings. So do it! Yes, I accept responsibility.”
He hung up and reached for a glass of water. “The stock is already down. Our selling will depress it more. We’ll be taking a big beating.”
“It’s our clients---people who trusted us---who will take the beating. And they’d have taken a bigger one still, if we’d waited. Even now we’re not out of the woods. A week from now the SEC may disallow those sales. They may rule we had inside knowledge that Supranational was about to be bankrupt, which we should have reported and which would have halted trading in the stock.
1. Alex filled him in quickly on the Jax report. The sentence means____.| A．He filled his name on the Jax report quickly. |
| B．Alex signed his name to the Jax report quickly. |
| C．He offered the FMA president the Jax report smartly. |
| D．He prepared the Jax report for Patterton to sign smartly. |
| A．SuNatCo would bring the stock market down if it sold all the Supranational stock they held. |
| B．The president was stubborn and would never listen to others. |
| C．Alex will take the place of Patterton in the future. |
| D．the clients would take a bigger beating than the bank |
| A．the old stock can be bought and sold |
| B．shares can be bought and sold |
| C．paper stock can be bought and sold |
| D．some of the stock can be taken without being paid for |
| A．free from danger | B．short of wood |
| C．running out of wood | D．set free |
Asad was a 13-year-old boy who was very honest and hardworking. Recently, he had entered a new school, so he had no friends yet. On Monday morning, he was nearly late for school. The night before, his family attended his cousin’s wedding and reached home late, which was why he couldn’t get up on time as usual.
At school, Asad could not pay attention to anything and wanted the bell to ring so that he could buy something to eat. After a few hours, when the bell rang, Asad quickly opened his schoolbag to find his money, but just then he remembered that he had left for school in a hurry in the morning and forgotten to take money. He looked under his books, hoping to find some money but there was nothing.
Not knowing what to do, he walked out of the classroom and sat on a bench in front of the canteen. He saw a few of his classmates there, among them was Fahad. He was one of the richest kids in his class, but he was a very arrogant(傲慢的)boy who thought everyone else was a loser. But as Asad was new, he didn’t know much about Fahad.
When he went towards Fahad and asked if he could borrow some money for his lunch, Fahad laughed a lot and said, “I knew you were a loser, maybe a beggar?” Fahad laughed out so loud that other kids also heard and made fun of the situation. He didn’t answer Fahad, and slowly walked back towards an empty bench.
When he reached the bench, he noticed something lying near it. It was a wallet. He picked it up and recognized it as Fahad’s, as he remembered Fahad showing it to his friends and telling that his uncle bought it for him from the UK. There was quite a lot of money inside for a kid.
At first, Asad wanted to keep it a secret and punished Fahad.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Then Fahad said, “Why are you giving back?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________10 . It was a cold, rainy day, and I had no desire to drive up the winding mountain road to my daughter Carolyn’s house. But she
So here I was,
Turning down a narrow track, we
Then we turned a corner and stopped at the top of the mountain and I was entirely held in
As we drove home, I was so moved by what we had seen that I could
The wonder of it would not let me go. “Imagine,” I said, “if I’d had a dream and
| A．asked | B．commanded | C．insisted | D．predicted |
| A．unwillingly | B．undoubtedly | C．unknowingly | D．unexpectedly |
| A．walked | B．inched | C．wandered | D．fled |
| A．pulled over | B．stepped down | C．looked up | D．turned off |
| A．greeted | B．flowed | C．reached | D．towered |
| A．admit | B．fill | C．control | D．read |
| A．amazement | B．curiosity | C．amusement | D．confusion |
| A．pushed | B．moved | C．swung | D．bathed |
| A．Doubts | B．Ideas | C．Questions | D．Requests |
| A．signal | B．symbol | C．symptom | D．sign |
| A．Each | B．Some | C．One | D．That |
| A．surely | B．barely | C．mostly | D．instantly |
| A．beginning | B．intention | C．ending | D．absence |
| A．set off | B．worked out | C．set down | D．worked at |
| A．Later | B．Better | C．Happier | D．Harder |
