As a senior editor in a famous press, I always think of days twenty years before when I was 18, I lived with my grandparents, and my parents earned their living in another city, struggling to support our family. I had taken to delivering newspapers to support myself and my education.
I would be up every morning by 5 am and walk five kilometres from where I lived to the newspaper office. By 6 am, I would collect 50 copies which must have weighed over five kilograms. My delivery range spanned (横跨) three kilometres. After distributing the copies, I would rush home—another three kilometres away—cook my breakfast, and be off to my school.
One Friday morning, I got home after my deliveries, finding Afzal, a boy from the neighbourhood, at my doorstep. Afzal said his mother wanted to see me. When I asked him why, Afzal said, “She will tell you.” Tired after walking around for over 11 kilometres, I was looking forward to breakfast and some rest. I assumed his mother wished to subscribe (定期订购) to the newspaper, so I followed him to his home nearby.
A woman in her 40s opened the door. I later learned she was Afzal’s mother, Mrs Kader. She asked me to sit, pulled up her chair next to mine and gently asked, “Tell me about your routine, right from the time you wake up in the morning.” I wasn’t quite sure why she wanted to know, but I told her about my morning job in a few words. She asked me, “How many miles do you walk every day?” I replied, “A little more than 11 kilometres.” My reply shocked her.
Then she patted my back and went inside, reappearing carrying a large plate full of food for breakfast for me. It was a heart y breakfast, one that brought back memories of happy days spent with my parents. Later, as I was about to leave after thanking them, Mrs Kader asked me to wait and she went inside again.
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。
Then Mrs Kader appeared again, with a new bicycle.
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I bowed to Mrs Kader gratefully and left for school.
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My writing career began quite accidentally. It was all because of my friend Henry.
Born into a poor family, Henry had no chance to attend school. He couldn’t read but he liked my reading for him greatly. One day I played a little trick on Henry. I was reading him a story from my textbook. Suddenly I moved away from the story and made up my own, pretending to turn pages regularly. Henry, of course, had no idea at all. Upon finishing the story, Henry began to clap.
“That was the best story you’ve read me in a long time,” he said, still clapping.
I laughed. “Really?”
“It was great. Will you read me more of it tomorrow?”
“Fascinating,” I thought, feeling like a man who discovered a buried treasure in his own backyard. That same night, I tried writing my first short story. It was a story about a man who found a magic cup. If he cried into the cup, his tears turned into pearls (珍珠), but he was a happy man and rarely cried. So he managed to find ways to make himself sad. The story ended with the man sitting on a mountain of pearls, unable to feel happy any longer.
The next day, I ran to Henry after school, asking him to hear the story and told him I wrote it last night. Henry was totally absorbed in it, his face shifting as the story developed.
“Some day, you will be a great writer,” Henry said. “And your stories will be read all over the world. But can I ask a question? Why didn’t the man just eat some onions to make himself cry to get pearls?” I was shocked because I never expected Henry could be helpful to my writing. I rewrote it and with Henry’s encouragement, I sent it to a magazine. To my surprise, it was published and sold well.
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。
Whenever I finished a new story, I would turn to Henry.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I decided to use the money to help Henry.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Having worked at a small food store for two years, I thought I had become successful at what our manager called “customer relations”. I firmly believed that a friendly smile and an automatic “sir”, “madam”, “thank you” and “sorry” would see me through any situation. But on a Christmas night an old woman shook my belief that such a glib response (巧言应对) could smooth over any difficulty while dealing with other human beings.
The moment she entered the store, the woman presented a sharp contrast to our shiny store with its bright lighting and neatly arranged shelves. Walking as if each step were painful, she slowly pushed open the glass door. On such a zero-degree night, she was wearing only a faded print dress, a thin sweater too small to button, and black slippers with the backs cut out to expose heels. There were no stockings or socks on her blue-veined legs.
After walking around the store for several minutes, the old woman stopped in front of the rows of canned vegetables. She looked at the row of cans, finally picked up a can of corn and stared at the label. At that point, I decided to be a good and polite employee and asked her if she needed help. As I stood close to her, my smile became harder to maintain. An unpleasant smell of sweat rose from her torn clothing.
“I need some food,” she muttered in reply to my bright “Madam, can I help you?”
“Are you looking for corn, madam?”
“I need some food,” she repeated, looking down at the can in her hand, “Any kind.”
“Well, the can of corn is ninety-five cents, madam.” I said in my most helpful voice. “Or if you like, we have a special on bread today.”
After a short pause, she lifted her head and said, “But I can’t pay.”
For a second, it was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that she could take the corn.
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
Paragraph1：
Then the employee rules flooded into my mind: remain polite but do not let the customers get the best of you.
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Paragraph 2：
Moments after she left, I rushed out of the door with the can of corn.
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Many years ago there lived in Holland a boy named Peter. Peter's father was one of the men who tended the gates in the dikes(堤坝)，called sluices. He opened and closed the sluices so that ships could pass out of Holland's canals into the great sea.
One afternoon in the early fall, when Peter was eight years old, his mother called him from his play. “Come, Peter,” she said. “I want you to go across the dike and take these cakes to your friend, the blind man. Remember that you shall be home before dark.”The little boy was glad to go on such an errand (跑腿)， and started off with a light heart. He stayed with the poor blind man a little while to tell him something about his walk along the dike-the sun, the flowers and the ships far out at sea. Then he remembered his mother's wish that he should return before dark. Bidding his friend goodbye, he set out for home.
As he walked beside the canal, he noticed how the rains had swollen the water, and how they beat against the side of the dike, and he thought of his father's gates. “I am glad they are so strong,” he said to himself.“If the dike gave way what should we do? These pretty fields would be covered with water.” As he walked along the dike he sometimes stopped to pick the pretty blue flowers that grew beside the road, or to listen to the rabbits' soft tread as they rustled through the grass.
Suddenly he heard a noise. It was the sound of trickling water! He stopped and looked down. There was a small hole in the dike, through which a tiny stream was flowing. Any child in Holland is frightened at the thought of a leak in the dike. Peter understood the danger at once. If the water ran through a little hole it would soon make a larger one, and the whole country would be flooded. In a moment he saw what he must do. Throwing away his flowers, he climbed down the side of the dike and thrust his finger into the tiny hole. The flowing of the water was stopped! “Oh!” he said to himself. “I can keep the water back with my finger. Holland shall not be drowned while I am here. ”
This was all very well at first, but soon it grew dark and cold. The little fellow shouted and screamed. “Come here; come here,” he called. But no one heard him; no one came to help him.
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。
It grew still colder, and his arm ached, and began to grow stiff and numb.
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The moon and stars looked down on the child crouching (蹲) on a stone on the side of the dike.
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Emily White was born seventeen years ago with so many birth problems in her body. Some of her organs, bones and muscles were out of shape. No one expected her to survive. She did make it but with her strange body figure, everyone could recognize her, even from a distance.
In Emily White’s hometown, there was a yearly outdoor performance in the school auditorium (大礼堂). It had been performed for so many years and actually had become one of the most important events of the Christmas season for many of the town’s people.
Many people tried out each year for it, but so many were turned away. It can only include the most excellent people in the field.
Emily had a beautiful singing voice. Last year she went to Mrs. Owens — her music teacher to ask to join in the performance. Without letting her sing, Mrs. Owens took a look at Amy’s body and said, “Child, you just don’t fit. Everyone would stare at you and that would make you uncomfortable. It would make them uncomfortable, too.”
Without singing a single note, Emily was sent back through the door of the choral room. Hurt and upset, she decided never to try out again. But Mrs. Owens then retired.
This year, there came a new music teacher, Mr. Buttler. He heard about Emily and suggested that she have a try.
Emily didn’t want to be rejected again, so she hesitated a little about it. As Emily struggled, the door was pushed open and Mr. Buttler called, “Emily, you’re next.” Although kind of nervous, Emily did as Mr. Buttler told her to do. Mr. Buttler sat by the piano to keep Emily company. When Emily finished her testing performance, she thanked Mr. Buttler and knew the result would be posted on the door of the choral room the next day.
Emily couldn’t sleep that night. She was suffering from the feelings that she didn’t fit and the great need to be accepted. By the next morning, her stomach was even in pain because of stress.
注意：续写词数应为150左右Paragraph 1: The next day, Emily nervously glanced at the list on the door of the choral room.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: Finally, the day of performance came.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My family and I were taking a well-deserved vacation to Disneyland. I had never been there before and was eagerly anticipating experiencing the magic.
There was another reason that this trip was special. My father was a workaholic who worked long hours. I longed to spend time with him. I wanted to be able to sit down with my father, who I loved more than life, and just talk. It always seemed like there was never time.
The day finally arrived when I was allowed to pack my clothes. I chose only my favourite outfits. I threw in my autograph book and then muscled the suitcase zipper around the overflow of clothes. I set my suitcase on my comforter and smiled. I was ready.
I didn’t get any sleep that night. I lay in my bed and stared out the window. I knew that my father’s work was going to be left at home, finally.
After a brief breakfast we hit the open road. It was all smooth sailing for the first couple of hours until I unexpectedly felt a sharp stop. We coasted to the side of the road, and my dad said something was wrong with the engine. We were in the middle of four lanes of traffic, so he decided the easiest thing to do would be to signal someone to stop and get a ride into town.
An hour later, my dad was still waving his hands at each and every passing car but it wasn’t doing any good. Not a single person would stop to assist my helpless family. Finally, Father gave up and decided to walk into town. I was certain it was a very long distance. I pleaded with him to stay and try again, but he was deaf to my pleading. He just said that he wouldn’t let anything ruin this trip for me. My heart ached as he put on his coat and began to walk away from our car. My dad has a back problem, and he was too stubborn to admit that he wasn’t in any condition to even walk a couple of miles.
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。
Then I saw a man out of the window, who was a truck driver.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After reaching the town, we expressed our thanks again.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I had just walked in the door after dropping off the costume I had made for a friend’s daughter when I noticed the light blinking on my answering machine. It was my friend saying, “I know you worked hard on the costume and it looks very nice, but Janet doesn’t like all those decorations. Could you change them?”
Annoyed, I started to call her back-until I suddenly thought of Grandma’ love and what she had once done for me long ago when I visited her in New York City.
It was in the summer when I was eight. I could still see the chalk on the sidewalk marking a game of hopscotch (跳房子) outside her building. As I entered, I could smell the pine oil the cleaner used to wash the hall floors. Flying upstairs, I knocked on Grandma’s door. Grandma had something special planned every day. She had saved a few coins so we could go to a picture show. One day we threw bread to pigeons; another day we watered the evergreen on the fire escape.
At the end of the week, Grandma decided to curl my hair. She told me I was going to look like Shirley Temple. She spent a long time on each curl, and I could tell she enjoyed styling my hair.
When she was finished, she sighed with delight. She was so proud. She had me stand on a chair to look in the mirror. My heart sank. I looked ridiculous.
“You can go out and play now,” Grandma said, smiling.
I nodded and slowly walked down the stairs. I looked out the small window in the door and could see the neighborhood kids playing hopscotch. My best friend, Ducky, spotted me and began to jump up and down. She waved to me to come outside, but I couldn’t move. I knew everyone would laugh at the curls. At the same time I couldn’t go back and tell Grandma how I felt.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
Finally I went upstairs.
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Paragraph 2:
It was when Grandma combed out the curls that I knew she loved me
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It’s funny that you can always tell when somebody’s laughing behind your back. Jodie hadn’t really heard anything, maybe a whisper(耳语), but when she turned around, the girls in the back row of the class were looking at her, trying to hide smiles and laughs. She looked back at her teacher. Mr Swales was talking about what people did all day. He also wanted to find out what his students wanted to be when they grew up. He called on Billy first.
“My daddy works in a bank,” Billy said. “I guess I want to work in a bank, too. There’s lots of money in the bank.”
“My daddy runs a company,” Emmy said. “My daddy is the big boss. And I want to be a boss, too.”
Jodie like it when Mr Swales asked them questions like this. He was about to call on Jodie when the girls in the back row suddenly started laughing. Shirley shouted, “Jodie’s daddy is a garbage man(清洁工)!” Everyone in the class laughed out loud.
Jodie felt her face turn red.
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Random Acts of Kindness
I was driving along Clarendon Street in South Melbourne on my way to Castlemaine to visit my parents. As I stopped at a traffic light, I noticed a man lying on a bench seat on the footpath beside the road. It was early evening and his rough appearance and the fact that he was holding a bottle wrapped in newspaper confirmed my immediate suspicions — he was a drunk.
As soon as I saw him, I felt a strong feeling of sympathy for him. But like so many other people, I had other places to be and other things to do. As I watched, I saw two policemen approach and instantly I felt relieved. After all, it was their responsibility to clean up the streets and make sure men like him got a chance to be somewhere safe for the night. As I sat waiting for the traffic lights to turn green, I couldn’t believe what I saw. The two police walked around and when they reached the man, both of whom turned their heads the other way, as if not to see, and walked right past. Suddenly, a firm belief streamed through my mind, “Life is never so busy that there is no time to serve.”
Right then I looked up and the traffic lights turned green — and I had a decision to make. I knew that if I drove off, I would have no peace, so I turned left, drove around the block, parked the car and walked back to the man. As I approached him, I felt completely unconfident to deal with the situation and even a little foolish. What was I going to say? What was I going to do? At the very least I could drive him home — if he had a home. I found him sleeping soundly and at first, he didn’t respond to me at all, so I reached out and gently shook him awake.
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。
He woke up, staring at me angrily.
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Much to my relief, the man agreed to get into my car.
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Pride and Defeat
I had always prided myself on my talent in debates and arguments. Thus, when I was selected to represent the school in the national debate series, I was naturally confident of my readiness for the task Little did I know that this would turn out to be one of the most important lessons in my life.
The run-up to the finals was a breeze for my team. Our teacher was very experienced and we were all good speakers. My teammates were open to communicate so we showed perfect teamwork. But I was undoubtedly the most outstanding. In each round, the judges had always selected me as the best speaker. This means that my confidence was at an all-time high by the time we found ourselves with one week to train before the finals. I had no reason to even think that I would not be voted the overall best speaker for the debate series.
Unfortunately, I began to get self-focused about the whole business and started putting on airs with my teammates. I saw myself as the natural debater who would be let down by their bad performance. I became so dissatisfied that I began missing practices, which disappointed my kind teammates and teacher. They had no choice but to continue their training schedule.
The day of the finals dawned bright and fine. Actually, I just passed my teammates to enter the hall of the debate finals, feeling the excitement of being able to finally show off my debating power. But the reality was something quite different. My absence from the practices had created a gap between my teammates and me. We could not work perfectly as we did previously. Instead, our teamwork was so bad that even our school supporters were shamed into silence. When it was my turn to conclude as the last speaker of the team, the hall was quiet. Everyone knew that I was the most likely to win the overall best speaker for the series.
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。
But as I launched into my speech. I knew that things were very wrong.
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Suddenly, one of my teammates came up and patted me on the shoulder.
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