I am a proud mother of three children, my last little one being delivered in the middle of this pandemic (疫情). She was born in August and her name is Aida.
Shortly after having Aida, my mother-in-law Ann showed me something she learned from her friend’s mother in an art class she attended weekly, She had showed me how to knit (编织) a scarf.
I spent a lot of time breastfeeding my sweet little girl, so I had some extra time to do something with my hands throughout the day. I enjoyed making the scarf so I purchased tons of yarn (线) since it was winter. I wanted to make scarves for my three children as Christmas gifts.
There was a new family that moved in down the street. The only daughter of the family was Jane, a shy girl, aged 14, the same age of my oldest son David. It seemed that she came from a financially disadvantaged family, for she always wore old clothes. Worse still, in such cold days, she had no more clothes to wear and trembled with cold.
Due to the pandemic, society was thrown into crisis mode. Schools were closed, food supplies and deliveries were suspended and children were stuck at home. In such discouraging time, however, they became good companions, talking and playing at home or around the houses.
It was dreadfully cold this winter. Every time David came back from outside, with red face, he always cried, “Mum, it is freezing outside!” Then, he came over to see whether I finished the scarf. I could tell how impatient he was to wear my scarf sooner! I had to speed the project to satisfy his expectation. But David comforted me by saying he could wait a few days. What a kind and considerate boy he was! Then my great art project finally was accomplished on the morning ahead of Christmas.
注意：1.续写词数应为150词左右；
2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语己为你写好。
Paragraph 1: I wrapped the scarf around David’s neck.
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Paragraph 2: Later that day David came back saying Jane also deserved a scarf.
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Mash Assadollah was the grocer at our corner store. Standing behind his glass display case, he tore out a page from a book. He twisted the page into a cone-shaped envelope and then filled it with tobacco. He then weighed the tobacco. He folded the envelope of tobacco closed and handed it to me. I was also buying sugar cubes and tea. Mash Assadollah calculated the amounts on an abacus (算盘). I paid him and left.
When I got home, Grandmother took the goods I had purchased, emptied the envelopes of their ingredients, handed me the wrappers, and asked me to throw them away.
It was summer vacation, and I didn’t have much to do. To keep myself busy, I sat down in a corner of the room and started to read the wrappers, which had once been eight consecutive (连续的) pages of a book. How well written and attractive the words were! It was a good story. I sat there until I had read all eight pages. Honestly, I had never read a book before, except for my textbooks. But when I read those eight pages, I realized that I now loved reading! The only problem was that the story stopped right at the best part, right at the end of Page 22, which was the most important and exciting point in the story.
It was about a boy who wanted to run away from home and escape his father who was always spanking (打屁股) him, but the boy was afraid. He finally left home but didn’t know where to go. I was excited to find out where he would go and what would happen to 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。
I decided to go back and get the rest of the book from Mash Assadollah.
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Mash Assadollah didn’t know what I was talking about.
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I’d been bored by everything associated with English courses and the idea of being a writer had never come to me until in my third year in high school when our English class was taken over by Mr. Fleagle. Mr. Fleagle was said to be very formal, dull, prim (古板的) and hopelessly out of date. He wore primly severe glasses; his wavy hair was primly cut and primly combed. He had a primly pointed jaw, a primly straight nose, and a prim manner of speaking that was so correct, so gentlemanly, that he seemed a comic antique (古董).
I prepared for another unfruitful year without enjoyment in that dull subject with Mr. Fleagle. I found English grammar dull and difficult. I hated the assignments to turn out long, lifeless paragraphs that were painful for teachers to read and for me to write.
Late in the year, Mr. Fleagle handed out a homework sheet offering us a list of topics. None was quite so simple-minded as “What I Did on My Summer Vacation,” but most seemed to be almost as boring as I had expected. I took the list home and did nothing until the night before the essay was due. Lying on the sofa, I finally faced up to the unwelcome task, took the list out of my notebook, and scanned it.
Then my eyes stopped on the topic “The Art of Eating Spaghetti.” Vivid memories came flooding back of a night in Belleville when all of us—Uncle Allen, my mother, my father and my cousin Doris were seated and Aunt Pat served spaghetti for supper which was still a little known foreign dish in those days. Neither Doris nor I had ever eaten spaghetti, and none of the adults had enough experience to be good at it. However, it was a night that I would never forget.
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:
Suddenly I wanted to write about that, about the warmth and good feeling of that night.
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Paragraph 2:
Two days later the graded articles were returned.
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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.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A cactus (仙人掌) stood all alone in the desert, wondering why it was stuck in the middle of the desert. “I do nothing but stand here all day,” it sighed. “What use do I have? I am the ugliest plant in the desert. My spines (刺) are thick, my leaves are tough, and my skin is uneven. I can’t offer shade or juice to the passing travellers. I don’t see that I am of any use at all.” All it did was stand in the sun day after day, growing taller and fatter. Its spines grew longer and its leaves grew tougher. It truly was strange-looking.
“I wish I could do something useful,” it signed. By day, hawks (鹰) circled high overhead, and the cactus called, “What can I do with my life?” Whether they heard or not, the hawks flew away. At night the moon floated into the sky and cast its pale light on the desert floor. “What can I do with my life?” the cactus called. The moon only stared coldly as it continued its course.
A lizard (蜥蜴) passed by, leaving a little trail in the sand with its tail. “What worthy deed can I do?” the cactus called. “You?” the lizard smiled, pausing a moment. “You can do something. Just wait for the right moment. The hawks circle their ways overhead, making beautiful patterns for us all to admire. The moon hangs high like a lantern at night, so we can see our ways home to our loved ones. Even I, the lowly lizard, have something to do. I decorate the sands with these beautiful trails as I pull my tail along. And you, you will show us your beauty some day.”
Paragraph 1:
It went on year after year, and the cactus grew old.
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Paragraph 2:
The desert hadn’t known such a flower of it.
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As Hurricane Lan bore down on Florida, many residents who stayed put found themselves unable to leave even if they tried. For hours they were forced to fight heavy winds and attempt to escape flooding inside long-loved homes that had become frightening, deadly traps. Within days, around 100 deaths in the state would be attributed to the hurricane, many of them were older residents who drowned.
When the water slipped in under the door of their home, it was just a glimmer on the floor, a sign that it was time to go. It was Wednesday, Sept.28, around noon, and Bishop woke up her two brothers, who had been resting after lunch. She pulled the wheelchair up to the oldest, Russell, 67. Her other brother, Todd, 63, could manage with a walker.
Both men had been born with cerebral palsy (脑瘫), and their mental development was like that of a young child. About 10 years ago, they started showing signs of Parkinson’s disease. But they found joy in their surroundings. Todd liked collecting cans at the beach. Russell loved riding the bus and going to parks. Bishop, 61, was their lifeline, their little sister who had long felt an obligation to keep them safe.
“We’ve got to get going!” she shouted to them. She went to open the front door. It would not move. The weight of the water on the other side had made it shut. She rushed to try the door to the garage. It, too, was stuck. That’s when the house began to flood. It went from ankle-deep to knee-deep in less than five minutes. Bishop knew that there was no way out.
Now Bishop and her brothers were trapped. At 12:34 p.m., she called 911 but couldn’t get through. There was no one she could get in touch with. To try her fortune, she texted a neighbor, Walters, who was always there when neighbors were in need, “Water’s coming in.” Around her, she could hear the dining room hutch (餐具柜) tipping and crashing, the china breaking, the refrigerator toppling over.
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 only way to go was up, so Bishop guided her two bothers to the stairs.
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Bishop sank into despair, but she noticed it seemed water stopped coming in.
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It was a beautiful sunny day when a moving van (小型货车) pulled onto the tree-lined street. Mark and Mindy stepped out of the van and looked at their new home with pride. They had been saving for a long time to buy their first house together and were very excited to go on a new visit.
Within an hour they had removed a number of boxes and were pleased with their progress. The sky had begun to darken slightly, but the weather was still pleasant.
Then Mindy heard it-even felt it. There was a crack of thunder and then a bolt of lightning. Mindy and Mark immediately froze and looked at each other, then looked at the boxes lying on their lawn. They hurriedly got their belongings indoors, but not before getting caught in the rain.
Mark and Mindy stood in their living room, wet from head to toe, surrounded by what were now very wet oxes. Then, Mark noticed a pool of water in the hallway.
Then he found that there was water dripping from the ceiling. “We can have someone fix it,” Mindy said. “I’ll grab a bucket to catch the water for now.”
A moment later, Mark heard a scream and raced into the kitchen just in time to see a mouse running across the floor. Mindy was frozen with fright.
“Don’t worry! We can take care of that!” Mark id, trying to sound s possible. “Let’s go and open om of the boxes. That will make u feel better.”
Mark and Mindy made their way to the living room but when they opened a box holding their kitchen things they found that all of their plates, bows and cups were broken. They looked at each other in low spirits.
“What can we do now?” Mindy asked.
It seemed that their first day in their new home was not turning out to be the happy occasion they had expected. Just then, they both heard a noise.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 开头已给出，请按如下格式在答题卡相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
There was a soft knock at the door.
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Paragraph 2:
The noise of the mouse was coming from the upper floor.
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It was April 5th, a lovely spring morning. The air was fresh. The trees were green and the birds were singing happily. Police officer Tidwell left the station just after 8 a.m. on such a beautiful morning. He had spent a boring night on duty and was looking forward to his day of rest. By habit he took a short-cut down the path behind Dugby Hall road. It was quiet at this time of a day. Tidwell walked slowly, enjoying the fresh morning air. But after a minute or two he saw a man climbing down a drainpipe (雨水管) from an open bedroom window of Number 29. In silence, Tidwell crept into the garden. Tidwell watched for a while and waited for the man to climb down slowly off the wall. The man reached the ground and was dusting himself down when he felt his arm caught.
“It’s 8:15 on a Sunday morning,” said the officer, “and this sort of thing seems an unlikely adventure at such a time. Would you mind explaining?” Tidwell spoke with a serious voice of a police officer, holding the man tightly at the same time.
The man was obviously scared. He struggled for a while and then said, “I know what you are thinking, officer, but it isn’t true. This is a funny mistake.”
Tidwell did not believe his words at all but he said to the man, “It’s part of my job to take an interest in unusual events. I think you’ve just left this house in a manner other than the customary one. That may be quite innocent, but I’d like to make sure.” Tidwell took out his notebook and a pen. “Name, address and occupation and then, please, tell me your story...”
“Charlie Crane, lorry driver, from Nottingham, 51 Breton Street. My story…”
“Yes. What were you doing like a fly on that wall, Mr. Crane?”
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。
Paragraph1:
The man explained that he had a breakdown yesterday and had to stay the night here.
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Paragraph2:
“Mr. Crane, what are you doing here?” A woman’s voice came behind them suddenly.
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I was 28 years old, the age when most young people have their eyes firmly fixed on the promise of success but I was a failure. Six years earlier, fresh from college, I had joined a dramatic producing company, and had been going into small towns and rural communities producing countrystyle musical comedies. But, in the summer of 1940, the country was in a depression, radio had changed people’s tastes, and parttime shows weren’t all that big any more. So, jobless and with nothing else in sight, I went back home. Later I got a job as a recreationroom director in my hometown. It paid $50 a month, for which I was grateful, but it sure was a dull job.
I felt so frustrated with my plan to be a dramatic star. Restless and dissatisfied though I was, it was nice, in a way, to be back home. I tried to teach some of my town’s children music and drama. And when I got a chance, I’d try my luck as a performer myself. I’d dress up as a country girl and tell little stories and jokes that I’d picked up during my years living around country folk. I gave this country girl a name — Minnie Pearl.
One October afternoon I was in the recreation room, waiting for the children when a banker friend, Jim Walker, came in and said, “We’re going to have a bankers’ meeting here. I understand you’ve been teaching some children dramatics and dancing and singing. Would you let the children entertain the bankers?” I said, yes. Suddenly, he turned and added, “Oh, by the way, the speaker from Chicago is flying here. If he’s late, would you mind doing that Minnie Pearl thing?” I told Jim I’d do it.
That night the children sang and danced to oldtime, popular songs when I was backstage. After we finished the performance, Jim came to me. “The speaker’s not here yet. You’ll have to help us.” “All right,” I told him, “just give me a minute to dress up.”
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2．请按如下格式作答。
Then I went out in front of the hundred or so men in the audience.
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Then I walked off the stage into the audience, and a banker greeted me.
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I was invited to a cookout on an old friend’s farm in western Washington. I parked my car outside the farm and walked past a milking house which had apparently not been used in many years. A noise at a window caught my attention, so I entered it. It was a hummingbird (蜂鸟), desperately trying to escape. She was covered in spider-webs (蛛网) and was barely able to move her wings. She ceased her struggle the instant I picked her up.
With the bird in my cupped hand, I looked around to see how she had gotten in. The broken window glass was the likely answer. I stuffed a piece of cloth into the hole and took her outside, closing the door securely behind me.
When I opened my hand, the bird did not fly away; she sat looking at me with her bright eyes. I removed the sticky spider-webs that covered her head and wings. Still, she made no attempt to fly. Perhaps she had been struggling against the window too long and was too tired? Or too thirsty?
As I carried her up the blackberry-lined path toward my car where I kept a water bottle, she began to move. I stopped, and she soon took wing but did not immediately fly away.
Hovering (悬停), she approached within six inches of my face. For a very long moment, this tiny creature looked into my eyes, turning her head from side to side. Then she flew quickly out of sight.
During the cookout, I told my hosts about the hummingbird incident. They promised to fix the window. As I was departing, my friends walked me to my car. I was standing by the car when a hummingbird flew to the center of our group and began hovering. She turned from person to person until she came to me. She again looked directly into my eyes, then let out a squeaking call and was gone. For a moment, all were speechless. Then someone said, “She must have come to say goodbye.”
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。
A few weeks later, I went to the farm again.
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I was just about to leave when the hummingbird appeared.
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