I brought home a homemade invitation to a party and showed it to my mother. “I’m not going,” I said. “She’s a new girl named Ruth, and Berniece and Pat aren’t going. She asked the whole class, all 36 of us.” As Momma studied the handmade invitation, she looked strangely sad. Then she announced, “Well, you are going! I’ll pick up a present tomorrow.” I couldn’t believe it. Momma had never made me go to a party!
When Saturday arrived, Momma rushed me out of bed and made me wrap the pretty pink mirror-brush-and-comb set she’d bought. She drove me over in her yellow and white car and then left. Ruth answered the door and guided me to follow her up the steepest, oldest staircase I’d ever seen.
Stepping through the door brought me great relief. The hardwood floors was shining in the sun-filled sitting room. Snow-white doilies (装饰小垫) covered the backs and arms of well-worn furniture. The biggest cake I ever saw sat on one table. It was decorated with nine pink candles, a messily printed Happy Birthday Ruth. Thirty-six cups filled with homemade fudge (软糖) were near the cake—each one with a name on it. “This will be wonderful if everyone gets here.” I thought.
“Where’s your mom?” I asked Ruth. Looking down at the floor, she said, “Well she’s sick.” “Oh. Where’s your dad?” “He’s gone.” Then there was a silence. Some 15 minutes passed… then 10 more. It occurred to me that no one else was coming. How could I get out of here? As I sank into self-pity, I heard muffled (压抑的) sobs. Looking up, I saw tears in Ruth’s eyes. All at once my heart was filled with sympathy for Ruth. There we were two small girls and a cake, 36 candy-filled cups, three dozen party gifts, games to play and prizes to win.
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。
Then I announced to Ruth, “Let’s start our birthday party!”.
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Showing Momma my prizes, I shared my experience at Ruth’s house with her.
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2 . I was annoyed that my mom had even scheduled the appointment with a doctor for me. As doctors so often do, when he arrived he went straight into the basic small talk about my
But then he
“You don’t know? Well, why don’t you go to college to become a
He looked me straight in the eyes when he
I
I was
A.career | B.health | C.credit | D.growth |
A.threw in | B.took in | C.consisted in | D.broke in |
A.account | B.activity | C.direction | D.movement |
A.idea | B.evidence | C.reason | D.discovery |
A.protected | B.explored | C.provided | D.emphasized |
A.professor | B.doctor | C.lawyer | D.lecturer |
A.crazy | B.anxious | C.violent | D.greedy |
A.casually | B.automatically | C.seriously | D.doubtfully |
A.got away | B.passed out | C.put down | D.rushed off |
A.continued | B.hesitated | C.intended | D.pretended |
A.comment | B.conclusion | C.impression | D.burden |
A.park | B.campus | C.workshop | D.stadium |
A.frightened | B.annoyed | C.surprised | D.discouraged |
A.anxiety | B.sympathy | C.guilt | D.confidence |
A.argument | B.conversation | C.conflict | D.negotiation |
3 . Elmer Whitaker sighed as he looked over his muddy crops. A terrible
"What a disaster, “Whitaker said.” My whole family has always survived on the harvests of this field. I feel
Thomas calmed him down and thought for a moment. “I see this not as a disaster but as an
Elmer Whitaker considered this. Thomas was right-he had become set in his ways. This disaster could push him to make his farm
And so Whitaker
A.force | B.smoke | C.war | D.storm |
A.mud | B.grass | C.mist | D.dust |
A.went on | B.set off | C.came by | D.burst in |
A.special | B.desperate | C.sensitive | D.tireless |
A.opportunity | B.agreement | C.intention | D.element |
A.as usual | B.in disbelief | C.on purpose | D.with pride |
A.innocently | B.gratefully | C.politely | D.cheerfully |
A.major | B.traditional | C.different | D.natural |
A.restore | B.exchange | C.donate | D.abandon |
A.formal | B.diverse | C.realistic | D.obvious |
A.informed | B.demanded | C.enlightened | D.promised |
A.tasted | B.planted | C.shared | D.received |
A.careful | B.troubled | C.familiar | D.impressed |
A.diversify | B.remove | C.deliver | D.observe |
A.manner | B.dream | C.symbol | D.cause |
An old and fragile woman approached a very busy road intersection. She stepped slowly forwards. She paused at the sidewalk’s edge, grasping a heavy bucket filled with fresh red apples. She aimed to cross the street.
The way to the intersection before her seemed like a tough journey. The traffic lights changed regularly, and the flow of cars seemed to be non-stop for the old woman. She knew she had to cross the street to reach her destination, a small grocery store on the other side, where she sold her apples to make ends meet.
As she slowly made her way to the crosswalk, she held the handle of the bucket. A kind-hearted driver in the first car, recognizing her struggle, stopped well before the sidewalk, allowing her to cross safely. Grateful for this act of kindness, the old woman nodded and offered the driver a slight smile as she inched forward.
A second car, in the next road, also came to a stop. Its driver also witnessed the old woman’s slow progress. The kindness of strangers warmed her heart, and with their help, she moved another step closer to her destination.
However, the third road was a different story. As the old woman moved carefully further into the road, a speeding car approached, its engine making loud sound like a beast. Panic flowed through the old lady as she realized the approaching danger. The driver of the third car had not noticed her until the very last moment.
With a jolt (颠簸) of terror, the old woman’s holding on the bucket weakened, and the bucket slipped from her weak grasp. The bucket fell to the ground, releasing its goods of apples, which scattered (散开) in all directions. The sound of the crashing bucket and rolling apples echoed through the busy city traffic.
In the emergent time, the driver of the speeding car stepped on the brake to a stop just inches from the old woman. The drivers’ heart pounded in their chest as they realized how close it had come to a tragedy.
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。
Shaken but unharmed, the old woman stood frozen, her eyes wide open with fear.
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Eventually, with all the apples collected, the three drivers helped the old lady cross the road.
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In 1989, I was away from my home in Malaysia attending the University of Kansas in the USA. I found an advertisement for a summer job as a programmer at Ulm in what was then West Germany. I submitted my application and got an interview. What made me pleased was that I was offered the job after the interview. I thought it was a good opportunity to see part of a new continent.
Both Malaysia and the USA emerged from Britain, so we have common standards for the way many things are done. Naturally, I expected things at Ulm would be different—big things, like language and culture—but I never expected small cultural differences would affect me. For example, I was surprised that little things like how doors fit into doorframes were different. The bread was also very different. While it was fun at first to eat the various kinds of food, after some time I longed for the white, square and soft bread I was used to. And the big things were not that bad: the folks in the city of Ulm mostly didn’t speak English well but were very friendly and helpful.
One of these small differences, however, tripped me up early in my stay. The first few days, my employer put me up in a bed-and-breakfast hotel. Then I found a small studio apartment to rent. It was evening by the time I got settled in. Since there were all-night grocery stores in the US and grocery stores in Malaysia were open late at night, I made a habit of going out to buy some food and other necessities like soap for the shower. But to my surprise and horror, every single shop was closed! I was alone with no food or any other kind of necessary items. I wandered around hopelessly in the street for a while.
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 university student with whom I talked about my experience.
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At his home, I found that he did not possess much.
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6 . Travel during the holidays is both fun and challenging. One of the biggest difficulties is the
A teacher named Brittany Loubier-Vervisch from Tampa, Florida was
While her husband was at the Southwest Airlines’ customer-service counter, Brittany
“I was circling through the baggage claim as stuff was coming off the line and being piled up (堆积) and if there was a tag (标签) on it with a(n)
Taira Meadow, one traveler who received a text from Brittany,
A.report | B.concern | C.doubt | D.comment |
A.share | B.misunderstand | C.pass down | D.try out |
A.pulling | B.cleaning | C.packing | D.seeking |
A.question | B.prediction | C.idea | D.discovery |
A.regularly | B.secretly | C.endlessly | D.simply |
A.recorded | B.continued | C.dismissed | D.changed |
A.removed | B.protected | C.separated | D.prevented |
A.number | B.mark | C.address | D.key |
A.policewoman | B.expert | C.traveler | D.worker |
A.send | B.count | C.find | D.weigh |
A.examined | B.followed | C.appreciated | D.corrected |
A.strange | B.serious | C.curious | D.mature |
A.refuse | B.recognize | C.believe | D.inform |
A.Doubtfully | B.Fortunately | C.Suddenly | D.Naturally |
A.difference | B.trade | C.mess | D.mistake |
7 . Living in the beauty, scenery and peacefulness of Italy, Thomas Hartke and Irene Horbrand, both in their 60s, run A Teira, the only pizzeria open year-round in an Italian village. What started off as a vacation nearly 50 years ago turned into a new life full of unexpected cooking achievements.
“We fell in love with this place in 1975 when we first visited it,” says Hartke. “We came back many times. Then 23 years ago we moved here for good, settling down in a rented house. The locals are friendly and welcoming, there’s a comfortable village atmosphere, and we left nothing behind in Germany: why would we ever go back?”
The couple has always been active. For years they ran the village’s main bar, and then took over the pizzeria in 2016. But running the pizzeria also gave them headaches as permit renewals and day- to-day bureaucracy (官僚主义) can be a trouble. The greatest challenge, however, was making a good-or acceptable—pizza and hoping that locals didn’t find it revolting. Italians tend to get quite upset if someone messes with traditional dishes, especially pasta and pizza, but somehow the locals attracted by the German couple’s mixtures.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy to serve pizza to Italians—it’s such an untouchable, blessed food, but we were never scared of trying, and our courage was rewarded,” says Hartke. “Customers really do appreciate our pizzas, they become regulars and there’re not just foreigners. Even locals come here.”
Irene, a former fur designer, had never made a pizza before deciding that was what she and her husband were going to do. Practically overnight she learned how to make a pizza on a TV course in Germany. Each evening, alone in the small kitchen where not even her husband is allowed, she bakes 60 pizzas, from 6 p. m. to 10 p. m.
1. What made the couple settle down in the Italian village?A.The livable environment there. | B.Quality elderly care services. |
C.Unique delicious local food. | D.Their terrible experience in Germany. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Determined. | C.Worried. | D.Unclear. |
A.Illegal. | B.Conservative. | C.Cheap. | D.Unpleasant. |
A.The husband cooks pizzas following a course. |
B.The couple cook the unique pizzas together. |
C.The couple make pizzas in the local way. |
D.The wife cooks pizzas on her own. |
A dog who is thought to have died in a snow slide is home safe after spending days in the
A skier and a snowboarder both survived a snow slide in Chaffee County, Colorado, last week. “The second skier down caused a snow slide,
The skier opened his airbag and
The couple also had their dog with them. After searching everywhere for the dog following
“We did have some search and rescue
It was supposed that the dog died in the snow slide
“Extraordinarily, the dog managed
9 . During the holiday season in 2022, Felicia Hall was battling depression. “I was unhappy, overeating fast food at night and not really caring for myself. I wasn’t physically
It wasn’t until New Year that Hall wanted to make a
The
After five months, Hall lost 20 pounds — and gained a new
A.fit | B.attractive | C.active | D.disabled |
A.difference | B.change | C.living | D.deal |
A.continued | B.managed | C.decided | D.promised |
A.reminder | B.deadline | C.monitor | D.timetable |
A.regret | B.forget | C.hesitate | D.withdraw |
A.confidence | B.wellness | C.pride | D.relief |
A.laying | B.hitting | C.keeping | D.putting |
A.sick | B.afraid | C.sure | D.capable |
A.transformed | B.enriched | C.rescheduled | D.restored |
A.focus | B.emphasis | C.attitude | D.remark |
A.called on | B.relied on | C.appealed to | D.turned to |
A.even | B.still | C.ever | D.almost |
A.By chance | B.In fact | C.Above all | D.At first |
A.practice | B.combine | C.struggle | D.grow |
A.worried | B.aware | C.satisfied | D.certain |
10 . Growing up, I always heard people say work hard pays. I never really understood these words until I reached the age where my parents stopped giving me my monthly allowance and asked me to look for a job.
New Year is a season of good news for merrymakers and entrepreneurial characters. My childhood friend was one of the latter. Mike and I were two sides of the same coin. I was an introvert and a bookworm, while Mike was outgoing and a merrymaker. His added advantage over me was that he came from a family of entrepreneurs. Therefore, while I saw the festive season as another time to enjoy, he saw it as a perfect time to make money. Ironically, I needed this side of him, given my present predicament (困境).
Mike was not of the “work hard pays” school of thought but the “work smart” school. When I told him about my predicament, he saw a business partner. He told me about his business idea — making and selling festive decorations. Having noticed my disbelieving look, he told me he had researched and realized that only one shop sold festive decorations with exorbitant (过高的) price, which meant that there was room for competition. However, I reminded him starting a business, let alone competing with an established enterprise, required capital. He told me, “Not really. All we had to do was make some decorations ourselves.” Upon that, we made some special designs and hit the ground running.
News about our selling decorations spread like wildfire. Mike’s decision to publish brochures advertising our products was a genius marketing trick. Within three days, we had sold about 50 sets of decorations, and as they say, the rest is history.
My parents’ decision to stop my monthly allowance served to teach me the value of work. However, it was my entrepreneurial adventure with Mike that taught me that working smart is better than working hard.
1. What was the author’s present predicament?A.Weak reading skills. | B.Lack of financial support. |
C.Poor communication ability. | D.Awful relationship with parents. |
A.Losing market immediately. | B.Collected money eagerly. |
C.Imagined the future merrily. | D.Started the business quickly. |
A.Publicizing their products widely. | B.Doing research in advance. |
C.Designing delicate decorations. | D.Making decorations on their own. |
A.Smart work outweighs hard work. |
B.Wisdom comes from hard work. |
C.Working hard will finally pay off. |
D.Working smart starts with working hard. |