1 . Our neighbors had a loud party last night. We weren’t
What
And it really worked in their favor. My husband and I were so friendly that even when the event went past the
It takes such little effort to make people feel that they
A.located | B.explored | C.challenged | D.invited |
A.trapped | B.impressed | C.annoyed | D.embarrassed |
A.later | B.closer | C.earlier | D.further |
A.shocking | B.frightening | C.puzzling | D.amazing |
A.call number | B.room number | C.account number | D.car number |
A.anxiously | B.politely | C.regularly | D.obviously |
A.imagination | B.consideration | C.recognition | D.organization |
A.promised | B.supplied | C.designed | D.compared |
A.stress | B.anxiety | C.worry | D.anger |
A.respond | B.adapt | C.contribute | D.stick |
A.figure | B.succeed | C.matter | D.access |
A.sleep | B.maintain | C.travel | D.relax |
A.noticed | B.delivered | C.explored | D.proved |
A.surrounding | B.respect | C.curiosity | D.distance |
A.strategy | B.apology | C.communication | D.inspiration |
For years, putting up Christmas lights had been a family tradition for the Patrick’s household. It was an occasion when they would busily prepare for the celebration of Christmas.
Their Christmas light display was always a highlight of the neighborhood and brought much delight to the whole community. Typically, Anthony would invite the neighbors over as they decorated the Christmas tree in the front yard. Emily, who lived next door and had known Sara’s family for long, often came to admire their wonderland of Christmas lights.
In early December, Anthony would string colorful lights all around their roof until it looked dazzling. On the front lawn, he would blow up a large white Frosty the Snowman and a Rudolph with a glowing red nose. Sara always joined in, along with their warm-hearted neighbors, hanging gifts on the tree and playing “White Christmas” over and over to keep everyone in the spirit.
Yet the bad news came in the midst of the festive mood, before they could finish the Christmas decoration. Anthony fell desperately ill. The symptoms suggested acute heart failure and he was soon admitted to hospital. Sara spent days and nights in the ward, attending to Anthony and praying for his recovery, though the hope was slim. On Christmas Eve, Anthony passed away.
It came as a huge blow to Sara. In the following days, she had to manage the funeral while struggling to figure out a way to cover housing and household expenses, and tackling a seemingly endless list of difficult to-dos. Perhaps hardest of all, she had to persuade herself into accepting the loss of her father. It was too much to take.
When she pulled up to the house after a long day on the go, the only thing that could comfort her were the twinkling Christmas lights, which brought her a spark of hope-it felt as if the brightness of the lights could cancel out some of the darkness of the past days’ misfortune.
Wanting to help, Emily shared their story on a community website.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Touched by their kindness, Sara decided to fulfill the lighting decorations, though Christmas was gone.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Preparing for the upcoming Christmas season was truly annoying. Schedules to meet and deadlines to attend were pounding at the doorstep. The stores were jam-packed with people. The freeways, highways, main roads, and back roads seemed to fill as quickly as the opening of Disneyland’s theme park.
This was supposedly the season of giving and loving. Something needed to change — but what?
Suddenly, a request from the local radio station playing in the background caught my attention. “This year, they’re forecasting a record for cold temperatures. The local homeless shelter is in desperate need of clothing — hats, scarves, and gloves especially. A three-day window has been set up to receive donations into the late hours of the night. ”
Something pulled at my heartstrings that very moment — a tinge of a feeling almost forgotten. This is the answer! I immediately thought. Then, as if flying on wings, I packed up my three-year-old son and headed out to the local discount store.
The crowds in the store didn’t change my determination. Four sets of hats, gloves, and scarves were found within a matter of minutes and purchased.
Back in the car, the same radio station was playing holiday music, but this time it seemed to capture my senses. My attention was again brought to the present as my patient three-year-old son finally asked where we were going. I explained that certain people needed warm gloves, hats, and scarves. They didn’t live in a house of their own and needed us to help. His face held a look of puzzlement. How does one explain such a thing to a three-year-old?
My son carefully took his very first dollar bill from his pocket. It had been given to him a few days earlier — a possession so precious that if anyone even looked at it, he immediately retreated out of sight with the dollar in hand. It had become his priceless treasure.
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。
An hour later, we reached the entrance to the drop-off center.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With a wish of “Merry Christmas,” I turned to go back to the car.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Tomato Changed My Life
Doing things-without being planned was never my strength.
As a 14-year-old, I would refuse to go for walks around the block with my friends if I was the least bit behind in my schoolwork.
Unlike most teenagers, I lived not in my room, but in an unused kitchen upstairs where I spread my books and papers on a large round table. I spent considerable time there, working continuously for hours, and my mother worried. She would try to lure (引诱) me away. “Come and watch the parade!” she would call from downstairs. “All neighbors are out there!” She thought of all kinds of tricks-the swimming pool, ice cream, stray cats and turtles-to remove me from my -studies, but nothing ever worked.
Later, in college, the pattern continued. The library and my college dorm replaced the unused kitchen at home. When spring came along friends would stop by my dorm or peer into my library room to persuade me to play Frisbee on the lawn. “No, I would almost always say.” I have too much to do.
My college study days were gone, but not my need and love for schedules. My friends and sisters tried to keep me away from my plans, but they were hardly ever successful.
This summer, though, while house sitting for my parents, I was persuaded to change my plans in the most unexpected way. The sight of tomatoes growing in my mother’s garden lured me out of my tightly scheduled world. They drew me with the power of a lover’s gaze. Hundreds of them were turning ripe and red by the minute, decorating the garden like decorations on a Christmas tree.
“If I have time, I’ll make tomato sauce (番茄酱).” I told myself. But my long week in the house by myself was already filled with things to do: writing, and finishing a project that I brought home from the office.
Then, watching the fascinating tomatoes continuously falling to the ground in ever-greater numbers, again I mentally argued about all the things I had planned and needed to do.
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。
Finally, I gave in.
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A month later, my parents came back.
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5 . 阅读下面材料,根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段,使之构成一篇完整的短文。
“You’re fired!” Andrew Chilton wasn’t joking. At that moment, the high school junior wanted his personal care attendant, Christy Chachere, out of his life forever. Gone. He didn’t want her telling him, he didn’t need help using the computer, and he could write his own term papers. Enough already.
“You’re fired!” He said it again for extra emphasis. Christy didn’t flinch(畏缩). She needed this job. Huricane Katrina had destroyed her savings along with her house. But the retired PE teacher wasn’t frightened. “I’m a tough nut,” she says today. “You know, I’ve taught middle schoolers.” And Andrew’s outburst? It was music to her ears. Progress. She’d gotten through to him.
When Andrew was diagnosed with autism(自闭症), at age eight, people told his mom, Cindy, to “get him on the list” for an attendant to provide after-school care. Someone to drive him to places and see that he was safe. In New Orleans, Louisiana, the wait can be years; the need is much more than the supply. Cindy chose a program through Volunteers of America, a national faith-based organization.
Even so, it was eight years before they were matched with Christy. In the meantime, Andrew’s family did their best to shelter him from life’s hardships. “I worried about him,” Cindy says, “I tended to hover a lot.”
There was a lot to worry about. Doctors and school officials predicted that Andrew might not even graduate from high school. Other questions were approaching. Would he ever have a job? Live independently? Cindy would do anything for her son.
Christy saw the problem right away. “Andrew wouldn’t take a step without his mother’s permission,” she remembers. “You have to let him fail,” she told the family, “It’s the only way he’s going to learn. To be able to do things on his own.”
No longer would Cindy write Andrew’s papers for him. His younger brother wouldn’t help him navigate the computer. Christy wouldn’t be helping him with homework either. It was a little scary to step back. Andrew complained. Loudly at times.
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 then things began to change.
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With the company of Christy for six years, Andrew has been developing well.
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It has been 26 years since my army friend Dan and I packed picnic food and T-shirts inside his blue car, and drove past the military police at McClellan’s main gate.
Armed with weekend passes and new dollars from our first week’s pay at our Army Reserve summer camp, we were on our way to Florida. We had thought a weekend at the beach would be just what we needed to recover from days of hard tasks.
The May weather was delightful. And with the music being played, we drove into Birmingham and decided to stop to phone our mothers and wish them happy Mother’s Day before continuing our journey south to Florida.
Picking up my phone and reaching my mother at home, I learned she had just returned from grocery shopping. I could tell by the tone in her voice that she was disappointed I wouldn’t be spending her special day with the family. “Have a nice trip and be careful. We’ll miss you,” she said.
When I hung up, I could tell by Dan’s face that he was suffering from the same guilt that was troubling me. To deal with our guilt, we discussed and then decided to buy our moms flowers and ask delivery men to send the flowers to them.
Pulling into the parking lot at a flower shop, we each scribbled (匆匆书写) a note to go with the flowers that would remove our guilt of spending our only free weekend on the beach rather than with dear old Mom.
We waited while the clerk assisted a little boy who was selecting flowers, obviously for his mother. We were anxious to pay for our flowers and be on our way. Finally, this little boy picked up many beautiful carnations (康乃馨) for his mother. At that time, we didn’t know his dear mom had already passed away.
The little boy smiled with pride as he turned to me and held up his selection while the clerk rang up his order.
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’m sure my mama would love these flowers,” he said.
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Then, we paid for our flowers and dropped our notes in the dustbin.
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7 . One day, I was standing on the boat when a very large female leopard seal swam by. I put on my diving gear and got my camera. I was
I jumped into the freezing water. Immediately, the seal swam toward me. Then she put my entire camera—and much of my
By now, she didn’t seem very
Those four days were the most incredible experience I ever had as a wildlife
A.amused | B.enthusiastic | C.cautious | D.frightened |
A.approach | B.rescue | C.treat | D.hunt |
A.leg | B.head | C.body | D.neck |
A.feel | B.arouse | C.reveal | D.overcome |
A.attacked | B.threatened | C.disturbed | D.confused |
A.disappeared | B.communicated | C.returned | D.competed |
A.digest | B.eat | C.seize | D.injure |
A.mouth | B.eyes | C.nose | D.stomach |
A.discipline | B.adopt | C.observe | D.feed |
A.powerful | B.dangerous | C.sensitive | D.gentle |
A.come across | B.come back | C.come over | D.come up |
A.drove | B.directed | C.took | D.waved |
A.manager | B.painter | C.advocate | D.photographer |
A.demand | B.work | C.expect | D.react |
A.intelligent | B.accessible | C.primitive | D.anxious |
The Day Mother Cried
Coming home from school that dark winter’s day so long ago, I was filled with anticipation. I had a new issue of my favorite sports magazine under my arm. Dad was at work, my sister was away, and Mother wouldn’t be home from her new job for an hour.
I was shocked into stillness by what I saw . Mother pulled into a tight ball with her face in her hands. She was crying. I had never seen her cry.
I approached cautiously and touched her shoulder. “Mother?” I said. “What’s happened?”
She took a long breath and managed a weak smile. “It’s nothing, really. I’m going to lose this new job. I can’t type fast enough.”
“But you’ve only been there three for days,” I said. “You’ll catch on.” I was repeating a line she had spoken to me a hundred times when I was having trouble learning or doing something important to me. She sobbed in silence .
I felt helpless and out of place. At the age of 16 I still assumed Mother could do anything. To provide enough income for my college two years later, Mother was crazy for ways to save money.
A few months ago, Mother arrived home with an old typewriter. It skipped between certain letters. “That’s all we can afford,” Mother said. “It’s good enough to learn on.” And from that day on, immediately after dinner, Mother would disappear into her sewing room to practice. The slow tap, tap, tap went on some nights until midnight. On Monday, she got a job as a typewriter at a radio station. I was not the least bit surprised but she was excited. But on Tuesday Mother looked drawn. I didn’t care honestly.
My shock and embarrassment at finding Mother in tears on Wednesday showed how little I understood the pressures on her. Sitting beside her on the couch, I began very slowly to understand.
“I guess we all have to fail sometimes,” Mother said quietly. I could sense her pain. I reached out and put my arms around her.
A week later Mother took a job selling dry goods at half the salary the radio station had offered. “It’s a job I can do,” she said simply.
注意:续写词数应为150左右。
But the evening practice routine on the old green typewriter continued.
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The old green typewriter sits in my office now, unrepaired.
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9 . “I don’t want to see that cat in our yard again,” my husband said as he shooed the beautiful cat back into the neighbor’s yard. “I don’t appreciate her cat
The following morning, John stood at the window in our bedroom. “You aren’t going to
That evening, we spotted the sweet yellow cat in our yard searching mice. The groundhogs were nowhere to be
A.hunting | B.appearing | C.dashing | D.rolling |
A.note | B.letter | C.mail | D.text |
A.affection | B.dislike | C.fancy | D.choice |
A.controlling | B.telling | C.ordering | D.persuading |
A.forget | B.miss | C.believe | D.catch |
A.in anger | B.in mess | C.in surprise | D.in caution |
A.enormous | B.cute | C.fierce | D.elegant |
A.curtain | B.glass | C.window | D.flag |
A.leisurely | B.quietly | C.proudly | D.directly |
A.damage | B.worry | C.disease | D.fault |
A.died off | B.taken off | C.laid off | D.driven off |
A.confusing | B.interesting | C.encouraging | D.disgusting |
A.feel | B.taste | C.smell | D.sound |
A.polished | B.removed | C.eased | D.resolved |
A.caught | B.seen | C.held | D.touched |
10 . “Are you ready for our walk?” Grandma asked the usual question every Friday evening. “Of course, we are!” We
One day, we were told that Grandma only had 2% heart
The
When we arrived at the hospital, we knew exactly where to go, as we had been there many times before. After
“Oh, Mary?” A nurse answered. “She’s one of the nicest
When my turn came, I
Finally, after the longest morning of my life, the doctor entered the waiting room smiling. “Mary is out of surgery. You’re allowed to visit her as long as you’re
A.shouted | B.explained | C.argued | D.complained |
A.function | B.part | C.effect | D.condition |
A.reducing | B.failing | C.beating | D.pounding |
A.afternoon | B.dusk | C.dawn | D.evening |
A.jog | B.run | C.drive | D.leave |
A.escaping | B.racing | C.coming | D.echoing |
A.going through | B.walking around | C.coming across | D.getting across |
A.celebrities | B.geniuses | C.heroes | D.patients |
A.directed | B.delivered | C.exposed | D.submitted |
A.paid for | B.competed for | C.jumped at | D.passed up |
A.make | B.get | C.gain | D.commit |
A.put away | B.turned away | C.thrown away | D.wheeled away |
A.still | B.quiet | C.adorable | D.available |
A.Panic | B.Grief | C.Relief | D.Anger |
A.tied | B.added | C.attached | D.glued |