One of my best friends is named Lisa. If you’d told us a month ago that there would come a point when we would need space from each other, we would have said “Not a chance!”
But then Lisa’s family won a five-day stay in a mountain cabin(小屋). Because Lisa’s sister, Alana, was spending the week with her grandparents, Lisa’s mom and dad said I could come along instead.
When I told my parents about the awesome invitation, my mom said, “That sounds fun, but keep in mind that five days is a long time to spend with a friend.” I shook my head. “Lisa and I are just like fish and water. We’re happy sticking together. Plus, the cabin is near paths where we can try snowshoeing and other outdoor stuff.”
A few weeks later, Lisa and her parents and I arrived at an adorable cabin surrounded by snow-covered pine trees. “What a great place!” Lisa’s dad said.
“It’s looking a little cloudy,” said Lisa’s mom, glancing at the sky. “Let’s hope it means snow and not rain.”
As you might have guessed, the clouds did mean rain. Lots of rain. And since our major plans involved snowshoeing and watching winter wildlife, we were stuck. “I guess we’ll have to find something else to do,” said Lisa.
We found a couple of board games and a pack of cards and sat down. At first, it was fun, but we ended up playing those games for about 100 hours, stopping only to eat and sleep!
“I can’t play anymore,” I said on the third day. “How about we just read by ourselves for a while?”
“I have a better idea,” said Lisa. “How about singing instead?”
“I think a little quiet time would be nice,” I said, opening a book I had brought.
“Oh, come on! Don’t be boring. I’ll pick the first song.” Lisa started singing “Somewhere over the Rainbow.”
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。
“Could you please leave me alone?” I shouted.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The fourth day was fine, and we went out to play sometimes together and sometimes apart, just as her father had said.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________How far can a penny go? Right now, one can quickly say that it wouldn’t get you that much. Or, to be more specific, it’s more of a novelty item now than a currency.
But Ryan Trahan, who is an online media content creator, wanted to prove that a penny can turn into something much more valuable and that the spirit of bartering (以物易物) is still alive and well. His goal will surprise anyone.
In his video, he shared that he would turn his penny into a house. Yes, you’ve read that right. He will barter his way to a house.
The challenge started as tough as you’d expect it to be because who would trade anything for a penny? The first thing he got was a pen. Then, he traded off his pen for a small dinosaur toy. Luckily, he met a dinosaur fan who was more than willing enough to trade it for a tin of mints (薄荷糖) —or at least what’s left of it.
It was a dead end from then on until he met two interesting strangers. Apparently, his campaign of “penny-to-a-house” is gaining attention. It gave him a chance to trade the mints for something of value—gas station earphones.
It snowballed from there. After the earphones, the value of his trade just got bigger when he decided to be creative. He called at a local garage sale and traded the earphones for a vintage Polaroid (老式拍立得) camera. He also gave a shirt, just so he wouldn’t feel bad.
However, it wasn’t as easy as he thought. Trahan thought he struck gold and that it was easy to exchange the camera into something much more valuable. After all, who doesn’t love a vintage camera?
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 answer, surprisingly, is “not a lot of people”.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________He got an amazing deal out of the camera for an item that’s three times its value, a piece of land.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jackie was searching for her library book in her room. Outside her house stood her friend Sasha waiting for her to go to the library. But the book was missing.
Jackie then ran into her sister’s bedroom. “Have you seen my library book? Last week my book was bitten by your cat. The week before that, you dropped my book in the park,” Jackie asked angrily. Her sister shook her head. Despite her efforts, Jackie found no traces of the book there.
“What’s taking you so long, Jackie?” Mom’s voice rang through the house. “I need to find my library book. It has a red cover. It’s due (到期) today. If I have lost the library book, I am not allowed to check out any books for a whole month,” Jackie sighed, walking down the stairs. She nearly ran into her mom, who was carrying a heavy laundry (待洗衣物) basket.
“Good luck with that book. The library closes in twenty minutes.” Mom stopped to grab Jackie’s clothes from the railing and wrinkled her nose. “I’m putting these in the laundry,” said Mom, disappearing down the basement stairs.
Jackie ran around the house, looking under the sofa, in the fridge, and behind the piano. However, the book was nowhere to be found. Where was that library book? The thought of not being able to get into the world of stories and knowledge for a whole month made her feel very sad. Jackie sank onto the living room sofa, her mind racing with thoughts of the result she would soon face.
Just then Mom came into the living room and suddenly said, “Have you searched all the places? You need to think carefully and see if you’ve missed anything?” “I’ve searched everywhere I can think of, but I still haven’t found it,” Jackie almost cried. “I looked for you in your painting room in the backyard last night where you were practising your painting. I seemed to see a red thing. Maybe it was in the painting room,” Mom added.
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。
Without wasting another moment, Jackie rushed outside to the painting room.
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Rushing to the library, Jackie and Sasha found the door still open.
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Last summer vacation, I traveled to Sanya in Hainan, China. When my dad told me one of the items on the journey would be one of the highest water slides (水上滑梯) in Asia, I asked my dad repeatedly whether I could stay at home. But my dad said that I would love it and we should go together.
Three days later, I was standing in front of that water slide in Atlantics Waterpark. The slide was located in a building. When I looked up at the tens of thousands of stairs leading to the peak of the building, I thought to myself, “If I fall from that place, I will definitely die.”
As we started climbing the stairs, I saw three words on the wall: Leap of Faith. I had never heard of these words, and at that time they reminded me of Road to Death. Five meters, ten meters ... I looked down and thought, “I am going to die today.” Fifteen meters, twenty meters ... I thought about the many things I hadn’t done and asked my dad whether I had life insurance. Twenty-five meters, thirty meters ... and we were finally at the top, ready to jump into the slide. I looked at the three people next to me and thought, “These are the last three people I will see in my life.”
Suddenly, the teenage boy ahead of me stopped in front of the slide and turned around, “Look down there. If we fall into the shark tank, we will be eaten by those hungry sharks.” We all paused and looked down at the shark tank above the slide tunnel. Just then, a younger boy next to me said, “Excuse me, if you don’t want to go now, I will go first.” Then he walked past the teenage boy and me and jumped into the slide, disappearing in an instant.
My father said to me jokingly, “Look, that boy is not even half of your height. Come on, Selina. You can do it.” The teenager turned and stared at me too, “Now, you go first.”
Paragraph 1:With a deep breath, I stepped closer to the edge of the slide.
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A moment later, my father came down.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I begged my mom to let me make cookies by myself. Even though I had never attempted baking before, I was nine years old and my friend Emmie had been baking cupcakes by herself for a year. I was determined to prove that I could make it.
My brother, Caleb, laughed at the idea of me cooking alone, calling it a disaster. Having a big brother can be annoying. Despite his laughing, my mom agreed to let me try. She reminded me to take my time and be careful because I’d had some messy spills before I was nine.
I raced to the kitchen and went to work. I cracked eggs and put a cold stick of butter into the bowl. I turned on the mixer at medium speed—and whoa. Whoa. Whoa! What a disaster! I had to wipe butter off my face, then off the table and floor.
Caleb made fun of me again, calling me a mess. I chased him away with a spoon and turned back to the mixing bowl. I started again with softer butter. Referring to the recipe, I poured everything needed into the bowl and mixed it. After that, I put round batter (面糊) onto the cookie sheet and put it into the oven (烤箱). Within a minute, a fantastic smell filled the kitchen—the smell of cookie success!
I was going to prove that I was responsible. No more eye-rolling from my brother. No more “You’re too young” from my parents. I was grown up and in control.
I stared into the oven, and my heart sank. The neat, little balls had melted (融化) and overflowed to the edges of the cookie sheet. I pulled the pan out just as Caleb wandered back into the kitchen.
“What in the world?” He started to laugh. “Cookie soup?”
“You just be quiet,” I whispered, trying not to cry. “Just leave me alone.”
“How’s it going in there?” Dad called from the living room.
Caleb raised his eyebrows and bit his lip. I responded that everything was fine, pouring the melted batter into the bowl quickly.
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。
Paragraph 1: I picked up the directions, wondering what had gone wrong．
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Paragraph 2: I brought a plate of cookies into the living room for my parents．
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Emily White was born seventeen years ago with many physical issues affecting her tiny body. Some of her organs, bones and muscles were out of shape. Though no one expected her to survive, she did make it. But she had a strange figure that everyone could recognize, even from a distance.
In Emily’s hometown, there was a yearly outdoor performance in the school hall at Christmas. It had been performed for so many years that it had become one of the most important events for many of the townsfolk. Each year, many people tried out for the show, but most were turned down. Only the best performers could be included.
Emily had a most beautiful singing voice. Last year, she asked Mrs. Owens, her music teacher, if she could join in the performance. Mrs. Owens took a look at her 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, Mrs. Owens sent Emily back through the door of the choral room (合唱室). Hurt and upset, Emily decided never to try out again. But things changed as the following school year, Mrs. Owens retired and a new music teacher arrived—Mr. Butler.
He had heard about Emily and suggested that she give it a try again. Emily didn’t want to be rejected again, so she hesitated about it. But finally her love for singing and strong desire to join in the performance outweighed her hesitation. She tried out again and learnt the result would be posted the next day on the door of the choral room.
Emily couldn’t sleep that night, having turned in bed back and forth thousand times as she was worried that she would be rejected again and would never fit in.
Paragraph 1:The nex tday, Emily hurried to school and anxiously glanced at the list of the result.
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Finally, the day of the performance came.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In a small town, there was a community talent show held every year in the local park. The event was a highlight for many, with performances from various local talents. Among the audience was a woman named Emily, a kind-hearted local librarian, along with her 12-year-old daughter Anna. Both of their eyes were filled with excitement.
As the show began, Emily and her daughter watched a young girl in amazement, about eight, confidently sing a song. Her voice was surprisingly powerful for her small body. Then a group of teenagers followed. Their hip-hop dance routine was full of energy, leading to cheers from the crowd. There was even an elderly gentleman who performed a series of magic tricks. However, as the sun began to set, many in the audience grew tired and the applause (掌声) after each act became less enthusiastic (热情的).
Then came the turn of a young boy, around ten years old, nervously holding his violin. As he started playing, it was clear that he was a beginner. His notes were shaky and he missed a few beats. The audience, already tired, responded with only a little polite applause. Emily noticed the boy’s frustrated face as he finished his performance.
It was at this moment that Emily recalled a powerful memory from her own childhood—the time when she had stood on a similar stage, her voice trembling (颤抖) through a song. But the kindness she had received from a stranger in the audience pushed her to carry on. Drawing from the lesson she had learned from the past experience, Emily stood up, clapping loudly and cheering for the boy. “Great job! Keep practicing, and you’re doing wonderfully!”she called out. Her enthusiasm inspired other members of the audience to join in the applause, their clap growing louder and more sincere.
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。
Anna looked up at her mother, surprised by her actions.
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Since that day, Anna carried her mother’s lesson with her.
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Holidays are not necessarily for fun or rest. Doing something meaningful can also gain special pleasure. When the final bell rang, the students were reminded that there was no school on Monday—the Labor Day. “Enjoy your extra day off” said the teacher to her class.
An extra day off unsuited Kayla just fine. She loved breaks. She wanted to go out to play with her friends. When the school bus dropped Kayla off, she ran into the house happily.
“How was school, Kayla?” asked her mom.
“It was great, Mom. I am excited about no school on Monday.”
“You just started back to school two weeks ago. Already in need of a break, huh?” asked Kayla’s mom with a laugh.
Kayla slept in the next morning. Saturday was her favorite day of the week. I trained most of the day, so Kayla enjoyed playing videogames inside. On Sunday, her friends came over and they played basketball for several hours.
Then it was Labor Day, you know, the extra day off that Kayla was so looking forward to. But Kayla was awakened early that morning by her dad. He told Kayla that in honor of Labor Day, the family would be cleaning both inside and outside the house. Kayla couldn’t believe it. This was a holiday. A day when she was supposed to be enjoying freshly squeezed lemonade while playing in her tree house. As Kayla wiped here yes, she began to wonder if this was just a bad dream.
“Kayla, your breakfast is ready. We have a lot of work to do today. Let’s get a move on,” said Kayla’s mom. As she sat down at the kitchen table, Kayla asked her parents，
“Are you serious about working today? Isn’t Labor Day a holiday?”
“Yes, Kayla. It is,” replied her dad. “But your mom and I thought working hard today would make you appreciate why Labor Day was observed in the first place.”
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。
At first Kayla felt disappointed at her parents’ plan for the holiday.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________But things began to change as she was doing the chores.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In my high school years, I tried not to be anybody’s best friend and avoid going to birthday parties or weekend trips with my peers (同龄人). That was not because I was too shy but because I couldn’t afford the expenses. My parents did odd jobs to support the family and our income was low and unstable. As the oldest of the three kids in my family I had started to take part-time jobs on weekends and during vacations to help improve the family economic conditions. However, in my heart I did have a best friend, Joseph. I never said that to him and I guessed he didn’t know it.
Joseph came from a very different family from mine. His parents were both senior executives (管理人员) of high-tech companies, who provided him with the best of everything and he had many friends around him. We did school projects together, had discussions about interesting topics and enjoyed our time together. But I never joined him in anything outside the school. I liked him but I knew I didn’t have much to offer.
I had decided to go to college after graduation from high school, so I needed to have excellent academic performance in all subjects to be qualified for scholarships. I worked hard and was doing well in everything except math. I knew math was important to me but there seemed to be no way out. I was struggling when Joseph came to my help. He was considered one of the smart boys by the math teacher, who gave us monthly tests and awarded best performance with chocolates and best progress with Skittles (彩虹糖).
Joseph was a frequent holder of the best performance award. I appreciated his help because he had great ways to get me thinking and guide me to solve problems. I was making progress in math and Joseph knew it. He encouraged me to go for best progress award first and then best performance.
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。
Those awards seemed really big goals for me, but I decided to go all out.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Three months later, my first goal was achieved.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was 15 years old, living with my parents in a countryside 18 miles outside of Durban, South Africa. We were far from the town and had no neighbors, so I would always look forward to going to the town to visit friends and hang out with them.
On a sunny Saturday, my father had to attend an important meeting in the town in the afternoon and I begged him to drive me to the town to visit my friend Toby. To my wild joy, he agreed and said, “I will pick you up from Toby’s house at 5: 00 p. m., and then we will go home together. Have a nice day!” Excitedly jumping into his car, I dreamt of my happy time in the town with Toby. About 30 minutes later, we arrived at the town and I waved goodbye to father.
After chatting and dining with Toby at his house, we went to the nearest movie theatre at around3: 30 p. m. I got so absorbed in John Wayne’s latest movie that I totally forgot the time. It was not until 5: 30p. m. that I suddenly remembered the appointment with my father. Toby and I ran back as fast as we could to his house. As I had expected, Toby’s parents and my father had already been waiting for us at the doorway of the house. My father and I said goodbye to them and walked towards the car. “Why are you so late?” My father said in an anxious voice. So ashamed was I that I didn’t dare to tell him the truth and I murmured (小声说),“I had to buy a book in Uncle Tom’s bookstore,” not realizing that he had learned about the truth from Toby’s parents.
I was ready to be scolded (责备) in the face when he caught me lying. To my surprise, however, he said calmly, “There must be something wrong with the way I brought you up. I haven’t given you the courage to tell the truth.” Then he was lost in thought.
注意：1.续写词数应为100左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
There was dead silence in the car on the way home.
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After I heard my father’s words, tears of regret ran down my face.
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