My daughter Kathy’s birthday was approaching. Last Sunday, in the early morning, she asked me whether I’d buy her a birthday gift.
I said, “Of course. And to buy the gift, I decide to sell your never-to-be-used-again baby things that still look new and useful. Will you allow it?” She immediately agreed and began sorting out her baby stuff. My husband Sam gladly joined us. Soon, we gathered the stuff well enough. I decided to take them to the second-hand market in the following week and then use the money collected to buy Kathy the bike she dreamed about.
Thinking about that, I waved Kathy and Sam goodbye and left for the local hospital to visit an ill friend there. After twenty-five minutes of drive, I arrived. And after seeing my friend, I went to turn in my visitor’s pass at the hospital desk. There, I overheard an argument between a receptionist (接待员) and a worried and disappointed man whose clothes were a little worn out. The receptionist was explaining that his newborn girl couldn’t leave the hospital without an infant car seat.
Confused, the man asked, “What’s on earth an infant car seat? How much can one cost?” Based on his accent and appearance, I guessed he probably was new here. While I observed the man, the receptionist told him, “Sir, it’s a soft seat made specifically to protect infants and younger babies in a vehicle. It can be easily put in the vehicle. The price often ranges from 70 dollars to 550 dollars.”
So upset, the man said, “Where can I get such a seat at this time and where can I get the money to buy one?” “I’m sorry, sir, but this is what the state law requires. Nobody can take a baby out of the hospital without that seat,” the receptionist said. “Your wife can go home with you today, but the baby can’t leave unless she’s in a car seat.”
My daughter just had an infant car seat, which I had planned to sell. Finding the man looked so helpless, I wondered whether to give him Kathy’s seat for free.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
While debating with myself, I thought about my late mom who never hesitated to help strangers.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When the man and I got to my house, Sam and Kathy felt surprised.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Michael saw the trouble coming. There standing in the hallway was Frank, the boy who enjoyed making fun of anyone at any given moment. Frank was tall and strong, so few of his victims stood up to him. Michael hated the idea that Frank always got away with his wrongdoing. Yet like most kids who were picked on, he just took it quietly and waited for the unpleasant to pass.
Frank walked up, his eyes locked on the books in Michael’s arms. When they met, Frank stopped unexpectedly, “Hey, let me see those books!” Some students watched as Michael held out the books he was carrying, trying not to give away his nervousness.
Frank took a book, looked inside for a second, and then threw the book at Michael, who dropped all the other books. “Hey, those are school property,” Frank barked, “Be careful!” Then he walked away, laughing loudly.
Michael, his cheeks turning red, half kicked the fallen books. Suddenly a hand picked up one book. “You look like you could use a p ally (盟友),” a friendly voice said. It was Ramon, the most athletic boy in the high school. Michael couldn’t believe Ramon was stopping to help him as they barely spoke.
“Thanks,” Michael sighed with relief. “It’s confusing. I don’t know what his problems is.”
“Well, as I see it,” Ramon said, “you need to find a way to end this.” Michael nodded, stuck for what to say. Ramon continued, “You know my grandmother used to tell me whenever I had a problem with someone. She’d say, ‘You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar (醋).’”
Looking puzzled, Michael asked, “What does that mean?”
“It means kindness may be more effective than anger,” Ramon explained.
“Can you just tell Frank to stop picking on me?” Michael suggested.
“That’s vinegar,” Ramon laughed as he walked away. “Try honey instead.”
Ramon’s words left Michael thinking.
The next school day brought Michael’s usual pain. There stood Frank, and Michael knew it would be just seconds before he had to face him in the middle of the hall. Frank came nearer.
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, suddenly, the unexpected happened.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Michael bent down and quickly picked up Frank’s books on the floor.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________To act with honesty was a habit with Susan who always follows the Golden Rule: “Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you.” But when she thought over her past conduct, a blush of shame appeared on her cheeks, as many little acts of selfishness and unkindness came back to her memory. She was determined that for the future, both in great things and small, she would remember and follow the Golden Rule.
It was not long after this that an opportunity occurred, which tried Susan’s principles. One Saturday evening she went, as usual, to Mr. Thompson’s store, to receive the money of her mother’s washing for him, which amounted to five dollars. When she arrived, she found Mr. Thompson extremely busy. As Susan made her request for the money, he simply pressed a bill into her hand.
With the bill in hand, Susan happily went out of the gate. Pausing to put the money safely in her purse, she discovered that he had given her two bills instead of one. She looked around; nobody was near and her first reaction was joy at the unexpected prize.
“It is all mine,” said she to herself. “I will buy my mother a new coat with it, and she can give her old one to my sister Mary, and then Mary can go to school with me next winter. I wonder if I can buy a pair of shoes for my brother Tom, too.”
At that moment she remembered that he must have given it to her by mistake. But again the voice of the tempter whispered, ‘‘He gave it, and how do you know that he did not intend to make you a present of it? Keep it! He will never know it.”
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。
This conflict was going on in her mind between good and evil.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Sir, you paid me two bills instead of one,” she handed him the extra note.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The moment my son Joe knew I was going to have another baby, he tried his best to stay out of our lives. By the time our daughter Molly was due to be born, I had grown accustomed to his embarrassment and animosity (敌意). I had grown accustomed to a lot of things, not the least of which was having an unexpected child at the age of thirty-nine. My husband, to his eternal credit, was delighted. Throughout it all, Joe rarely spoke to me, except to say, “You don’t have to come to my school,” and — after a marathon baby naming conference—“Call her Molly, the name of my friend’s dog.”
When Molly finally arrived, tiny, quiet and perfect, four family arms were there to draw her close. But Joe’s remained tightly crossed over his chest, on the far side of the hospital room I signed to him to come closer but he shook his head slightly. I could see him standing there, arms still folded, staring straight ahead.
Joe stayed away at a friend’s cottage when Molly and I came home from the hospital. He was still gone ten days later when I took our daughter for her first check-up. He arrived home just as I was coming back, tears streaming down my face. “The doctor thinks she might have a hearing problem,” I sobbed. “She’s too quiet she’s not responding like she should. We have to have her tested.”
As my husband comforted me, downplaying my worry, I noticed that Joe had stopped beside the baby, sound asleep in her car seat. He reached out to her, shifting her slightly away from a bump (隆起) in the carpet. “She’s okay,” he said, looking down at her. “There’s nothing wrong with her. She’s just little.”
Three months later as I walked the floor at 4:00 A. M. with a crying and inconsolable (难以安抚的) (and otherwise perfectly healthy) baby in my arms, I dragged myself into Joe’s room and woke him up “Joe, could you take her? Just for a few minutes? I can’t settle her down, Dad’s on business, and I just really need a break.”
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。
Saying nothing, Joe took his little sister from me.
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Seeing Molly sleeping peacefully in Joe’s bed, I walked out, followed by Joe.
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A Little Boy
A little boy selling magazines for school walked up to a house that people rarely visited. The house was very old and shabby and the owner hardly ever came out. When he did come out, he would not say hello to his neighbors or passers-by but simply just glared at them.
The boy knocked on the door and waited, sweating from fear of the old man. The boy’s parents told him to stay away from the house, and a lot of other neighborhood children were told the same thing from their parents.
Dusk found the boy lingering on and hesitating what to do. As he was ready to walk away, the door slowly opened. “What do you want?” the old man said impatiently. The little boy was very afraid but he had a quota (定额) to meet for school with selling the magazines. So he got up the courage and said, “Uh, Sir, I am selling these magazines and, uh, I was wondering if you would like to buy one from me.”
The old man just stared at the boy without a word. The boy could see inside the old man’s house and saw that he had dog figurines (小雕像) on the fireplace mantle. “Do you collect dogs?” The little boy asked. “Yes, I have many collections in my house. They are my family here and they are all I have.” The boy then felt sorry for the man, as it seemed that he was a very lonely soul.
“Well, I do have a magazine here for collectors. It is perfect for you. I also have one about dogs since you like dogs so much.” The old man was ready to close the door on the boy and said, “No, boy. I don’t need any magazines of any kind, now goodbye.”
The little boy was sad that he was not going to make his quota with the sale. He was also sad for the old man being so alone in the house that he owned. The boy went home and then had an idea. He had a little dog figurine that he got some years ago from an aunt. The figurine did not mean nearly as much to him since he had a real live dog and a large family.
注意:1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
The little boy headed back down to the old man’s house.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________From that day on something changed inside the old man.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Long long ago, there was a little prince who was used to having everything he wanted. He was so badly behaved that he wouldn’t let anybody have a new toy if he didn’t have it first. If any child in the land wanted a new toy, they had to buy two and give one to him. Therefore, the little prince had no friends except for his toys.
One day a magic toymaker, who invented the most wonderful toys, came to the land. The little prince liked his toys so much that he invited him to spend an entire year in the palace, promising him great wealth if he made him a new toy every day. The toymaker set just one condition: “My toys are very special and need an owner who will play with them” he said. “Will you be able to devote a little time to each one every day?” “Of course, I will” the little prince replied impatiently.
From then on, every morning the little prince received a new toy. Every day the toymaker delivered a toy better than the previous ones. The little prince appeared very happy.
But the toy collection kept growing and, after a few weeks there were simply too many toys to play with all of them every day. So, one day the little prince put a few toys to one side, hoping that the toymaker wouldn’t notice. However, when it was night time and he was ready to go to bed. The toys that had been put away lined up in front of him and, one by one, demanded their daily playtime. The little prince couldn’t get to sleep until well past midnight because he had to play with every single toy.
Next day, tired after all his efforts, the prince slept very late. In the little time left of the day, he had to get to know a new toy and then play with all the others too. Once again, he finished very late and was so tired he could hardly stop yawning (打哈欠).
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。
Every day was a little bit worse than the one before, with the same amount of time but one extra toy to play with.
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The children saw the prince, wondering whether the prince would force them to hand over their toys just like before.
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It was Saturday. When Adam was wide awake, the house was quiet, so he knew his parents were still sleeping. They always slept late on the weekend. He could hear his father snoring (打鼾). Even the cat was still asleep on the rocking chair by the fireplace with its tail curled over the nose.
His mother had promised that they would go on a picnic in the park that day. He had been looking forward to it for a long time. He liked the peanut butter and banana sandwiches she made. They would play catch and maybe fly a kite if the wind was moderato. Adam thought maybe he should wake his parents up then.
However, it still looked dark outside. Usually, at that time, the sun was shining through the windows. Maybe it was cloudy. Adam thought. He got out of his bed and went to his parents’ room. He climbed onto their bed and got in the middle between them. His father turned over. His mother opened one eye and saw Adam there.
“Hello!” said Adam, cheerfully. “It’s time to get up and go to the park!” His mother yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Hi,” she whispered. “What time is it?” “I don’t know,” replied Adam. “Oh, Adam,” said his mother, looking at the time on her phone.
“It’s too early. Let’s go back to sleep.” She closed her eyes again. “But it’s morning. And you promised a picnic today!” “Ugh,” said his mother. “I guess you aren’t going back to bed. Okay, give me a few minutes.”
His mother went to the glass door leading to the backyard. She looked out of it. The leaves on the trees were blowing, and the glass was covered with tiny, clear drops of water. She said to her son, “Adam, it’s raining, so we can’t go on a picnic today.”
This was not the news Adam wanted to hear. He sat down on the floor and held his chin in his hands. He wondered what his father would do when he got up.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
Paragraph 1:
Several minutes later, Adam’s father got up.
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Paragraph 2:
Finally, they came back, wet but happy.
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I had a trip to New Mexico last year, a trip I still remember very well to this day. I went to a place called Philmont and attended a summer camp. There were thirteen people including me. The entire 10-day hike we took through those mountains went well, except for the second day, because of the terrible weather.
It had been a nice sunny day up until we were halfway to the camp we were staying at that night. Then without a word it started raining gently. There was nothing too bad and certainly nothing we couldn’t handle. We put our raincoats on and continued on our way. It stayed raining slightly for a while, so I decided it would be a good idea to say, “Well, it can’t be much worse than this, right?” And in less than five seconds the thunder crashed around us. It almost sounded like a laugh, as if it was laughing at us. Then the rain started to come down harder, and then, the hail (冰雹) came.
Getting hit with balls of ice in the middle of the New Mexico mountains was not something I had ever thought would happen to us, but here we were. All thirteen of us were wishing at that moment that we could go home. But we quickly abandoned the idea. It was freezing, and my feet felt like they might fall off. Wet, cold, and carrying 40 pounds on our backs, we hiked on.
But soon enough we got lost for about a mile because of a mistake that our “Navi-guesser” made on getting us to our destination. At the same time, one of our boys got a minor case of hypothermia (低温症). We decided to stop for a while, unpacking our tents to get into a nice warm sleeping bag. I don’t know if you know this, but unpacking camping gear (装备) in the rain was not very fun, especially setting up a tent.
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。
We came up with a solution.
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The rain stopped just as we were about to start.
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When I was little, I lived in a house with a beautiful garden full of all kinds of Bowers. There was nothing I enjoyed more than sitting in the garden with my mother reading stories to me. When I was old enough to read, I enjoyed reading stories aloud to her.
I would never forget one day when I was in the third grade. I bad been picked to be the princess in the school play, and for weeks my mother had rehearsed (排练) my lines so hard with me. But however easily I acted at home, the moment I stepped on stage, every word disappeared from my head. Finally, my teacher took me aside, explaining that she had written a narrator’s (解说员) part to the play, and asked me to change roles. Her word, kindly expressed, still hurt, especially when I saw my part go to another girl.
I didn’t tell my mother what had happened when I went home after school that day. But she sensed my pain. Instead of suggesting we practice my lines, she asked if I wanted to take a walk in the garden.
It was May and roses were blossoming and, under the trees, we could also see yellow dandelions (蒲公英) in the grass, as if a painter had painted our garden with red, yellow and green. I watched my mother casually bend down by one dandelion. ”I think I’m going to dig up all these weeds,” she said, pulling it up by its roots. ”From now on, we’ll have only roses in this garden. ”
“But I like dandelions,” I protested, “All flowers are beautiful-even dandelions.” “Yes, every flower is beautiful in its own way, isn’t it?” she asked thoughtfully. I nodded, pleased that I had won her over. “And that is true of people too,” she added. “Not everyone can be a princess, but there is no shame in that.” Relieved that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry as I told her what had happened. She listened and smiled to me gently.
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。
Para 1: “But you will be a beautiful narrator,” she said.
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Para 2: After the play, I took home the flower.
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