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.”
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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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A couple, Peter and Alice, had a nice home and two lovely children, a boy and a girl. Peter had a good job and had just been asked to go on a business trip to another city and would be gone for several days. It was decided that Alice needed an outing and would go along too. So they hired a reliable woman called Mary to care for their children and made the trip.
Days later, they returned home a little earlier than they had planned.
As they drove into their town feeling glad to be back, they noticed smoke, so they went off their usual route to see what it was. They found a house in flames. Alice said. “Oh, well, it isn’t our fire. Let’s go home.”
But Peter drove closer and screamed in surprise. “That house belongs to Fred Jones who works in the same company with me. He wouldn’t be off work yet, maybe there is something we can do.”
“It has nothing to do with us,” protested (抗议) Alice. “You have your good clothes on. Let’s not get any closer.”
But Peter drove up and stopped. They were both shocked to see the whole house in flames. A woman on the lawn was in hysterics screaming, “The children! Get the children!”
Peter seized her by the shoulder, saying, “Get a hold of yourself and tell us where the children are!”
“In the basement,” sobbed the woman, “down the hall and to the left.”
In spite of Alice’s protests, Peter turned on a tap, used the water to wet his clothes, put his wet handkerchief on his head and dashed into the basement which was full of smoke.
He got to the door and found two children. Holding one under each arm. Peter headed outside. As he left, he could hear some more whimpering (呜咽声). He delivered the two badly frightened children into his arms and started back asking how many more children were down there.
注意:
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
The woman told him there were two more.
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Paragraph 2:
At that moment, Peter seemed to feel something familiar in his arms.
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3 . 阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
A Vacation with My Mother
I had an interesting childhood. It was filled with surprises and amusements, all because of my mother---loving, sweet, yet absent-minded and forgetful. One strange family trip we took when I was eleven tells a lot about her.
My two sets of grandparents lived in Colorado and North Dakota, and my parents decided to spend a few weeks driving to those states and seeing all the sights along the way. As the first day of our trip approached, David, my eight-year-old brother, and I unwillingly said good-bye to all of our friends. Who knew if we’d ever see them again? Finally, the moment of our departure arrived, and we loaded suitcases, books, games, camping equipment, and a tent into the car and bravely drove off. We bravely drove off again two hours later after we’d returned home to get the purse and traveler’s checks Mom had forgotten.
David and I were always a little nervous when using gas station bathrooms if Mom was driving while Dad slept: “You stand outside the door and play lookout(放哨) while I go, and I’ll stand outside the door and play lookout while you go.” I had terrible pictures in my mind: “Honey, where are the kids?” “What?! Oh, Gosh…I thought they were being awfully quiet.” We were never actually left behind in a strange city, but we weren’t about to take any chances.
On the fourth or fifth night, we had trouble finding a hotel with a vacancy. After driving in vain for some time, Mom suddenly got a great idea: Why didn’t we find a house with a likely-looking backyard and ask if we could set up tent there? David and I became nervous. To our great relief, Dad turned down the idea. Mom never could understand our objections(反对). If a strange family showed up on her front doorstep, Mom would have been delighted. She thinks everyone in the world is as nice as she is. We finally found a vacancy in the next town.
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:The next day we remembered the brand-new tent we had brought with us. ______________
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We drove through several states and saw lots of great sights along the way. ______________
