It was a beautiful day for sightseeing. We were a group of students just out for some fun. The weather was perfect for a picnic, so when lunch time came, we set our sights on a small park. Since we all had different things to buy, we decided to get what each of us wanted, and meet back on the grass in a few minutes.
When my friend Joy headed for a hot dog shop, I decided to go with her. We watched the seller put together the perfect hot dog, just the way we wanted it. But when we took out our money to pay the bill, the seller surprised us.
“You are the first customers to visit, and the first order is given to you for free,” he said.
After we thanked him, we joined our friends in the park, and dug into our food. But as we talked and ate, I was distracted (分心) by a man sitting alone nearby, looking at us. I could tell that he hadn’t showered for days. Another homeless person, I thought, like all the others you see in cities. I didn’t pay much more attention than that.
After we finished eating, we packed our lunch bags and prepared to throw them away.
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。
Suddenly, a strong voice came from that homeless person.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Joy asked me to wait for her for a minute and ran to the hot dog shop.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Finding Niesha’s Courage
Niesha could not forget the way she had frozen in front of the class today. Mr Roberts had divided the class into groups to do presentations. Today had been Niesha’s turn. However, her hands had shaken so badly that she couldn’t read her notes. Her voice had become softer even to silence. Mr Roberts kindly ended Niesha’s part of the presentation even though she had clearly not finished. He had also asked Niesha to stay after class for a moment.
“Niesha, I know you’re shy, but you worked hard on this project. I’d hate to see you give up on yourself.” Mr Roberts had hesitated, “If I give you another chance tomorrow, do you think you can find, your courage?”
Niesha had nodded, grateful for the chance. She had gone as quickly as she could to her next class. She had kept her head down and hoped the school day would end soon.
When she reached her back steps that afternoon, she could see an inviting light coming from the kitchen windows. Momma was baking.
Momma studied Niesha’s face as she came into the kitchen. “What’s wrong, Niesha?”
Tears shone in Niesha’s brown eyes. She told her the whole story. Momma was silent for a moment, her hands still busy with the cake.
“Why is it that you can talk to me about anything and everything, but you can’t talk to your class?” Momma asked. She set the timer and then said, “Let me show you something.”
Niesha followed Momma to her bedroom. There Momma showed her a book filled with newspaper clippings and pictures. In it there was a blue ribbon that said “First Place” and a picture of herself when she was very young, standing with her parents.
“I won it for public speaking. I started the school year as the shyest girl on the speech team, but I ended the year as the blue ribbon winner. It wasn’t easy because I was lacking in confidence—not sure of myself at all. I worked hard, and mostly I faced my fears. You just need to find your courage.”
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。
That was the second time someone had told her that today.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The next day Niesha again walked to the front of the classroom to give her presentation.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Little Tom was a student in senior high school. He was not good at his work and failed many times in the exams, and he never knew why he couldn’t catch up with others.
One day, Tom and his teacher were walking through the forest. He was disturbed by the fact that his mind was in constant unrest. He asked his teacher, “Why most people’s minds are restless, and only a few have a calm mind? What can one do to calm the mind down?”
The teacher looked at Tom, smiled and told him a story:
On one beautiful day, an elephant was standing by the shade of a tree, eating its leaves. Suddenly, a small fly came buzzingly and landed on the elephant’s ear. The elephant stayed calm and continued eating, ignoring the fly. The fly flew around the elephant’s ear, buzzing noisily, yet the elephant seemed to be unaffected. This confused the fly, and it asked, “Are you deaf?”
“No!” the elephant answered.
“Why aren’t you bothered by my buzz?” the fly asked.
“Why are you so restless and noisy? Why can’t you stay calm just for a few moments?” asked the elephant, and peacefully continued eating the leaves.
The fly answered, “Everything I see, hear and feel attracts my attention, and all noises and movements around me affect my behavior.”
“What is your secret? How can you stay so calm and still, while I am buzzing around your ears?”
“I can continue eating peacefully, because my five senses do not disturb my peace.”
“How is it possible?” asked the fly amazed and confused.
“Because I don’t let them rule my attention,” answered the elephant.
“I am in control of my mind and my thoughts, and therefore, I can direct my attention where I want, and ignore any disturbance including your buzz.”
“And therefore,” continued the elephant, “I am completely lost in the act of eating, enjoying my food and chewing it peacefully.”
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。
After listening to the story, Tom’s eyes opened wide and smiled.
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From that day on, he paid his attention to whatever he was doing.
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All the housewives who went to the new supermarket had one great ambition: to be the lucky customer who did not have to pay for her shopping. For this was what the notice just inside the entrance promised. It said: “Remember, once a week, one of our customers gets free goods. This may be your lucky day.”
For several weeks Mrs. Emerson hoped, like many of her friends, to be the lucky customer. Unlike her friends, she never gave up hope. Her kitchen were full of things which she did not need. Her husband tried to dissuade(劝阻) her but failed. She dreamed of the day when the manager of the supermarket would approach her and say, “Madam, this is your lucky day. Everything in your basket is free.”
One morning, after she had finished her shopping and had taken it to her car she found that she forgot to buy any tea. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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