9-year-old Igor lived in a huge forest in the north of Russia. His father was a woodcutter and his mother a tailor. The boy liked playing with animals in the forest, and knew the names of different birds and their songs. One freezing winter Igor was seriously ill and the doctor from big cities told his parents that only surprise could save him. Lying all day in bed, Igor only wanted his father to catch a bird and played with it. But in winter there were no birds in the forest. “You could make him a bird out of wood,” suggested the anxious mother.
The first finished birds were fat and too heavy to fly. He threw them into the fire, head in hands.
It was snowing heavily, and he really didn’t know where to find a bird. Then an idea occurred to him, “The bird needs two pieces of wood.” Eventually, he made it and showed it to his wife. “Beautiful!” she said, taking a needle and some thread (细线) and sewing the two ends together, like a real bird. She tied a long thread to the bird’s back. And it could be hung above Igor’s bed. Quietly, the woodcutter hung the bird above the boy’s bed.
At daybreak, his son was watching the bird carefully. There was a light in his eyes for the first time in many weeks. “Beautiful!” said Igor. “I’ve never seen it before in the forest. What’s its name?” “That’s a good question. I’ll find out and tell you.” The next morning, when the father entered Igor’s room, he found the boy sitting up in bed, trying to touch the bird. The last time Igor sat up in bed was many weeks before. “What’s it called?” the boy asked. “Oh, dear, I’m still not sure.”
Late on that night, Igor’s father went into his son’s room quietly and made the thread a little shorter. Then the bird was hanging a little higher above Igor’s head. Three days later, he found Igor kneeling on the bed, trying to touch the bird. His hand was very near it. “Have you decided on the name?” “Not yet. My son.” his father replied.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
Paragraph 1:
Again, at night the father went into his son’s room.
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Paragraph 2:
Several days later, Igor’s father was cutting wood when he heard a scream from the house.
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In March of 1994, I was 25 years old, poor and pregnant. It was 10 days past my due date. I was dependent on public transportation to get to my prenatal (产前的) appointments. That day I was going with my husband to the hospital for an ultrasound (超声波) scan.
We were excited and happy, thinking a new life would come into our world soon. To reach the bus stop, we had to cross a busy street. While we were standing on the opposite side of the street waiting for a break in traffic, we saw the bus coming. There was a huge rush of traffic just then, and no way to cross the street in time.
We began shouting loudly and waving wildly trying to flag down the driver. But the driver didn’t notice us, since her face wasn’t turned toward us. She drove quickly past the stop and down the street. Traffic cleared up immediately after this and we were able to cross the street. But it was a moment too late.
We were very anxious because this was the last bus we could have caught to get to my appointment on time. The hospital was very strict about its appointment policy— if you were ten minutes late, you had to reschedule. Rescheduling meant I had to wait a day or more. I was close to tears, about to say “Let’s go home” when a police car stopped in front of us. The officer had apparently seen the whole process, and said with a smile “Hop in- let’s catch the bus!”
We’d never been in trouble nor were we thieves, but we naturally felt uneasy about most authority figures like policemen. So it was a shock to receive this offer of help from an unlikely source! Should we accept such help? We hesitated for a second. Then we got in the car, and the officer sped toward our runaway bus.
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:
We caught up with the bus soon.
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Paragraph 2:
I gave birth to a healthy girl the following morning.
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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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A Great Monday
Monday started out well. I woke up on time, ate breakfast and did some last minute studying for my math test later that morning. I was confident of getting good grades. I left my house and ten minutes later, I sat with my friends on the school bus. We were busy chatting about how we spent our weekend. At the next stop, a student named Ryan got on the bus. He was in a rush and tripped (绊倒) over someone’s foot. There was a loud noise as he fell to the floor.
Every one of us on the bus laughed. Ryan got up, brushed his jacket and went to an empty seat. He tried to laugh with us, but his face was red with embarrassment. The rest of the morning went by quickly. I did well in my math test. I read two more chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird in English class. Soon we heard the lunch bell. I met my friends from the cheerleading team in the dining hall. I noticed Ryan a few tables away, sitting by himself. He caught me looking at him. I smiled at him quickly and looked away.
When we finished eating, we went to the courtyard to practice a cheer we would do at that night’s football game. After much practice, we finally managed to do the cheer perfectly. We decided to practice it again one last time. Just like the rest of my day so far, the cheer was going great. I raised my leg for one last toe touch. That was when I felt my jeans (牛仔裤) split (裂开) down the middle of my backside.
I froze. I had no idea what to do. I heard people burst out laughing and I saw them pointing at my torn jeans. I tried to cover myself with my hands, I tried to laugh too, but I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
Then I saw Ryan running towards me.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________That night, after the cheer at the football game, I found Ryan.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was an art lesson. Rachel sat at the desk watching her classmates busy preparing the water jars and paints. She understood why Mrs. Weston asked her to sit down and got Lisa to fetch everything for her. It was always a disaster when Rachel tried to do art!
Rachel sighed and reached out to dip her brush in some black paint and—oh, no! She knocked over the jar. The water spread across the desk and drowned the paper. Lisa called Mrs. Weston to see what Rachel had done. Rachel went red in the face. She jumped to her feet to get a cloth. Her chair fell over backwards. She turned round and her paintbrush caught Lisa across the face, giving her a black moustache. Lisa was so surprised that she fell back against a wire bookstand. It came crashing down and the books went all over the floor.
How clumsy (笨拙的)! Rachel thought as she went home on the bus. The bus stopped outside her house. She jumped up and her elbow (肘部) knocked a woman’s hat right over her eyes. Oh, no! Rachel said sorry, got off and ran indoors. Mum wasn’t in the kitchen but lay in bed as she caught an awful cold. Rachel offered to make a cup of tea but Mum would rather wait for Dad. Rachel sighed. She understood Mum was afraid that she would spill (溅出) it.
“But would you go to Mrs. Willow for some cold medicine?” asked Mum. Rachel turned to the door at once. “But Mrs. Willow’s house is full of beautiful things, so if she asks you to come in, you’d better say no.” Rachel sighed and ran out.
Mrs. Willow was an old lady with white hair and sharp blue eyes living in an old house. She opened the door and invited her in. Rachel said why she came and that she preferred to wait outside remembering her mother’s warning. Mrs. Willow insisted Rachel come inside. Rachel took a deep breath and stepped in. She looked round Mrs. Willow’s sitting room and saw at once why Mum had been worried.
Paragraph 1:There were beautiful things everywhere — pretty vases and pots.
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With a smile, Mrs. Willow comforted her saying it had been broken before.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Bob was a small-built child who preferred indoor to outdoor activities. He was mild-mannered and mostly kept to himself. Sitting in the corner of the class, he was very much a loner. Whenever he was made fun of in class, he would turn to his mother for comfort.
At the beginning of semester 2, Bob had a new classmate, Alex, who had just returned to New Zealand. Alex was assigned a seat next to Bob. To his surprise, within weeks, he became good friends with Alex even though they were poles apart in personality. Alex was popular, outspoken and artistic. “Alex is all that I want to be, ” Bob thought to himself. He began listening to the music Alex listened to and having similar haircut. He even quit his drama club and started playing the online games that Alex played. He seemed to have been out of his loneliness.
It was not long before Bob was introduced to Alex’s “cool“ friends. He told himself that he would try all means to be part of the group. He would follow them to the football games and join the art club after school so he could spend more time hanging out with them. Bob followed them around laughing when they told jokes, agreeing when they had opinions—most enthusiastically at the ones he disagreed with. He did not dare to differ in opinions as he would not want them to think badly of him. This continued for several months. At last, Bob felt relieved that he had finally fitted in.
One day, Bob overheard Alex and his cool friends talking “Bob’s such a loser, ” one boy commented in a playful tone. “He just follows you around trying to be you. He copies you; he does not have a personality of his own!” another boy exclaimed. Alex laughed, to make matters worse, he added, "That fellow wears me out. I wish he would leave me alone. He thinks we are best friends. A thorough fool!”
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。
Bob stood rooted to the ground and could not believe his ears.
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Bob decided to change himself.
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A Dream Come True
For many years, I kept having the same dream. I was a little girl again, rushing about, trying to get ready for school.
Deep inside, I knew where the dream came from. It was about some unfinished business in my life. As a kid, I loved everything about school. I loved books, teachers, tests and homework. Most of all, I longed to someday march down the hallway to receive my diploma(毕业文凭).That seemed more appealing even than getting married. But at 15, I had to drop out because my parents couldn’t afford tuition. My hope of getting a diploma was dead, or so I thought.Years later, I married and had three children, and I thought,“There goes my diploma.”
Even so, I wanted my children to be educated. But Linda, our youngest child, had juvenile arthritis(幼年型关节炎)in her hands and knees, which made it impossible for her to function in a normal classroom. I felt really sorry for her and I didn’t want her to live her life with regret. I didn’t give up hope of her going back to school in some way.
One day, I saw an ad. in the newspaper for evening courses. “That’s the answer,”I said to myself.Linda always feels better in the evening, so we went there to just sign her up for night school. Linda was busy filling out register forms-when the secretary knowing me well said, “Mrs.Schantz,why don’t you come back to school?”
I laughed ,“There’s no way. I’m 55.” But he insisted, and before I knew it, I was enrolled for classes in English and art.“This is only an experiment,”I warned the secretary, but he just smiled. So, I told myself to try for just a semester and to see if it would work. Anyway, my dream was still there in my heart.
续写要求：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。
It was exciting to go to school again,but also tough.
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Linda and I helped each other through.
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Only eight days until Thanksgiving and there wasn’t going to be enough money to grocery shop for the holiday. It was hard to put everyday food on the table for three growing teen boys with the little I earned from work. There was only a few small sweet potatoes, one can of green beans, and two chicken breasts.
The next day, I met my friend and neighbor, Aleta, at her home. Her four boys and my kids were good friends. Her husband had recently lost his job due to illness, and financial difficulties hovered (盘旋) over their household as well.
“Hey, I have an idea how we can put together a meal where everyone will have enough. ”I proposed.
“I have a few cans of green beans, about three pounds of chicken legs, and three apples. ”she said.
“Great. Let’s meet at my house at 2:00 in the afternoon. If you have some peanut butter, I have enough flour and ingredients to make cookies. ”
Four days before Thanksgiving, I had finished baking the cookies. My friend called with news about a family living in our community who needed help with food and bills. The father had been in an accident and unable to work for the last few months.
We didn’t know the family well, but my friend and I went to visit them with our holiday cookies, hoping to help in some way. While everyone chatted, I walked into their kitchen to see about the food situation. The cupboards were almost empty. No exaggeration. A single can of soup, and a box of cereal (麦片) sat alone in the cupboard. That’s it. I was shocked.
Aleta and I knew the life during hard times. We left the house, eagerly wanting to help. But what could we do? Our own finance sand food situation left nothing to spare.
Almost at the same time, our thoughts connected. Without a word, we looked at each other, asking ourselves the same question. Could we sacrifice a little more and give the family our holiday meal？
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。
“How can we help them?” I asked the kids.
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On Thanksgiving Day, we delivered two full bags of groceries to the family.
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I had never ridden a snowmobile before. One day, my friend David invited me to the tracks outside Twisp, Washington, and I accepted his invitation willingly. I went diving, climbed mountains, and even went skydiving. Did I ever worry about hurting myself? Never! Because I was young and energetic.
Then the day finally came. We rented snowmobiles and hit the road. Wind blew through my hair as I flew over the snow. I felt great until my snowmobile sputtered beneath me. I slowed to a stop while my friend drove fast ahead on the snow-covered tracks through the woods, avoiding trees and rocks.
David headed back towards me, saying, “Did your snowmobile break down again?” I lifted my glasses. “Yes. Again,” I answered with a little discouragement. Speeding through the snow was so much fun, but sputtering to a stop every ten minutes was disappointing. We had been out for over an hour and I wanted to race over the snow.
“Why don’t we switch? I may have experience with yours.” he asked. “That will be great,” I said and climbed onto his big, shiny snowmobile, put my glasses back on and tightened my hard hat’s string.
“This one is more powerful than the one you just rode,” David reminded me. “You need to be careful with it.”
“I can handle it,” I replied confidently.
When I settled myself on the seat and started the engine, I felt its power right away. I stepped on the accelerator and set off, speeding through the snowy forest. It was amazing. The machine ran like a dream, except for a slight pull to the left that made it a bit difficult to control. With a little more acceleration, there was no pull to the left.
Suddenly, a field full of big stones came into view. I took hold of the handlebars and prepared to make a sharp right turn to avoid the stones.
My eyes dropped to my speed indicator: 89 miles per hour.
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 tried to slow down and turn the handlebars to the right.
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I eventually fell with my face down on a soft area of snow.
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Kindness can bring more kindness
Human beings are not just judged by the way we treat each other, but by the way we treat any creature that is powerless.
Martin was living on the streets in Bucaramanga, Colombia when a stranger noticed him at a local park. The passerby was so touched by what he saw that he filmed it.
The passerby saw Martin sitting on some concrete steps with two dogs wearing party hats. Martin pulled a small cake out of a plastic bag. He clapped his hands, sang happy birthday and petted his beloved companions. He lit two candles on the cake while his dogs observed him, and he gave them each a kiss on the cheek.
He then gave a slice of cake to each of his dogs on paper plates. As they ate together, Martin wiped tears from his eyes and petted his dogs some more.
After witnessing the sweet birthday party, the passerby walked up to Martin and asked him about his dogs. He learned that Martin had two dogs, Shaggy and Nena, and that they were celebrating Shaggy’s birthday.
He learned Martin had escaped an abusive home and had been living on the streets for the past several years. Shaggy and Nena were his only family and, even while he was homeless, Martin did everything he could to take care of them. “In so many years living on the street I was never alone,” Matin explained. “My dogs were always there to bring joy to many sad days.”
“My dog was celebrating his birthday,” Martin said again, “and I wanted to give him a quarter of a chicken, but I didn’t have enough money for that. Then I saw a lady who was going to throw away a cake and I told her to give it to me. She handed it to me, saying, ‘Take it, son, you make better use of it than I 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。
The kind passerby shared the video of Shaggy’s birthday party on social media.
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Greatly touched by the strangers’ good deeds, Martin decided to pay the kindness forward.
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