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.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I taught English as a Second Language (ESL) at a school. One particular sixth grader, Pablo, was struggling with fluency in reading, so after class I suggested that he get extra practice by reading aloud to his mom while she prepared dinner each evening. This was something I routinely encouraged my struggling students to do. Imagine my surprise when Pablo responded by starting to cry. He said, “My mom can’t cook dinner!” Then he cried harder. Eventually, he calmed down enough to tell me that his mom was only able to “cry in her bed” when he got home every afternoon. He said that he was caring for his six-month-old baby brother by himself from the time he got home each day. His mother, it seemed, had a bad tooth and was in extreme pain. He said that his father didn’t have enough money to get it fixed, and that there was no way for her to go to a dentist. This child’s heart was broken for his mom.
I was speechless! He was still crying when he left me that day, and I promised him I would try to help. I kept asking myself how I could help this student. How could I help his mother when we didn’t even speak the same language?
The next day, I sent a note, which a friend helped me translate, to Pablo’s mother asking if she would like me to find someone to help her. The following day, Pablo brought me a note from his mom accepting my offer to help.
Meanwhile, I had been doing some networking among my friends asking if anyone knew a dentist who might do some free work for this lady. At the time, I was not able to pay for the work to be done myself. Several friends suggested a dental office that had recently opened up in the area, thinking that they might be willing to provide the services. I didn’t want to waste a lot of time going to several dentists, so I prayed that this would be the one.
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。
Stopping by the dental office, I went to the reception desk.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Pablo’s mother came to meet the dentist at the appointed time.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________There were three children in my family. Kind Larry was the oldest, followed by smart Emily and I. One year, our family moved into a bigger house and we each had our own room. Both Larry and Emily chose to live upstairs while I preferred living in the basement. Emily laughed at me because I picked a room with poor natural light. However, I never cared about it. I had a secret kept only between my brother Larry and me-I wanted to be the neighbor of our large refrigerator where something delicious was always stuffed including the whole family’s favorite-ice cream.
During the week, we drank only milk at our meals and never ate dessert. But Sunday was different- Mom would make her famous roast meat dinner and Dad would make an exception to the dessert rule. One Sunday, my father sat happily at the head of the table and said, “Great meal! I think we should finish it with something special, “He told my brother, “Larry, go downstairs and get Breyers!”
Breyers is a brand of ice cream, the family’s favorite. When it went on sale, my mother would buy some, about a gallon of it, storing it in the refrigerator in the basement for such a special occasion.
But when the moment really came, I spoiled it. For a few nights, I couldn’t resist the temptation and ate a half box of ice cream at the rate of a small spoonful per night. So when Larry was about to run downstairs, I hurriedly pulled his hand under the table. Larry turned to look at me and felt surprised, but he immediately understood what had happened.
Emily was impatient at the table, looking at her empty dinner plate and urging Larry to be quick. Larry didn’t move, and instead, he said to Dad, “Why don’t we enjoy it on Children’s Day?” Dad smiled, “We can eat again on that day. Come on, Larry! Go and get it!” I knew Larry didn’t look like himself today. He was an ice cream lover like everyone else present, but it was unbelievable that he should refuse to eat it today. I felt very sorry for making my brother Larry so embarrassed.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1: With one more look at me, Larry had to walk slowly down to the basement.
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Paragraph 2: To my great shock, just when I hesitated to admit it, Larry said,“Yes. I ate it.”
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You never know where life will lead you. When I was a young boy. I found myself constantly overshadowed by my elder sister, Becky. It was not her intention to outshine me, nor did she make any effort to do so. However, with Becky exceling both academically and athletically, it was only natural that her accomplishments got all the attention, while my own achievements went unnoticed. Being the younger brother of someone who effortlessly excelled in all areas of life proved to be a big challenge, as I struggled to find my own identity under her brilliance.
Becky’s talent in swimming was particularly noteworthy and she was recognized as the finest swimmer in our province. Yet, the swimming pool never attracted me. Even as a child, I developed a dislike for swimming after a rather unpleasant experience of water entering my nose. Swimming was not for me.
However, fate had its own way of transforming my life. One day, I fell off my skateboard and broke my leg so badly that the doctors said I could never really engage in the sport again. They said there was only one exercise that would be good for me-swimming!
Reluctantly, I decided to give swimming a try. At first, it was a struggle. I had a lot of fear and anxiety about putting my face in the water, fearing a repeal of the incident that had scarred me as a child. But little by little, with the support and guidance of my sister, I slowly overcame my fear and learned to enjoy swimming.
As I spent more time in the water, I realized that swimming wasn’t just exercise; it was a way to challenge myself and push my limits. I began to set goals for myself, starting with simple tasks like swimming a certain distance without stopping, and gradually progressing to more advanced techniques. With each achievement, my confidence grew, and I found myself becoming more comfortable in the water.
Swimming also brought me closer to Becky. We spent hours together at the pool, motivating and encouraging each other. She became my trainer, helping me improve my technique and providing me with valuable advice. It was through swimming that we developed a deeper bond as siblings (兄弟姐妹).
注意：(1)续写词数应为150左右；(2)开头已给出。
As the years went by, I started participating in local swimming competitions.
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Today, as I reflect on my journey, I am grateful for the twist of fate that led me to professional swimming.
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Puppies for Sale
A little boy lived in a small town of Northern California called Oxnard. He was a lovely boy but he lost his left leg in a car accident and had to walk by a false leg (假肢). He couldn’t follow other kids. He felt lonely and decided to keep a pet dog as his friend.
One day, he walked past a pet shop and saw a sign above the door that said: “Puppies for Sale”. The little boy asked the shop owner, “I want to buy one of your puppies. Can I please look at the puppies?”
The pet shop owner got impressed with the honesty of the boy. “Sure,” said the shop owner. He smiled and whistled loudly. Five puppies ran down the walkway of the pet shop.
The little boy’s eyes danced with pleasure. As the puppies made their way towards the fence, the little boy noticed that one puppy was falling behind. This puppy was limping (跛行) and trying its best to catch up the others.
Immediately the little boy pointed out towards the limping puppy and asked, “What’s wrong with that little puppy?” The shop owner explained that when the puppy was born the pet hospital had examined the little puppy and had discovered there was something wrong with its back leg. It would limp for the rest of his life.
The little boy got really excited and said “That is the puppy that I want to buy.” The shop owner replied, “No, that puppy is not for sale. Nobody will buy that puppy due to his disabled leg. If you really want him, I’ll just give him to you for free.”
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 little boy got quite upset with the reply of the shop owner.
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However, the boy decided to buy the little puppy and thought that he should pay for it.
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Never Too Late to Be What You Want to Be
Dreams are the invisible wings of life. Only the power of dreams can motivate our lives, overcome human weaknesses and go to excellence.
The first day of school, our professor challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t know. It was at that time that I made the acquaintance of an unusual classmate—a gentle, wrinkled 87-year-old lady named Rose. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one,” she told me.
We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months, we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
At the end of the semester, we invited Rose to make a speech to our football team. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her note cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed, she leaned into the microphone and simply said, “I’m sorry I’m so nervous. I can’t get my note cards back in order, so let me ad-lib（即兴演讲）the whole speech.
From her speech, I learn a lot. We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change and have no regret. The elderly usually don’t have regret for what they did, but rather for things they did not do.” Her speech inspired everyone on the spot greatly, including me.
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。
What Rose taught us that day reminded me of my own dream.
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One week after graduation, Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
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My second year in college had started. I hadn’t decided whether to fly home for the new year yet. Although I had missed the holiday the year before, and I didn’t want to miss it two years in a row, I didn’t have the money for the ticket, plus I wasn’t sure I could get enough time off from my job. All that wondering changed when my mom called. She got right to the point: “Your grandmother isn’t doing well. I decided I should fly out there for the new year.” Mom was an only child, so that made sense to me. But I was not ready for what I heard next. “We decided you would want to come along so I covered your ticket.”
We arrived as scheduled. Mom was anxious to see her parents, especially her mother, who was really sick. After saying hello to them, we settled in the living room. Grandpa helped Grandma lie down again and told us we would have a big lunch at noon.
He went into the kitchen. Mom walked up and down in the living room. Finally, I asked her what the matter was. “He can’t cook,” she said, wondering. “How’s he supposed to fix a holiday meal for us?”I tried to reason with her.
“Can’t you smell dinner? It smells good to me. Grandma is upstairs resting. Grandpa is the only one who could be cooking.” But we couldn’t see through the kitchen door. She had an idea. “Let’s go out to the front door and see from outside the window what’s going on inside. Then we will know who is really cooking.” Grandpa was very hard of hearing, so he didn’t hear us leave. It was a crazy plan, but I followed her around the house to the kitchen windows.
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。
There we watched Grandpa fill water glasses, make coffee and do everything skillfully.
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Looking at the nice food on the table, Mom asked, “When did you learn to cook?”
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It was the afternoon before Christmas Eve as I looked tiredly at my youngest daughter Kitty’s wish list for her presents. Major dental surgery (牙科手术) two days earlier had left my face painfully swollen (肿胀的), and most surely influenced my holiday spirit.
To make matters worse, Kitty had provided me with the world’s least helpful list: “Something red. Something old. Something you can put things in. Something strange ...”
After completing the important shopping of lots of food necessary for a big family gathering the next day, I was just quite tired and impatient. But no matter how hard it was to please my youngest daughter, I couldn’t let her down. Then her older sister Helen came up with the solution. The local antique store was sure to have something that fitted Kitty’s wish list. Owned by an extremely nice couple, the place was packed with valuable things and also not-so-valuable ones.
Surely, it was the last place where I wanted to go. Three years before, I had rushed out of the place in tears after selling them my grandmother’s silver forks and spoons and most importantly my valued ballet-dancer doll. That year had been difficult, and though I told myself that they were only things, it hurt to trade my remaining valued things, especially my ballet-dancer doll, for common things such as electricity and food. The shame of crying in public over it only made matters worse. Since that year, I had never visited that store.
After this long period of time and with a greatly swollen face, I thought it was unlikely that the owners of the store would recognize me. And, sure enough, the place offered gifts for every possible taste.
So in the afternoon before Christmas Eve, wearing a hat, I left home together with Helen to the antique store to pick up the gifts that Kitty wanted. Before long, we arrived at the store. While walking and choosing the gift there, I wondered, “What if the owners recognize me?”
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。
So I pulled down the edge of my hat to hide my face.
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And the owner held out my old ballet-dancer doll, adding, “It’s our Christmas present to you.”
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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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