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.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jim slumped on the couch. Mother’s Day was coming up, and he didn’t have a present. “How can I buy a present without money?” he thought.
Jim picked up the newspaper that was lying on the couch. He noticed a large advertisement on the front page. The local department store was sponsoring a contest. “Tell us why your mom is special and win a shopping spree(疯狂购物) for her,” said the ad.
“This is perfect!” thought Jim. He ran to his room with the newspaper, taking a pencil and a blank piece of paper from his desk, he started to write.
“My mom is the best mother in the world. She always makes a lunch for me to take to school, and she never forgets my dessert. She reads as many books to me before bed as I want. She always remembers to check under the bed for monsters. And she gives the best hug, but never in front of my friends, who would laugh at me for hugging my mom.”
Jim liked what he had written. He copied it neatly and got an envelope and a stamp from his dad. He ran to the mailbox with his entry(参赛作品), “Mom will love having a shopping spree,” he thought.
Jim checked the mailbox every day for his prize. Days passed by, and then weeks. Soon it was the day before Mother’s Day. Jim still hadn’t heard anything about the contest.
“What am I going to do now?” he wondered. He didn’t have a present, and he didn’t have a shopping spree, and he still didn’t have any money. He had to think of something. Jim closed his eyes and curled his toes and thought so hard that his ears hurt.
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 he had an idea.
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The next morning, Jim handed his present to his mom.
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Last Saturday David was taking a walk in the park near his home when he noticed a woman with a boy of about eight years old. When David passed them, he heard the woman yelling: “How stupid you are! You’re good at nothing.” David stopped and looked at the little boy. The boy said nothing. He just stood there, looking upset.
David was reminded of his English teacher Mrs. Brown in middle school. After he entered middle school, David lacked self-confidence because he was often made fun of by others. He was often told that he was good at nothing, which David believed.
But one day it all changed. That day, in an English writing class, Mrs. Brown asked them to read a novel. They were asked to write a new chapter of the novel after they finished reading it. A few days later, David handed in his story. He didn’t give it much thought. But the next day to his surprise, the comment “well done” from Brown came into view the moment he turned to the page where the story was written. When David read that, he almost burst into tears. He had never expected to be praised. He suddenly gained some self-confidence.
That day after he returned home, he wrote another short story and gave it to Mrs. Brown the next morning. And again he was praised. David became very interested in writing. He often wrote short dories and asked Mrs. Brown to read them and correct them for him. Mrs. Brown always gave him good advice to improve them. One year later, David joined the school newspaper and became an editor of it. He gained his confidence and was hopeful about his future.
He succeeded in entering college and kept writing. Several years after graduating from college, he had his first book published, becoming famous as a writer in his country. And he owed his success to Mrs. Brown’s encouragement. Without her encouragement, his life might be very different now.
注意：1. 续写的词数应为150左右。
2. 请按照如下格式在答题卡相应位置作答。
Inspired by his own life story, David decided to do something for that boy.
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The mother was ashamed when she heard that.
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5 . One summer day, as I was heading to the teaching building, I heard someone call my name. I turned around and saw Philip, a counselor at our college, standing with another young man. Philip introduced me to him, Stephen, and reminded me that Stephen would be taking one of my classes.
Stephen looked at me. With a somewhat painful expression, he asked if my class was going to be hard and if he would be able to pass. I introduced all the things that he would be expected to learn. As we talked, I saw Stephen’s eyes getting big with fear.
I told him to do all of his assignments, and to hand them in on time. Rather than being overwhelmed(压倒) by all of the work, I told him the most successful students made a master calendar of all the assignments so they could plan their workload.
As the fall semester went on, I learned more of Stephen’s story. It had taken him longer to finish the assignments than most young people. Family members, including his mother, kept reminding him thathewasafailure.Buthekeptatitanddidn’ttakethemtoheart.Hetoldmethatbeforecomingto our college, no one believed he could manage it.
Stephen didn’t become an A student. However, he managed to pass most of his courses by being in class every day, turning in all of his assignments on time and breaking down his studying into bite-sized parts. By passing course after course, he began to gain a measure of self-confidence.
On his graduation day, he walked up to me, and said,“Thank you.”
1. According to Stephen’s questions to the author, what do we know about Stephen?| A．He had never been an A student. | B．He didn’t want to attend the author’s class. |
| C．He wasn’t very confident about himself. | D．He couldn’t pass the author’s exam. |
| A．He helped Stephen get an A in his class. |
| B．He told Stephen how to deal with his studies. |
| C．He didn’t believe that Stephen could study in college. |
| D．He wouldn’t have met Stephen without the introduction of Philip. |
| A．He was an average student but hard-working. |
| B．He was a little stupid and didn’t do well at school. |
| C．He was far from a top student because of his failure. |
| D．He was an excellent student, but didn’t have self- confidence. |
| A．One bite at a time. | B．Look before you leap. |
| C．Haste makes waste. | D．A good beginning is half done. |
Long ago, there was a big apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it every day. He climbed to the top of the tree, ate the apples, and took a nap under the shadow. He loved the tree and the tree also enjoyed playing with him.
As time went by, the little boy grew up and he no longer played around the tree.
One day, the boy came back to the tree, appearing sad. “Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy gently.
“I am no longer a kid; I won’t play around trees any more,” the boy replied. “I want toys. I need money to buy them.”
“Sorry, but I don’t have money. However, you can pick all my apples and sell them. Then, you will have money.” The boy was so excited that he picked all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy didn’t come back after that.
The tree was upset.
One day, the boy returned and the tree was so joyful. “Come and play with me,” the tree said.
“I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?” “Sorry, I don’t have a house. But you can cut off my branches to build your house.” So the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left with delight.
The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy didn’t appear since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.
One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was delighted. “Come and play with me!” the tree requested.
“I am sad and becoming old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?”“Use my trunk to build the boat. You can sail and be happy.” So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and did not show up for a long time.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
Many years later, the boy finally returned.
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The apple tree is our mother.
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Once, when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus(马戏团). Finally, there was only one family between us and the ticket counter.
This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of twelve. You could tell they didn’t have a lot of money.
Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean. The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly talking about the clowns, elephants, and other acts they would see that night with their brothers or sisters in a low voice.
One could sense they had never been to the circus before. It should be highlight of their young lives. The father and mother were at the head of the pack, standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband’s hand, looking up at him as if to say, “You are my knight in shining armor.”
He was smiling and responding in pride, looking back at her as if to say, “You got that right.” The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly responded, “Please let me buy eight children’s tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus.”
The ticket lady gave the price. The man’s wife let go of his hand; her head dropped, and his lips began to shake. The father leaned a little closer and asked, “How much did you say?”
The ticket lady told the price to him again. The man didn’t have enough money. How could he turn and tell his eight children that he didn’t have enough money to take them to the circus?
In fact, we were not rich. So I understand how the kids would feel. I felt sorry for them.
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，每段的开头已为你写好。
Paragraph l:
Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand in his pocket.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
That day my father and I went back to our car and drove home without any tickets.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Karie double-checked the words on her spelling test .If she got 100 percent today, she’d win her class’ First-Quarter Spelling Challenge and a brand new dictionary.
Three more words to go. N-i-c-e-l-y. Q-u-i-c-k-1-y. H-o-n-e-s-t-y. Wait! She had spelled honesty, not honestly. She hurriedly erased the t-y and wrote l-y before handing in her paper.
Ms. McCormack graded the test papers at the break. Meanwhile, Karie sat restlessly in her seat with her fingers crossed. Then, Ms. McCormack walked to the front of the room and cleared her throat, “Congratulations. Karie! You did it!” she announced.
The whole class burst into applause! Ms McCormack presented Karie with her prize. Karie grinned as she read the label on the box: To Karie Carter; for her perfect first-quarter score in spelling.
“Everything OK?” Mom asked as Karie burst through the front door after school. Karie didn’t answer. As if by magic, she took out her spelling test paper and prize and showed them to her mother, Mom hugged her, asking her to put the test paper on the fridge so that Dad could see it when he got home.
Karie took another look at the test paper before putting it on the fridge. Her hands stopped in the midair. She just couldn’t believe her own eyes. Honesly? YES! H-O-N-E-S-L-Y.
Mom sensed something unusual and asked why. Karie stuffed the test paper into her backpack and explained that she was just too excited. Mom brought her some tea. Yes, a “t” was exactly what she needed.
After drinking a little, Karie plodded(重步走) down the hall, lost in thought How could she tell the class she hadn’t earned the prize after all?
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。
Later Dad came in with excitement.
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The next morning, Karie went to school earlier than usual.
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Lindsay didn’t feel herself last month. She was a really good student, but to her
Worried that it affected her daily life
10 . In my hometown, Oklahoma, the dirt goes everywhere. When my sister, Faye, and I walk to school, we cover our mouths so we don’t breathe in the dirt. Mama says all the dust is due to the drought(干旱).
Last Sunday, there was no dirt in the air, only bright spring sunshine and a clear blue sky. After church, Papa went to the field to check on the cattle while Mama started dinner. Faye and I played in the yard. Then the temperature suddenly dropped, and Mama shouted from the house, “Iris, you and Faye get inside, real quick now!”
I looked to the west and saw a huge black cloud of dust. “Faye, go with Mama!” I shouted. “I will warn Papa.” Covering my face with one hand, I struggled my way toward our family car and got in. The storm hit so fast that the day turned into night in an instant. Papa was still out there! I needed to help him find the car. I turned on the front lights, but would Papa see them in the thick darkness? I pushed the horn (喇叭) again and again, hoping Papa would hear it.
Suddenly, to my great surprise and relief, Papa’s face appeared at the window. He opened the door and climbed onto the seat next to me. After Papa shut off the car’s lights, we huddled together in the darkness for hours. I worried the dirt would bury us.
Finally, the wind subsided and the dust began to settle. We got out and reached the front porch just as Mama and Faye came out from the house.
“I’m safe thanks to Iris,” Papa said. “The car’s horn led me to shelter.”
“I’m so proud of you,” Mama said to me.
Tears of joy streamed down my dirty checks because our family had survived the horrible storm.
1. When the storm came, Iris went to the car to_____.| A．help her papa stay away from the storm | B．turn to her papa for help |
| C．send the car for her papa to drive | D．tell her papa about her safety |
| A．Surprised. | B．Happy. | C．Worried. | D．Proud. |
| A．got up | B．came along | C．went on | D．died down |
| A．Love for Papa | B．Drought in Oklahoma |
| C．Rescue on black Sunday | D．Papa trapped in the storm |
