Tomato Changed My Life
Doing things-without being planned was never my strength.
As a 14-year-old, I would refuse to go for walks around the block with my friends if I was the least bit behind in my schoolwork.
Unlike most teenagers, I lived not in my room, but in an unused kitchen upstairs where I spread my books and papers on a large round table. I spent considerable time there, working continuously for hours, and my mother worried. She would try to lure (引诱) me away. “Come and watch the parade!” she would call from downstairs. “All neighbors are out there!” She thought of all kinds of tricks-the swimming pool, ice cream, stray cats and turtles-to remove me from my -studies, but nothing ever worked.
Later, in college, the pattern continued. The library and my college dorm replaced the unused kitchen at home. When spring came along friends would stop by my dorm or peer into my library room to persuade me to play Frisbee on the lawn. “No, I would almost always say.” I have too much to do.
My college study days were gone, but not my need and love for schedules. My friends and sisters tried to keep me away from my plans, but they were hardly ever successful.
This summer, though, while house sitting for my parents, I was persuaded to change my plans in the most unexpected way. The sight of tomatoes growing in my mother’s garden lured me out of my tightly scheduled world. They drew me with the power of a lover’s gaze. Hundreds of them were turning ripe and red by the minute, decorating the garden like decorations on a Christmas tree.
“If I have time, I’ll make tomato sauce (番茄酱).” I told myself. But my long week in the house by myself was already filled with things to do: writing, and finishing a project that I brought home from the office.
Then, watching the fascinating tomatoes continuously falling to the ground in ever-greater numbers, again I mentally argued about all the things I had planned and needed to 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。
Finally, I gave in.
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A month later, my parents came back.
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One day, a friend of mine and I were walking down a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. When we walked along the beach and shot the bull, we saw a man occupying himself with something in the distance. Curiosity drove us to find out what he was doing.
As we grew nearer, we noticed that the man kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. Time and time again, he kept casting things into the ocean. We felt a little more confused about his odd action. So we decided to approach even closer, and then we knew that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time, he was throwing them back into the water.
My friend was puzzled. He came up to the man and asked, “Good evening, friend. I was wondering what you’re doing.” Without stopping his work, the man answered, “I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it’s low tide right now and all of these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don’t throw them back into the sea, they will die up here from lack of oxygen.” “I understand,” said my friend, “but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can’t possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many. You are just wasting your time doing something meaningless. And don’t you realize this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast? Can’t you see that you can’t possibly make a difference?”
The man smiled, bent down, and picked up another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied in a firm voice, “Made a difference to that 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。
I knew what my friend would do when he looked at me.
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We said goodbye to the man, tired but happy.
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Garden of Discovery
I was kneeling outside in my garden, pulling weeds in the bright sun, when a voice suddenly said, “What are you doing?”
I looked up. Looking over the fence was the boy who had just moved with his family into the house behind ours. “Don’t you hate getting dirty?” he said.
I laughed. “No, I don’t mind.” I stood up. “Hi, I’m Jeanie.”
“Mike,” he replied.
I saw him looking at my garden. “I’m getting ready to plant tomatoes, potatoes,” I said. “Also beans and...”
Mike interrupted. “Why go to all this trouble when you can buy vegetables at the store?”
“It’s fun,” I replied. “I bet you’d enjoy gardening if you tried it. All boys like gardening.”
“Don’t believe everything you hear,” he said.
I smiled. “Work with me for a week. If you still don’t like it by then, I’ll never talk about it.
To my surprise he nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
Before I knew it, the week was up. I was sure that Mike had changed his mind about gardening. He no longer complained about getting dirty! Each time he planted a seed, he would say, “I hope you grow big and make Jeanie and me proud of you.”
On the last day, Mike and I worked until the sun had set.
“That’s it,” I said, standing up. “Everything’s planted.”
Silently Mike rose, too. “The week’s up,” I said. I smiled at Mike, confident that he was going to tell me that gardening wasn’t so bad after all.
For a moment he didn’t say anything. Suddenly he said, “I’m glad that’s over. Don’t forget our deal—no more garden talk. See you.” Then he ran into his own yard. I stared after him in disbelief.
I went to bed. Around midnight a crash of thunder woke me up. Outside there was a terrible storm. I worried about my plants until the rain finally ended, and I fell back asleep.
The next morning I jumped out of bed, eager to see my garden. I pictured in my mind broken plants and flooded rows of seeds.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
“It’s about time for you to get here,” said a voice as I pushed open the back door.
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“I can’t believe what you’re doing after what you said last night,” I said.
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4 . One summer night in a seaside cottage, a boy felt himself lifted from bed. Then, with the swiftness of a dream, he was held in his father’s arms out onto the nearby beach. Overhead the sky blazed with stars. “Watch!” Incredibly, as his father spoke, one of the stars moved. In a line of golden fire it flashed across the astonished heavens. And before the wonder of this could fade, another star leaped from its place, then another, plunging towards the restless sea.
“What’s this?” the child whispered.
“Shooting stars. They come every year on a certain August night. I thought you’d like to see the show.”
That was all: just an unexpected glimpse of something mysterious and beautiful. But, back in bed, the child stared for a long time into the dark, knowing that all around the quiet house, the night was full of the silent music of the falling stars.
Decades have passed, but I remember that night still, because I was the fortunate boy whose father believed that a new experience was more important for a small boy than an unbroken night’s sleep. No doubt I had all the usual childhood entertainment, but those are forgotten now. What I remember is the night of the shooting stars, and the day we rode in a caboose (列车末尾的职工车厢), the telegraph we made that really worked, and the “trophy table” in the dining room where we children were encouraged to exhibit things we had found — anything unusual or beautiful — snake skins, seashells, flowers, arrowheads... I remember the thought-provoking (引人深思的) books left by my bedside that pushed back my horizons and sometimes actually changed my life.
My father had, to a marvellous degree, the gift of opening doors for his children, of leading them into areas of splendid newness. This subtle art of adding dimensions to a child’s world doesn’t necessarily require a great deal of time. It simply involves doing things more often with our children instead of for them or to them.
1. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 4 mean?| A．The child was still immersed in the beautiful scenery just now. |
| B．The child was too frightened to fall asleep because of darkness. |
| C．The child wanted to listen more to the music about falling stars. |
| D．The child felt grateful to his father for what he showed him. |
| A．unusual and novel | B．dangerous and demanding |
| C．strange and uncommon | D．educational and thought-provoking |
| A．Parents should interfere more with their children’s learning. |
| B．Parents should push their children to try to do everything on their own. |
| C．Parents should devote energy to exploring new things for their children. |
| D．Parents should encourage children to be curious and explore new things in life. |
| A．Limitless knowledge | B．Father, the hero of my life |
| C．Curiosity aroused that night | D．The unusual things in my life |
5 . Seeing fresh snow over our town, my son CJ and I couldn’t wait to go sledding (滑雪橇) in the park. As we
Four teenage boys were the only ones at the park when I arrived. As it is common to see kids
As it was early, the saucer hadn’t cut a track into the snow,
On the way back, my heart was flying at the joy of
| A．drew | B．approached | C．destroyed | D．cleaned |
| A．decided | B．pretended | C．forgot | D．happened |
| A．worried | B．proud | C．alone | D．nervous |
| A．scolded | B．left | C．influenced | D．accompanied |
| A．willing | B．grateful | C．curious | D．afraid |
| A．like | B．without | C．beyond | D．for |
| A．knocked | B．removed | C．fooled | D．folded |
| A．hurting | B．losing | C．cheating | D．persuading |
| A．otherwise | B．therefore | C．however | D．instead |
| A．weight | B．security | C．benefit | D．speed |
| A．peak | B．bottom | C．limit | D．level |
| A．ridiculous | B．helpless | C．tough | D．meaningless |
| A．paid off | B．faded away | C．came back | D．flew off |
| A．history | B．sight | C．fear | D．memory |
| A．experiencing | B．impacting | C．changing | D．ignoring |
6 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。
I’ve spent my adult life as a college professor teaching people how to think more creatively and use more of their brainpower. Interestingly, this lifetime passion was awakened by a casual contest when I was a child.
At a family picnic for employees of the company where my father worked, they held contests for the children — who could blow the biggest bubble-gum (泡泡糖) bubble, who could hop the longest on one leg. I was 13, full of enthusiasm and the spirit of competition, so I threw myself into the contests. The grand finale, the handkerchief-throwing contest, I realize now, was not meant to demonstrate any real skill, but simply for laughs. But it stirred my love of thinking outside the box.
The judge gave each of the dozen children a cloth handkerchief and told us the winner would be the one who threw it the farthest. The first throwers, the little ones, took mighty wind-ups (挥臂动作), but when the cloth left their hands, it opened and fluttered (飘动) to the ground a few inches in front of them. The crowd roared with laughter, and being 13, I didn’t like adults laughing at us.
So it made me angry to see the kids throwing harder when the handkerchief always opened, caught the air and died. The secret was not to throw harder but to keep the cloth from opening. Suppose I hid a rock in the cloth without tying it. The rock would drive the cloth at least farther than the others, and when they separated, people might not notice a small rock landing in the grass. I had a good chance of getting away with it, but I didn’t want to win by cheating. What I really wanted to do was to show them that a kid could beat them at their own game. I had to make the handkerchief fly like a rock. Like a rock! That was it! But the question was how.
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: I was thinking really hard when suddenly a good idea struck me.
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Paragraph 2: “It’s just the handkerchief,” the judge declared, holding it up and untying the knots (结).
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In a class I teach adults. I gave the class homework that was to “go to someone you love within the next week and tell them you love them. It has to be someone you have never said those words to before or at least haven’t shared those words with for a long time.”
It doesn’t sound like a very tough homework until you realize that most of the men in that group were over 35 who were less willing to express their feelings. So this was a very challenging homework for some.
At the beginning of our next class, I asked if someone wanted to share what had happened when they told someone they loved them. I fully expected one of the women to volunteer, as was usually the case, but on this evening one of the men raised his hand. He appeared quite moved and a bit shaken.
As he stood up, he began by saying, “Five years ago, my father and I had a sharp disagreement and really never solved it since then. We avoided seeing each other unless we absolutely had to be at family gatherings. But even then, we hardly spoke to each other, So, last Tuesday by the time I got home I had convinced myself I was going to tell my father I loved him. It was weird (怪异的), but just making that decision seemed to lift a heavy load off my chest.”
“The next morning I was up bright and early. I got to the office early and completed more in two hours than I had the whole day before. At 9: 00 I called my dad to see if I could come over after work. When he answered the phone, I just said, ‘Dad, can I come over after work tonight? I have something to tell you. ’My dad agreed with reluctance (不情愿).”
“At 5: 30. I was at my parents’ house ringing the doorbell, praying (祈祷) that Dad would answer the door. As luck would have it, Dad did answer the door. I didn’t waste any time — I took one step in the door and said, ‘Dad, I just came over to tell you that I love you.’”
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。
“It was as if a change came over my dad.”
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“But that’s not even my point.
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My struggles started in seventh grade when I began passing out. I had many medical check-ups and finally found one that helped. My average blood pressure was about 80/60 on a good day. To this day, I continue to battle this problem.
Then, two years ago, I was diagnosed (诊断) with fibromyalgia, a muscle disease that is not really helped by medication. It’s like having a pulled muscle when the disease attacks. It can last as long as three months. I was bedridden for a month. Cold weather, rain, or physical or emotional stress can cause the pain,
It’s hard enough to be a healthy teenager and go through the typical changes with friends, family, school, etc. Add to that missing two to three months of school a year, and it can make things very difficult. The hardest part was on the outside I looked normal like everyone else; however, on the inside, I was in horrible pain. Some classmates had passed their comments on me thinking that since my physical appearance was fine, I must be OK. The judgment hurt me more than anyone will ever know.
I battled with depression (抑郁) as well, because I felt like an outsider. I longed to be normal and healthy. I even developed an eating disorder. In the beginning, I had lost a lot of weight. For the first time, I felt like I was attractive because I was skinny. I was receiving more attention than ever. I would still feel depressed, though, because of all that was going on in my life. I would eat a lot hoping the stress would go away. But then I would throw up the food so I would still look good. Luckily, I overcame these problems with the help of my family and a wonderful job.
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。
My mother stuck by me and encouraged me in all my time of need.
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I found a purpose knowing I had something to give to these elderly people.
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Fourteen Steps
They say a cat has nine lives, and I think that possible since I am now living my third life and I’m not even a cat.
My first life began on a clear, cold day in November, 1904, when I arrived as the sixth of eight children of a poor farming family. Though struggling to make a living, I started my own family. This was when I started to enjoy my first life, happy, in excellent health and I became two lovely girls.
Life was a pleasant dream.
Then the dream ended and became one of those horrible nightmares that cause you to wake in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. I began to suffer from a rare disease of nerves, affecting first my right arm and leg, and then my other side.
Thus began my second life...
Despite my disease, I still drove to and from work each day. And I managed to keep healthy and optimistic, to a degree, because of 14 steps.
Crazy? Not at all.
Our home has 14 steps leading up from the garage to the kitchen door. Here hobbled (跛行) a desperate cripple (瘸子), a man who held on because of 14 miserable steps leading up to the backdoor from his garage.
Then on a dark night, I began my third life. It was raining when I started from home that night and drove on one of the less-traveled roads. Suddenly one of the tires burst with a bang. I fought the car to a stop.
Then I remembered that a short distance up a little side road was a house. I drove slowly along until I came to the house. Lighted windows welcomed me as I pulled into the driveway.
The door opened and a little girl stood there. I told her that I had a flat tire and needed someone to change it for me because I had a crutch (拐杖) and couldn’t do it myself. She went into the house and a moment later came out, followed by a man who called a cheerful greeting.
I sat there comfortable and dry. The rain seemed to be easing a bit now, and I rolled down the window to watch.
注意：1. 续写的词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
There followed a long interval of noises, but finally it was done.
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He didn’t take the bill and the little girl stepped closer and said quietly, “Grandpa can’t see it.”
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10 . I walked along the sidewalk that borders the west side of Central Park this morning, wondering at its shape: Hexagonal(六边形的) paving stones underneath my feet were bordered by brickwork, with a tidy stone wall running alongside. Just past the wall lay the park itself, where delicate branches of leafless trees reached to the blue sky, and sparrows emerged from trees.
The contrast between the straight-lined, orderly, man-made sidewalk and the complex diversity of nature just beyond its border made me think about the differences between natural creation and man’s creation.
The world holds many examples of circles: the moon, grapes, drops of water and the center of flowers. Triangles(三角形) are readily evident, too. There are kitty cat noses and ears, mountain peaks and river deltas.
But what about the most common shape in the man-made world, the rectangle(矩形)? I searched my brain for natural equals. Though I thought and thought, I came up with only two: teeth and salt crystals. That surprised me. Do we prefer rectangles simply because it’s easier to plan and build with blocks and straight lines? Or does it have something to do with the idea that humans tend to assume life is supposed to be linear? I don’t know.
There are bent lines everywhere. As I look at the beauty of, a tree in winter, with its branches reaching skyward in a seemingly untidy but obviously planned pattern, I can apprehend something of what that means.
Our world isn’t always tidy and predictable in the way that I want it to be. There are twists and turns in my life that I can’t foresee or predict. That doesn’t mean branching off in unexpected directions is bad or wrong. It means that when I find myself in each new place, I need to continue growing and reaching upward.
1. How did the author feel about the sidewalk’s shape?| A．disappointed. | B．surprised. | C．worried. | D．pleased. |
| A．negative. | B．cautious. | C．unconcerned. | D．objective. |
| A．create. | B．imagine. | C．understand. | D．arrange. |
| A．People should live in a complex world. |
| B．Triangles are the most common in nature. |
| C．Natural creation and man’s creation should be balanced. |
| D．We should move forward in the face of uncertainties. |
