“A man can fail many times, but he isn’t a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.” — J. Burroughs
内容包括：
1. 你对该名言的理解；
2. 个人或他人的例子；
3. 你的感悟。
注意：
1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
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The snowstorm was supposed to hit the evening of Monday, Jan. 31. I was working from home but I had to leave that afternoon and go to my office to sign an emergency financial aid check for a student. The route to the office took about 30 minutes along the highway. When I got there, my colleague came to my office to co-sign the check, and left. As I was packing up, I noticed he had left his laptop bag in my office.
“I can bring it to you,” I assured him. It was just past 4:30 p. m. The snow wasn’t supposed to start until later. On the way to his place, I picked up a new cellphone charger, and filled up my SUV with gas.
It took me about 15 minutes to get to my colleague’s house, where I dropped off the laptop case and got back on the road. Then the snow started, and it was coming down fast. Within minutes, the windows were fogging up and getting covered with snow, so I rolled down my driver’s side window, thinking I could better follow the edge of the road and keep to a straight line. But really, I didn’t have a clue where I was or even which side of the road I was on.
I called 911, but the dispatcher (调度员) told me that nobody was coming to get me until morning at the earliest. The storm would continue for longer than predicted and I worried I’d freeze to death.
Breathe, I told myself. Panicking won’t help.
I stopped the car, pinning my location on Google Maps, figuring out that I was on a road called Bouvier Lane, in between two farms. I posted this new information to my Facebook community group, pleading for anyone who knew who lived on the farms to help me get rescued.
At 8 p. m., my cellphone rang. It was the son of the farmer, André Bouvier, who owned the land beside the road I was stuck in. He told me that his dad had just helped two other cars get to his house, a father and his two kids, and a couple with their daughter. He comforted me that his dad was coming to get me.
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。
Then, about 45 minutes later, I saw a tall figure, pacing toward me in the dark, carrying a flashlight.
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We reached the house at last, I driving slowly behind Andre Bouvier.
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When we were finally dismissed from the last class of the day, the students streamed out of the classrooms. It was another boring day after school. I dragged my feet home as I sighed. Yet another uneventful day, I thought. Little did I know that the day would take a turn for the worse.
The lift lobby (电梯间) of my flat was old and dirty. The walls, which were painted white, had been dirtied over many years. I reached my flat’s lobby, and pressed the lift button and went in. Just then, Mrs Lim, my elderly neighbour, hobbled (蹒跚) in. She looked ancient with tissue paper white hair, wearing a faded old-fashioned dress. I held the lift door open, flashing a friendly smile, and politely greeted her. I asked her how she felt that day and pressed the buttons. She thanked me for being so polite, then we were silent for the rest of the ride.
The lift fell down increasingly fast. There were loud clanking sounds here and there while the lift grew slower and slower. My heart beat hard and fast as my hands turned cold and wet with sweat. Unfortunately, the lift came to an abrupt stop at the fifth floor. I pressed the buttons hard several times, but it was of no help. The lights on the buttons had gone out. It soon dawned on me that we were trapped. An icy fear crept up my spine. Mrs Lim was hysterical (歇斯底里).
“We will never get out!” she cried with her face pale. It had become a colourless mask. I had no time to lose. I pressed the bell in the lift immediately. The sound was surely deafening, but what other choice did I have? Mrs Lim burst into tears. I tried my very best to comfort her, telling her that everything would be all right and that we needed to find out how to get out safely. Mrs Lim began having trouble breathing, and I immediately helped her sit down and loosened her collar.
Paragraph 1: Several minutes passed, but no help came.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: Bang! My hopes were lifted when I heard the firefighters on the other side of the lift door.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Born into a medical family, Amar, a 15-year-old boy, was expected to be a doctor, but deep down in his heart, he was eager to take up writing as his future career. He was in a great dilemma whether to pursue his dream or live up to his parents’ expectation. until one day when his father gifted him a parrot.
The parrot had two hazy lines in her neck: black and red. Amar knew the hazy lines mark the stage of learning. “When there is a good teacher, how can his student be stupid” ,he used to believe. It was absolutely true.
Metto’s cage was yellow with a big door and a shiny silver rod (杆) running through the centre. Metto’s world was fantastic, surrounded by eight-foot white walls with some plum trees. And a lawn, with a palm tree in the middle, was dotted with multiple-color roses.
Back home from school every afternoon, Amar always slid the door of the cage up for Metto to set her free nearby the palm tree. Metto could set herself free because she learned how to slide up the door but she had never tried to do so. It was either love with Amar or, might be, she had never tasted the taste of a bigger world.
Amar always talked with Metto in Pashto (普什图语). Whenever Amar fished out peanuts from his pocket, Metto talked frequently “Toti choori khore” —parrot! Wanna eat choori. She had learned one more sentence after meeting with a friend belonging to jungle outside the white walls. She always said that at the end of meal “Da wakht bam teer she”—this shall to be passed, which Amar had never taught her.
Amar saw her friend coming daily and sitting in the plum tree nearby Metto’s cage. He let them and did nothing. “The new one can never succeed in winning her. After all, I feed her well. She will never leave me”, Amar murmured. But he didn’t know the new teacher had taught her something the old one hadn’t. It was the outer world with untouchable horizon.
注意：1. 续写词数应为 150个左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
One day, on the way to feed her, Amar was shocked at what Metto was doing.
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His head hanging down; Amar came back home after long running.
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Once upon a time, in the midst of a fine summer, Tom and his younger brother Jack went on an amazing trip to a picturesque beach with their family.
Excitement filled the air as Tom and Jack eagerly packed their buckets and shovels (铲子), ready to explore the sandy wonders that awaited them. The moment they arrived at the beach, they wasted no time and rushed directly towards the shoreline.
With the wind brushing gently over their cheeks, Tom and Jack dug their hands into the soft grains of sand, laughing happily as they felt grains of sand passing through their fingers. Their laughter was echoing along the coast.
Then the two little brothers decided to build a splendid sand castle that would leave everyone in awe. With the sound of seabirds singing in the background, they began their grand project. Side by side, they cupped their hands, dug into the soft beach, and started building their dream castle. With great care and precision, they sculpted and shaped the sand with their fingers, crafting each tower and wall. The boys were lost in their work, feeling the warmth of the sand beneath their fingers. They seemed to hear whispering tales of the distant, mysterious ocean.
Time seemed to stand still as the boys poured their hearts into every detail of their sandy creation. With each passing moment, the sand castle grew in both size and beauty and it began to take shape. Together, they patiently decorated their dream castle with seashells and twigs, imagining a world of soldiers, princesses, and magical creatures.
Seeing the castle stand proudly before them, the two little brothers breathed out a sigh of relief. Their eyes shone with excitement. They were like architects who were appreciating their masterpiece that expressed their extraordinary imagination.
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。
However, just before they knew it, the seawater began to rise.
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Jack nodded his head in agreement and they determined to rebuild it.
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Long long ago, there was a little prince who was used to having everything he wanted. He was so badly behaved that he wouldn’t let anybody have a new toy if he didn’t have it first. If any child in the land wanted a new toy, they had to buy two and give one to him. Therefore, the little prince had no friends except for his toys.
One day a magic toymaker, who invented the most wonderful toys, came to the land. The little prince liked his toys so much that he invited him to spend an entire year in the palace, promising him great wealth if he made him a new toy every day. The toymaker set just one condition: “My toys are very special and need an owner who will play with them” he said. “Will you be able to devote a little time to each one every day?” “Of course, I will” the little prince replied impatiently.
From then on, every morning the little prince received a new toy. Every day the toymaker delivered a toy better than the previous ones. The little prince appeared very happy.
But the toy collection kept growing and, after a few weeks there were simply too many toys to play with all of them every day. So, one day the little prince put a few toys to one side, hoping that the toymaker wouldn’t notice. However, when it was night time and he was ready to go to bed. The toys that had been put away lined up in front of him and, one by one, demanded their daily playtime. The little prince couldn’t get to sleep until well past midnight because he had to play with every single toy.
Next day, tired after all his efforts, the prince slept very late. In the little time left of the day, he had to get to know a new toy and then play with all the others too. Once again, he finished very late and was so tired he could hardly stop yawning (打哈欠).
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。
Every day was a little bit worse than the one before, with the same amount of time but one extra toy to play with.
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The children saw the prince, wondering whether the prince would force them to hand over their toys just like before.
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Thank You, Mr. Baumgartner
If I hadn’t been a failed violinist, I might never have become a writer.
When I was in fourth grade, the public school I attended had an orchestra (管弦乐) program. I signed up to learn the violin, along with my friend Irene Cervantes. We were both interested in the violin and the bright future of being in the orchestra. Every week, Irene and I walked together through our working-class neighborhood to our before-school music lessons, proudly holding our black violin cases.
Mr. Baumgartner, the orchestra teacher, was very strict. He emphasized that if anything happened to the instrument we played we’d be cut from the program because the school could not afford to replace it. We all understood.
I wasn’t very good at the violin. Then the scary thing happened: I was practicing at home when the bridge dropped off my violin and flew across the room, the strings collapsing (塌陷) before my eyes.
Terrified of Mr. Baumgartner’s reaction, and having no idea that this was a common violinist’s mistake, I tried to fix it. I slipped into the garage and secured the bridge back in place with an unfamiliar glue, making sure it would never, never, drop off again. I prayed that Mr. Baumgartner wouldn’t notice.
Of course, he did. Sadly, he patted me on the back and told me that maybe I could join the orchestra next year. When I cried, he suggested that I join a chorus (合唱团).
I did switch to the chorus, where I stayed. As luck would have it, the elementary school orchestra automatically fed into the junior high chorus — which performed with the All City Honor Orchestra on New Year’s Eve, where Irene Cervantes was now the first-chair violinist.
After the performance, my English teacher, who was the advisor for the school newspaper, asked if anyone was a member of the chorus and would be interested in writing an article for the school newspaper about the experience. Something inside me made me raise my hand. I loved reading, but the idea of writing anything had never occurred to me until then.
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 wrote the article.
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I saw Irene Cervantes years later at a high school reunion.
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George was so excited he could hardly wait to get to the store. He walked so fast that his sister Beth had to run. “Do you have to hurry like that?” she puffed. On his way from school he had seen that baseball cap in Rogers’ store window. Only a dollar and this was the last cap! George had looked at the cap a long time. He wanted it more than anything. Every boy at school had one.
George thought of his piggy hank, into which he put every coin for running errands (差使) for his family and neighbors.
George raced home, not stopping for anything. He held the fat iron pig, opened it carefully, and poured out the coins. Ten...twenty...thirty...ninety cents. If only he had one more dime (一角硬币)!
Lost in thought, George stared out the window. “What’s wrong, George?” asked Mother George told about the money and the cap. “If you give me what you have, I’ll add a dime,” Mother said, handing him a dollar bill.
George jumped up. “Oh, thanks, Mom. That’s great!” George gave all his coins to Mother and took the dollar bill. And away went George and Beth to the store with the dollar bill in George’s pocket.
They turned the last comer. Ahead was a group of boys and girls, talking heatedly and looking down at the sidewalk.
One of the children was Ronny, a new boy who had been in this town only a short time. Ronny’s father had been sick, so there wasn’t much money for extras - like baseball cap.
“What’s the matter?” Beth asked, anxiously.
“It’s Ronny,” answered one of them. “He’s been working and finally saved up a whole dollar, and now it’s lost!”
George went over to Ronny.
“We’ll all help look. We’ll find it!”
“I was going to get that last cap in Rogers’ window. I wanted it a lot. With that cap, I could join them.” Ronny said slowly.
Suddenly George remembered how Ronny had watched the fellows playing baseball, his eyes lighting up eagerly as they shouted and ran.
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。
George stared at the ground, thinking hard.
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Forcing a smile, George showed Beth the empty pocket.
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Sports Day was getting close in the school. All the children were very excited and were practicing for the big race. John, one of the fast runners of the school, was confident that he would win for he was not doing anything at all. “You have to work hard to come first in the race John. You are not practicing at all,” said John’s mother.
“Mom, you know how fast I am! Why should I waste my time running? Only I will win; no one else will win!”said John. “John, you may be right but talent (天赋) without hard work is not good at all. This laziness of yours will cost you greatly,” his mother warned him. John just laughed. He was so confident that he would win the trophy (奖杯) as no one else in his class was as fast as he was!.
Tim, a classmate of John, was also participating (参加) in the running race. He was not a fast runner. However, he practiced till late at night and had developed great endurance (持久力) to run the race.
There were a few days left for the Sports Day but John did not practice at all. On the other hand, Tim practiced day and night.
The Sports Day was almost around the corner but John was confident that no one could beat him and had not practiced at all. But Tim with his hard work had become a very great runner.
At last, the Sports Day arrived. All the students showed up on the ground to cheer their favorites. The coach blew the whistle (口哨) and everyone began to run toward the finishing line. It was so exciting. John and Tim left all the racers far behind. Both of them were neck to neck.
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。
Suddenly, John went ahead of Tim.
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_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own efforts. I learned this lesson from an experience many years ago. I took the head coaching job at a school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a small school with a weak football program. The school took part in the league matches every year. However, it never ended well. We were more of the audience, watching and cheering instead of sweating out in the fields.
Fortunately, the school held the tradition that the school’s old team was to play against the new team at the end of spring practice. For lack of resources, the old team bad no coach, and they didn’t even practice to prepare for the game.
I was assigned (指派) as the coach of the new team, which was why I was excited. I believed that we were going to win, but to my disappointment, we were defeated. I couldn’t believe I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I tried to figure out the reason and what I should do next.
It didn’t take long before I came to realize that my team was depending on me. Without proper guidance or previous experience, my team was at a loss what to do. I had to change my attitude so that I could bring out the best in them about their ability and potential.
I would let my action do the talking. First, I started doing anything I could to help them build a little pride. I could see their spirits lifted, with their head held high in great confidence. Most importantly, I began to treat them like winners. Only when they regarded themselves as winners could they willingly invest time and energy.
This summer, the other teams enjoyed their vacations.
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Six months later, football season started.
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