The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read beneath a willow tree. It must be as sick, for the branches were kind of yellow and dry. I was a deserted girl. Endless quarrels with my parents had left me nowhere to go but this desolate (荒无人烟的) corner of the park. As I sat on the bench, things that happened recently began to flash through. Days seemed months to me recently. No cozy home to stay. No happy memories about my life. No considerate family members to talk to. Even the book I was reading was no fun. Not content with life, I had a good reason to frown, for the world was intended to drag me down.
And if that were not enough to ruin my day, a young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play. He stood right in front of me with his head tilted (倾斜) down and said with great excitement, “Look what I found!” In his hand was a flower. What a pitiful sight, its petals (花瓣) were all worn—not enough rain, or too little light. He must have picked the flower from somewhere shady and sunless, just like where I was staying these days. I couldn’t help being self-pitying. Wanting him to take his dead flower away and go off to play, I faked a smile and then looked away. “Why couldn’t everyone just leave me be!” I thought to myself, upset and gloomy.
But instead of leaving, he sat next to me and placed the flower to his nose and declared loudly with certainty, “It sure smells pretty and it must be beautiful, too. That’s why I picked it; here, it is for you.” The “weed” before me was dying or dead, not vibrant with colors, orange, yellow or red—anyone having eyes can see that clearly! But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave. So I reached for the flower, and replied, “Just what I need.” Strangely, instead of placing the flower in my hand, he held it in mid-air without any reason or plan.
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。
Casting a curious glance at the boy’s eyes, I was hugely shocked.
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“I had to make a change,” I thought to myself.
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Merchant Tovel loved attention. Knowing that people would listen if he had news to share, he went around his village making up stories about the local rabbi (犹太教神职人员).
“He mixes dairy and meat!” said Tovel.
The townspeople shook their heads, for they all knew that dairy and meat must not be mixed in the course of any meal.
“And he sneaks (偷拿) food on Yom Kippur,” added Tovel.
“Not Yom Kippur!” cried the townspeople.
For not only is Yom Kippur the most important fasting day of the year, but it is also the holiest Jewish holiday.
Later, alone in his home, the talebearer felt bad about what he had done. His stories about the rabbi had spread quickly. “I will go to the rabbi and beg him for forgiveness,” he decided. Then all would be well again.
The next morning, he went to the temple and knocked on the door. “Rabbi,” he called, “it is merchant Tovel, coming to see you about an important matter.”
“Come in, Tovel,” the rabbi said warmly, opening the door.
In a matter of moments, Tovel told the rabbi all the things he had said. Then he asked, “What can I do to make things right?”
The rabbi thought for a moment, then told him, “You must take a feather pillow (枕头), cut it open, and feed the feathers to the wind.”
Tovel thought that the rabbi’s suggestion was strange, but the task seemed simple enough. And if it would take away the guilt he felt, then why not do it? Tovel thanked the rabbi and quickly left the temple. At home, the talebearer grabbed a feather pillow, waited for the afternoon winds to pick up, then climbed to the top of a hill. There, he cut open the pillow and watched the feathers float far and wide across the land. Satisfied, Tovel returned to tell the rabbi of his deed. “Now go and gather those feathers,” the rabbi commanded.
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。
“But they are everywhere!” Tovel cried. “How will I get them all?”
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Feeling disappointed, Tovel returned to tell the rabbi about the feathers he couldn’t collect.
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Broken Shells
It was a warm summer afternoon at the Jersey shore. My four-year-old son and I just loved walking along the beach just before dinner. With a bucket in hand, we’d hit the sand and start our adventure.
I remember the days not so long ago when a trip to the beach was just unbearable for my little boy. My son, Will, was diagnosed with ASD (孤独症). His sensitivities to sights, sounds, and touches would prevent us from enjoying everyday activities. The beach is now one of his favorite places to visit.
Presently, we are able to walk along the edge of the water almost daily in the summer months, looking for seashells to fill our bucket. On this particular day, there didn’t seem to be too many shells washed up on the shore. Will began picking up whatever shells he saw lying in the sand. After a while, I looked into the bucket and saw nothing but broken shells. “Will,” I said, “all of these shells are broken and no good.” “You need to find shells like this,” I continued, as I held up a perfectly shaped shell. Will gave me a puzzled look and continued on his way, gathering whatever shells he saw and dropping them into the bucket.
I continued my search for some time, and again, I stopped, but this time I asked in a firm voice, “Will, why do you insist on filling our bucket with shells that are broken?” He looked up at me and replied, “Mom, there are more shells on the beach that are broken than there are perfect ones that you are searching for. We’ll get the bucket filled faster with the broken ones.” True, I thought, but who wanted a bucketful of broken shells? Will stared at me as if he knew what I was thinking. “Mom, these shells are broken. but they are still beautiful.” he added. Just then he began commenting on different shells’ uniqueness. “It has the color purple on it. Mom, none of yours have purple on them. It reminds me of a clown (小丑). This one is like the sun, and these ones are like butterfly wings,” he said with such pride.
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。
Touched by what he said, I realized changes are to be made to our shell trip.
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Back home with great joy, we agreed to make more shell trips and build a “broken shell garden”.
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“Okay, so, where do we go and play football?” Nora asked Emily. “Hmm, maybe we should play in my garden. Come on!” Emily led the way to her garden.
“I go first!” Nora said as she kicked the ball towards Emily.
“Is that all you got? Watch me, the champion, kick the ball!” For a second, Emily ran like the wind to the ball and kicked it so hard that it flew into the neighbor’s house.
There was a loud sound.
“Uh oh ... what did you do?” Nora spoke, feeling afraid.
“I ... I do not know. Oh no! I think I broke my neighbor’s window,” Emily cried as she ran across her garden and hid behind a tree and Nora disappeared into the air.
Fear was written all over Emily’s face. She saw the neighbor, Mr. Mason, pick up the pieces of glass. There was anger on his face. Emily ran away as fast as she could into a nearby park. She dared not return home anytime soon.
The sun was setting and Emily returned home, keeping her eyes wide open for the neighbor.
What if Mr. Mason was at her house? What if he knew it was her? Her heart was shaking as she cautiously (小心翼翼地) arrived home.
Her mother saw the sweat on her face. She knew her daughter had done something wrong.
“Emily, are you okay? Is something wrong? I can help you solve your problems, my dear,” Mother said.
Emily held her mother’s hands and her eyes were wet with tears. “Mama, I did something bad, but it was unintentional. I broke Mr. Mason’s window by hitting the football so hard.”
Mother listened to Emily patiently and she did not press further, although she was not pleased that Emily did not say sorry to Mr. Mason immediately. Then Mother held a pencil and began writing on a piece of white paper.
Mother wrote a sentence on the paper and then she erased it and wrote something again.
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。
“Do you know why pencils have erasers?” Mother asked.
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Emily walked up to the neighbor’s front door with weak legs.
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5 .
And we need heroes today more than ever. Our modern society is terribly confused about the difference between a hero and a celebrity (名人). And the difference is significant. A celebrity is all about fame-temporary, superficial fame, usually for qualities that are easy to see: a pretty face, a great dance move.
Heroes, real heroes, are all around us. They truly hold our world together, through their unselfish devotion to helping others, supporting families, teaching children, protecting the environment.
Yet, young people hear a lot more about celebrities than about heroes.
Truth is, there is a potential hero, a future difference maker, in every young person. Each of them, from whatever background, is a large amount of untapped (未开发的) energy-a positive force who can do something to steer that communal boat that carries us all.
| A．A hero, by contrast, is about character |
| B．They don’t want fame, or glory, or even credit |
| C．All of us-especially young people-need heroes |
| D．All of us need to believe in our own abilities to help people in need |
| E．Worse yet, young people are treated too often as just another target market by advertisers |
| F．They have discovered that they can build on their own energy and ideals to do something truly great |
| G．If young people believe in their own power and use it, they will discover that any person can make a genuine, lasting impact |
It was the worst day ever. In fact, that’s what we named it, all caps:WORST DAY EVER. The exact date was March 19, 2007, and I’ll never forget it.
The day began as usual. My husband, Alan, a manager working for a national restaurant chain, entered his office in our home to participate in conference calls. From my spot in the kitchen, I could overhear his conversation with his boss. It turned out that my fears were confirmed. Alan’s position had been dismissed. I hugged my husband as my heart sank. What were we going to do? Would we lose our house if we couldn’t afford to pay our mortgage(按揭贷款)?“We’ll be fine, ”he said . “I know, ”I responded . But, frankly, neither of us was very convincing.
I wanted to crawl back in bed and pull the covers over my head, but I had to go to work. So, I quickly showered, dressed, and made my way to work. It was a few hours into my shift when I received a call from the doctor’s office. “You have cancer, ”he stated. “What?”It sounded like something completely ridiculous, since I was a positive and healthy runner. That day I forgot how I arrived home.
I thought about how wonderful things had been up until this day. Alan and I had enjoyed a happy life in our lovely suburban home. We loved our jobs, traveling and fancy dinners. It was all too good to last, I thought. Now it’s time to pay back for all those amazing years. I imagined hospital beds, my bald head and worse. I prepared myself for a future of coping(应对), or no future at all .
I cried and Alan held me in his arms. “Someday in the future, we’re going to write about today, ”he whispered in my ear, “and we’ll call it Worst Day Ever. ”
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。
In the following days, we both got right to work.
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After several months, our hard work eventually paid off.
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The average present merely satisfies a temporary desire; the great one becomes more precious with time going by.
When I was a boy of fourteen, I needed to have 80 hours of community service per year and I used to take care of Mrs. Long’s garden, which was near the Presbyterian Church. As a junior high school student, I devoted myself to it, sweeping the fallen leaves and mowing the lawn (修剪草坪). There I learnt how to cut away dry branches and even helped to plant a sapling (小树苗). Tired as I was every time I finished my work, I did enjoy the time there for learning something new. I clearly remembered that Mrs Long, a nice and caring elder, always treated me to delicious meals and drinks. She also loved taking photos, always with an old camera in hand. It was said that the camera was passed down from her father and she cherished it a lot.
Several days before Christmas, she whispered to me, “When Christmas comes, I shall have a present for you.” I spent much time wondering what it would be. The boys I played with had baseball gloves, ice skates and bicycles, and I was so eager to acquire any one of these that I convinced myself that she intended to choose from among them. But at the same time, I had some doubts whether she would buy me such things because she was not that well-off.
The day before Christmas, I went there as before. With the work done, I was going to leave when she pulled me aside. “Kid, wait for a minute,” she said, leading me into her living room. She seated me on a chair, went to another room, and in a moment stood before me holding a small package that under no circumstances could hold a bicycle or a pair of skates or even a baseball glove. It weighed almost nothing.
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 took the package with disappointment. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
Opening the package, I was totally astonished. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
