I watched my dad scowl (绷着脸) as he listened to the voice coming through the telephone receiver. I heard him say, “Yes, Miss Beisner,” and “I understand what you’re saying, Miss Beisner. I appreciate you sharing this information. We’ll see what we can do about the situation. Thank you for calling. Goodbye.”
Miss Beisner was my first-grade teacher, and I loved her. I thought she felt the same about me, but now I was beginning to wonder. The tone of Dad’s voice, the redness in his cheeks, and his repeated clenching. And unclenching of fists made it pretty clear. This was not a warm and fuzzy good news-from-the-teacher call.
As I was deciding whether I should lock myself in my bedroom for the rest of my life or run away from home, Dad hung up the phone. “Jacquie, come here and sit down. We need to talk.”
Uh-oh. When Dad said, “We need to talk,” it meant he needed to talk, and I needed to listen.
I shuffled (拖着脚走) over to the well-worn brown chair in the corner of the living room, plopped down, and waited to hear the nature of my crime.
Dad told me that Miss Beisner thought I was bright but not working up to my ability. She said I had strong verbal skills but weak study habits. Translation: I never closed my mouth, and I seldom opened a book. Apparently, my failure to memorize the addition facts, or even attempt to, was more than she was willing to put up with. Hence, the telephone call.
Dad ended our one-way conversation with a verbal outline for his plan of attack. Bubbles, our Toy Manchester Terrier, was going to teach me math. Silently, I thought, No way is any dumb dog going to teach me how to add, not even our beloved Bubbles. Out loud, I said, “How?”
Dad summoned Bubbles from her bed near the stove and commanded her to sit. “Bubbles,” Dad said, “how much is five plus three?” Bubbles let out eight loud, crisp barks.
I was incredulous (满腹狐疑的). I couldn’t understand how a dog could add, and I was more than a little embarrassed by the fact that the family dog was smarter than 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。
Paragraph 1: After that, I threw myself into math with newfound determination.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: One day, I asked Dad whether Bubbles really knew how to add.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Several days ago, local News Channel reported a story between a mother and her son. The mother was a single woman who had been feeling a great deal of anger and bitterness due to her financial and psychological problem, causing her emotions to be unpredictable. Occasionally, she may not pay enough attention to her son or couldn’t respond to his requirements timely. Sometimes, she would even pour her negative emotions onto her child, which made him feel helpless. In fact, this child is a very outstanding and caring boy.
That day, the mother directed her anger towards her child again because of some small matter. Although the child did not resist, the mother still drove the child out of the house, slammed the door shut and left the child outside to reflect (反省).
It was when the mother became calm and a little regretful that she opened her door and found her child missing. Anxious and scared, she searched everywhere, but the child was nowhere to be found. Her anxiety was gradually increasing.
The worried mother thought of seeking help from the police. Quickly, she went to the police station and explained the situation to the officer on duty. The police officer explained that, as a general rule, they couldn’t file a case for a missing child within the first 24 hours. However, they could provide assistance in other ways, such as posting the child’s photo on social media platforms to expand the search area.
After expressing gratitude for the police officer’s kindness, the mother continued searching for her child. Despite trying various methods, the mother still couldn’t find the child. Unexpectedly, the child was wandering in the streets, he felt lost and alone, not knowing where to go or what to do. He felt the tears forming in his eyes but refused to let them down. He didn’t want to show weakness in front of anyone, and it made him feel even more alone.
注意：
1. 写作词数应为150词左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Exhausted and hungry, the child kept walking aimlessly until he finally came across a bench along the street.
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Soon after, the mother arrived hurriedly.
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3 . 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。
Catherine’s nine-year-old son, Chirag, won his first silver prize at a swim meet. It seemed like he could swim before he could walk. His dad is a competitive swimmer and a former champion, so many people think it is surely in his genes.
That’s wrong! Until a few years ago, Chirag was afraid of water. It wasn’t his fault. His dislike came from Catherine’s childhood phobia (恐惧症).
One summer when Catherine was a child, she and her brother went to a pool to learn basic swimming skills. All that went well and soon it was time for class. A coach was hired and he agreed to do a trial round. He took children to the deep end and asked then to swim across the breadth of the pool. While Catherine’s brother stayed calm and made it, she, however, immediately disliked the task. It was Catherine’s first time in such deep water, and the bottom of the pool seemed so far away that she felt really frightened. She felt she was going to drown (淹死) for lack of air. At that moment, she thought that swimming wasn’t for her. After being rescued from the water, she didn’t swim again.
Fast forward to her thirties, she was a mother of a child and living in an area with a lot of rivers and beaches. Then her son, Chirag, started school, and swimming was a compulsory course. Every Wednesday, the day for the weekly swimming lesson was Chirag’s bad dream. From the previous evening, he would be anxious and teary-eyed about going to school. It turned out that Catherine had passed on her anxiety about swimming to her little boy.
She was always worried about keeping her child safe around water and was starting to realize that the best way to do that was making him learn how to swim. Words of comfort were of no use to Chirag. He still sat outside the pool during his classes. It was obvious that he needed professional lessons to help build his confidence. She needed to challenge herself to encourage her son.
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 Catherine signed up for swimming classes with her son.
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To Catherine’s amazement, she didn’t drown!
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I live in a small but lovely neighborhood. Our house is neither large nor luxurious, but it has a fairly big garden. My father loves his garden. He planted some seeds in it and took good care of the plants, watering them, applying fertilizer, weeding and getting rid of bugs. He was never tired of doing all that stuff. But at that time, I didn’t understand why working in the dirt excited him so much.
Unfortunately, in the summer vacation before senior high school, my father was seriously injured in an accident. He had to stay in bed for a while. My mother had several business trips, so she couldn’t take care of the garden. I didn’t want my father to worry. I said that I would take care of his garden until he recovered. I assumed that the little plants would continue to grow as long as they had water, and luckily it rained fairly often, so I didn’t think much about the garden.
One Saturday morning, my father said to me, “Christine, the vegetables should be about ready to be picked. Let’s have a salad today!” I went out to the garden and was upset to see that many of the lettuce (生菜) leaves and carrots had been half eaten by bugs. There were hundreds of bugs all over them!
I panicked for a moment but then I quietly went to the nearest supermarket to buy some vegetables. When I was making the salad, my mother came home and saw the bag from the supermarket in the kitchen. I was embarrassed and admitted, “Dad would like a salad, but the garden is a disaster. I don’t want to disappoint him, so I went to the store and bought some vegetables.” My mother smiled, saying, “Honey, you know what is the right thing to do.”
Paragraph 1My father seemed very pleased when I took the salad to him.
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Feeling guilty, I decided to do the right thing.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jared was a boy who was raised by his single father, Steve, and his grandfather Michael. Although he didn’t have much in life, Jared was grateful for what he had. He enjoyed living a simple life with his dad and grandfather.
After school, Jared would often go into his grandfather’s garage and they would repair his car together. Jared was a skilled mechanic and it was all thanks to his grandfather’s patient teaching. And Jared wished one day he would open a car repair shop using his grandfather’s garage. Michael supported it.
Unfortunately, Michael died when Jared was 14. Jared continued to look after his grandfather’s car. One day, his dad entered his room and handed him the key to his grandfather’s car. “Your grandpa wanted me to give this to you on your eighteenth birthday. He said you could decide what to do with the car—either sell it or keep it,” his dad said.
Jared smiled. He was thankful that he now had a car. And he was happy it was a special car that he and his grandfather maintained together. “I’ll keep it! I don’t have to take the bus to school anymore. I can just drive!” Jared replied excitedly.
Then Steve returned to his own room. He hoped Jared would not sell the car. And he hoped someday Jared would find the envelope Michael had secretly left for him. The envelope was put under the driver’s seat of the car. In the envelope, Michael left Jared $15,000. And he had left a note. It read, “I knew you wouldn’t sell my car. Thank you, Jared! I hope the money can help you. Be a good man!”
The following day, when Jared arrived at school, many students saw his car. They didn’t think highly of it because it was old and noisy. But Jared valued it. Later that day, after school, he couldn’t start the car. There appeared to be a problem with it.
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:
Jared decided to repair the car himself.
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Paragraph 2:
Confused, Jared quickly opened the envelope.
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A Mother’s Heartfelt Note of Love
Everything seemed to have changed for me when I entered high school. I never saw a single person I knew from middle school. At home I was just as lonely. “My brothers and sister all fit in.” I thought, coming in the door after another bad day at school. “Why can’t I?”
Mom was there waiting for me. “Karole, your bedroom’s a disaster. Why can’t you keep it clean?” The last thing I needed was criticism from my mother. What had happened to the mother who used to snuggle (依偎) with me on the sofa, loving me with complete acceptance? Who thought everything I did was wonderful? I didn’t bother trying to explain my unhappiness. It was easier to hide in my bedroom, without saying a word, like I did every afternoon.
Clearing off some space, I sat down at my desk. Yet another thing I wasn’t good at anymore. My grades had slipped along with my confidence. I turned to a new page in my notebook and started working out the first problem. Almost immediately, I saw I’d made a mistake. “Wrong again!” I thought. “You can’t do anything right!” I tore the paper out of my notebook, balled it up in my fist and threw it at the wastepaper basket. The ball landed on the floor. I heard my mother’s voice in my head, “Why can’t you keep your room clean?”
By the time I finished my homework, the floor was littered with crumpled (弄皱的) paper. It gave me a kind of satisfaction to see the mess I’d made. Like it was proof of all my shortcomings. Every time I looked at those crumpled balls, I reminded myself what a failure I was. But my unhappiness stayed hidden away, just like those mistakes. With my face a mask of indifference, no one knew what I was really feeling. Who would want to listen?
One day, I came home to an empty house. It was a relief not to be met with Mom’s latest complaint. “Nothing I do is right in her eyes.” I thought. “Or anyone else’s, including mine.”
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。
When I opened my bedroom door, I froze at the sight of a neat and orderly room.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I sat down at my desk, staring at those words.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Jordi! Wake up!” Dad’s voice calls from the hallway, and I sit up quickly. Today is the day! The day that I will finally be a casteller —a castle builder.
My city is hosting today’s competition. Never before have I been part of the tower. It is so high. And it sometimes falls. I was hesitant to be up there. Today, for the first time in a competition, I will help build the tower !
In town, I see that the center of the square is already packed with people. While I wait for our turn to compete, my friend Tomeu comes to stand with me.“What if I’m not ready for this, Tomeu?” I ask. Tomeu’s dark eyes sparkle as he smiles at me. “We are never ready, Jordi. None of us who compete knows for sure how it will go.” He gestures toward the tower going up in front of us. “Just like these people,you must have faith in the others. You must trust those below who lift you up, and you must trust yourself.” Tomeu pats me on the shoulder. “Have focus. Have faith.”
I nod to show that I understand. I will do my best to follow his suggestions. Soon,too soon,it is our turn.
Dad and several strongest men make the base for our tower. Four smaller men create a strong second level. Our tower is growing taller and taller. I watch as Mom climbs nimbly(敏捷地)up. She and my aunt form the fifth level.
“Then suddenly it is my turn. Tomeu and I will make up the sixth level. Each of the castellers wears a waist belt, and I grip the belts with my bare toes as I climb up. I pass the first two levels without difficulty,but as I go higher,the tower feels less steady. By the time I reach the fifth level,nerves make my hands sweat and my knees tremble,for I am very high off the ground.
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 place my foot into Mom’s waist belt and try to stand, but it slips off.
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Tomeu and I grasp each other’s arms, and our tower is complete.
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“Going to Nationals!” We were all screaming and jumping. Kate, Jenny, Wendy and I embraced each other, bouncing. “Good job, Tara.” Said Kate as she put an arm around me. I am the youngest on the relay race team, but I'm fast. When I run, I leave the skin of my shyness behind, and I feel like a horseman on the Mongolian grassland, free, without boundaries.
Everybody ran to their parents in the bleachers ( 露天看台). My Mom didn’t make it. Again. I grabbed my phone and called her. It took a while for her to answer. “Yes, hi dear.” “Mom, we won states, and we are going to nationals.” I burst out in one breath. “Great! Let’s talk later; I’ll pick you up from school.” I wanted to say: “Is that it? Why aren’t you proud of me? All other parents are here, why aren’t you?” but all I did was“OK, see you soon.”Does she see me? Do I matter?
It was late after 9 PM. All the parents picked up their children, but my Mom wasn’t here yet. Coach Johnson waited with me. We just stood. A speeding car turned the corner; it was my Mom’s Toyota. Coach patted me on the back and left.
“I am so sorry I am late.Time just flew.” Said Mom. I wanted to cry in disappointment and tell her that I hate to be always last to be picked up and never have her come to my sporting contests, school plays, or anything else; ask her why she won’t make time for me. But when I looked at her and saw her tired eyes and clenched jaw (咬紧下巴), I just said: “That's OK, Mom, I understand.” Her jaw had stayed clenched since we came to this country as Mom would say: “with two pieces of luggage, a three-year-old (me), and $700.”
注意：
1. 续写的词数应为 150 左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Nationals finally came and my Mom came for the first time ever.
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I had let everybody down and I ran out to hide myself
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