When Rebecca got home, the first thing she had to do was her homework. She had to write a composition this time. While Rebecca was thinking about her teacher’s instruction that it was always the easiest to write about the most familiar things, she watched her cat slowly approach a fly that had flown to the edge of the bed. Just as a surprise attack was about to be carried out, the fly suddenly flew away. The cat fell off the bed, landed on the floor on her back and looked around as if to say “What happened?” Rebecca laughed hard. That was when she decided to write a piece about her cat.
Having finished her homework, Rebecca was staying inside and playing with her cat when her mum called her to dinner.
“What was the best thing that happened to you today?” asked her dad. It was always the first question he asked as they sat down to dinner. Rebecca wasted no time telling her parents about her cat.
After she told hers, Rebecca’s dad asked, “So,what was the worst?”
Rebecca wore a worried expression. “So what shall I do?” she asked. “There was a new girl whose name was Mary Brown in my class. I want to talk to Mary Brown but I don’t want to risk losing my old friends.
Her dad thought for a moment, and asked, “Rebecca, what do you think courage mean?”
“Isn’t that when soldiers go to war to fight?”
“Well, yes. That is one kind of courage,“ replied her dad. ”Mostly, people are afraid because they might get hurt, or they think people won’t like them. It’s a different kind of courage to do something when you are afraid. “That is called moral courage”, explained her dad.
Rebecca’s mum reached over, holding her daughter’s hands, and said,“Your friends will understand you and still be your friends. If they don’t, then they really aren’t your friends anyway. And you might end up with an even better friend with Mary Brown.”
"The next day at school, Rebecca’s classmates and she all had to read their compositions, and everyone liked Rebecca’s, especially Mary.
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2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
By lunch time the next day, Rebecca knew exactly what she was going to do.
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Rebecca asked Mary if she would like to play football with them.
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In my high school years, I tried not to be anybody’s best friend and avoid going to birthday parties or weekend trips with my peers (同龄人). That was not because I was too shy but because I couldn’t afford the expenses. My parents did odd jobs to support the family and our income was low and unstable. As the oldest of the three kids in my family I had started to take part-time jobs on weekends and during vacations to help improve the family economic conditions. However, in my heart I did have a best friend, Joseph. I never said that to him and I guessed he didn’t know it.
Joseph came from a very different family from mine. His parents were both senior executives (管理人员) of high-tech companies, who provided him with the best of everything and he had many friends around him. We did school projects together, had discussions about interesting topics and enjoyed our time together. But I never joined him in anything outside the school. I liked him but I knew I didn’t have much to offer.
I had decided to go to college after graduation from high school, so I needed to have excellent academic performance in all subjects to be qualified for scholarships. I worked hard and was doing well in everything except math. I knew math was important to me but there seemed to be no way out. I was struggling when Joseph came to my help. He was considered one of the smart boys by the math teacher, who gave us monthly tests and awarded best performance with chocolates and best progress with Skittles (彩虹糖).
Joseph was a frequent holder of the best performance award. I appreciated his help because he had great ways to get me thinking and guide me to solve problems. I was making progress in math and Joseph knew it. He encouraged me to go for best progress award first and then best performance.
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Those awards seemed really big goals for me, but I decided to go all out.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Three months later, my first goal was achieved.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Sarah couldn’t really remember when she and Laura became best friends. But they had been really close. They had lunch together in the school cafeteria, they went to the same book club, and they even had parties in each other’s house several times. As a matter of fact, the two girls had quite different personalities. Sarah was always confident and straightforward. In comparison, Laura was a bit quiet, but she was definitely the sweetest person Sarah had known.
On the first day of the new semester, Sarah couldn’t wait to meet Laura and tell her everything about her summer vacation. However, the moment she saw Laura enter the classroom, she was surprised. What could have happened to Laura? Why did she gain so much weight? Sarah knew it would be inappropriate if she raised the questions but she couldn’t resist the curiosity. “Since we are best friends, she knows I don’t mean any harm,” she thought. Thus, she asked, “Why did you get so fat?”
The instant Sarah said it, she realized she had made a mistake. People standing by began to laugh and point. Poor Laura, apparently shocked and offended by the question, stood still, tears welling up in her eyes. When she came to herself, she ran out of the classroom.
The next few days was very hard for Sarah. Whenever she reached out to Laura, Laura would walk away on purpose or pretended that she hadn’t seen Sarah. At first, Sarah was truly sorry for hurting Laura’s feelings. But as she tried several times in vain to make up with Laura, Sarah became angry. “Enough is enough,” she thought. However, Sarah couldn’t help feeling regretful because deep down she knew it was her fault.
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 after school, Sarah stopped Laura.
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Touched by Sarah’s sincere words, Laura was hesitant.
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The first time I saw Jeff was when my best friend, Brian, and I were in the fourth grade. When our teacher introduced Jeff to the class, she explained that he was sick and that he might not be able to be in class all of the time.
Jeff was completely bald (秃顶的) from cancer treatments, and he wore a hat. That was one reason that he and I bonded right away. Being the tomboy that I was, I liked wearing a hat — only I wasn’t allowed to wear one in class. Jeff was allowed to wear his hat all of the time. Other than that, he was a normal friend to both Brian and me. Some things he couldn’t do as well as the other kids because he had tubes in his chest for his treatments, but we never thought of him as sick because he didn’t act that way.
The only time that we would realize that Jeff was sick was when he went for his chemotherapy treatments (化疗). We’d notice the difference, but we’d just sort of think, yeah, Jeff was not feeling really well, but then it would pass and things would be back to normal.
Jeff, Brian and I were really sports lovers, and we became best friends. We would swim, jump and run together. As fourth grade progressed, Jeff seemed to get worse. During the summer between fourth and fifth grades, we spent tons of time together outdoors, running everywhere, although it had been hard for him to finish the run. Still, he was really happy when he was able to cross the finish line, and so were we.
Before school started, Jeff told me that he would be away for a few weeks to have his operation.
“Bye, see you in a month or so,” I said to him as if nothing much was happening.
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2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Then came the night when the phone rang. It was Jeff’s mom.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Brian and I decided to do something to help everybody remember Jeff.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As the afternoon sun bathed the local beach with its warm, golden rays, four-year-old William sat on the beach with a mix of expectation and confusion. His dad, Steven, sat by his side. They were waiting for William’s friends to arrive and celebrate his long-awaited birthday party. William’s wide eyes, filled with hope and happiness, stared at the shoreline, looking for familiar faces.
He kept asking his dad where everyone was, and Steven just told him “they’re coming soon, ”trying to ease his son’s growing impatience. But the longer they waited, the more hopeless William became. He was extremely disappointed when the two invited families called and said they couldn’t make it to the celebration because of unexpected situations.
Steven watched his son, who had been eagerly expecting his special day for what seemed like ages. This year, William had been more aware than ever of his upcoming birthday, asking throughout the month when his birthday was, eagerly expecting a good time.
Feeling a sense of guilt for his son’s disappointment, Steven decided to turn to social media for help. He posted a lovely picture of him and William on the beach. Their faces were filled with a mix of hope and disappointment. The sincere words with the picture read, “William would love some friends to play with on the beach. To celebrate his fourth birthday, he has Hot Wheels, sand toys, dinosaurs, and we have some snacks and drinks. Any and all welcome. ”
William’s wish for companionship produced a strong response from the local people. They flooded the post with messages of support, birthday wishes, and offers to join the celebration. They were determined to make William’s day special.
“Going there. See you soon, ”one warm-hearted local commented on the post, promising to bring her family along. The message aroused the same feeling from many others, who were quick to follow suit.
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。
Soon, the beach was filled with scenes of joy.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After hours of laughter and games, the sun began to set.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jesse and I are good friends. But we have recently cooled off. It was last month that the story began in gym class.
“Come on. Emily!” Jesse sounded so impatient. “We’ll be late for class.” After math class was gym class, and I was a bit slow that day. Jesse kept urging me to hurry up.
Just then I found my wallet missing. I dropped my book bag to dig through my coat pockets. I was wet with anxiety.
“Someone took it.” Jesse said. As usual, she was quick to point away from the bright side of things.
Even though we were best friends. Jesse and I were just so different.
Jesse and I had to rush into the gym. Soon Jesse spread the news about the theft. By last period in gym class, I was tired of having to say over and over again, “I’m sure I just left it at home.”
After gym class, we went into the locker room. I was changing when I heard a gasp from Jesse. I looked at her and found her face was white with shock. There at her feet, was my wallet.
“It fell out of her locker!” Jesse pointed at Hellen a “new girl” in our class. “She stole it.” Everyone began to accuse Hellen at once.
“Jesse caught her red-handed.”
“Report it!”
Some people were beginning to wonder about Hellen.
I looked over at Hellen. She picked up the wallet and held it out to me. Her hands were trembling. “I found it in the parking lot. I was going to give it to you.”
Jesse spit the words “I’m so sure!” at her.
“Really, it’s true.” Hellen’s eyes began to fill with tears.
I reached for my wallet. I didn’t know what to think, but when I looked over at Jesse, her attitude made me sick inside. I looked at Hellen. She was scared but looked sincere.I knew I held her reputation in my hands.
“I am so glad you found it,” I smiled. “Thanks, Hellen.” The tension around us broke.
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。
“Good thing she found it,” everyone but Jesse agreed.
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Just then a folded piece of paper dropped from my wallet.
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For many years, Steven Barbato has worked at a company in Rhode Island, the USA. In 2015, he was introduced to Marilyn Martins, who also was an employee at the time. The two became good friends quickly, and Steven also befriended Marilyn’s daughter, Izabelle Major. The little girl used to give Steven a high five with so much joy, energy and excitement every time she saw him, and Steven was always excited to see her, too.
Eventually, Marilyn left the company for some reason. However, a few weeks ago, Steven ran into Marilyn and Izabelle at a restaurant. He was about to say hello to them when he noticed something unusual. Marilyn looked preoccupied (心事重重), As for Izabelle, she wore a hat and looked very weak. Steven could tell something was wrong but he didn’t talk with them about it that night in order not to upset them.
Steven waited and then called Marilyn the next day. Marilyn told him sadly that Izabelle was suffering from a serious, disease. She had to undergo painful treatments at Hasbro Children’s Hospital every Monday and take, medicine every day. Knowing that, Steven felt heartbroken. He immediately wanted to help and do something for Izabelle because he didn’t want to see any child suffering, especially this one that he knew personally and liked so much. He wanted to know if there was something he could do to help put a smile on Izabelle’s face.
For days, Steven racked his brains, trying to find a way to offer support. Then he learned from his former co-worker that Izabelle wanted a dog. “Yes, a dog would be a good gift. It can accompany her and be her comfort during the hard time,” Steven thought to himself. Therefore, Steven immediately made up his mind to buy her a dog. As he had the habit of sharing his life on social media, he put up a post about what he intended to do. However, he didn’t expect that his usual post would bring about something wonderful.
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。
People seeing the post started to offer help in various ways.
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Soon, Izabelle met the little dog, her new friend.
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Vicky was a first-grader in a primary school, but she was not happy there. As her parents wanted to cheer her up, they sent her to start her second grade in a school nearby. She was very happy and wanted to make new friends. But she made a mistake. She wanted to be so popular that she joined a group of students at school, but not in the right way.
Jenny, who was nice at the beginning, became Vicky’s best friend. But Vicky didn’t realize that by joining up with her, she would suffer a lot later.
Jenny always acted in a proud and unpleasant way, showing little thought for others. She didn’t want Vicky to have other friends. Jenny also enjoyed talking about others’ private lives. Vicky started to change as soon as she met Jenny. Her personality was not as sweet as before.
Time went by slowly. Vicky’s marks began to go down. Things got even worse. She hardly had any friends and she didn’t care about her friends, either. She always talked to her classmates in an impolite way instead of being nice.
After all that suffering, the day arrived when one of her classmates told her that Jenny was not going to be in the school next year as she was moving. Vicky said nothing but didn’t believe it.
However, on the last day at school Jenny told Vicky that she was leaving. Instead of having a happy parting, Jenny told her that she never felt that Vicky was her true friend.
Vicky was shocked when she heard the news and started crying. When the summer holiday was over, Vicky went back to school, telling herself that all the bad times she had suffered last year with Jenny were over, too. But she found out that her classmates hadn’t forgotten her bad acts.
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。
Vicky couldn’t change this until Ivonne came to her.
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Finally, Vicky was accepted as a member of the class.
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At a neighbor’s pool the summer after sixth grade, Charley shouted out those famous last words, “Hey, watch this!” As he dove into the pool, Tad froze. It wasn’t the deep end!
Charley was hurt bad when he hit the bottom of the swimming pool. The doctor said he might have broken his back and could lose the use of his legs. His life would change forever. Tad didn’t see Charley for over a month after he was carried away in the screaming ambulance.
When Tad went to visit Charley in the hospital, his “Hey, dude, how’s it going?” was greeted by an annoyed grunt (嘟哝声) . Looking small and pale, Charley cried, “I can’t walk-how do you think I feel? I wish I was dead!”
“Bro, you’ll get well! You’re tough.”
“No, the doctor said I won’t.”
“Aw, man. That’s horrible!” And the conversation died right there.
Tad didn’t go back after that. He just didn’t know what to say. When Charley got out of the hospital, Tad went over to his house a few times and played video games, but it just wasn’t the same. Not only was his friend’s body damaged, so was his spirit. Tad had made friends with other boys who enjoyed all the things he and Charley used to do. Even if he felt sad and guilty, he wasn’t spending more time at Charley’s. Tad wanted to help and be a good friend but didn’t know how now.
Charley just became sadder and sadder, and Tad spent less and less time with him as the school year passed.
When summer break started again, Tad didn’t see much of Charley. He had made the baseball team and didn’t have time for video games. At least he told himself that was the reason. He was shocked right before eighth grade started when he saw Charley sailing down the sidewalk with a big black dog by his wheelchair. “Wow, what’s this?” Said Tad, running over to his friend.
“This is Rowdy! He helps me.”
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“Wow, what does he do?” Tad was interested.
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After that, Tad could sense something had changed.
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“Why did Dad’s job make us move to South America anyway?” I asked Mom. “The TV shows are in Spanish and I miss going to school. The worst part is that I don’t have any friends here. All of the kids speak Spanish.”
“I know it’s hard, sweetheart. I’m lonely here too,” Mom said. “It’s hard to make friends when I can’t talk to anybody.”
Mom hugged (拥抱) me. “We’ll only be living here for eight more months.”
At that moment, eight months sounded like forever. A few days later, Dad said that a man at his work had a daughter my age. “Would you like to invite her over to play?”
“Does she speak English?”
“No,” Dad said, “but I can teach you a few Spanish words so the two of you can talk a little bit.” I shrugged ( 耸 肩 ). “It’s hard to be friends with someone when you can’t really talk to them.” Dad nodded. “I understand, but you wished for a friend.”
“I mean a friend who speaks English.”
“I know, but this might be fun anyway. I’m going to ask her dad to bring her over to our house.”
The following afternoon, Maria and her dad came over. I felt funny because I didn’t know how we’d play together without being able to talk to one another.
“Hola,” I said quietly, which means “hi” in Spanish.
Maria smiled and said something I didn’t understand. I looked at Dad and whispered (低声说), “This isn’t going to work.”
“Give it a chance,” he said.
Then Maria showed me a cardboard box. She’d brought a game called Connect Four. Dad smiled. “You don’t need to speak the same language to play that game.”
Maria and I went to my bedroom and set up the game. We took turns putting the colored disks (圆片) into the board, trying to get four in a row. Suddenly Maria smiled and pointed at the four red pieces in a row.
I smiled and said, “You won. Good game.”
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2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Although I’m sure Maria didn’t understand my words, I could tell she understood my smile.
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As we were both laughing, I realized that although we spoke different languages, I’d actually made a friend.
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