Finding happiness in life
When John walked into the dining room in the morning, his wife Jenny and his two children, Kevin and Sophie, were sitting at the table. The atmosphere was frosty as John sat down. Sophie, who was only five years old, gave her father a weak smile. Kevin, his teenage son, didn’t look up from his food. Jenny looked at him silently with her arms folded across her chest.
“OK,” John began, “I’m sorry. I know I let everyone down yesterday.”
Kevin looked accusingly at his father. “You missed my music performance at school again! You’ve never come to see me do anything,” he said angrily.
Jenny placed a hand on John’s shoulder. “That’s true! John, you always miss family activities. The last time we had a family outing was five months ago! And I’m exhausted from all the housework.”
As he drank his coffee, John reflected on his life. He had so much to be thankful for: a successful business, a harmonious family and a lovely home. In fact, he had everything he had ever wanted, but he knew something was wrong. He had always believed that with hard work, he could make his family happy. But he realized he was failing. He was spending more time at work and less time at home. He was working in the office until late in the evening and even during weekends. When at home, he was talking on the phone with his clients or sitting in front of the computer reading or writing emails. He was neglecting his family. He hadn’t taken his wife to a nice restaurant for months. Kevin was passionate about music, but John couldn’t remember the last time he saw Kevin perform at a school concert. Sophie was growing up so fast and John had even missed her last birthday party. John realized he had become an absent husband and an absent father.
注意：
1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Later that day, John went to work, determined to make some changes.
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Soon, John felt a big improvement in his life and work.
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“I’m not putting up a Christmas tree this year. I just don’t have the spirit,” my husband Bill’s mom said sadly over the phone.
My husband’s parents used to have a big Christmas. There were many lights in their yard, decorations hanging from the ceiling, a big well-decorated, freshly cut tree, etc. It was amazing.
But this year would be different. With Bill’s dad passing late that November, it was understandable that his mom’s holiday spirit was nonexistent. Christmas decorating had been something husband and wife had undertaken together for over fifty years, and she simply would not do it alone.
Still, it was heartbreaking to think that not even a tree would decorate their home this year. Phone calls were made to Mom and conversations were made with her children and grandchildren in order to try to bring back her holiday spirit. Yet, it was no use.
That season, every Christmas song I heard in the stores only made me sadder as I thought of the barren (荒芜的) spot in Mom’s heart. There had to be something that could be done to bring some joy back into her life.
One afternoon, while passing a discount store, I saw many fresh green tabletop trees. They were so beautiful. Then I got an idea. I walked into the store, and selected a multi-colored string of lights and many other decorations I could find. Then I grabbed the largest tree, paid for all the things and walked home with four bags in one hand and a tree in the other.
I couldn’t imagine what I looked like, out in the cold, carrying a tree for half a mile. I only knew I felt a boost in my own heart — a boost I hoped Mom would also feel when I delivered the tree to her. And I wanted her to know that if Dad had still been alive, he would have wished her to be happy. If he had seen her unhappy, he would have been sad.
When I got home, Bill saw the tree. I told him that I would give it to Mom.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
But he shook his head, saying, “I wouldn’t give this to her. She’s not going to like it…”
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Just when Bill and I secretly put the tree in Mom’s yard, the door suddenly flew open.
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I used to enjoy going to my aunt’s flower farm. But not recently, because my newly born sister, Rosa, was settled in my old bedroom. For many years, I stored my books and toys in that small room. But now it was changed into her baby room. Both my space and my old life were gone.
One sunny morning, my aunt took me to her farm again. When we arrived there, my aunt said I could pick some flowers for my parents. I used to love this, but today I was so overcome with tired nest and envy that I did not move.
“Why bother to bother them flowers when they are enjoying Rosa at home without me?” I thought while silently helping mg aunt arrange flowers.
“Your mother told me that there hadn’t been much sleep recently for any of you,” my aunt said.
“The alarm clock in Rosa’s room kept going off,” I complained with a huge yawn(哈欠).
I remember that I had to walk around the house like a worn-out mouse when your mother was a baby. I spent the first months hating her so much, “my aunt laughed.” But you and my mother seem so close,” I said, guiltily hiding away my envy of Rosa.” “Now, we are. But it took me years to get used to the role of being a big sister,” she said and pulled me into her arms. “It really takes time, you know.”
A few seconds later, my aunt took me for a walk along the road which was dotted with beautiful flowers. I began to pick the little flowers as we talked. It was like collecting my childhood memories. I remembered how I’d made flower chains with my father, while giving each other the silliest names such as Princess of Snacks and King of Junk Food. Little by little, my face lit up and the flowers reminded me of the bright colors in my baby sister’s room. “Is she awake?” I wondered.
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。
Suddenly, I saw my parents walking towards me along the road.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After the picnic, we went to pick some flowers.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One morning Jack woke up with an aching arm. He touched it carefully with one finger. Ow! That really hurt! He climbed out of bed and put on his dressing gown(睡袍), very, very carefully. Then he went downstairs.
Mum was in the kitchen, searching for cornflakes(玉米片)in the cupboard.
“We’re out of cornflakes again,” she said, not looking round.
“Mum,” Jack began, “I think there’s something wrong with my…”
But at that moment, Lucy, Jack’s twin sister, came into the kitchen.
“Mum,” she cried, “I’m very, very ill! Very ill indeed! My stomach hurts really, really bad! I am far too sick to go to school!”
Mum was worried. She felt Lucy’s forehead. “You do feel hot. But you were fine yesterday.”
“I’m not fine now,” said Lucy. “Please, Mum. Can I go back to bed?”
Lucy didn’t even want breakfast. Jack tried to tell Mum about his arm. But Mum was too worried about Lucy.
“Please just get dressed, Jack, or you will be late for school!”
Mum stayed home to look after Lucy. Dad gave Jack a lift to school, and Jack tried to explain about his arm. “I was playing football yesterday and I hit my arm and it still hurts,” he said.
“Probably just a bruise(瘀伤),” said Dad. “I hope Lucy is better soon. She looked a bit feverish to me.”
It’s always about Lucy, thought Jack crossly.
At school, Jack had to be very careful of his arm. He had to keep it really still. Luckily he could still write with his other hand. At home, Mum was looking after Lucy. She put her back to bed and brought her a glass of warm water. She read her a story.
“How do you feel now?” she asked. “Would you like to try a little breakfast?”
“I can’t eat a thing,” said Lucy.
Mum was worried. It wasn’t like Lucy not to eat anything. She bent down to pick Lucy’s teddy bear off the floor. As she did so, she caught sight of something under the bed.
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。
A huge pile of candy wrappers(包装纸)! And an empty box!
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Mrs Smailes, the headteacher, came running to meet them. ”I think you need to go straight to hospital. Jack is there!"
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Curious About Everything
Jackson did not feel good so he stayed at home from school today. He did not like to be sick. It was no fun at all. He got out of his bed and walked into his brother’s bedroom. Carter, his brother, loved cars. He had them all over his room. Jackson touched one of the black tires. He wished Carter was home. Carter liked to talk about the model cars as he was putting them together.
Jackson left Carter’s room and walked down the hall to the room his twin sisters shared. Ella liked wearing pretty clothes and Madison liked riding her horse. Ella decorated the wall behind her bed with pictures of girls in fancy clothes. A big poster of a horse was on the wall behind Madison’s bed. Jackson turned and walked back out of the room.
He walked back down the hall and into his little sister’s room. Sophie was the youngest kid in the family. She loved to dance and you could sure tell that from looking at her room. A big poster of a ballerina (芭蕾舞女演员) was over the dresser. She was wearing a funny pink outfit with a special skirt. Sophie told him what the dress was called, but he couldn’t remember right now.
As he stood there, trying to remember what it was called, he realized all of his brother and sisters’ rooms looked like the things they loved. Carter had cars in his room, Ella fashion, Madison horses, and Sophie ballet. Jackson wondered what his room said about him. He walked back down the hall and stood in the doorway of his room.
His bed was a mess. There was a racetrack on his floor, a plastic hat that was part of a magic trick set he got for his birthday, and a couple of plastic dinosaurs lying on their sides. Some clean clothes were stacked (堆放) on his dresser. His walls were bare. No posters of any kind.
“Are you feeling better?” his mom asked as she walked into the room.
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。
Jackson asked his mom why his room looked different from the others’.
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“A person doesn’t have to like just one thing. Some people, like you, are just curious about everything.” the mom said.
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1. What is the conversation mainly about?
| A．Throwing a party. | B．Tidying the house. | C．Visiting friends. |
| A．Sweep the floor. | B．Wash the dishes. | C．Throw out the rubbish. |
1. Where does Ella’s grandmother usually live?
| A．In Georgia. | B．In California. | C．In Florida. |
| A．Go to the seaside. |
| B．Have dinner at a restaurant. |
| C．Drive to the downtown. |
| A．He felt tired. | B．He died. | C．He bought a small house. . |
8 . Mohammad Afiq Ismail came from a small village in Kelantan, Malaysia. His father worked on a palm oil farm and herded goats. His mother took care of his disabled brother. Though they were living
They worked hard to send him to a private boarding school.
When he received excellent results for his high school public examination, he was offered
“My parents have never been on a(n)
Afiq
| A．ear to nose | B．foot to neck | C．hand to mouth | D．mouth to tooth |
| A．farm | B．life | C．village | D．world |
| A．However | B．Instead | C．Otherwise | D．Therefore |
| A．average | B．diverse | C．poor | D．remarkable |
| A．crown | B．environment | C．medal | D．scholarship |
| A．agreement | B．decision | C．news | D．reception |
| A．achieve | B．express | C．observe | D．spread |
| A．Considering | B．Imagining | C．Respecting | D．Supposing |
| A．amused | B．determined | C．limited | D．qualified |
| A．content | B．embarrassed | C．knowledgeable | D．proud |
| A．absence | B．course | C．departure | D．research |
| A．afford | B．deliver | C．guarantee | D．subscribe |
| A．declare | B．participate | C．watch | D．witness |
| A．airplane | B．spaceship | C．train | D．underground |
| A．arrangement | B．congratulation | C．gift | D．memory |
| A．copied | B．exposed | C．launched | D．shared |
| A．began | B．competed | C．graduated | D．struggled |
| A．always | B．deliberately | C．fortunately | D．occasionally |
| A．curious | B．exciting | C．original | D．valuable |
| A．ambitious | B．famous | C．successful | D．wealthy |
9 . For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?
Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.
In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is—politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg—the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something—and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.
1. Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?| A．Both are about where to draw the line. |
| B．Both can continue for generations. |
| C．Neither has any clear winner. |
| D．Neither can be put to an end. |
| A．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents. |
| B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict. |
| C．The teens cause their parents of misleading them. |
| D．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict. |
| A．give orders to the other |
| B．know more than the other |
| C．gain respect from the other |
| D．get the other to behave properly |
| A．Solutions for the parent-teen problems. |
| B．Examples of the parent-teen war. |
| C．Causes for the parent-teen conflicts. |
| D．Future of the parent-teen relationship. |
1. What is the probable relationship between the speakers?
| A．Salesperson and customer. | B．Homeowner and cleaner. | C．Husband and wife. |
| A．One with two bedrooms. | B．One without furniture. | C．One near a market. |
| A．＄350. | B．＄400. | C．＄415. |
| A．On Lake Street. | B．On Market Street. | C．On South Street. |
