In the quiet town, the John family lived a seemingly peaceful life. John, a hardworking architect, and Sarah, a dedicated teacher, had always struggled to provide the best for their son, Ethan.
As Ethan entered high school, the issue began to change their once harmonious home. School grades were the first battleground. While John believed in traditional hard work, Ethan, a creative soul, found himself passionate to the arts. Every time he painted, his mother Sarah would praise him wholeheartedly, but John only blamed it a waste of time. So Ethan often argued with his father.
One stormy night, the conflict came to a head. John, reviewing Ethan’s report card, furrowed his brow at the grades. “Ethan, you need to focus more on your studies. These grades won’t help you become an engineer. Stop drawing!”
Ethan couldn’t bear the disappointment in his father’s eyes. “Dad, I want to be a painter, not an engineer.” he argued back. Sarah, trying to stop the argument becoming more serious, quickly interrupted, “John, maybe we should let Ethan try. It could be his true calling.” However, he stuck to his beliefs, “Art won’t put food on the table or pay the bills. You need a stable job.” The debate echoed through the house.
注意：1. 续写词数应为 150 左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
Sarah, torn between the two, tried to settle it.
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As the storm outside gradually became calmer, a newfound understanding blossomed within their family.
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That was the night before Christmas, and all through my head, were the three words my friend Julia said, “Santa’s not real.”
It was 1994, and at age nine I was way too old to still believe in Santa Claus. And yet, blindsided by Julia’s response to my deep love for Santa that year, I doubled down and branded (加污名于) Julia a liar. After all, movies had taught me that Christmas magic was more important than what I’d already begun doubting as fact. What did she know, anyway?
But by Christmas Eve, I realized that Julia wasn’t wrong; that there was no way the Santa I was looking at while standing next to my parents could possibly make it to the North Pole and back to Cambridge, Ontario, by nightfall.
My dad headed off to buy a new suit for the holidays, and my mum led me to Shoppers Drug Mart. I looked at the chocolate while listening to the Christmas music playing over the store speakers. With each mention of Santa Claus or red-nosed reindeer I started to feel warm. I silently followed my mum up to the check-out counter, and felt the words rising, knowing there’d be no turning back once they came out.
“Mum,” I said, as the cashier rang us through. “Are you and Dad Santa?”
The cashier began scanning (扫描) items faster and faster, her widened eyes stuck to the digital display. I didn’t wait for a response before pressing on. “Is Santa real?”
The cashier was moving at record speed, and couldn’t wait to get me away. My mother, forever honest, simply looked at me. “Well, sweetie, what do you think?”
That was enough. I wan’t stupid. “SANTA’S NOT REAL!” I cried. By the time we made it to the car, I was crying quietly, looking out of the car window, vowing (发誓) never to forget the pain their lies had caused.
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。
At home, I sat sadly on the living room floor.
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I certainly didn’t want to ruin my little cousin’s Christmas.
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Mom was busy in the kitchen when my brother Marco and I got home from school on Friday. “Did you remember your grandmother’s coming today?” She asked. “Sure, Mom,” we laughed. “Didn’t you notice we cleaned our rooms?” Mom smiled and continued, “Thanks. I know I shouldn’t be nervous, but my mother hasn’t been here for almost six years! As I was growing up, her house always looked perfect. So I want everything to be well.”
“Perfect,” I said with a smile. “What else can we do to help before she gets here?”
Mom looked around,“You two could set the table. Use the good bowls. And be very careful with the glasses Grandma gave to us before you were born!”
As Mom prepared a big meal, Marco and I set the table. I taught Marco how to line up the forks on the left side of each p late and the knives and spoons on the right. In the center of the table, we placed a set of tall white candles. Then we stepped back and looked at our work. It seemed something was missing. “What’s missing?” I asked Marco.
“Napkins?” He asked. “And I don’t think Mom would want us to use paper ones!”
We both laughed. Marco opened a drawer and took out the nice cloth napkins Mom saved for special occasions （场合）. The soft white squares were folded in the middle, and we placed one on each plate. “Do you think that looks good enough?” I asked.
“No,” Marco answered. “Let’s make them look better. Remember the restaurant we went to last year? Their napkins were folded into different shapes! That was great!”
I nodded and unfolded the cloth napkin in front of me. “Look,” I said, pointing to the napkin, “These lines make special shapes. That gives me a great idea! Let’s do origami （折纸）. That’ll make the napkins unique!”
Marco looked confused, so I explained,“Origami’s a kind of folding art. People usually use paper, but you can use cloth. You make boats, birds or flowers just by folding. Nothing else is needed!”
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。
Mom heard us and came to help.
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We placed a different origami napkin on each plate.
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I thought my parents were crazy when they said over dinner one night that I was going to have a brother or sister in about nine months. I always wanted a little brother or sister, and now I was finally going to get one. However, I was at a point in my life where I was used to not having brothers or sisters, and being the center of attention at home.
The next several months were filled with excitement as we prepared for the new addition to the family. My Aunt Dorothy and Aunt Lynda threw her a wonderful baby shower. To my surprise, I also received presents. My family was worried about how I would feel once the baby was born, so they showered me with attention. All of my friends were excited for me. In a way, I thought they were looking forward to me experiencing the pains of being an elder sister.
The following days went by rather quickly. Before I knew it, one summer morning in June my mom was taken to the hospital. I was visiting my Aunt Lynda in Missouri when we got the call that my mom was in labor (分娩), so we drove to the hospital, hoping that we wouldn’t miss the big event. We stepped into the hospital at 12:03 p.m., which was the exact time my sister, Bekah, was born.
My mom had some complications (并发症) after the delivery. What was supposed to be a time of celebration now became a life-or-death waiting game. My first reaction was to hate the baby, since I felt it was all her fault (错误) that this happened. I had my mom to myself for fifteen years of my life, and now it looked as if she was going to be taken away from me forever.
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 saw Bekah for the first time, those bad feelings went away.
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One week later, my mom pulled through, and it was time to go home.
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Last week, I was creating a picture book for my dad as his birthday gift. It was about our family’s grocery store (杂货店). There were lots of fruits in the store, so my pictures centered on apples, pears, grapes and any other fruit one could think of. I worked forever making each picture as perfect as possible. Every time I messed up, I started all over again, so the floor under the kitchen table was covered with half-finished drawings.
“Dad’s going to love this,” my mom said as she looked over my shoulder, “but it’s housework time now.” I was responsible for folding the clothes, and my little brother Ben, sweeping the floor. “And Amy, please remove the paper from the floor to the recycling bin in the yard when you finish your project,” my mom added.
I finished folding the clothes as fast as possible. Just as I was about to get back to the picture book, my friend Marry showed up.
“Hi, Amy! Want to go and play in the park?” she asked.
“I definitely would, but brrr…It’s freezing cold outside!”
“Exactly!” she said. “It’s the perfect weather for not getting overheated.”
That’s a cool thing about Marry. She has this way of looking on the bright side of pretty much anything.
So, we headed to the park. But as soon as we arrived there, the sky was filled with giant gray clouds and rain started pouring down. We had to go back, dripping wet.
Ben was taking out rubbish to the recycling bin when we stepped into the yard. And that’s when my heart pretty much stopped. Right there in the yard, in front of the recycling bin, was a box full of wet paper. And not just any piece of paper. That was my picture book.
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。
Paragraph 1:
“Whoa! Wait! What?” I ran to rescue my birthday book drawings.
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At that time, Marry came up to me and gave me a comforting pat on the shoulder.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A Chair for My Mother
My mother works as a waitress in the Blue Tile Diner. After school sometimes I go to meet her there. Then her boss Josephine gives me a job too. When I finish, Josephine says, “Good work, honey,” and pays me. And every time, I put half of my money into the jar (罐子).
It takes a long time to fill a jar this big. Every day when my mother comes home from work, I take down the jar. My mama empties all her change from tips for me to count. Then we push all of the coins into the jar.
Sometimes my mama is laughing when she comes home from work. Sometimes she’s so tired she falls asleep while I count the money. Some days she has lots of tips. Some days she has only a few. Then she looks worried. But each evening every single shiny coin goes into the jar.
We sit in the kitchen to count the tips. Usually Grandma sits with us too. Often she has money in her old wallet for us. Whenever she gets a good bargain (划算的交易) on tomatoes or bananas or something she buys, she puts by the savings and they go into the jar.
When we can’t get a single other coin into the jar, we are going to take out all the money and go and buy a chair. Yes, a chair. A wonderful, beautiful, fat, soft armchair for Mama and Grandma. When Mama comes home, her feet hurt. “There’s no good place for me to rest my feet,” she says. When Grandma wants to sit back and cut up potatoes, she has to get as comfortable as she can on a hard kitchen chair.
So that is how come Mama brought home the biggest jar she could find and all the coins started to go into the jar.
Paragraph 1:
Now the jar is too heavy for me to lift down.
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Paragraph 2:
Finally we find the chair we are all dreaming of.
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It was an early winter morning. Joan was sleeping soundly when the phone rang in the living room. She rolled over and glanced at the clock on the wall—it was already nine o’clock.Every weekend morning, her mother had to work part-time in the cafe. Although Joan was still sleepy, she knew she had to get up. After all, she didn’t expect her brother Mike, who was sleeping like a log, to hear the phone. She quietly went over to the living room. When she picked up the receiver, on the other end came the warmhearted greetings,“Good morning, my Dear!”Recognizing the voice from her father, Joan was immediately surrounded by a sense of joy and the sleepiness swept away.
Joan’s father was a seaman, who rarely came back. Working on the sea was really hard.Born in a not-rich family, Joan and Mike felt the stress of life but they were happy to enjoy the family atmosphere. At school, they were straight-A students throughout the academic career and actively involved in school activities. They became the pride of the school and the envy of the students.
“Good morning, Dad, what’s up?”Joan said in an easy tone.“I have been very nice recently, my baby. Today is your mother’s birthday, and I have ordered her a cake online and it should come to the house in one and half an hour. Do remember to take the cake.”
Hearing her father’s words, Joan felt a little ashamed. How she could forget Mum’s birthday!She took a glance at the dirty clothes piled on the sofa and the oily floor that hadn’t been mopped(拖地) for a few days—There was two hours before her mother came back. She calculated they had enough time to prepare a surprise for Mum.
Thinking of this, she felt full of excitement.“Well, Dad, now I’m going to wake Mike up.We will give Mum a surprise !”
Joan hung up the phone with Dad, and hurriedly went to Mike’s room to share him her Big Cleaning plan. After listening to Joan, Mike readily accepted her idea.
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。
The Big Cleaning plan began.
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With the cake placed on the table, Mum came in.
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A Different Kind of Perfect
Ellie loved the family gathering at Lola’s house on Fourth of July. She loved Lola’s chicken adobo — chicken in a delicious sauce (酱汁). It was perfect. But this year, Lola asked Ellie to make the adobo by herself because she must visit a sick friend.
“But I don’t know how!” Ellie said.
“That’s why you should be in charge. ” Lola smiled.
Lola pulled out the ingredients (原料): chicken, onion and lemon juice. She explained how to make the dish and then left.
Ellie got started immediately. When the dish was cooked, she tasted it and added a little more of this and a little more of that until it tasted right.
“Now it’s like soup! I need more chicken.” Ellie said to herself, “But I have no time to go to the store. What else can I use?”
The doorbell rang as relatives started to arrive. Ellie wanted to cry.
注意：
1. 续写词数为50左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Ellie opened the fridge (冰箱).
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Dottie's Thanksgiving Dinner
Dottie, a puppy, knew today was special. It was Thanksgiving and everyone was getting ready for a big dinner. The doorbell kept ringing as cousins, grandparents, uncles and aunts all came to visit.
Amazing smells were coming from the kitchen. Dottie was not allowed to be in the kitchen today. Mom said that she would get in the way. Dad said she would lick (舔) everything she could reach. They were both right.
The children had been asked to keep the dog out of the way. They did, at first. However, once their cousins arrived, they forgot about Dottie and started playing with each other. The dog got closer and closer to the kitchen. Everything smelled so good! On the edge of the table was a plate filled with slices of ham (火腿) . Before she had a chance to eat it, Dad saw her.
“No! Leave that alone, Dottie! No food for you,” he said. Then he let the dog out into the yard where some family members were playing football. Dottie smiled. This was good! She liked running. She grabbed (抓住) the football from a small boy and wouldn’t give it back. He started to cry, and Dottie got in trouble.
“That's enough, Dottie,” said Uncle Bill, taking the ball away from her. “Maybe you should go back in.” He opened the door again, and the sad puppy went inside.
The puppy went into the dining room and no one was there. Dottie went under the table. The tablecloth was so long that it hung down to the ground. This was a good place for a sleep, she thought.
In the kitchen, everything was ready. Mom and Dad began carrying big bowls and plates of delicious food into the dining room. “Before we get started, we should take a family picture,” suggested Mom. Dad agreed. They went to tell everyone to go outside for a Thanksgiving photo together.
Dottie's nose woke up before she did. She came out from under the table. She looked around. The house was empty. She remembered what Dad had said. “No food for you.” He was wrong.
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。
“Oh, YES, food for me!” Dottie thought, excitedly.
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“Oh my goodness!” said Mom.
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Spending time together is very important for a family. Parents can use this time to really get to know their children, and children love spending time together with their parents.
Whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner, families can always come together at the table. Mealtime can feed more than just the baby alone. Family relations can be promoted as well. Eating breakfast together is a great way to start the day. Eating dinner together every night allows families to share the happenings of the day and plan for tomorrow.
Everyone loves a good movie. Get a bowl of popcorn and gather on the couch together for a family movie night once a week. After a week or two, family members begin to really look forward to this relaxing and quiet family time. You can also gather your family together for a story. Kids just love bedtime stories. This allows parents to spend a bit of time with their kids, too. Children will fall asleep much more easily after having a story read to them. This little bit of family time is beneficial in a lot of ways.
Pack up your tent and head for the hills. Going camping is a great way for family members to have some of that special time together, and a great way to enjoy a holiday too! Games are fun for both kids and adults. There are so many games to choose from! This is a wonderful way to bring family members together as games make family time so fun!
Enjoy your family time and have fun with it. You’ll remember the special time for the rest of your life.
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