“How did tryout go, Shayna?” Mom asked after school. “Terrible,” I said. “Kristie got Cinderella’s part!” “What part did you get?” “None,” I whispered. I ran to my room and started weeping because of my lack of a talent for the play. I always bear it in mind that drawing is my good part and drawing always makes me feel better.
The next day, Kristie was excited. But when the last bell rang, her mood changed. “I’m nervous, Shayna,” she said. “Will you continue to come to rehearsal?”
I wanted to say no. Then I realized I couldn’t leave yet. My parents had signed me up for the late bus because I thought I’d be in the play.
“All right,” I said. “But only today.”
In the auditorium, Ms. Carson handed out copies of the script to the cast. I sat in the third row, wishing I were in my room drawing. Ms. Carson pulled a cardboard castle onto the middle of the stage. It was brown with small windows and doors.
“How terrible the scene is!” I thought to myself.
Ms. Carson turned on the music, and Kristie and the Prince started dancing. I had to admit, Kristie was really good. Ms. Carson hit a metal triangle with a little stick 12 times. Kristie ran off the stage and dropped her left sneakers. The curtain came down.
“Thanks, everyone,” said Ms. Carson. “We’ll go through the rest tomorrow.”
“When will we get the real sets?” Kristie pointed to the cardboard castle.
“These are the real sets,” Ms. Carson said. “We don’t have an art teacher this year. So that’s the best we could do.”
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。
Hearing what Ms. Carson said, I thought for a moment. “Maybe there’s something I can do.”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Finally, opening night arrived.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Kim Longfellow grabbed her backpack as the school bell rang.
“Oh! One more thing!” Mrs Jones stopped the fourth-graders before they dashed out of the door. “There is an essay con test on what it means to be Navajo (纳瓦霍人). The prize is a week-long vacation to Los Angeles to represent our school at the Native American Kids Conference. If you decide to enter, your essay is due Monday morning. The winner will be announced Friday afternoon.”
“Maybe winning this con test will finally prove to everyone that I am as good as Amanda,” Kim thought as she climbed onto the school bus. It was hard to have “Miss Perfect” for a sister, Amanda, who was a straight A student. She was captain of the girls’ basketball team. Her experiment won first place at the Science Fair, and her drawing won a ribbon at the Northern Shiprock Fair. She always did everything right! “We’ll just see who wins this time.” Kim thought.
“What does being Navajo mean to me?” Kim wondered as she got off the school bus and saw her grandmother. She had taught Kim a lot about Navajo. What impressed her most was that the Navajo s are honest. Now she knew what to write. Kim rushed to her room, pulled out her notebook and began to write.
Kim’s words flooded onto the page. She wrote about helping shear (修剪) the sheep and then washing the wool. She told about the many winter evenings she’d played string games while watching Grandma weave. Kim could have written 100 pages! As she closed her notebook, Amanda peeked into the room. “Finished? Let me read it.” Kim watched nervously as Amanda read.
“Good,” Amanda said, handing the essay back to Kim, then leaving the room. “Good?” Kim frowned. “What does that mean? Not good enough!” Kim thought. She tore the essay out of her notebook, crumpled (弄皱) it, and threw it on the floor. Maybe she should make her essay more exciting. She could write about what a great dancer she was. Or she could tell how she had learned to speak Navajo when she was just a baby. But those were complete lies! Kim hesitated for a while and was about to rewrite when grandma’s words flashed across her mind.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150字左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
Kim reached down and picked up her crumpled essay.
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Paragraph 2:
On Friday afternoon, Kim waited for the announcement in the school hall, holding her breath.
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I and the other fifty girls sat on the chairs in the gym of my middle school. We waited there for the coach to give the results of the competition for roles as cheerleaders (啦啦队队员)．One by one, each girl left her seat, jumping up and down as their number was called out. “Will I be one of them?” I wondered. I was getting more nervous, and each second felt like a century.
“Number seventeen.” the coach called out. Hearing it, I jumped right away from my seat. And I ran over to stand next to the girls who had been chosen to be cheerleaders. We smiled and hugged each other because we became members of the 10girl cheerleading team.
During the following days, I and the other nine cheerleaders practiced for the performance. We were dressed in our blue uniforms before the upcoming sports meet. It was going to be held on a Friday morning. However, the night before the sports meet, I got very nervous, and worried what if I made a mess in the performance. I tried to comfort myself, “You can make it. Just calm down and relax.” The next morning, my parents left home for work and I hurried to go to school.
Unluckily, when I arrived at school, I found the other nine cheerleaders were all in their white uniforms. But I was still in my blue uniform. At once I realized I had made a mistake: wearing the wrong uniform. There was not much time left before the cheerleading performance started. What should I do? Both my team members and the coach were worried. Then a cheerleader called Tammy offered to help me. She said, “My home is quite close to our school. Maybe I could give my mother a call. She is at home now. She could drive Jane to her home, so Jane can change her uniform quickly.”
The coach allowed Tammy to give it a try. Then Tammy called her mother and explained what was going on. Her mother immediately agreed to help me. When we reached my home, I quickly changed my uniform and ran out to Tammy’s mother’s car. We had just fifteen minutes left before the performance started. Luckily, we arrived there in time. “I can’t thank you enough.” I told Tammy’s mother as I got out of the car. She smiled and waved goodbye.
注意：
1.续写词数应为80左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I joined the other girls for the cheerleading performance.
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“What will we be singing for contest this year?” a student from my high school choir asked eagerly.
I dreaded (害怕) this moment. “I was thinking,” I said, “maybe we’ll skip the contest and just work hard on the concerts this year.”
“NO!” the kids protested.
“We’ve got to go to contest!”
“In Class A.”
“It’s tradition!”
This was true. Medals lined the front wall of the music room from the past successes of large, talented classes. But a swing in educational policies, with an emphasis on academics, had reduced my choir to a me re thirty-two students. My section leaders had graduated or been forced to drop music classes, leaving me with young, inexperienced kids who couldn’t read music, couldn’t hold their parts, and could sing only a simple melody.
“Maybe we could enter Class B this year,” I suggested, knowing even that would be a near-impossible mission.
“No!” the kids screamed. “Class A!”
I shook my head, hoping their enthusiasm would die off in a couple of weeks.
Finally one morning I entered the classroom. “Look at the clock!” I demanded. “We’ve wasted two full minutes because some of you don’t have your music ready. If we are entering the contest in Class A…” The rest of my sentence was lost in screams of delight and applause.
“From now on,” I continued when the noise faded away, “you will find the day’s lesson plan on the board. Be in your seats with your music folders on the desk when the bell rings and sit at attention, ready for warm-ups the instant I’m ready to begin. When I’m working with one section, there will be no talking from the others. You will listen, and you will learn. You will work harder than you’ve ever worked in any class before. And if one of these rules is broken, we will not go to the contest. Does everyone agree to this?”
注意：1.续写词数应为150词左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I was certain they would fail to keep this contract.
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When the day finally arrived, the kids felt ready to win the contest.
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注意：
1. 续写词数应为100左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Before leaving school, the kids in Class 4 were told they were going to have football lessons next week.
“Wow!” shouted Omar. “Real football! I bet I score ten goals!”
Back home he begged his mum to buy him a real football strip (彩条球衣), but was turned down. Their teacher Mr Hart only wanted them to have new shorts. Omar was not happy. That night he lay awake thinking. He was going to make sure his mum bought football shorts. He wanted proper white football shorts. Then he knew he could score lots of goals.
After breakfast the next day they set out to buy the new shorts. On the way they saw Matt and Ben from Class 4, who also lived in Lyon Street. They were kicking a ball about beside the road. When they noticed Omar, they invited him to join in, but Omar refused. He shouted back, “I’m off with my mum to buy new football shorts.” “We’ve got ours already,” Matt shouted back.
The market was very crowded. There were shoes and clothes for sale. One man was selling shorts. He was wearing a huge pair of animal shorts over his trousers. They had big green trees on with monkeys smiling at the top. The man stopped them, trying to persuade him to drop in and try on some shorts. Omar paid no attention to him and continued to search for a pair of real football shorts.
He pulled at his mum’s hand. They struggled through the crowds trying to find real football shorts. They found lots of shorts that were too big and a little white pair that was too small. When they did find a pair in Omar’s size they cost far too much money.
“We’ll just have to get the animal shorts,” said Mum. They went slowly back to the man selling animal shorts. They found the shorts had almost been sold out. Omar’s mum opened her purse and paid for the shorts.
Omar pulled a face. “I wish they were real football shorts,” he murmured.
“What matters in football is how to play, whatever you wear.” Omar’s mum bent down and gave him a hug, gently whispering to him.
That day, desperate Omar, in his animal shorts, was surprised to find most of his classmates wearing the same animal shorts.
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Last September was my first month of middle school, which was completely overwhelming (不知所措的). Every day in the passages, I felt lost and not very smart. Everyone at school seemed to know who they were and what they were doing, but not me. I was desperate to find my place at school.
And then there was the school play. Hmm, costumes might be kind of fun. I added my name to the sign-up sheet for props and costumes. That’s the real beginning of this story, I guess.
I’d had an enjoyable backstage making sure all the actors had their shoes and figuring out how to make a fake pocket watch out of a bicycle chain for the Train Conductor. But then, on opening night, Mr. Bash, the director, rushed up to me.
“There you are, Maisy,” he panted (气喘吁吁). “I need you to step in for Bailey tonight. He broke his leg during lunch.”
I started sweating. “I…” I stammered (结结巴巴地说), shaking my head.
“Listen, I know this is short notice,” Mr. Bash said. “But we can’t do the show without Lost Cow. You know the cues because you’re always waiting to take the halter rope (缰绳) from Bailey and give him the straw hat.”
“But…”
“Just go onstage, get the rope from Train Conductor, do the shrug (耸肩), and walk off. After all, no one will even know that it’s you.”
That stopped me short. If I had to go out there and recite a bunch of lines, I might faint. Or else throw up. But what if I were wearing the cow head, and my name wasn’t in the program, and no one could really even see me?
Right then, I decided I’d try. Maybe it would be fun?
So fifteen minutes later, I was waiting behind the curtain. “Ready, Lost Cow?” said a voice beside me. It was Mr. Bash.
“No one knows it’s me, right?” I asked.
“No one,” Mr. Bash said.
注意：1. 写作词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Awesome job, Maisy.” Mr. Bash said, grinning (咧嘴笑).
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Hector stood in the front of his fifth-grade classroom as one of the last two competitors in the Room Five Geography Bee. His opponent having missed the last question, it was Hector’s turn. If he answered his question correctly, he would be the Room Five champion.
“Where did I put that second sheet of questions?” Mr. Adler whispered while searching through a thick pile of papers on his messy desk. Mr. Adler, though a great teacher, had a reputation of being disorganized with a long history of misplacing things. “Oh well, I apologize for the delay.” said Mr. Adler after what seemed like a long time. “Hector, please tell us the capital city of Brazil.” Hearing the question, Hector smiled. Then, there was the answer.
Later that day in the courtyard, many classmates congratulated Hector. Wearing a proud smile, he greeted and thanked them all. Oh, the sweet taste of victory.
As it was getting late, the courtyard became deserted. But Hector still didn’t want to leave. Then he saw Mr. Adler crossing the courtyard and holding a half-open bag full of papers. As he hurried past, an envelope dropped out but Mr. Adler was unaware, turned a corner and disappeared out of sight. Hector picked it up. On the envelope were the words “Fifth Grade Geography Bee Questions and Answers”. Hector stared wide-eyed at the envelope. Before he even had time to reflect on the consequences, he opened it and read the questions.
As soon as Hector had done it, he knew it was the wrong choice. He’d cheated and whatever he did now, he couldn’t change the fact. “What if Mr. Adler thought I stole this morning’s questions too?” Hector thought. “He’d take away my Room Five victory for sure.” Little did he know that one of the best days in his life would be turned into the worst so quickly. Torn by his conscience, Hector was totally at a loss what to do.
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。
Before he realized it, Hector found himself standing in Mr. Adler’s room.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The next day the entire school came to watch the Fifth Grade Geography Bee.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Emily White came to the world 17 years ago, with so many birth problems in her body. Some of her organs, bones and muscles were out of shape. No one expected her to survive long. She did make it but with her strange body figure, everyone could recognize her, even from a distance.
In her hometown, a yearly outdoor performance was held in the school auditorium (礼堂). It had been performed for so many years and actually had become one of the most important events of the Christmas season for many of the town’s people.
Many people tried out each year for it, but so many were turned away. It can only include the most excellent people in the field.
Emily had a beautiful singing voice. Last year she went to Mrs. Owens-her music teacher-to ask to join in the performance. Without letting her sing, Mrs. Owens took a glance at Emily’s body and said, “Child, you are just not suitable. Everyone would stare at you and that would make you uncomfortable. It would make them uncomfortable, too.”
Without singing a single note, Emily was sent back through the door of the choral (合唱的) room. Hurt and upset, she decided never to try out again. But Mrs. Owens then retired.
This year, there came a new music teacher, Mr. Butler. He heard about Emily and suggested that she have a try.
Emily didn’t want to be rejected again, so she hesitated about it. As Emily struggled, the door was pushed open and Mr. Butler called, “Emily, you’re next.” Kind of nervous as she was, Emily did as Mr. Butler told her to. Mr. Butler sat by the piano to keep Emily company. When Emily finished her testing performance, she thanked Mr. Butler and knew the result would be posted on the door of the choral room the next day.
Emily couldn’t sleep that night. She tossed and turned in bed one thousand times.
She was suffering from the feelings that she didn’t fit and the great need to be accepted.
By the next morning, her stomach was even in pain due to stress.
注意：1．续写词数应为150左右；
2．请按如下格式作答。
Emily hurried to school and anxiously glanced at the list on the door of the choral room.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Finally, the day for the performance came.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was the last day of the month-long summer camp. All the camp leaders and volunteers were preparing for the grand wrap-up event that evening. Some were setting up chairs and tables outside; some were preparing water balloons for games we would play later; and some were cutting fruits and veggies for snacks.
One of the leaders, George, came to me, handed me a small broom and a dustpan, and asked me to sweep the gym. Alone. While the others were chatting and laughing outside. While the gym was dusty and stuffy (不通风的) after weeks of camp and crafts.
I didn’t have a choice. I was sixteen, and George was my elder. I was a staff member at camp, and George was my employer. I put on as cheerful a face as I could and began to sweep the floor of the gymnasium.
Every time I made a decent (合宜的) pile of dust and scraps (残羹剩饭) to push into the dustpan, I had a nice little part of the gym cleared. But I would look up and see the rest of the gym and realize how big the job was. The whole situation felt so unfair.
I wasn’t really happy then. I’m not proud of it, but I was angry as well. I could hear the sounds of people talking, laughing, and generally having a great time outside. There was silence in the gym, except for my sweep, sweep, sweep.
During a break between sweeps, I looked up. George was quietly and matter-of-factly moving the speakers and cleaning the stage at the front of the gym. I noticed he worked alone as well. He didn’t seem particularly excited about what he was doing, but I noted the calmness and joy in his eyes as he went about his work, doing what had to be done because he was there and he was able to do 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。
I watched him silently for the next ten minutes.
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“Thanks, Laura.” he said and nodded as if acknowledging the small sacrifice I had made.
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For my fifth-grade science fair project, I got six chicken eggs in an incubator(孵化器).
“But I don’t know anything about hatching an egg.”
Mrs. Brubeck smiled. “You don’t have to be an immediate expert at everything, Juli. The idea here is to learn something new.”
“But what if they die?”
“Then they die. Document your work scientifically and you’ll still get an A.” She pulled The Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens from her bookshelf and said, “Read the book and set yourself up tonight.”
That night I came home, more worried than ever. I’d read the book. I had to turn the eggs three times a day and regulate the temperature and humidity(湿度). But aside from that, what was there to do?
My father came with a cardboard tube and a flashlight. He taped the two together so that the light beam was forced straight out the tube. “I will show you how to candle the eggs,” he said, then switched off the light and held an egg up to the cardboard tube. “The light lets you see through the shell so you can watch the embryo(胚胎) develop. Look, see the dark spot here?”
“Is that an embryo?”
“That’s it!”
Suddenly it felt real. The eggs were alive! Surely they had to live!
For the next three weeks, I was completely consumed with the growing of chicks. I labeled the eggs A, B, C, D, E and F, but before long they had names, too: Abby, Bonnie, Clyde, Dexter, Eunice and Florence. Every day I weighed them, candled them, turned them. I drew diagrams of various stages of an embryo’s development. I documented the daily changes and weight loss of each egg. On the outside the eggs were boring, but I knew what was happening inside!
注意：1.写作词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Then one morning I was candling Bonnie when I noticed a gentle peck(啄).
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The day came when I was supposed to hand in my science fair project.
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