Some kids play sports. They run hundreds of laps, and tackle, kick, or swing. Some kids do makeover parties. They pool their fashion magazines and organize their own spa hair salons. And some kids are computer geeks. Their programming ability is a thing of wonder.
Me? I had the spelling bee (拼字比赛). The bee was my World Series. And what happened during a Spelling Bee remained fresh in my memory.
I trained every day on my front steps after school, the dictionary pages rippling softly in the breeze. I formed a habit carrying around my buddies Longman, Webster, and Oxford.
As soon as I opened my eyes on Friday morning, I felt the hairs on my arm stand up. I glanced at my alarm clock—it was only 6:27. I usually woke up at 7:01, which meant I had an extra thirty-four minutes to study. Starting with the word “judgment” which I always spelt as “J-U-D-G-M-A-N-T”, I went over several words.
To calm my butterflies in my stomach, I reminded myself that I was one of the best spellers in my class. I was not ambitious enough to want to go to the Scripps National Spelling Bee or anything—I just wanted to win the bee at Meadowbrook Middle School, so that I could defeat my main enemy, Nathan Fortescue.
Nathan thought he was a better speller than I was, but he didn’t even study words. He just read tons of science and math books. Really, he wasn’t a speller at heart—he was a mathematician. Nathan and I had nothing in common except being good spellers, but since he was a good speller without even trying, it didn’t count. I bet if you gave Nathan a modern literature word like “denouement”, he’d be out on the first round.
The Spelling Bee wasn’t until after lunch, so all I did in the morning was stare at the clock and wondered how seconds could possibly pass by so slowly. I sneaked away from lunch early so I could get in a few extra minutes of study time.
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。
As soon as I shut the classroom door behind me, I heard a voice.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Now it’s time for the Spelling Bee!” Ms. Hawking said brightly.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A “Hearty” Welcome
Chase counted his gifts one more time as he put a small toy into each envelope. “Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two.”
“Do you have one for everyone in your class?” Mom asked.
“Yep! I’m ready for the Children’s Day party tomorrow!” Chase said.
When Chase got to school the next day, he saw a new girl in his classroom. She stood near Ms Robins and looked around shyly.
“This is Eva,” said Ms, Robins, “Will someone volunteer to show her around today?”
Chase raised his hand. He liked showing the new kids around and helping them feel welcome.“Thanks, Chase,” Ms. Robins said, “Now let’s get busy with our work so we’re done in time for the party.” That’s when Chase realized he didn’t have a present for Eva. No one else would have one either. Chase pictured his classmates’ desks covered with gifts of toys, candies and pencils while Eva’s desk was empty. He felt sad.
During the break, he was careful not to mention the party as he showed Eva around the playground. At lunchtime, he walked Eva to the lunchroom, still worried about what would happen at the party. As the lunch server placed a heart-shaped cake on Chase’s tray, Chase suddenly remembered that kids often included heart-shaped paper cards with the gifts they exchanged. On the paper cards, kids would like to write their sweet wishes. As he sat down at his table, an idea popped into his head.
When they were back to the classroom after lunch, Chase told Ms. Robins about their plan. Ms. Robins smiled. “That’s very thoughtful,” she said, “Let’s go for it.”
During math time, Chase invited Eva to work at a math station with him. He made sure Eva sat with her back to the room so she wouldn’t notice her new classmates passing around a big paper heart that Ms. Robins had just created.
注意：1. 续写词数为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡相应位置作答。
When Chase got back to his seat, he found the paper heart in his desk.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________During the party, Chase saw the sad look on Eva’s face.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I was young, I always dreamed of playing the piano and giving performances to a large audience in a concert hall. However, I struggled to understand the musical notes and the theory. Despite my parents’ encouragement and offer of piano lessons, I pretended not to be interested, too afraid to try.
Many years passed until one day, at 25 years old, I heard that a new piano studio had opened in my neighborhood. The teacher was recruiting (招收) new students. My childhood dream came flooding back.
I remembered I had initially feared becoming a teacher after graduation. However, I overcame those doubts. I refused to let fear hold me back any longer, so I walked into the studio.
The teacher, Deb, welcomed me warmly. I was relieved to find we were contemporaries (同时代的人) and expressed my desire to play the works of Bach and Beethoven if I could overcome my fear. Deb understood and seemed sincere, so I signed up for 3 months of classes. Still doubtful about my commitment, I bought a small, tabletop electric organ to practice with at home. It wasn’t the same as a real piano, but enabled me to learn some basics.
Week by week, I attended lessons in Deb’s studio. I often passed young students on their way out from their lessons before mine. One day, noticing the textbooks in my bag, a child stopped me and asked, “Where’s your boy?” After some hesitation, I finally answered I was the student. The children then welcomed me and I sat in the studio and listened to a piece a child was working on.
Soon, I gained confidence and upgraded to a full-size piano at home for daily practice. After three rewarding years of lessons with Deb, she announced it was time for me and other students to prepare for a recital (钢琴演奏会) on stage. I was thrilled at the chance to finally fulfill my childhood dream, yet also anxious at the thought of performing before the audience. But Deb believed in me. “Look how far you’ve come,” she encouraged. “It’s time to share your gift with others.”
Paragraph 1:I shook my head and told her, “No, thanks.”
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When I finally finished my performance, I faced the audience and bowed.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Guys, remember. This competition is extremely difficult. There will only be a few selections to make it to the final round with the judges,” the music teacher, Mr. Brooks, explained. “But I hope all of you put your best foot forward and make our academy stand out!” The teacher was talking about a state-wide competition held by the best musicians in the area.
Shahnaz, the new student who had only come to the class two weeks before, took the teacher’s words to heart and put her heart and soul into a composition. She had learned how to play the piano for a long time and really did well in it. She wanted to prove herself.
All the students were supposed to improve their compositions with the help of their teacher, Mr. Brooks. However, he spent most of his time guiding the few outstanding students in his class.
He never had much to say to Shahnaz unless it was a comment about her mistakes, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to impress him. He was a good piano player and could teach her a lot. She hoped that her composition would be improved under the guidance of Mr. Brooks.
“OK,” Mr. Brooks said during one of his lessons, “it’s time for Shahnaz to play.” Shahnaz sat in front of the piano and began moving her fingers softly. She practiced and practiced once her composition was done and could almost play it by heart.
Finally, the piece was finished. Shahnaz looked at Mr. Brooks nervously and hoped to receive his recognition. But he just sighed “Frankly, you made many mistakes. You shouldn’t take part in the competition.”
注意：
1.续写词数应为150个左右；
2.请按如下格式作答。
Shahnaz left Mr Brooks’ class that day with a heavy heart, but she refused to let his words break her spirit.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The night of the competition finally arrived.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Our school’s “Help Others” event was drawing near, and our team had been assigned (分配) the task of organizing a fundraising campaign (筹款活动). We had a week to plan and carry out our strategy, and everyone wanted to play a meaningful part.
On the first day of our planning week, our team leader, Emily, brought us together to discuss our roles. She assigned different tasks to each team member based on our strengths and interests. I was assigned the role of connecting with local businesses for fundraising, a task I felt confident in completing.
As the week progressed, we worked tirelessly.
One afternoon, while we were creating promotional (宣传的) materials, Jacob, one of our teammates, came to us with a tired look on his face. He explained that he had been feeling unwell for the past few days and was worried about falling behind on his tasks.
Worried about Jacob’s well-being, we encouraged him to take some time off and rest and told him that we would support him in any way we could. Jacob finally agreed, understanding that he needed to take care of himself.
With Jacob absent, we realized that his tasks, including creating promotional materials, were left unfinished. We knew that if we didn’t step in to help, our campaign would fail. To solve this problem, we came together as a team and thought of ways to support Jacob and keep our campaign on track.
Sarah, with her artistic skills, volunteered to take over the design of the promotional materials, while Mark offered to help with the content creation. Emily, our team leader, stepped in to manage the whole team, making sure that everything stayed organized and on schedule. We tried our best to make our campaign successful.
注意：1．续写词数应为150左右；2．请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Late into the night, we came together in Sarah’s living room.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The following day, when Jacob returned to our team, he was surprised at the progress we had made in his absence
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The school I went to had a tradition carried out every year during the eighth-grade graduation: a beautiful gold and green jacket (the school colors)was awarded to the student who had maintained the highest grades for eight years.
I was fourteen and in the eighth grade. I had been a straight-A student since the first grade and this last year had looked forward very much to owning that jacket. My family was so poor that, when I was six, I was given to my grandparents to raise. I couldn’t participate in sports at school because we couldn’t afford the fees; even though I was quite athletic, there would never be a school sports jacket for me. So, this one, the scholarship jacket, was my only chance.
One day in May, close to graduation, outside the history teacher’s classroom, I heard a fierce argument between the principal and my history teacher, Mr. Frank, about giving the scholarship jacket to Joann, whose father is on the Board and owns the only store in town. Frank angrily claimed that he would never lie or falsify(伪造) records.
The principal approached me tentatively: “Martha, there’s been a change in policy this year. The Board has decided to charge fifteen dollars for the scholarship jacket this year. So if you are unable to pay the fifteen dollars for the jacket it will be given to the next one in line. Staring at him in shock, I didn’t need to ask who that was.
”I’ll speak to my grandfather and let you know tomorrow, I gathered all the dignity. I cried on the walk home from the bus stop. I wanted that jacket so much. It represented eight years of hard work and expectation.
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。
Upon arriving home, I told my grandpa what had happened.
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The next day, the principal called me to his office.
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ALICE IN WONDERLAND is my favorite story of all time. And acting is my number one passion. At my old school, Poulsbo Elementary, I’d starred in every play from third grade on. Before that, gymnastics was my thing. But then I played my first role as Tinkerbell in Peter Pan. And after that, backflips just couldn’t compare.
So, when my teacher announced during my first week at Newland Elementary that we’d be performing Alice in Wonderland for the school play, I practically squealed out loud with excitement. I’d always wanted to play the role of Alice!
However, a week later, Mrs. Pearson announced, “The role of Alice goes to Denise Taylor!” My head buzzed. My stomach churned. But I clapped along with everyone else and pasted a fake smile on my face. It took Mrs. Pearson forever to get to my name. When she finally did, she read, “Hazel, Tyler, and Ella — hedgehogs!” She announced this as if we’d just won a million dollars. But the hedgehogs had no lines! They just got batted around with croquet mallets (槌球棒) and then disappeared forever.
Mrs. Pearson called the hedgehogs up after class. “Hedgehogs,” she said, “your roles are going to be a lot of fun! You might also consider helping out with our costumes! Go to the school storage room and get creative!” Mrs. Pearson looked at us expectantly. I snuck a glance at the other two. Ella looked as if she were about to cry. Tyler looked as if he’d just eaten a piece of moldy cheese.
THE NEXT DAY we went to school storage room, while we were picking up the costumes, Ella had one hand against the wall and appeared to be doing ballet warmups. “I really wanted to be the Queen of Hearts,” she said, raising her left leg so that it was almost parallel to her body. I remembered hearing that she danced the Nutcracker every year. “Yeah, well I wanted to be the Cheshire Cat,” said Tyler, as he pulled a fake gold crown out of the costume trunk. Then he did this cool backward turn, where he ended up bowing in front of us as he took the crown off and held it to his chest. Both of these guys seemed like really good dancers.
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。
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Suddenly I had an idea. “Guys, I know what we should do,” I said.
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“That was fantastic, hedgehogs!” Mrs. Pearson said. “Where did you learn to dance like that?
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Grace and Ellen, both promising in their school’s dance competition, were fierce competitors. They both had great passion for dancing and dreamed for bigger stages. They were both friends and competitors. They had similar taste in music, and had similar dressing styles. Even they wore shoes of the same size. They had both committed themselves to preparing for the upcoming contest.
Grace’s journey to the competition was marked by countless hours of practice and determination. She would rise before the sun, and the studio lights were her only company. Every movement was perfected with unwavering commitment. She knew that this competition wasn’t just about personal success; it was also about upholding her school’s honor. “Grace, you’re incredible!” Grace’s dance instructor, Mrs. Anderson, often praised her. “Your hard work will pay off.”
Ellen had been practicing hard for this competition as well. Her love for dance was her driving force. After school, she would head straight to the dance studio, tirelessly perfecting every step and twirl. Her dance shoes had become an extension of her feet, and her heart burned with a strong desire for victory. “Ellen, you’re a natural,” her fellow dancers would often say. “You’ve got this!”
The day of the competition finally arrived, and there were five competitors fighting for the championship title. Ellen was scheduled to perform before Grace.
As Ellen stood backstage, the butterflies in her stomach seemed to have turned into a whirlwind (漩涡). She checked her dance shoes one last time and realized a huge mistake. The shoes themselves were a size too small—It turned out she took her little sister’s shoes by mistake. Panic set in as her mind raced for g solution.
“Ellen, you’re up next!” the stage manager announced.
In the dimly lit (灰暗的) backstage area, Grace overheard Ellen’s whispers to her friend, Sarah.
“I brought the wrong shoes, Sarah,” Ellen’s voice trembled (颤抖). “They are too small. What am I going to do?”
Grace’s heart sank as she overheard the conversation.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右：
2. 请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Grace knew her shoes would fit Ellen perfectly, but she hesitated.
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Tears of gratitude welled up in Ellen’s eyes as she slipped into Grace’s shoes.
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Mya finished playing a Christmas carol (颂歌) and looked up at her piano teacher. “You played that very well,” Ms. Jackson said. “How would you like to join some of the other students and play carols at the shopping center this Saturday afternoon?”
“I can’t,” Mya said quickly.
“Lots of kids are shy,” Ms. Jackson said, “but the best way to overcome your fear of playing in public is by actually doing what scares you. Remember, our art festival is going to be right after Christmas. You’ll have to play in front of an audience then. Playing at the shopping center this weekend would be great practice.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t be there,” Mya went on. “My great-grandmother invited my family to the Christmas party at her retirement community that afternoon.”
Mya didn’t add that she was relieved to have an excuse not to have to play at the shopping center. The thought of playing piano with so many people around made her stomach clench into a knot.
On Saturday morning, as Mya helped Mom and Dad wrap presents for Great-Grandma, she thought about her friends playing the piano at the shopping center. She pictured hundreds of shoppers hanging around and listening while going from store to store. Some of them would take breaks from shopping to sit on benches and watch the piano players. “I’m so glad I won’t be there,” she thought to herself.
When Mya and her parents arrived at the retirement community, they greeted Great-Grandma with hugs and wishes for a merry Christmas. Mrs. Carmen, the party activities director, showed a short holiday movie first. Then they played games, and the residents opened their gifts.
“We usually end by singing Christmas carols,” Mrs. Carmen said. “But our pianoplayer wasn’t able to make it today.” “Mya plays the piano,” Great-Grandma announced, smiling proudly.
“Wonderful,” Mrs. Carmen said. She smiled at Mya. “Mya, would you like to play while we sing? It would be such a help.”
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。
Mya was about to say she couldn’t do it.
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She sat down on the bench and played “Silent Night”.
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Since the age of seven, I had always dreamed of being one of the student leaders who we looked up to. They took responsibility for us, gave instructions, organized school activities, and proudly wore their badges while carrying our school flag and walking on the playground. They represented us and gave speeches on school issues, becoming our role models.
As I grew older, I became qualified to participate in the school elections. I prepared my election speech and on the day of the speeches，everyone balloted(不记名投票).I was hopeful and prayed for a victory. However， the following morning when we gathered on the school grounds for the principal’s declaration of the outcome, reality hit me hard. I realized that I had no chance of winning-I was neither well known nor too pretty. Like many preteens facing rejection, I became depressed and felt as though I had no friends supporting me.
Later that day, as I cried in my room, I took a deep breath and decided to change my mindset. I refused to see myself as a failure and made a determination to run for the school elections again the following year-this time, with a plan to win. I sat down at my study table and wrote down my thoughts.
Comparing myself with other competitors, I figured out that I had a lot to improve. With a whole year ahead, I began to play my election strategies.
To gain recognition and demonstrate my ability to represent my fellow students, I started making new friends and helping them in various ways at school. Additionally, I attended a public speaking course to learn how to deliver a great election speech. By the time the election came around, I was well-prepared, and I delivered a passionate speech on the stage.
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:
The following day, I anxiously waited for the results.
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Later, I realized that I had achieved far more than what I had initially set out to do.
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