The Science of Happiness
Kate is a bright young woman with an intense focus on academics and a long-term goal of becoming a neuroscientist (神经系统科学家). Her path is charted very carefully each day according to schedule. She meets after school with the Brain Club, a group she started that discusses neuroscience and trades academic papers like baseball cards. It’s the kind of group you would never imagine in high school, which is mature beyond their years and led by their own initiative.
It would seem there was no room in Kate’s schedule for fun, let alone helping others. But then she found out about an elementary school hit hard by the pandemic, then inflation, and now a recession (衰退). It sits in the middle of a working-class neighborhood and most of parents were tired out by working physically demanding jobs from dawn to dark. Most families were doing the best but they could just put a few groceries on the table.
Halloween was approaching, and many of the families didn’t participate because they lacked costumes and couldn’t afford to give out candy themselves. So Kate called the headmaster of the elementary school. She was told the families wanted their kids to have fun on Halloween, but they also needed more books in the home.
So Kate went to work. She began with the Brain Club and then branched out to other clubs. They would sponsor a trick-or-treat event featuring games, candy and book giveaways. It was a huge organizational challenge—one that only a very organized person could handle.So Kate put her smarts to use. She arranged for groups of her fellows to decorate their cars and create games. She found a DJ and rounded up boxes of costumes for the kids. She even got the local police to decorate their cruiser (巡逻车). And she went to work getting kids books donated.
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。
At dusk on Halloween,the cars arrived in the parking lot.
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The headmaster said this was the happiest time for the kids.
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I was eight years old the first time I felt sympathy (同情) for my sister. It happened on Easter, one of our favorite holidays.
“Michelle,” I whispered on Easter morning. But there was no reply. “Now!” I shouted before putting my hand over my mouth. The last thing I wanted to do was wake up our parents. After a few minutes, my sister finally pulled herself out of bed.
It didn’t take long for me to find my basket. But twenty minutes later my sister was still looking for her basket. At her repeated requests, I decided to help, but don't get the wrong idea. It wasn’t because I felt sorry for her. It was because I’d now been issued a challenge. I had a mission and a case to solve. The Case of the Missing Basket.
By now, our parents were awake. “Looks like the Easter bunny (复活节兔子) came!” Mum said, “You haven’t found your basket, Michelle? Let’s keep looking.” Mom pointed to the hallway closet (壁橱), saying “We haven’t looked in any closets”. Michelle shot across the room, opened the closet door and started searching through the shoes and bags and gloves on the closet floor. Nothing.
“Look up!” I said. “Up above the jackets!” Mission completed.
“My basket !” she shouted. “Mom, can you get it?” Way up on the shelf where we usually kept our soaps was my sister’s Easter basket.
“Here you go, honey” Mom said, as she handed Michelle her basket, too excited to notice anything strange before passing it off. And that’s when it happened. My sister, the tough girl that I, until that day, had never seen break down, started crying.
注意：
1.续写的词数应为120左右；
2.按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
My sister’s Easter basket was empty except for the chocolate box ruined by mice.
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But as I read my magazine, I felt something I’d never felt towards my sister before.
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