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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On Friday afternoon, Kim waited for the announcement in the school hall, holding her breath.
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Different sports filled my days in my youth. I dreamed or a big win some day, with a big trophy (奖杯). I was skillful and fast, or so I thought. However, I soon learned my skills seemed quite weak because the bigger, stronger boys seemed to occupy every corner of the playground. Once I was in the 100-yard hurdles, the only recognition I received for my performance was two bloody knees.
In college, I took a swim competition, dreaming of the glory! It turned out I achieved nothing. As an older adult, I still maintained an active lifestyle. In 2010 I signed up for a stair-climbing challenge to raise money for fighting against lung cancer. My father had died of the same disease, so this was a meaningful cause for me. Then, in 2019,the organization offered an even more challenging climb option: the vertical (垂直的) mile. So I would have three hours to climb up and down twenty-eight floors fifteen times, plus three more.
I trained hard. When the challenge started. I felt confident. But soon my legs started feeling heavy. What was worse, I began experiencing leg cramps (抽筋). My progress slowed dramatically and I quickly fell behind. When came down after finishing lap 14, it was past the time limit, so my big win had escaped once again.
Soon after the climb, I struggled to experience the sense of self-satisfaction. And I had, after all, set a goal for myself to prove what I was made of, what I had inside me. And what I had inside me was, “Nice try, but you didn’t make it.” So, a year later, at age 62 and after numerous workouts, I was back. Like last year, I was well ahead after an hour and I again started feeling some discomfort in my legs. I heard myself cry out loud, “Oh, no not again!” I finally stopped and sat down on the stairs, feeling quite depressed and wondering if my dream was over. A few climbers stopped to offer help. I was touched, but embarrassed to accept. Except for one climber. An angel climber, really.
Jessica, who I happened to know, was a salesman’s friend when I bought new running shoes at his store. And without that connection, she might have climbed past me as I sat on those steps, my legs shaking. But all those things did happen, and Jessica stopped to help.
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 she saw I was cramping, she offered me some sports drinks containing electrolytes (电解质).
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The cramps in my legs finally started to go away.
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“JAMIE EVANS.”
Oh no. Please tell me that Coach Cafferty did NOT just say my name. Not for the one-hundred-meter breaststroke (蛙泳). Except all eyes were turned to me when she announced it, and her eyes met mine over the clipboard (剪贴板) that held the list of events and swimmers for the Plain Township Aquatic Center meet. The PTAC meet was the first of the season, and I was not ready.
“Remember, the meet is on Wednesday night. Be here at four-thirty for and the race kicks off at six. I’ll see you at practice tomorrow.” Coach Cafferty added. The crowd cleared quickly and I headed back home, feeling desperate.
“Did you find out your events for Wednesday?” Mom asked as she slid the pizza box across the table to me.
“Yeah. One-hundred breaststroke,” I finally said, not meeting her eyes. “I don’t know why Coach didn’t give me backstroke (仰泳). She knows it’s my best. I can’t swim breaststroke!”
“Maybe she sees something you don’t.” Mom said.
“Or maybe I should just quit the swim team.”
Mom frowned. “Is that what you want?”
I sighed. “No.” I took a bite of my pizza. “I’m terrible at breaststroke. What happens when I show up on Wednesday and race, and I sink to the bottom of the pool? Or even worse，come in last?”
“Someone has to be last.” Mom pointed out.
“But I don’t even know if I can swim breaststroke for one-hundred meters!” I set my pizza down. “She had submitted the names, but there’s no way I can do this.”
“You could. But how will you know unless you try?” Mom persuaded.
“Yeah, but if I try, I could fail. In front of everyone.” I pictured the entire crowd watching as I finished last, pointing and laughing. My belly squeezed.
Mom set her pizza down and gave me her I’m-saying-something-important-so-listen face. “Don’t worry about other people. Just race against yourself. Forget about anything else except doing your best and swimming your own race. Prove to yourself that you can do it.”
Somehow, there seemed a mysterious power in her words comforting my unsettling heart and I decided to have a try. The next day, I was at practice as required.
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。
Paragraph 1:
The first practice was a disaster.
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Paragraph 2:
Then everything crashed in the last 5 meters of the race.
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I was born in London and lived there with my mother until I was about eight years old. To find a better life, she went to Chicago and left me with friends in London until she got settled enough to send for me.
Meanwhile, back in England, I was getting into trouble. I had always felt like an outsider, different from the other kids. They didn’t want to play with me. That made me mad, so I got into fights. The people I was staying with felt they couldn’t manage me. So, they sent me to a boarding school. I felt alone and bored. I really missed my mother. She was concerned about me. Finally, she sent for me in the hope that I could become what she wanted me to be.
I started a new life in Chicago but certain things were still the same. I was still getting into fights. Kids laughed at me for my accent, the color of my skin, my grades or whatever. I hated being laughed at, and I let them know it — with my fists. All through grades seven and eight, I was sent to the principal’s office so often that he and I became friends. Instead of punishing me, he would give me advice. He encouraged me to play football and basketball after school. He also suggested that I check out boxing — maybe I could learn to use my fists in a constructive way.
Once I passed by a boxing gym downtown and out of curiosity, I went in. One boxing trainer called out to me, “You, come over here.”
I walked over to him, “Do you want to go a few rounds with him?” He pointed to a small guy. I said, “Sure, why not?” because he was small. But I couldn’t hit the guy. Not only did that little guy make my eyes water, but he bruised my ego (自尊) and made me realize that the sport of boxing was more than just swinging fists. The coach put me into the ring with another fighter who was about my size, and I did pretty well.
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。
That was a moment of decision in my life.
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I worked hard as a professional and got what I wanted.
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Thin, average, and undisciplined, I was the underdog of the boys’ basketball tryouts (选拔赛) in seventh grade. Making the team was very important to me. Although I was extremely nervous, I truly thought I would make the team. But I went in overly optimistic, and quickly faced a cruel reality check.
When on the court, I huffed and puffed like an old man on his last legs; clearly, I was out of shape and having trouble keeping up. When it hit me that this was only the first day, and that there was a second to follow, I realized I would have to step it up in order to gain a spot on the team.
Unfortunately, day two went exactly like day one: I missed shots, passed badly like an out-of-breath fool. Hoping the coach was not watching all my bad moves, I had trouble keeping a positive attitude. Finally, Coach-who at five-foot-four usually seemed small, posted the lists of the Boys A and B Teams. Everybody quickly ran to catch a glimpse of the chosen few.
After scanning the list once, twice, three times, my name was nowhere. Although I had predicted the disaster that had now settled on me, with my head hanging. I slowly walked to the car. This experience definitely had not gone as I planned.
On the way home, I complained “How could that foolish boy is a better choice than me? And…”
“Adam!” my mom cut me off. “Why don’t you realize maybe you need a little more practice? You’d better go to basketball camps next summer.”
Although I did not want to believe her, I knew it was true. Failing to make the team was nobody’s fault but mine. Right then and there, in the middle of my anger, I realized I had to get my act together.
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。
Paragraph 1:
Then I threw myself into as many basketball opportunities as I could find.
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Paragraph 2:
When I took part in the eighth-grade basketball tryouts,I was moderate,swift and strong.
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On a winter Sunday good for skiing, Sue arrived at their holiday chalet (棚屋) with joy. Sue’s skis were sticking out behind her. Mark, another skier, tripped over Sue’s skis. Before Sue could apologize, Mike shouted, “Your skis are in the way. You’ve got big smelly feet!” In view of his attitude, Sue ignored him. Mark lost face and was more angry.
The ski lift took all the skiers to the top of the mountain. The hard snow of the piste (滑雪道) was below them. Then Sue skied down the mountain. As a good skier, she didn’t fall over. Mark, along with his good friend David, was watching her with envy and anger. They were also good skiers but they didn’t know Sue very well. “She’s good,” David said. “But we’re better,” Mark responded with dissatisfaction.
The young people skied all day. They enjoyed themselves and forgot everything. On Wednesday morning, the young people were waiting for the ski lift when their teacher announced a ski race. The race would be arranged for the last day of the holiday on a long and difficult ten-kilometer piste. Everybody wanted to win! They went up the mountain, put on their skis and skied down the piste, practicing for the race. Sue skied fast, so did Mark and David. Obviously, these three became powerful opponents.
It was Saturday and the race was going to be held in the afternoon. Sue was hungry and left her skis at the side of a café. She sat down and ordered lunch. Later, David and Mark came in. They also headed to the side to put their skis there. Mark noticed Sue’s skis and aimed a kick angrily at them. Then he found a screw (螺丝) on Sue’s ski was loose, unsure whether it was caused by the force or it was like that originally. “Sue’s skis won’t work. We’re sure to win,” Mark said and pointed. They smiled knowingly at each other.
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。
Finally came the time of the race and everyone was excited.
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Maybe feeling guilty or nervous, Mark made a mistake and fell down when Sue approached him.
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A couple of years ago, I volunteered to be a finish-line “hugger” at the Kentucky Special Olympics held in Richmond.
The day of the event dawned dull, wet and gray. Even though it started to rain and a cold wind blew, most of the participants were so excited that they didn’t seem to notice the weather at all.
My job was to stand at the end of a lane on the track and hug the person in that lane when he or she crossed the finish line. It seemed to me that many of the participants completed their races just so they could get that finish “hug”. As the arms of the hugger closed around them, their faces lit up with pure joy, whether they came in first or dead last.
While we huggers stood around, we talked. I was told that most of the participants had been training for the races all year. I also noticed that, the Special Olympic participants weren’t here just to win. They didn’t talk negatively about the people they were racing against. In fact, they hugged and wished each other luck before they started, and hugged again when it was over, whether they had won or not.
What I remember most vividly from that day was the long-distance race. It was a long race by any standards: twelve laps around the track. There were only four participants, three boys and one girl. They were only a couple of laps into the race when the rain started up again. Standing in the rain, I began to feel miserable. My feet hurt. I was soaking wet. I was hungry. I was cold when the rain and wind came and hot when the sun came out. I thought irritably: This race is lasting entirely too long. Even though the three boys were nearly finished, the girl was at least four laps behind. I wondered why she kept going when there was obviously no way she could win.
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。
Finally, the three boys finished but they didn’t leave right away.
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As she approached the finishing line, the girl was barely running.
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How exciting! Today is my basketball Grand-final! My team of six enthusiastic boys led by our coach, Jack, has worked extremely hard just to make the finals. My heart was pounding a hundred kilometres an hour as I walked into our home ground. As I hurried to our team bench, our opponents caught my attention. They seemed a lot taller and “meaner” looking.
Whistle blew. Five of us started on the court. Our opponent got hold of the ball first. They were unbelievably fast. They kept breaking our defences and kept scoring goals. Excited parents were cheering so much that their faces were as red as beetroots. Even our best, Bryce, could not stop our opponents from scoring, which annoyed him a lot. By half time, both teams were extremely exhausted and our opponents were ten goals ahead, which presented us with an enormous but achievable challenge.
Jack was awfully anxious as we were not playing anywhere near our best. He told us that we could still win if we made our transitions much quicker so that penalty shots came our way.He also directed us to rebound (抢断篮板) and position ourselves better to receive and score goals. Most important, he reminded us to play as a team.
Our team was all fired up. The second half started in our favour. We were as quick as lightning on the court. We were dribbling (运球), passing, shooting and rebounding without any mistakes. We caught our opponents by surprise. The scores were almost level. We were trailing only by one point. The crowd was growing wild with excitement, fuelling our confidence. At the same time, our opponents switched back to attention and started playing like what they did in the first half, making it harder for us to score.
One minute left! Our opponent threw in the ball but I managed to steal it! Our team was bursting with happiness! More opponents were heading my way and I had to pass the ball to Bryce. Instead of passing on the ball, he did the most unexpected thing. He tried to score from half court! He missed by miles!
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。
Then I noticed Jack signaled to the referee for a pause.
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Whistle blew again and we came back to the court.
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After watching my son Todd run in an annual race. I made my usual comment. “Todd I could walk faster than those women run.” Todd laughed as he knew I wasn't a runner. “Listen, Mom. I want you to show by your actions. How about you running with me next year at this race?” Without thinking, I quickly agreed to this challenge.
But when it was almost time for this race to occur, Todd wasn't going to be running. He was sent to Africa as a soldier for three years. A few of his friends knew this challenge I had agreed to with Todd. They started to encourage me to run the race. I hadn't trained or anything. Quite frankly, I had almost forgotten I said I would do it.
I decided I should keep my promise to Todd and run the race. The first thing I did was go out and buy some running clothes. I might as well look good was my thought. even though I hadn't trained at all.
The day of the race came. I was not well prepared, but I started. It wasn't long before some guy on the roadside started to talking next to me. I wasn't in the talking mood. However, this guy was very talkative. He kept making remark on how tired he was, and I must be tired too. The race was over, and this guy's wife won! I was just happy to finish and keep my promise to Todd.
I came home, and my neighbor asked about the race. I told him what had happened and how this guy would not shut up his negative talk. My neighbor laughed and set me straight," Kay. don't you know what this guy was doing? He thought you were the competition by the way you were dressed. He wanted his wife to win "Oh really!”
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。
This guy's attitude built a fire in me for the next race!
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The race began on a cold day and I saw this guy and his wife.
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