At Piedmont Middle School, a kid could run track or play tennis, but everyone wanted to be on the soccer team. Piedmont and the surrounding towns were pretty small, so instead of having separate girls and boys teams, each school had one team made up of both girls and boys. Laura had dreamed of earning glory for the team Los Halcones ever since the first grade when her older brother Toni won in the county middle school championship. Now he was away at college on a soccer scholarship. The day she joined the team as a sixth-grader, she felt like she could fly.
But, unfortunately, her joy didn’t last. She spent most of the season on the bench.
Walking to the car after the last game of the season, Laura tried to smile at her mother. Having spent yet another game sitting on the bench, Laura hadn’t even broken a sweat. “Well, at least you don’t have to wash my uniform,” she joked, but she could feel tears in her eyes. Her mother said, “You still have chances. Don’t lose heart. Toni once made the same mistake. And now you can watch soccer videos to learn more skills when sitting there.” Laura could only shake her head.
Lying in bed that night, Laura thought back to her first game, the day of her huge mistake.
“Pass, pass, pass!”
“Clear that ball!”
Voices yelled from every side. Laura ran nervously in front of the goal (球门) as both teams rushed down the field. She knew the children in green were her teammates. Those in blue were on the other team. At that time, a boy on the opposing team had the ball when a battle for that ball broke out a few feet from her. Green and blue uniforms swirled (打转) around her, and Laura could barely keep track of the ball. Then, suddenly, it came her way!
“Laura, I’m open!” one of her teammates called from near the sideline. Then Laura kicked the ball.
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。
But the ball went in the completely wrong direction!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Sitting on the bench for game after game, Laura decided to tell Toni that she wanted to quit.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jumping Over Boundaries
When I was in elementary school, we had an annual sports day. Girls could do many things like hopscotch, jump rope, tetherball, and dodgeball, except high jumping. Only boys could do high jumping.
That’s what I wanted to do — high jumping. So I went to the coach.
“Girls don’t do high jumping,” the coach said. “Girls have all these other things they can do.” He excitedly described how much fun it would be.
I’d been high jumping in the backyard with my five brothers for years. Although I am a girl, I did high jumping pretty well. My brothers could rarely beat me. Whenever my back crossed the bar, that feeling is extremely wonderful. I went home and told my mother what the coach had said. My mother, a small, thin woman only four feet eleven inches tall, said, “I think we should go visit him.”
“Visit who?” I asked confusedly.
“The headmaster.”
“Visit the headmaster?” I was terrified. Would I get in trouble? Would my mother and I be crossing boundaries we shouldn’t cross?
My mom and I went to Mr. White’s office. “Linda wants to do the high jump,” my mother said.
“Mrs. Martinez, you don’t understand. This is the tradition of our Annual Sports Day,” he said.
“But Mr. White, I don’t know where it says that girls cannot do this.”
The headmaster couldn’t find any rules that said girls couldn’t do the high jump. “I have to think about this,” he said at last.
When we got home, my mom told me something I would always remember: this wasn’t just about me. “Maybe other girls want to do this, too,” she said.
My mother waited a week, but still didn’t get the headmaster’s reply. So she walked over to the school again. “Mr. White, please. I ask you this not for me and not for Linda, but let’s just see how it works.” In the end, Mr. White agreed.
I stood on the field of the high jumping competition.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________To my surprise, some of the cheers I got were from boys!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Chasing a Dream
I will never forget that November day. It was hotter than normal — too hot. My throat felt like a field of cotton, cracked with the summer heat, as I waited for the gun to fire. This was the day we had waited so long for. I looked out at the crowd; dozens of familiar faces flashed across my view. They had come for me. They were counting on me. I saw my dad set his watch, with worry and excitement on his face. Adrenaline (肾上腺素) pumped through my body, and the race began.
For the first two and a half miles, I felt great. I had never before been so ready for something. The weeks leading up to the race were filled with strictly controlled practices and a strict diet. My friends hadn’t seen me in weeks, but they understood the sacrifice required to make my dream a reality.
My dad and I had been working towards this race for three years. It was everything to me, and it was everything to my dad. He was a runner and was excited by my success in running. He made it to every race, even flying home early from business trips to see me run. I always listened for his voice — telling me to relax my arms, calling out my time. He pushed me. He cheered for me. He believed in me. We spent countless hours on the sandy canals. Breathing in the dust of the desert, the blossoms (花簇) of the orange trees, we made our way across the city. We pounded miles and miles into our running shoes, marking with every step the path to greatness.
But without warning, when I was 200 yards away from the finish line, my legs stopped working. My lungs fought to take in enough air, and my feet transformed into cement (水泥) bricks. I still don’t know what happened in those last few moments. Nothing I could do would make them hold my weight. They were as weak as jelly.
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。
Even though I knew my dreams of victory were destroyed, I had to finish the race.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“I’m so sorry I disappointed you,” I whispered to Dad.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own efforts. I learned this lesson from an experience many years ago. I took the head coaching job at a school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a small school with a weak football program. The school took part in the league matches every year. However, it never ended well. We were more of the audience, watching and cheering instead of sweating out in the fields.
Fortunately, the school held the tradition that the school’s old team was to play against the new team at the end of spring practice. For lack of resources, the old team bad no coach, and they didn’t even practice to prepare for the game.
I was assigned (指派) as the coach of the new team, which was why I was excited. I believed that we were going to win, but to my disappointment, we were defeated. I couldn’t believe I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I tried to figure out the reason and what I should do next.
It didn’t take long before I came to realize that my team was depending on me. Without proper guidance or previous experience, my team was at a loss what to do. I had to change my attitude so that I could bring out the best in them about their ability and potential.
I would let my action do the talking. First, I started doing anything I could to help them build a little pride. I could see their spirits lifted, with their head held high in great confidence. Most importantly, I began to treat them like winners. Only when they regarded themselves as winners could they willingly invest time and energy.
This summer, the other teams enjoyed their vacations.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Six months later, football season started.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。
My husband Larry and I have always had our basic values in common, but our interests are far apart. I love the arts, especially opera. He’s a huge sports fan of hockey (曲棍球). His big passion is NHL hockey. He’s shared season tickets with his friends for years.
There were times when we attended the games with other couples. The rest of our group was enthusiastic about the game, even the women. They knew all the players and how to pronounce their long names. I enjoyed participating in the National Anthem, but aside from the meal, that was the only thing I enjoyed about our hockey nights. Instead of appreciating the good seats we had, I’d complain that it was too cold there. When the game started, my phone would be on my lap. Most of the time, I’d be texting or daydreaming. Sometimes, my texting would be interrupted when the home team scored. I knew they scored because everyone jumped up and exchanged high-fives and shouts.
What was so exciting about a group of grown men on ice hitting something with a stick? It was beyond me. I started to wonder. Why was I the only one not enjoying myself? As I looked around at thousands of people cheering and getting increasingly excited, I decided to at least give it a try — for my husband’s sake, if not for my own.
It took a few games, but soon I learned who the goalie (守门员) was, who our latest player was, who had been traded and from where. When the other team scored, I eventually felt great disappointment with the rest of my crowd. I searched the program to see which part of the globe our players had come from.
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 was surprised that I began to like the games I watched.
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I felt excited when I heard that our city would have the first women’s hockey team.
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My dad and I had been looking forward to the Stale cross-country race of my senior year of high school, which would be the climax (顶点) of my existence.
I was the fastest runner on my team, and I was supposed to make it into the top fifteen. We had been working towards this race for three years. It was everything to me, and it was everything to my dad. He was a runner and was wild with joy by my success in running. He made it to every race, even flying home early from business trips to see me run. I always listened for his voice, which rang above the crowd-telling me to relax my arms, calling out my time. He pushed me. He cheered for me. He believed in me. We spent countless hours on the sandy canals of Arizona. Breathing in the dust of the desert, the blossoms of the orange trees, and the terrible smell of the dairy farm, we made our way across the city. We pounded miles and miles into our running shoes, marking with every step the path to greatness. It was a journey that was just ours. A dream passed on from one generation to the next.
Then the big day came. It was hotter than normal - too hot. My throat felt like a field of cotton, cracked with the summer heat, as I waited for the gun to fire. I gazed out at the crowd; dozens of familiar faces from church and school flickered across my view. They had come for me. They were counting on me. I saw my dad set his watch, worry and excitement etched across his face. With the sound of a gunshot, the race began.
For the first two and half miles, I felt great. I had never before been so ready for something. The weeks leading up to the race were filled with hard practices and a strict diet. The scorching sun beat upon my back, blinding me with its brilliance. Nothing was going to stop me, though.
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。
However, without warning, my strength was running out.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I whispered, “I’m so sorry I disappointed you, Dad.”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________How well are we in tune with the rhythm of life? In our busy day-to-day lives, we don’t often stop to ask ourselves this question. At least I don’t. And it wasn’t until I joined a competitive sporting event that I learned a most important lesson: we must place our mind in harmony with the natural order of things to be successful.
Let me tell you what happened.
I decided to take part in an International Marathon in my hometown last year. Being an ambitious person, I hoped to finish it within 5 hours, accompanied by my friend with whom I had trained.
The big day finally arrived. “Ready... set... bang” And we were off.
At first, we kept a rapid pace and ran nonstop. At this pace, we finished the first 20 kilometers in 2 hours and I thought running a marathon was a piece of cake. Then my running mate began to slow down. I urged him to keep running at the same pace but he said no, he wanted to conserve his energy. I felt I had partnered with the wrong person, therefore, I sped up and left him behind in the dust.
A few kilometers later, I began to understand his strategy as my pace slowed to a jog then a walk. After that I was incapable of moving another step. I was ashamed as more and more people passed by me. More than once I thought “Maybe I should quit.” I started to doubt my ability to finish this race.
注意：1.续写词数应为120左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
At this moment, my running mate caught up with me and patted me on the back.
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I asked myself, what did this marathon mean to me?
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An impossible peace
Once upon a time, on a piece of land there lived giants and dragons, who had been enemies for years on end. However, after years of bloody fights, they had learned a lot. They were no longer so foolish as to wage wars with terrible battles in which thousands died. Now, every year they held bowling matches instead. A giant competed against a dragon. Whoever lost would become the winner’s slave. If a dragon won, he could use the giant’s muscles for all that heavy lifting. If a giant won, he would have free flights and fire for the whole year.
That was how they prevented their deaths and yet with the match going round and round, they hated each other more and more. Every year the winners were so cruel to the losers, in revenge (报复) for the time they had lost. The losers would be at the mercy of the winners, giants tired from lifting loads while dragons worn out from constant flying and breathing fire. There came a time when what mattered most was not winning the bowling match, but not losing.
Yonk the Giant was the best bowler, and the most afraid. He had never lost. Many dragons had been his slaves and they were dying to see him lose so they could get their revenge. This was why Yonk was terrified of losing. Especially since last year’s match, when he missed his first ever strike, he had decided that something had to change.
The following year he won again. When he arrived home, his slave dragon feared the worst but Yonk did nothing bad to him, for he had a different idea in mind.
“This year you will not be my slave. We will go bowling and I will teach you all of my techniques and secrets. But you must promise me one thing: when you win your match next year, you will not be cruel to your giant. Do the same as I am doing with you.”
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 dragon gladly accepted.
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Much later Yonk lost his first bowling match but he was no longer afraid of losing.
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Last fall, I came up with a good idea to tell my friend Melanie that she and I should enter a backcountry ski mountaineering race. The mountain is 40 miles from Crested Butte to Aspen, Colorado, and it required us to race as a team. Neither of us had ever done a ski race, but we’d always been good partners on mountain bikes, so I thought we’d be well-matched in the ski race, too.
However, on our first long training day together, Melanie dropped me again and again. As she disappeared out of sight on our last climb, I complained to myself, “Why had I come up with this stupid idea? Why wasn’t she waiting?” When I finally caught up, Melanie asked, “Are you OK?” I opened my mouth to respond and — oh, no — tears (眼泪) began running down my face. I felt sad and embarrassed. Crying was a behavior I connected with myself as a beginner who did most often in the years when I was learning to mountain bike. Seeing this, Melanie said with motherly concern, “I think you peed to have a rest and eat something.”
She was right. Rest and sugar improved my mood. Finally, we began going down the mountain together and we joked about my tears. In the days that followed, we kept training hard for the race day.
Despite the difficult start to our training, on race day, Melanie and I proved to be a good pair. The race began at midnight, and for six hours we schussed (直线滑降) together as a team through the darkness. But as the sun began to rise, we found ourselves pushing as hard as we could to make it to Star Pass, the high point of the race, by the important 7 am. Unluckily, we lost the race because we were 2 minutes late.
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。
A painful block formed in my throat (喉咙).
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After a few minutes, I felt less sad.
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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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