Luis scanned the field. The soccer ball was tucked (盘带) between his feet. He searched and searched until… there! His friend Nicholas was wide open. He passed the ball to Nicholas. Nicholas trapped the ball and swung his leg back, kicked, and…
GOAL!!! Luis leaped up and down, celebrating. Just then, Devon walked up, his face twisted in anger. Devon had started playing soccer during breaks with them a few weeks ago. He was a nice enough guy when he felt like things in the game had gone his way. But when he felt like they hadn’t, watch out.
“Why didn’t you pass the ball to me, Luis?” Devon shouted.
“Guy, you weren’t open. It’s just that simple.” Luis responded.
“I’m fast though!” Devon protested, his voice still loud and angry.
Luis ignored him. He didn’t like being dragged into arguments. So that’s what he did with Devon most of the time —just ignored him. It almost always worked.
“I don’t like the way that Devon talks after soccer,” Nicholas said. Luis looked up from his book. They took the same bus after school.
“What do you mean?” he asked as Nicholas sat down.
“He’s always yelling at people and bragging (吹嘘) about himself.” Luis nodded. That was true. “It isn’t right,” Nicholas continued. “It makes soccer less fun. I want to tell him that he can’t play with us anymore. I already talked to all the other guys and they all agreed with me,” Nicholas said. His eyes were set in determination.
The bus started to slow down for Nicholas’ stop. Nicholas stood up, swinging his backpack back onto his shoulder. Luis watched as Nicholas ran off the bus. Although everyone had been getting a bit sick of Devon ruining soccer for a while, shutting him out seemed too extreme. He spent the rest of the ride trying to figure out what he should 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。
The next day Luis asked Devon if he could talk with him.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Devon kept playing soccer with them for the rest of the school year.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Kids with cerebral palsy (脑瘫) join race.
Thanks to the efforts of some high school student athletes, who helped the physically challenged, the smiles on the faces of 9-year-old Lucas Myrick and 8-year-old Elsa Dent were a little bit brighter.
Lucas and Elsa had cerebral palsy (脑瘫), a condition that limited their physical ability, and couldn’t walk as fast as their peers who were free to walk everywhere. However, they had bright spirits and always held positive attitudes towards adversity and life in all aspects. Impressively, they participated in the Park Lane Elementary School’s annual Fun Run. They wanted to demonstrate that they could participate in the race as the normal kids at school. They were convinced that they could fight prejudice against the disabled in their own way.
When Lucas’ mother, Janell, mentioned their passion for the Fun Run to the athletic director of the school, he was more thanr delighted to assist them in taking part. At last, two members of the high school team showed up to push Lucas in his wheelchair. It was not just the football team that turned up to support the event. Members of the high school cross-country team (越野队) joined in the activity aimed to build up the strength physically and cultivate perseverance in face of difficulties mentally. They ran alongside Elsa who participated in the Fun Run using her walker.
The run was about 1.07 miles. But the athletes did much more than simply pushed Lucas in the Fun Run-they formed an emotional bond with him and even came up with a team name. “The team is called the wheelies!” Lucas said with a satisfied smile on his face. The players pushed Lucas at a steady pace and at the last part of the course, Lucas got out of his wheelchair to give running with his new friends a try. “I was beating one of them on my legs,” Lucas yelled at the top of his voice excitedly. “I was running ahead of him. he couldn’t even keep up with me!” Lucas wheeled himself proudly and gave the audience a triumphant (欢欣鼓舞) smile. He waved his hands wildly to cheer Elsa on.
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 Lucas crossed the finish line, Elsa fell behind although she used her walker (助行器).
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Elsa’s mother cheered her on and asked if she wanted to use her motorized (机动) chair instead of her walker to help her go faster but she declined.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My dream comes true
The rain had started to fall gently through the evening air as darkness fell over Sydney. The noise was deafening. As I walked towards the track, I glanced around me at the sea of faces in the stands, but mind was focused. The Olympic gold medal was just minutes away, hanging tantalizingly (引诱人地) in the distance.
My heart was beating loudly. I was so close to the realization of my childhood dream and the feeling was fantastic. I knew I would have to push myself beyond my known limits to ensure that my dream came true.
I tried to keep my head, telling myself not to panic, to stick to the plan and run my own race. I knew the Russian girls would set off quickly-and I had to finish this race fewer than ten seconds behind the Russian athlete Yelena Prokhorova. If I could do that, the title would be mine. I looked out along the first stretch of the 400 m track and caught my breath.
My ankle was bandaged against an injury in the long jump just a couple of hours earlier, but I shut out all thoughts of pain.
The starting gun was fired, and the race began. The first lap was good, and I managed to keep up with the group, but I was feeling much more tired than I usually did, and much more than I’d imagined. Both the long, hard weeks of training that had led up to this championship, and the exhaustion from two days of fierce competition were showing in my performance. Mental and physical tiredness were starting to over- come me, and I had to fight back.
Prokhorova had set the pace from the start. It was important that I didn’t let her get too far in front. I had to stay with her. At the bell I was 2.3 seconds behind her. Just one lap to go. One lap. I could do it. I had to keep going. I could see the gap opening between me and the Russian. Thankfully, my foot was holding out, so now it was all down to mental stamina (耐力).
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。
Prokhorova was pulling away.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Then, the moment that will stay with me for the rest of my life—my name in lights.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Last weekend, I was standing at the finish line of the St. Francis Franny Flyer 5-kilometer (5K) race, waiting for my nine-year-old son Kade to cross it.
Kade, though a fourth-grader, was already a skilled runner. He had been a part of a cross-country club since he was six years old. He had been working hard to improve his endurance and running skills ‘as he was determined to be a professional runner and compete in national and international races when he was older.
There were two St. Francis Franny Flyer races happening at the same time that day. The 5K race weaved (穿行) through neighborhoods, from the church to Pinecone Road and back while the 10K followed the same route but extended north on Pinecone Road. Race volunteers were available on Pinecone Road to show runners the way, and there were also signs directing the two different courses.
I signed Kade up for the 5K race as a way to train him for the Junior Olympics. He had never run a 10K race, not even in training, so the 10K race was never an option.
Kade was pretty fast and he set a 5K record for his age group at last year’s race, so I was surprised to see slower runners crossing the finish line before him. “This is odd. He should be ahead of them. He might just be having a bad race,” I thought to myself. But as the minutes passed, my worry intensified. My heart raced at the thought that Kade might be lost or injured.
Anxious and worried, I drove along the 5K race route in search of Kade, but he was nowhere to be found. A surge of fear and despair overwhelmed me, causing a flood of tears to pour down my face. I turned to race officials and volunteers for help, and people started looking for him.
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。
Later, a volunteer told me he had spotted Kade on the 10K course.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After what seemed like a long time, Kade finally appeared.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The newfound team, now officially known as the Wildcats, started their basketball journey with a mix of eagerness and anxiety. The community center’s basketball court became their arena (竞技场), a place where failures were just stepping stones to success, and every dribble (运球), pass, and shot was a lesson in disguise.
Under Mr. Jordan’s guidance, practices became more than just learning how to play basketball; they were about discovering the strengths within and the power of unity. He had an approach to seeing the potential in every player.
One afternoon, as the team gathered around Mr. Jordan, he introduced a new drill that focused on passing and communication. “Basketball is a language,” he explained. “If you can’t communicate, you can’t win. This drill will help you understand each other without words. ”
The drill was a disaster at first. Passes went wrong, and frustration mounted. Jasmine’s quick passes were too swift for Mia, and Lucas’s attempts at humor during the drill only led to more confusion. Eli, ever the observer, noticed the tension and suggested a simple system of hand signals they had discussed in a previous practice. Gradually, the team began to find their rhythm, learning to anticipate each other’s moves and communicate more effectively.
It wasn’t just basketball skills that the Wildcats were developing; it was a sense of belonging and trust in one another. Each practice ended with a team gathering, where Mr. Jordan shared stories from his coaching days, emphasizing the lessons learned from losses more than wins.
注意：(1)续写词数应为150左右；(2)开头已给出。Paragraph 1: Soon came their first real game against a more experienced team.
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Paragraph 2: The second half saw a different Wildcats team.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the bustling (繁忙的) schoolyard of a primary school, a volleyball team trial (选拔赛) was taking place. Kids of all sizes and shapes had come forward to show their skills, most of them towering over six feet tall, like young giants.
Suddenly, the gym door creaked open, and a small figure appeared. It was Joseph, a boy who barely reached five feet in height. His appearance caused a ripple of giggles. He seemed like a lost elf (精灵) in a world of giants.
“Is this the volleyball trial?” Joseph asked. Despite the laughter, he squared his shoulders and prepared to show his skills. He wasn’t bad at bumping the ball and passing it, but not good enough to make the team. The coach took him aside and told him so. Joseph’s eyes flashed with determination. “I’m not the best at bumping the ball,” he said confidently. “I’m a hitter.”
The coach raised an eyebrow, skeptical. Hitters were the tallest players on the volleyball team. They jumped high, slamming the ball down on the other side with force. Joseph’s small size seemed an impossibility.
But Joseph was serious. The coach finally agreed and handed him a ball. Standing by the net, he set the ball into the air. Joseph’s small frame seemed to explode with energy. He ran forward, leaped into the air, and hit the ball with such force that it whistled through the air.
Everyone was stunned. Joseph’s jump was so high, it seemed as if he were flying. His small size didn’t matter; his skill and determination were enough. The ball slammed into the court with a resounding thud (砰的一声), and the crowd erupted into applause. Of course, he made the team. All the team members took pains to drill for the coming volleyball match. Two months later, the big day came. The match was very fierce. The players were tall and strong except Joseph, who just ran on the court, not yet given a chance to touch the ball. At the sight of Joseph, the other team were laughing, which made us mad. But Joseph just shook off their laughter with a confident smile. As the game progressed, it turned out to be a tough game. After the four sets, the score was 2:2.
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。
During a timeout (暂停) in the final set, Joseph’s team gathered to discuss their plan.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The whole audience cheered up.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Since Anna fell on the mattress from the horizontal bar(高低杠) four days before while doing a somersault (空翻) , she had kept her beautiful and once proud head bent. Now she was back at the Capital Airport from abroad. Upon entering the lobby, Anna wished she could hide her head under her collar. She was ashamed to face the people who had come to welcome her right at the airport, to be interviewed by the reporters, or to meet her sister and brother-in-law. She was even afraid to see the warm-hearted stewardess—one of her admirers. Each time she went abroad from the airport, this stewardess would rush up to help her with her luggage. What a shame that she had absolutely failed!
Two years before, Anna had gone abroad to take part in an international competition for the first time. Among so many girls who had already won fame abroad, she attracted little attention. Yet because her mind was kept free of her anxiety about failure, she unexpectedly won two World Titles. When she returned home that year, she was given an enthusiastic welcome in the same lobby. Many hands stretched out to her, many camera lenses focused on her. A reporter in glasses kept pestering her with the question, “What do you like best?” She was wondering how to respond when she caught sight of a bouquet of flowers. Then she said, “Flowers!” Following her remarks, bunches of flowers were at once presented out to her, too many for her to hold.
This time when Anna was a little off balance on the horizontal bar, she became so worried that she lost self-control and fell off. This failure was followed by several more in other events.
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。
Afterwards in order to avoid people at the airport, Anna dragged behind the team.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________All of a sudden, she saw a familiar figure.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My aunt Helen is an expert on baseball. She is the one who taught me how to play well either as a pitcher (投手) or a batter (击球手). Also, she has always kept me spellbound by her stories of playing baseball as a batter in the 1940s — she was really good at swinging the bat. I love listening to her baseball story over and over. She always says, “Go after what you want. Don’t be afraid of failing. That was exactly what I did when I was young.”
And this is how her story goes.
In 1943, she was one of the young women trying out for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League which was created to entertain baseball fans because many of America’s young men were fighting in World War Ⅱ.
Aunt Helen had heard rumors that a team would play right in South Bend, Indiana. She dreamed of what it would be like to win a championship for her hometown! She imagined a large flag hanging at the baseball field, and on it the name Helen Baker would be there for all to see.
On the day of the tryouts, Aunt Helen played baseball for hours with many young women. For this new league, some of the rules were different from the rules for regular soft ball. They still used a standard soft ball, but the bases (垒) and pitcher’s mound (投球区土墩) were placed at longer distances, for example.
About a week later, Aunt Helen collected the mail and found an envelope with her name written in blue ink. The envelope was postmarked from Chicago, in which the letter was from the leaders of the girls’ baseball league! Wild with joy, Aunt Helen tore it open and learned that she had been invited to the league’s main tryouts!
But as the days went by, Aunt Helen became worried about traveling to Chicago. “What if I went all that way and failed?” She asked her father as usual, hesitation clear in her tone. When the day of the tryouts was drawing near, she was too afraid to go.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1: She locked herself in the bedroom for most of the day.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: “Helen Baker!” Her name was called and it was her turn to try out.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Swimmers, take your marks!”
A beep signaled the start of the race, Tara dove into the pool, beginning her first IM (个人混合泳).Despite being a strong swimmer, the thought of the IM had made her nervous all morning. Butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke (蛙泳), and freestyle. She’d been repeating the order in her head all morning, but had messed it up several times in practice.
Tara burst through the water, starting with the butterfly stroke. Soon, she touched the wall and made a swift turn, pushing off hard. She did one frog kick and drew her arms under the water for the breaststroke, then quickly turned over to her back. Butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle. She knew the order, but she’d messed up again. Had the officials seen her mistake?
Tara smoothly completed her backstroke lap, then the breaststroke. She moved ahead, and kept the lead through the freestyle lap, scoring a comfortable win. She looked up at the scoreboard. The results listed her as the winner. Would that hold up after her mistake?
A few minutes later, the announce r read the results. Tara had been disqualified, meaning she’d scored none for her team. “Butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, I knew the order” Tara muttered as she prepared for the final relay.
Each of the four relay members would complete one lap of the 25-meter pool, and all would swim freestyle. As the final swimmer, Tara had an opportunity to make up for the disqualification.
The first swimmers for each team were lined up at the end of the pool, shaking out their arms and legs as they loosened up. Tara reached her arms to the sides and gently swung them. All set, she thought.
Tara’s teammates swam well. After two lengths of the pool, they had a small lead. But the third swimmer fell back a bit. As the leader approached the wall, Tara’s teammate Hannah was slightly behind. “Come on, come on!” Tara whispered. She leaned forward, ready to spring as soon as Hannah touched the wall.
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:
Soon after the leader dived into the pool, Tara did too.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
Tara looked at her teammates, who were celebrating their second-place finish.
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