It was summer, and my dad wanted to treat me to a vacation like never before. He decided to take me on a trip to the Wild West.

    We took a plane to Albuquerque, a big city in the state of New Mexico. We reached Albuquerque in the late afternoon. Uncle Paul, my dad's friend, picked us up from the airport and drove us up to his farm in Pecos.

    His wife Tina cooked us a delicious dinner and we got to know his sons Ryan and Kyle. My dad and I spent the night in the guestroom of the farm house listening to the frogs and water rolling down the river nearby. Very early in the morning, Uncle Paul woke us up to have breakfast. "The day starts at dawn on my farm," he said. After breakfast, I went to help Aunt Tina feed the chickens. while my dad went with Uncle Paul to take the sheep out to graze(吃草). I was impressed to see my dad and Uncle Paul riding horses. They looked really cool.

    In the afternoon, I asked Uncle Paul if I could take a hose ride, and he said yes, as long as my dad went with me. I wasn't going to take a horse ride by myself anyway. So, my dad and I put on our new cowboy hats, got on our horses, and headed slowly towards the mountains. "Don't be late for supper," Uncle Paul cried, "and keep to the track so that you don't get lost!" "OK!" my dad cried back. After a while Uncle Paul and his farm house were out of sight. It was so peaceful and quiet and the colors of the brown rocks, the deep green pine trees, and the late afternoon sun mixed to create a magic scene. It looked like a beautiful woven(编织的）blanket spread out upon the ground just for us.

注意：

1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2）至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语：

3）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；

4）续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。

    Calling Latin a dead language is a matter of semantics (语义学).There are those who would suggest Latin is not dead, and that it lives on in everyday language used by billions of people worldwide. Others argue that because there're routine updates on Latin published by the Roman Catholic Church, it is still alive and developing.

    However, Latin is no longer used, on a daily basis, by the vast majority of people outside of specific religious settings, where tradition influences its use. It is no longer anyone's native language. While its use is still taught, Latin is no longer considered to be a developing language to the degree of most modern languages.

    The reasons for Latin dying out are numerous. Perhaps the most significant one has to do with the decline of the Roman Empire. During the Roman period, language was standardized to a greater degree. Because Rome was the most powerful political country in the Western world at the time, most of those who had any ambition to succeed had a desire to learn Latin. As a result, the language spread rapidly. However that rapid expansion would eventually begin to plateau (处于停滞状态)and finally decline.

    Latin continued to be used during the medieval period. Throughout Europe, it remained the language of choice. However, with nothing to unite the continent, there was no need for a uniform language. So slowly, over a period of hundreds of years, Latin began to change as different regions developed their own dialects (方言),known as the Romance languages today, among which the most commonly spoken and recognizable are Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and French.

    Though not directly related to the Romance languages, Latin still has had an effect on many other languages. English, for example, which is not one of the Romance languages but a Germanic one, can trace nearly two-thirds of its words back to Latin roots.

Should some books be banned from school libraries?

    Are there Harry Potter books in your school library? Many kids all over the world are reading J. K. Rowling's books in school. But some parents think their children shouldn't be able to find those and other books in school libraries. Should school libraries keep books that some parents don't approve of? Should they take those books off the shelves? All over the country, schools are wrestling with those questions.

    It's true that some hold their argument that some books should be banned from school libraries! "We need certain limits," said one student in Denver, Colorado. He said some books have no place in school libraries. Many people believe that books that contain violence or bad words shouldn't be in schools. Some people want the Harry Potter books removed because they contain talk about wizards and magic.

    Most parents know what's good for kids. They have a right to decide which books should or should not be in school libraries.

    Books should meet certain standards before they are put in schools. Is this a good book for kids to read? Is it full of violence? Does it contain bad words or ideas kids shouldn't learn about? If a book is not good for all kids, it should not be in a school library. Most parents don't have time to find out everything their kids read. They should be able to trust schools to do that for them.

    On the other hand, some believe that books should not be banned from school libraries! "Parents should decide what their own kids read," said Natalie Nicol, of Denver, Colorado. But other parents shouldn't make that choice for them. Many experts say that it's the parents' job, not the school's job, to check out what their kids are reading. If they don't like a book, they should not let their kids read it.

    Why should a few parents stop kids from reading stories like the Harry Potter series? Kids should be able to check out books their parents think are OK to read. Many schools let kids borrow certain books if they have a signed paper from a parent. That works fine. A parent doesn't sign the paper if he or she doesn't want the child to read the book. Other kids can read the books if they have permission.

    Some books are not OK for all kids to read. But if more adults were careful about what their own kids read, they wouldn't have to ban books from the library.

    Loneliness Peaks

    For years America has been talking about obesity, but a new study points to a more serious health issue: isolation and loneliness.

Being connected to others socially is widely considered a fundamental human need — crucial to both well-being and survival. Extreme examples show infants who lack human contact in care fail to grow and often die. Indeed, social isolation has been used as a form of punishment. According to Julianne Holt-Lunstad, the lead author of the study, an increasing portion of the U.S. population now population now experiences isolation regularly. Over 42 million adults above age 45 in the U.S. are estimated to be suffering from chronic(长期的)loneliness.

    The study of 340 adults between the ages of 27 and 101 living in San Diego identified three key age ranges when people felt the loneliest. Participants who had the highest levels of loneliness were in their late-20s, mid-50s and late-80s. While it may come as a surprise that people in their late-20s suffered from loneliness, a larger survey shows they actually may suffer the hardest.

    With an increasing number of people working from home, watching television, getting into an addiction to electronic devices, it has become too easy to be alone, even if that's not a person's intention. Modern day conveniences like having anything we want delivered make it possible to never need to leave the house. So, not surprisingly, those with frequent social contact usually feel less lonely than those with few social ties.

    Mounting evidence suggests social isolation and loneliness significantly impact our health, and even shorten our lives, just like obesity. This study isn't the first time loneliness has been flagged as an emerging health issue. Therefore, reducing both isolation and loneliness is important for quality of life and well-being.

    I encountered God the summer I was five. My father had finally grown too sick to get out of bed, so the heat and nervous tension in the air inside the house made it impossible to breathe. I would escape by squeezing under the front porch. All manner of creatures lived there, but I mostly ignored them, with one exception — a little frog who, every time I crawled (爬行) under the porch, stared at me with great, golden eyes.

    In late June, the frog finally hopped (跳跃) toward my arm and stared at me, demanding eye contact. Once he had my attention, he opened his wide mouth and said, "Hello, Sophie."

    I should have been shocked, but for some reason, I wasn't. Perhaps at five years old, I was more receptive to something against the laws of nature. At any rate, I was not shocked that a frog could speak. I had a more pressing question.

    "How do you know my name?"

    The frog blinked slowly. "I know everything. I am God."

    I spoke, "You can't be God. You're too small."

    He extended a long, webbed finger and was pointing to the edge of the porch's shadow — to the spot where my mother had tried to grow flowers there for years. She had stopped trying when my father's condition worsened.

    "Look there," commanded the frog, and I stared as a beautiful white flower blossomed as if stretching its limbs after a long sleep. In my five years, I had never seen anything so splendid.

    God and I became good friends that summer. I spent every day under the porch, talking to him.

    Sometimes I asked God questions. Sometimes he answered. Once, I asked him where Heaven was.

    "Heaven," he said, "is where I live."

    In August, my father's illness had progressed to the point that I was sent to my aunt's house in Virginia. I told God I would be back soon, and then waited in Virginia for my father to get better.

注意：

1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2）应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；

3）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；

4）续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。

Paragraph 1:

    Six months later, I came back home for my father's funeral.

Paragraph 2:

    Suddenly, an idea crossed my mind that my father might travel to Heaven.

    There was no question of what I wanted to be when I grew up—a radio announcer. The silky voices of the announcers served as a constant companion who brought life, music and hopes to a nine-year-old only child in the 1930s.

    My family settled in Wagga in 1938. Every Saturday at five o'clock the local radio station 2WG would air a children's programme. Kids were invited to perform their talents. I used these opportunities to polish my voice for the time when my dream might come true.

    Working in radio might involve typing. So, I went to the Wagga Commercial College to learn to type. In 1945, when I graduated, I wrote a letter to apply to the Wagga radio station for a job. Surprisingly, I received a telegram asking me to attend an interview. On the day of the interview, I waited in the reception area with mixed feelings of excitement and calm resolution to do my best. The kind-looking manager surprised me by saying, "I'm afraid we have no plans for young women announcers."

   "In any case, your preference is for classical music?" he asked. "We use all manners of music here."

    "Oh," I said in a confident voice. "I have catholic(广泛的) taste in music." He took me to meet the copy chief. "This is the man you will be working for," he smiled. I was to work six days a week from nine to five, plus Friday nights. The salary was pitiful with the long hours, but I was in!

    After a short while I settled into my responsibilities. On quiet Friday evenings, a helpful announcer offered to show me how to operate the controls at the announcer's desk. He taught me how to put the records on the turntable, bring in the relayed news, and all sorts of tricks I could ever never have mastered alone. This man became my mentor(导师). It certainly wasn't part of any formal training scheme but the experience was invaluable. Sadly, after about six months, it seemed that I would never get the chance to use these skills.

注意：

1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2）至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；

3）续写部分分为两段,每段的开头语已为你写好；

4）续写完成后,请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。

Paragraph 1:

    However, one Friday night the evening announcer suddenly collapsed with appendicitis(阑尾炎) and was rushed to hospital.

Paragraph 2:

    After that, things happened swiftly. Within a fortnight I had my own afternoon programme, Music of the Masters.