Last weekend, I went to Mark's new house nearby a forest for a little get-together. After lunch when I was chatting with him and his wife Cody, he asked me, “Hey Thoran, have you ever been to a secret spot?” Before I could even finish saying no, Cody and Mark were already at the door with their jackets on. And the next moment we were heading out into the forest with a camera, a fishing net and a plastic bucket（桶）.

    We walked through the forest along a path by a small river. Breathing the fresh air, we three talked and laughed all the way.

    “Hey! What are you guys doing?” Someone suddenly shouted from behind. Mark and Cody's eyes immediately widened, and without a word they started running. I had no choice but to follow them, getting my shoes wet and dirty with mud. We probably ran for about 10 minutes before Mark and Cody slowed down. I stopped to catch my breath and asked, “Who was that?”

    Mark replied, “The most annoying neighbor ever. If he caught up with us, there's no telling what could happen. He is always making fun of us. I dislike him.” We kept walking on for a few more minutes. Then a beautiful lake appeared before our eyes. “Wow! Amazing!” I shouted and could hardly hold back my excitement. The lake was large and the water was deep and blue, looking so peaceful with tall trees around it.

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，每段的开头语己为你写好；

4）续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。

Paragraph 1:

    Looking around, we saw a rubber boat floating by the shore.

Paragraph 2:

    “Help! Help! Help!” I was so frightened and cried for help.

    My family moved from Taiwan to a small town in central Georgia, where my dad got a visa for his family and a job. I had just learned English, and from what little I could gather from my friends, Santa Claus would come down one's chimney and put toys in one's stocking on Christmas Eve! What a great country, I thought. After I looked up "stocking" in my Chinese-English dictionary, I knew what I had to do and always expected that day.

    Finally, the big day came. On that wonderful night, after everyone went to bed, I sneaked out of bed, took my longest, cleanest knee sock and attached it to a nail already on the mantel (壁炉). Obviously, the previous owners of this house were no strangers to this Santa character. Gazing at the sock and imagining the delicately-packed gift in it, I couldn't help giggling (咯咯笑). For the first time, I found it hard to fall asleep.

    And for the first time, I woke up before everyone else in the early morning. Then I headed straight to the fireplace and was even ready for what to say after seeing the gift. However, what happened next was the least thing I wanted to mention. On the nail was the empty and lonely sock. I was hit with the reality of the empty sock and the biggest lie ever told. I tried my best to hold back my tears but failed. Bursting into tears, I quickly took down the sock and stuffed it in the back of a drawer.

    Every December since then, the topic of Christmas memories would unavoidably come up, and I would amuse my friends with my poor-little-me story. I had to make it as funny as possible, or else I would cry once again. I didn't know whether any of my audience ever noticed the sparkling tears hidden in my eyes.

    How could I know that Santa was just late? Nine years ago, on Christmas Eve, I heard a knock on the door when I was watching TV. Unwillingly, I dragged my feet and opened the door.

注意：

1）所续写短文词数为 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，请用下划线标出你使用的关键词语。

Paragraph 1：

    Outside the door stood an old man with a white beard and a red cap, holding a well-packed box.

Paragraph 2：

    Through tear-blurred eyes, I recognized the handwriting on the card.

    'Usual boring day!' This would be the answer from Roman if somebody asked him how his day was. These days he found everything boring, nothing excited him.

One day he was lying in his room as usual. Suddenly light went off. His room was rather hot without an air conditioner. Though he did not want to leave his room, he had to. Unwillingly, he left his room and came to living room. Living room was slightly cool as it had two huge windows.

    His young brother was playing with his friend. They were rolling on the floor. He was looking out for the TV remote, but couldn't find. He got up and searched it everywhere, but remote was nowhere. He looked at his brother who was still lying on the floor playing.

    He asked him, "Where is the remote?" "Under the Sofa," his brother yelled.

He tried to look through, but it was dark. He put his hand under the sofa. He touched something, grabbed it and took his hand out. OMG! It was a snake in his hand!

After seeing that his brother started to yell," Snake, snake!" Mom came as soon as she heard their shouting. She too was horrified to see a snake. She was so scared that she even couldn't speak a word. Two kids were trying to hide into each other's back. "What an old trick!" Roman thought and threw it over kids.

    As the snake landed on the floor near to the kids, it started moving from left side to the right. Only then did Roman realize that the snake was real, not a toy. He threw the snake over kids because he thought it was a fake snake and kids were playing some tricks.

    This time mom almost got heart attack. Now he was scared too. The snake was only 10 meters away from kids and was staring at kids. They even couldn't call a rescue team. There might be some deadly damage before their arrival. There was not much time to think. It was the time for a quick action.

Paragraph 1：

    As Roman was farther from the snake, he jumped to the window and grabbed the curtain.

Paragraph 2：

    After the rescue team caught and took the snake away, everyone went inside the home.

Lungs nearly burst. I struggled to lift my head out of the water. Inch by inch, my tired body reached the end of the pool.

The extent of my swimming career was purely recreational, while the competitive swimmers nearby thought nothing of the seemingly simple task of a 500-meter swim test. Pushing myself to finish what I had started, I could only think: why not take the easy way out?

Earlier that week, I had turned in my first job application at a local pool. Overqualified, I was hired on the spot. However, the tasks were boring: helping confused visitors and measuring the height of children before they went down the slide (滑梯). I was capable of more.

So a swim test was required, establishing the mere fact that I was not completely helpless in a pool. Midway through, the manager administering the test remarked, "This looks really easy for you. Why aren't you applying to become a guard?"

"The thought didn't cross my mind."

"Well, lifeguarding demands more responsibility, strength and respect. Thus the position pays $ 2 more per hour. Your swimming skills are strong enough. All you need to do is complete a certification class."

Inside I was unsure of myself, but his words inspired me — You never know what you are capable of until you force yourself to do it.

Soon I passed the swim test. All left was to practice and learn first aid, CPR (心肺复苏), and procedures for different land-based and water-based emergencies.

Work started soon. A well-intentioned yet anxious feeling in me soon passed. Days, weeks, and months went by without incident; emergencies were rare. The skills and training I had so carefully studied and acquired seemed unnecessary.

Today appeared to be another uneventful day. However, shortly after the other guards signaled to the children to exit the pool, I noticed one boy was still in the middle while the others had climbed up.

注意：

1）续写的词数应为150左右。

2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

"Something must have gone wrong with him," I thought to myself.

……

Having the boy on the floor, I put my ear to his mouth and my fingers at his neck.

I was confident at the audition(试演) for the school play and felt pleased to get a role. It just felt good to be in the play, even if I had only four or five lines. I worked hard at perfecting those lines. I repeated them over and over again. I put in the emphases and intonations(语调) that my drama teacher had suggested and, because I was onstage much longer than for just four or five lines, I had many actions to rehearse(排练) and perform. "Do them in front of a mirror," my drama teacher had advised me. "Watch how you look; practice and rehearse as often as you can." I did just that. I worked and worked at it. It was fun and exciting rehearsing.

Then finally the big night came. Suddenly, things felt different. The theater was full of people. As I dressed, I could hear the chatting and noises of the audience. I looked around at the other more experienced actors and saw that their previous confidence seemed to have disappeared. Had they got their makeup right? Was the costume done up correctly? What if they forgot their lines? The more people talked about their anxiety, the more nervous everyone became. The worries spread from person to another—like a baton(接力棒) being passed in a relay race-until the whole of the backstage area seemed to be full of tension and worry.

I was onstage early, at first performing my non-spoken role in the background with several other guys around the same age. When, suddenly, I heard my cue, the lights were bright in my eyes, I couldn't see the audience but knew there were hundreds of people out there all watching me. The words that had flowed so easily when I stood in front of a mirror didn't want to come, and when they did I found myself hurrying into them. I tried to slowdown my thoughts and my words.

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 I suddenly realized I had missed a sentence.

I bowed to the audience excited y and went back to my drama teacher.

The Butterfly in A Bottle

Poltu was awakened from a marvellous dream where he was about to receive the trophy for winning the inter-school football match. The alarm's loud ring jolted him,but he wasn't too disheartened. 

He rushed to his study table where an empty jam bottle held a colourful little butterfly. Catching it had been a hard task as it kept avoiding his grasp,but finally he managed without a net. This butterfly was going to be part of his biology project in school. 

The biology project required Poltu to submit the study of a living creature every month. Most of his classmates drew diagrams from their books as part of this exercise. But Poltu was going to do something different. He was going to present a live creature -this butterfly. 

Poltu loved the different colours on the wings of the butterfly-red,green and blue. How beautiful it looked when it fluttered the wings. Poltu had been caring for it,making holes in the bottle cap for air and providing tender leaves for it to eat. 

Excited about displaying his exhibit to the biology teacher,Poltu dressed hurriedly,and left for school. His school was walking distance from his house. He took a shortcut through the backyard of Sinha aunty's house,a stretch he loved walking through. The breeze was very pleasant as it had rained slightly the previous night. The garden smelt of sweet-smelling flowers. Poltu glanced at his bottle every now and then and smiled at the butterfly fluttering its wings. 

When he reached school,the gate wasn't wholly open yet. For once,Poltu was early to school. A few boys were playing football on the field. Any other day would have seen Poltu joining them without a second thought. But today,he walked straight into his class. He opened the window and placed the bottle on the windowsill(窗台). 

The golden rays of the sun streamed through the glass,on the delicate wings of the butterfly,and added brightness to them. Poltu's butterfly looked simply gorgeous. In a few minutes,the area was full of boys,watching it in surprise. 

注意：(1)续写词数应为150个左右；(2)请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。

That day's biology class was the most interesting in a long time. 

……

Suddenly,the butterfly didn't move.