主题8：公益类精选15篇-备战2022届新高考英语读后续写主题分类专项训练

主题8：公益类精选15篇（原卷版）

一、读后续写

1．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。

The young woman sat crying at one of the back tables of a small restaurant at a fuel service station, on a highway where truck drivers and traveller stopped. Two girls, perhaps four and five years old, watched their mother tensely.

I am a patrolman, which is a policeman who is assigned to patrol a specific route. I am with the Knox County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Department, and was sent to check on the family after someone telephoned, concerned about the woman’s weeping. A flash of fear crossed the older child’s eyes as I approached her. “Daddy left us,” she said. “He just put our stuff out of the car while we were in the bathroom.”

“Is that so, little lady?” I said. “I want you two to climb on those stools over there and order something to eat.”

Reluctantly they crossed to the stools. I called the waitress to take their order.

“Now, what’s the problem?” I asked the woman.

“Just what my girl said,” she replied, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “ My husband is not cruel — just at the end of his rope. We have no money; we’re flat broke. He thought that we’d get more help alone than if he stayed.”

“Do you have family?”

“The nearest is in Chicago.”

We sat there discussing organisations and government agencies that could help her. When the waitress brought hot dogs and French fries to the little girls, I went to the counter and took out my wallet to pay.

“The owner says no charge,” the waitress said. “We know what’s going 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。

“Officer, excuse me,” a man said to me.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

There was enough to buy bus tickets to Chicago and food along the way.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2．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。续写词数应为150左右。

In early 2017, Kevin Duke started thinking about his beloved daughter’s very special upcoming birthday. Like every parent, he wanted to gift his daughter with a truly perfect present, one that she would really appreciate and could enjoy for a long time. He eventually settled on a second hand car.

This Duke purchased the car a few weeks ahead of his little girl’s 16th birthday. This meant he had plenty of time to give it a good thorough cleaning and fix-up, and make sure it worked perfectly. But when he did clean-up, he suddenly noticed something that grabbed his attention immediately.

It was a small envelope which said “New Car Owner: Important Info Inside” letter was from Archey and it began simply enough: “To the person that gets this car,” “I just wanted to let you know what a special vehicle you’ve bought.” As the letter went on, the tragic circumstances around the car’s previous owner began to unfold. “This car belonged to my mom, but she passed away in a house fire along with my 6-year-olddaughter.”

“We took road trips and listened to country music with the windows open,” she recalled in the heartfelt letter. “Love, joy, and adventures were all we had in this car,” she wrote. “Now that it’s yours, please remember it isn’t just a car. It’s a memory. It’s really heartbreaking to part with it, but I have to. Finance permitting, I dream one day of being able to buy it back. So please be nice to it…”

Despite the great tragedy she had been through, all Archey wanted, as the letter reveals, was for the new owner to experience the same happiness that she had so cherished in the past. As Duke sat in the car reading this mysterious letter, his eyes began to fill with tears. It soon became clear that it wouldn’t be enough simply to treat this car with love.

Paragraph 1

He had to do something—and he knew exactly what.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2

Quickly, the post online spread widely.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3．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。

The New Year

One pleasant New Year morning, Edward rose, washed and dressed himself in haste(匆忙). He wanted to be the first to wish a happy New Year. He looked in every room, and shouted the words of welcome. He ran into the street to repeat them to those he might meet.

When he came back, his father gave him two bright, new silver dollars. His face lit up as he took them. He had wished for along time to buy some pretty books that he had seen at the bookstore.

He left the house with a light heart, intending to buy the books. As he ran down the street, he saw a poor German family,the father, mother, and three children trembling with cold.

“I wish you a happy New Year,” said Edward, as he was gayly(快乐地) passing on.

The man shook his head.

“You do not belong to this country,” said Edward.

The man again shook his head, for he could not understand or speak the language. But he pointed to his mouth, and to the children, as if to say, “These little ones have had nothing to eat for a long time.”

注意：1. 续写词数应为100左右；

2. 请按如下格式作答。

Edward quickly understood that these poor people were in need of help.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When Edward came home, his father asked what book he had bought.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4．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。续写的词数应为150左右。

Once, when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus(马戏). Finally, there was only one family between us and the ticket counter.

This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of twelve. You could tell they didn’t have a lot of money.

Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean. The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly talking about the clowns, elephants, and other acts they would see that night in a low voice.

It was clear that they had never been to the circus before. The father was at the head of the pack, and the mother was holding her husband’s hand. The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly responded, “Please let me buy eight children’s tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus.”

The ticket lady gave that price. The man’s wife let go of his hand, her head dropped. The father leaned a little closer and asked,“How much did you say?” The ticket lady gave the price again. The man didn’t have enough money.

How could he turn and tell his eight children that he didn’t have enough money to take them to the circus?

Paragraph1:

Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2:

That day my father and I went back to our car and drove home without any tickets.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5．阅读下面文章，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一个完整短文，续写词数应为150左右。

William Allard is a photographer for National Geographic magazine whose pictures often appear in it. As Mr. Allard travels around the world, he looks for good photos to share.

All of Mr. Allard's pictures show interesting people and places. But one photograph of a young boy tending his sheep in Peru is different.

One spring afternoon, he was driving down the road. The scenery was so peaceful and quiet, and the fresh air was fragrant with scents, awakening all his cells to breathe them in. The sun cast a warm golden glow on his face. All these were enjoyable. Suddenly, he saw a little figure standing at the edge of the road. One more look and he noticed a boy crying. William pulled over and set the brake. He was told that another driver had come down the road and driven straight through the boy's dozen sheep. About half of them were dead. The driver never stopped. But William did.

The boy was nine or ten years old. His name was Eduardo. Eduardo's family depended on those sheep to earn money and he was responsible for them. Now he must go home and tell his family that half of their sheep were dead. However, he was frustrated to imagine the disappointed look on his parents faces.

William just took a few photos. He saw that Eduardo was very upset, but left quickly. He did not give the boy anything because he had nothing to give. He did not give the boy any money because it is not something he did when he was working. However, when he got back to his hotel, he thought about Eduardo, his dead sheep and his tears. He also thought about Eduardo's family. He realized what it would mean to lose that many sheep: the mountains of Peru can be a hard place to live and work.

Paragraph 1:

As soon as William returned home, he spoke with the people at National Geographic magazine.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2:

Thanks to the published pictures, William gave the money donated by readers to Eduardo's family.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6．阅读下面短文，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。

Grandpa Bill Rodgers has narrowly escaped a phone scam (欺骗). It all began with a telephone call.

Bill is an elderly man from Cincinnati, Ohio, who was looking forward to spending time with his family over the holidays. They were all coming to visit him at his Elmwood Place home, including his adult grandson David. One afternoon, while napping in bed, he was awakened by the sharp ringing of his telephone.

“Who will ring me up at this time?” He wondered. Peering towards the phone, he hesitantly picked it up. From the receiver came an urgent voice. “Grandpa, this is David. I am in trouble.” Before Bill could ask him any question, he continued, on and off, half crying, “I hit a woman’s car and she was seven months pregnant. And they charged me with drunken driving and I’m in prison...” He sobbed loudly. His voice was so broken that Bill could hardly match it with the gentle and warm voice of his grandson. Poor David! He must be suffering! Bill panicked (惊慌) immediately.

Without more detailed communication, the phone passed suddenly to another person — David’s lawyer who had a deeper voice. Seemingly, he understood Bill’s anxiety and attempted to comfort him with a solution. “Now the only way to help David is to go to Wal-Mart and transfer $2,300 to another store. I would pick up the money and then use it to post David’s bail (保释金).” “I am sure everything would be OK as long as the money is in place,” he added. Ultimately, he lowered his voice, “Don’t tell anybody. You don’t want to make your grandson look ugly in your neighborhood.” The lawyer hung up even before Bill could give an answer.

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:

Bill was totally at a loss.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2:

The lucky part of Bill’s day was when he stepped into cashier Mary’s line in Wal-Mart.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7．阅读下面短文,根据所给情节进行续写,使之构成一个完整的故事。续写的词数应为150左右。

I go to work by bus almost every day, although I have my own car, because it is cheaper and I like the feeling of being with others. I’m the kind of person who likes to watch people. I live in a small town, so I see many of the same people getting on the bus with me every day, on their way to and from work. For many months, I noticed an elderly man get on at one of the stops and always head to the back of the bus.

He wore the same clothes every day. The clothes were well-worn, but clean. I could tell he led a simple life. I had never spoken to this gentleman, but he usually gave me a smile when he passed by. One day, it was snowing so I drove to work, for I didn’t want to be late. I noticed the gentleman standing on a street corner. He held a sign in his hand asking for money.

I went home that day and wrote him a note saying I was grateful for what I had in my life and that I wanted to share some of it with him. In the note I wrote: Hi, I am Larissa. Maybe I seem like a stranger to you, but I am on the same bus as you almost every day. I saw you the other day on the street, and I hope this money can help you. I wish you a pleasant week.

注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右;

2. 续写部分分为两段，每段开头语已为你写好;

Paragraph 1:

I put a small amount of money in an envelope...

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2:

The note read: " Hi Larissa...

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8．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。

Every once in a while, as FedEx driver Aubrey made her regular delivery slops in a neighborhood in rural southeastern Indiana, she’d come across a young boy playing basketball with a broken hoop (球筐).

The boy was so joyful playing basketball, which stuck with Aubrey and reminded her of the past days as a kid, when the sport was her safe harbor. She was bullied (欺负) for years in school, so basketball was a shelter away from her life as a kid. She had a neighbor install (安装) a basketball hoop for her across the street because he knew how much she loved it.

Aubrey just wouldn’t stop thinking about it and she really wanted to get the boy a hoop. Months later, Aubrey decided to get the 11-year-old boy, Elijah, a new hoop and had the hoop installed while the family wasn’t home. With her surprising gift she left a note: “Just want you to have the best hoop that will grow with you and all your friends,” she wrote, signing it as “just one of the FedEx drivers in the area.”

After installing the hoop and leaving the note, Aubrey didn’t return to the neighborhood for weeks. She thought the family wouldn’t realize it was her, but she was more than satisfied to know in her heart she probably “made the kid’s day.” It turned out she did a lot more than that.

Elijah’s mother read the note, and the moment she realized who it was from, she just immediately started to cry. Elijah’s family had gone through a difficult year, with the deaths of four family members and his father suffering a serious injury. Her gift changed their lives.

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 Elijah came home and his mother showed it to him, he got really emotional.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Weeks later, Aubrey came again, and Elijah was there waiting.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9．阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。

In 1995 I broke my left foot on a bike ride. Luckily, I could still drive, so I continued my life with crutches (拐杖). One Sunday I drove to a picnic in a forest preserve an hour from my home, in my comfortable, but uncertain, white car.

The picnic was great, with good food, good friends and good weather. Late in the afternoon I left the party and began my drive home. I took the scenic route through West Chicago, a small town about 25 miles west of Chicago proper. Everything closed down on Sunday there, so it was hard to find someone driving on the road.

As I started up a bridge my car started to move with a short sudden action. The problem was that my car's alternator (交流发电机) went wrong, resulting in the car's battery dying. I thought, not now, not here! Finally, the car died. I rolled backwards onto a safer place, and pulled the emergency brake (紧急制动). Of course it was starting to get dark. I had to go out to walk, but where would I go? And on crutches? How long before a car would come by, and would they be kind enough to stop help? It would be very expensive to get my car to the auto mechanic shop (汽车修理店) of my hometown. Could I go home safely?

Then I saw a house right there at the bottom of the bridge, with a family outside having a picnic with their friends! Some of them were looking in my direction; some women were clearing away the completed picnic meal. I had great trouble walking with crutches, so I got out, leaned on the car and waved one crutch over my head. Their response was immediate. Three people ran up to the car to see what I needed. I told them my story and they took action at once.

注意:

1.续写词数应为150左右;

2. 请按如下格式作答。

To my great joy, the family owned an auto mechanic shop.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Unbelievable luck again, I had a ride to my home.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10．阅读下面短文，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。

On an ordinary Thursday afternoon, I turned up the next walkway. Children played in the yards along the block. I waved to them as I walked by, delivering mail at houses along the way.

Some mailmen preferred routes where they drove a truck and slipped the mail into a collection of mailboxes without seeing anyone face to face. Not me. I wanted to be outside talking to people. That's where the excitement was. The lady who lived there opened the door wide. “Hello,” she said. I knew what she was waiting for. I've got your book club selection,” I said, handing over her package.

There were only about 700 people on my route. Over the years I'd gotten to know most of them, if not in person then by their mail. There were the folks who got magazines, or book after book, those who loved their catalogues, and some who had steady pen pals. I knew I provided an important service in my job. College acceptances, birthday presents, postcards from all corners of the world — they could all make someone's day. I also brought doctor bills and insurance notices.

Mrs. Dorman at the end of my route got a package from the Home Shopping Network almost every day. She was an older lady, who'd turned 78, and I liked being able to bring a little joy into her life with my delivery. She got her blood pressure pills and blood test kits for diabetes (糖尿病) in the Yesmail. Yes, convenient. But I was just the messenger, showing up every day like clockwork. It wasn't me who was making a difference in people's lives. Not me personally. A friendly hello, a chat with a lonely person. That was the most I could offer.

I dug in my bag for Mrs. Dorman's mail — and the inevitable Home Shopping Network package. She'd be glad to get this, whatever it was. Mrs. Dorman often waited for me at the door and we always had a nice talk, but not today.

注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；

2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。

I heard the TV going inside so I knew she was home.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mrs. Dorman was back home from hospital within a few days, her broken shoulder in a sling (悬带).

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11．阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

The sky was dark. Rain fell in big drops and thunder and lightning flashed across the sky. I shivered with cold and fear as I walked through the streams of muddy water. Some people were rushing by, completely bathed in the heavy rain.

Along the way, I saw some schoolchildren carrying their heavy schoolbags and rushing home. I also saw that some road repair work had been abandoned by workers. Obviously, the workers had left in a hurry because of the storm. There were few signs and it was hard to see what was on the road. There were pieces of wood and slabs of metal and a hole seemed to have been dug and hurriedly covered with wooden boards.

I moved on but suddenly stopped as I heard someone crying. I quickly turned back to the place where the sounds came. I was horrified! To my shock, there seemed to be a small child stuck in the big hole on the road. The wooden boards had moved away with the force of the rushing water. Though I could barely identify how deep the hole was and whether there was any other victim as it was dark all around me, I was sure, at least, the child was not only stuck in the hole, but faced the risk of getting drowned. I told him that I was going to get help.

注意：

1.续写词数应为150左右；

2.请按照如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Actually, I was not sure of what to do or where to go but decided to go to the nearest house for help.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The parents of the child who just arrived from work were totally shocked to hear of what had happened.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12．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。续写的词数应为150左右。

Maybe there is a Father Christmas!

Anna stood anxiously staring at the pouring rain while little Molly looked up at a pretty doll in the window of the toy shop on the edge of town. "Mummy, "Molly said, "that's the doll I would like Father Christmas to bring me." A tear rolled down Anna's cheek and she knew it would be impossible this year. They were supposed to start a new life in Spain one and a half years ago before her husband Tim was cruelly taken from them by a car. Their small amount of savings were quickly spent on Tim’s funeral costs and necessities, leaving her in heavy debt.

To her relief, the local people had helped to support her through these difficult times and especially Juan, owner of the local grocery store, a single man, who would often put something special into her shopping bag, even though he himself had been going through a difficult period — his mother died of cancer and he was busy handling the sale of his mother’s house on the edge of town.

As the rain stopped, Anna and Molly started walking home. She was thinking about buying an umbrella after paying the rent with her upcoming wage when Molly shouted excitedly, "Mummy, what’s that on the road?" Anna looked down and saw a bag lying in the water, which was obviously lost because of the sudden rain.

They got home and dried themselves before Anna focused on the bag. Opening it and seeing bundles of money inside, she stood back in shock and cried, "Is this a present from kindness? I can pay off my debt, buy Molly’s favorite doll and my new umbrella ...” Then reality set in, Anna was a very moral person and would never steal even the slightest little thing, let alone bundles of money. She went to bed with all thoughts in her mind.

Paragraph 1：

Early next morning, Anna headed where she decided to go.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2：

At supper, Anna had an unexpected visitor—Juan with gift boxes in his hands.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

13．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。续写的词数应为150左右。

A desperate call came into Jimmy Gilleece’s bar. A newly married woman who had spent the afternoon at his dive beach bar couldn’t find her wallet. She didn’t care about her ID, credit cards, or $150 in cash—but her wedding ring was inside.

Gilleece didn’t like the idea that stealing could have occurred at his place, so he started off to n the wallet. He spent hours looking through footage(片段) from 16 different surveillance cameras(监控摄像头), watching the woman’s every step in the bar. At 4 p.m., the woman went to sit on a bench outside the bar and left when her taxi arrived. Within minutes, a young man in a hoodie(连帽衫) approached the bench, put something in his pocket, and walked off. Gilleece posted a picture on the bar’s Facebook page.

Within hours, Gilleece got a text from 17-year-old Rivers Prather who’d heard about the post from his sister. Prather admitted having taken the wallet and told Gilleece he’d done it because he hadn’t eaten in two days. He said he saw the ring but thought it was fake, so be took the money and threw the wallet off the public docks(码头) into the ocean. Then he bought a sandwich. Gilleece, unsure whether he believed Prathen told the teen to meet him at the docks. There, they got to talking, and Prather told him that he wasn’t getting along with his family and had been living in the woods for a week. Gilleece, a father of two, looked up and down Prather—his small figure, his red cheeks—and saw him for what he was; more of a kid than a criminal.

But the police were already on the case, and because of the missing ring, Prather could be facing crime charges. “He would be going to prison,” Gilleece thought to himself. “I had to help him somehow.”

注意：

1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右：

2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语己为你写好。

Paragraph 1:

Gilleece hired two divers to search the waters where Prather had thrown the wallet.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2:

Then suddenly a diver came up to the surface of the water.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

14．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。续写的词数应为150左右。

The story began on a downtown Brooklyn street corner. An elderly man had fallen down while crossing the street, and an ambulance rushed him to the nearest hospital. The old man repeatedly called for his son.

From a worn letter located in his pocket, anemergency-room (急救室) nurse learned that his son was a sailor stationed in North Carolina Camp. Obviously there were no other relatives.

Someone at the hospital called the Red Cross office in Brooklyn, and a request for the son to rush to Brooklyn was sent. Because time was short—the patient was dying, so they found the young man and rushed him to the airport in time to catch the only plane that might enable him to reach his dying father.

It was dusk when the nurse took the tired, anxious sailor to the bedside. “Your son is here,” she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened. The medicine he had been given because of the pain from his heart attack made his eyes weak and only saw the young man in uniform (制服) standing outside the oxygen tent. He extended his hand. The sailor wrapped his strong fingers around the old man’s, releasing a message of love and encouragement. The nurse brought him a chair, so the sailor could sit by the bed.

Nights are long in hospitals, but all through the night the young sailor sat there, holding the old man’s hand and offering words of hope and strength. It was nearly dawn when the patient died. The sailor placed his lifeless hand he had been holding on the bed, and went to inform the nurse.

“Who was the man?” the sailor asked.

“He was your father.” the nurse answered surprisingly.

“No, he wasn’t,” the sailor replied. “ I’ve never seen him before in my life.”

Paragraph 1:

“Why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2:

Two days later a message came in that there had been two sailors with the same name and similar number in the Camp.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

15．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。

Lying in bed with my husband, Gary, we were reminiscing (怀旧). Having been together for 31 years, we were now proud parents to 5 children. Our four eldest kids had flown away to their own life, and Samuel, in his final year of school, was preparing to follow in their footsteps.

With six bedrooms, Gary and I wondered what we would do once we became empty-nest-ers. “Maybe we should sell the house,” Gary suggested. But over the next six months, we never got around to it. Plus, we were busy as foster carers (寄养照管), which we'd done for the past five years. Though I loved every child who stayed with us, we had no plans to have any youngsters for ever. After all, we'd raised five kids already. Then, looking through the Internet, I saw an article. Seven siblings (兄弟姐妹) in need of forever home, it read, beside a photo of the kids in their best clothes.

My heart went out to their hopeful smiles. Reading, I discovered the children—Adelino, then 13, Ruby, 11, Aleecia and Anthony, both six, Aubriella, four, Leo, three, and Xander, two—had been in a terrible car accident six months earlier. Their parents had died and the youngsters had been badly injured. It was a miracle (奇迹) they'd survived.

We had to help them, I thought. I sent an e-mail to my husband if we could adopt (收养) them, expecting him to tell me I was crazy. With Gary working for the post office and me a lawyer, I knew we had the ability to make it work. And as the hours passed, I couldn't push the kids out of my mind. Who else would have the room to keep them all together? I wondered. It would be devastating (毁灭性的) if they had to be seperated.

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。

Before Gary arrived home from work, I'd prepared a speech to present my request.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I tried to help them feel safe with us.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________