Question

Once, when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. 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 with their brothers or sisters in a low voice.

One could sense they had never been to the circus before. It promised to be highlight of their young lives. The father and mother were at the head of the pack, standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband’s hand, looking up at him as if to say, “You are my knight in shining armor.”

He was smiling and responding in pride, looking back at her as if to say, “You got that right.” 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 the price. The man’s wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, and his lips began to shake. The father leaned a little closer and asked, “How much did you say?”

The ticket lady again quoted the price. The man didn’t have enough money.

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

Actually we were not wealthy in any sense. So I understand how the kids would feel. I felt sorry for them.

注意：

所需写的短文词数应为150左右；

应使用5个以上短文标有下划线的关键词语；

续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已经为你写好；

续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词。

Paragraph 1

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. ___________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Answer

Paragraph 1

Then he picked it up and tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket.’ The man turned around and saw the money. He knew what was going on, he looked straight into my dad’s eyes, took my dad’s hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip shaking and a tear running down his cheek, he replied, “Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family.”

Paragraph 2

We didn’t go to the circus that night, when I asked dad why he did so, Dad said, “My child, it was a desperate, heartbreaking and embarrassing situation for a father. Surely he wasn’t begging for a handout, but he reminded me of my father, when I was young.” He paused for a while, as if wandering in his memory. “We should appreciate what we have obtained from life and seize every opportunity to help others. We didn’t go to the circus tonight, but we didn’t go without. Now, who wants an ice cream?”

【解析】在续写时，除了注意原文给出的关键词，还需要注意以下线索：

1. What happened after my dad dropping the $20 bill? What did he say?

2. Why did my father do that?

续写步骤

（1）精读文章，确定文章线索。每篇文章都有各自独特的写作思路，通过精读文章，找到该篇文章的写作线索，这样有利于考生“顺藤摸瓜（结尾）”。

（2）仔细审题，明确续写要求。注意如字数限制、使用几处下划线关键词语、续写段落的首句提示等。

（3）回扣原文，揣摩续写思路。根据文章后面的要求，再次快速回读短文，抓住文章的思路，结合段首的提示语，最终确定续写段落的思路。

（4）拟写草稿，修改错词病句。拟写时，注意内容的丰富性和对所给关键词语的覆盖情况以及句子结构的多样性，并通过句与句之间连接词的正确使用，使上下文连贯。

（5）标出续写部分中使用到的原材料中标有下划线的关键词语。

（6）誊写时，务必做到字迹工整清晰。

【范文亮点】

Then he picked it up and tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket.’本句作者衔接巧妙，既显示出作者父亲为他人尊严着想的善意，又显示出其智慧。

he looked straight into my dad’s eyes, took my dad’s hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip shaking and a tear running down his cheek, he replied…使用了短语look straight into one’s eyes，以及with复合结构。

He paused for a while, as if wandering in his memory.使用了状语从句的省略。

We should appreciate what we have obtained from life and seize every opportunity to help others.使用了what引导宾语从句。