Catherine was the coolest kid in her class. Whenever she went, she was in the spotlight, with a bunch of kids following her. Her deskmate, Landy, however, was not in the cool kids' group. Being the tallest kid in her class, she was teased by her classmates, who were always chanting "Landy, Landy, long as spaghetti (意大利面). Every time Landy heard those silly chants, she could feel her face burst into flames. God knew how she wished the ground to crack and swallow her!
Catherine didn't really like it when the kids chanted "Landy, Landy, long as spaghetti". But she never told them to stop either, and nor did she ever talk to her. She liked being popular.
One weekend, Catherine went over to her grandfather for Thanksgiving. Her grandfather lives on a farm at the opposite end of town, where he keeps chickens. While helping to feed the chickens, Catherine noticed a peculiar one. Curling in the corner, it looked smaller than the others and was almost half-bare!
"What's the matter with it?" She asked her grandfather, with a puzzled frown on her face. Her grandfather told her how chickens could act. "They have a pecking (啄) order," he explained, wrinkles of concern spreading around his forehead. "If one chicken is different, the others will push it away and keep pecking it. Sometimes they peck it so much that it dies. "
"Oh, what a poor little thing!" Catherine let out a sigh as she scooped the frightened chicken up in her arms, whose heart was beating fast in the bony little body. Suddenly, she thought of Landy, the girl being "pecked" by her classmates. "I'm going to take it home and take good care of it," she said with a determined look.
Back in school, Catherine told the cool kids about the chicken. "It's looking healthy now," she said proudly. "It's fatter and its feathers are growing. Even the cat likes it. She carries it around the garden, and…" Everyone was entertained by Catherine's story of her lovely chicken, laughter lingering around the classroom.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Para 1: Then Catherine spotted Landy sitting by herself in a corner. Para 2: But Catherine walked directly toward Landy, regardless of what they said. |
