I'll never forget the day when Mom made me go to a birthday party. I was in Mrs. Black's third grade class in Wichita Falls, Texas, and I brought home a birthday invitation. "I'm not going," I said. "She's a new girl named Ruth, and Berniece and Pat aren't going, either. She asked the whole class, all 36 of us."
As Mom studied the handmade invitation, she looked strangely sad. Then she announced, "Well, you are going! I'll pick up a present tomorrow. "I couldn't believe it. Mom had never made me go to a party! I was sure that I'd just die if I had to go. However, Mom remained unaffected, no matter how much I begged.
When Saturday arrived, Mom rushed me out of bed and made me wrap the pretty pink mirror brush-and-comb set she'd bought for $ 2.98. She drove me over in her yellow and white car.
Ruth answered the door and signed me to follow her up the steepest (最陡峭的) , scariest staircase I'd ever seen. Stepping through the door brought me great relief. The hardwood floors shone in the sunlit room, White snow-like mats covered the backs and arms of the well-used furniture.
The biggest cake I ever saw sat on one table. It was decorated with nine pink candles, a carelessly printed Happy Birthday Ruth and what I think were supposed to be rosebuds. Thirty six paper cups were near the cake, each one with a name on it.
This won't be too awful, once everyone gets here, I decided.
"Where's your mom?" I asked Ruth
Looking down at the floor, she said, "Well, she's sort of sick."
"Oh. Where's your dad?"
"He's gone."
Then there was a silence, except for a few rough coughs from behind a closed door.
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。
Some 15 minutes passed. . . then 10 more.
We two started with the cake, enjoying each bite.
