Finding Niesha's Courage
Niesha could not forget the way she had frozen in front of the class today. Mr Roberts had divided the class into groups to do presentations. Today had been Niesha's turn. However, her hands had shaken so badly that she couldn't read her notes. Her voice had become softer even to silence. Mr Roberts kindly ended Niesha's part of the presentation even though she had clearly not finished. He had also asked Niesha to stay after class for a moment.
"Niesha, I know you're shy, but you worked hard on this project. I'd hate to see you give up on yourself." Mr Roberts had hesitated, "If I give you another chance tomorrow, do you think you can find, your courage?"
Niesha had nodded, grateful for the chance. She had gone as quickly as she could to her next class. She had kept her head down and hoped the school day would end soon.
When she reached her back steps that afternoon, she could see an inviting light coming from the kitchen windows. Momma was baking.
Momma studied Niesha's face as she came into the kitchen. "What's wrong, Niesha?"
Tears shone in Niesha's brown eyes. She told her the whole story. Momma was silent for a moment, her hands still busy with the cake.
"Why is it that you can talk to me about anything and everything, but you can't talk to your class?" Momma asked. She set the timer and then said, "Let me show you something."
Niesha followed Momma to her bedroom. There Momma showed her a book filled with newspaper clippings and pictures. In it there was a blue ribbon that said "First Place" and a picture of herself when she was very young, standing with her parents.
"I won it for public speaking. I started the school year as the shyest girl on the speech team, but I ended the year as the blue ribbon winner. It wasn't easy because I was lacking in confidence—not sure of myself at all. I worked hard, and mostly I faced my fears. You just need to find your courage."
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。
That was the second time someone had told her that today.
……
The next day Niesha again walked to the front of the classroom to give her presentation.
