As the Christmas approached, I felt increasingly tired. Ads started the countdown (倒数): six more, five more, four more shopping days. It was impossible that I would ever get the last gift bought, the last meal cooked.
Russ’s sense of tension equalled mine. Even Brad began to look stressed as he moved through countless festivities. Of us all, only Andrea, who plays the flute (长笛) in the school orchestra, remained relaxed. Unsurprising, I thought, since responsibility rested so lightly on her.
I was puzzled, though, by a sense of distance about her, and she seemed to avoid when I questioned why she came home late from school or left unusually early in the morning.
On one of those last mornings, I baked and decorated cookies. There were several interruptions, and I laid behind schedule. I set about tidying the kitchen. I opened the dishwasher, but it was full, and not of clean dishes. Andrea had loaded the machine after breakfast and forgotten to start it.
Suddenly it all seemed too much: the dirty dishes, the too-tight schedule, Andrea’s carelessness. The holiday season was overwhelming. It didn’t seem worth it.
I rushed to do the dishes before picking up my daughter at school to drive her to her flute lesson. I pulled up outside at 3 p.m., still annoyed. I almost weakened at the sight of the funny, half-skipping run of her. She jumped happily into the car, sharing with school news. But as she saw my face, her happiness gave way to curiosity.
“What’s wrong?”
I told her: she couldn’t remember anything; she was untidy, inconsiderate. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, you go dreaming along...”
We had nearly reached the music school before I ran out of things to say. Besides me, Andrea sat quietly. I didn’t look at her. When I stopped the car, she got out and walked wordlessly away.
Then I felt ashamed. I was labouring over every detail of the holiday, trying to make sure nothing was forgotten. Yet something was missing.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 至少使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
That evening, we rushed through our dinner because it was the night of the high-school Christmas concert.
Paragraph 2:
Everything seemed fine until the music teacher announced the final section, “Andrea Hill’s solo!”
