I think Luca and I live in different universes. Like yesterday. One of our division problems had the number 9, 999. She said, "All those nines. They feel so. . . so purple!" Purple? I see numbers as logical and orderly. Not as colors.
However, our teacher assigned us two for a class project. We had to do a report on the rose willow (红柳). No way could I work with someone who said nines felt purple.
At our first meeting, we came up with a plan. Luca would make a
1. 5-meter tall tree, and I would write the report. But on Monday, just one week before the due, Luca said she was leaving to visit her grandfather but there was no room for a tree in the car. That means I, the one who can't even draw a stick figure, would have to make the tree. And she, the one who doesn't like to think logically, would have to write the report.
I reminded her of some things she should include in the report, such as its characteristics, distribution and function. "Please be at my house at 2:00 on Sunday," I said. While she'd gone, I made the tree according to some directions online.
Sunday arrived. Luca turned up carrying only a digital recorder. "What's that for? " I asked. "Where's the report?" She said, "A written report doesn't feel right, so I use feelings." I tried to keep my voice calm, "Rose willows don't have feelings." "But my grandfather does," Luca said. "I interviewed my grandfather about how he planted trees in the desert. Listen."
A scratchy(沙哑的) voice came on. "The dry, hot weather makes it difficult for anything to survive. For five years, the seedlings we planted were all dead." I looked sideways at Luca. Her nose was scrunched up(吱嘎作响). So was mine. He continued.
"We felt hopeless. Suddenly a young life swaying in the wind caught our eye. All of us cried—such joy. All my life, I remember that feeling, of seeing the little tree." Luca turned off the recording and said, "He talks more, about living there and working there."
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。
Looking at Luca, I was lost in thought.
The next day, we put our tree in the middle of the classroom.
