For many people the subject of hiccups (嗝) is a joke, but for Harry Mendes, a fifteen-year-old schoolboy from Birmingham, it was something quite different.
His hiccups began one Sunday lunch time and continued day and night for two weeks. After the first week, Harry's parents took him to hospital, but it took another week for the doctors to cure his attack.
Harry, who is now back at school, described what happened to him.
“When I began to hiccup, I drank a glass of water but that didn't do any good. That evening I had hiccups every four seconds. We tried everything to stop them. I held my breath and drank cold drinks. My father even tried to give me a shock but that didn't work either.”
After a week of sleepless nights, he went to hospital. The doctors took an X-ray of his chest but they couldn't find anything wrong.
“They gave me some medicine and my hiccups slowed down, but it was another week before the medicine worked completely and my hiccups stopped.”
Harry was very lucky. The world record holder is the American farmer Charles Osborne, who hiccupped for sixty-eight years. He stopped in 1990 at last, but nobody knows why.Harry's hiccups lasted ____.
| A．a week | B．fourteen days |
| C．twenty-eight days | D．one month |
His hiccups started after he ____.
| A．drank a glass of water | B．went to hospital |
| C．ate an Indian meal | D．finished his homework |
His parents decided to take him to hospital when he ____.
| A．hiccupped for four seconds |
| B．held his breath |
| C．hiccupped at night |
| D．couldn't stop hiccupping |
His hiccups completely stopped one week after the doctor ____.
| A．gave him some medicine |
| B．took an X-ray of his chest |
| C．gave him a shock |
| D．let him drink cold drinks |
What does “shock” in this passage mean？
| A．震惊 | B．休克 | C．喷嚏 | D．哈欠 |
After learning about these famous women， you will know you can do a lot for society， and make a difference to the world in your lifetime．
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Amelia Earhart（1897﹣1937 ） Amelia Earhart was the first woman who ever flew alone across the Atlantic in 1932． She became the first woman pilot in 1935 after flying from Hawaii to California． She began her lifelong dream of flying across the world in 1937． However， her flight went missing on that trip and she was never seen again． |
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Helena Rubinstein （1870﹣1965 ） Helena Rubinstein moved to Australia in 1902 without the ability to speak English． Later， she set up one of the world's first cosmetic （ 化妆品） companies after mixing lanolin， which is an oil山at comes from sheep's wool， with flowers． Because of that， she became the world's richest woman at that time． |
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Katharine Hepburn （1907﹣2003 ） Katharine Hepburn was known for playing strong﹣willed women in her films． She won four Academy Awards（奥斯卡金像奖） for Best Actress， the most an actress has ever won． Her new dress style made wearing trousers acceptable to women， which wasn't allowed at that time． |
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Emmeline Pankhurst （1858﹣1928） Emmeline was a great woman activist． She helped British women get the right to vote． She fought for the rights of women all the time with the help of her husband in the late 19th century and early 20th century． After she lost her husband， she worked together with her three daughters and formed The Women Social and Political Union． |
（1）According to the passage， which word can best describe Amelia tarhart？
A． Brave．
B． Careful．
C． Lucky．
D． Energetic．
（2）What was the problem for Helena Rubinstein when she moved to Australia？
A． She didn't have any money．
B． She couldn't speak English．
C． She knew nothing about business．
D． She didn't know how to dress up．
（3）How many times did Katharine Hepburn win Academy Awards for Best Actress？
A． Once．
B． Twice．
C． Three times．
D． Four times．
（4）What did Emmeline Pankhurst fight for during her lifetime？
A． Her dream to be a pilot．
B． Women's rights in the UK．
C． Women's rights in the USA．
D． Her dream to be an actress．
（5）What do the four women above have in common？
A． A creative mind．
B． A warm heart．
C． A pioneer spirit．
D． A good education．
Interview with Andy Griffiths
Andy Griffiths is well known as a writer of children's books． Here are some interesting things， you might not know about him!
What do you like to do after a long day of writing？
I go for long runs and bike rides beside the beach． An hour of exercise after a long day of writing gives me energy． Then I'm ready to write some more．
Do you write using a computer or by hand？
At first I write the stories by hand， and then I transfer（转录）them onto a computer． I like to write by hand when T travel． T find it very easy to lose myself in my diary when I am away from my usual activities．
What super power would you like to have？
X﹣ray vision（影像）if I can control it．
What is your favourite food？
Fro never happier than when I'm drinking banana milkshakes． And I love fish． But I don't like drinking fish milkshakes ﹣ they are just terrible!
What is your favourite book？
Alice in Wonderland． It has so many surprises and such silliness in it．
Do you write for adults too？
Only if I really have to． T much prefer the freedom and fun of writing for children．
What do you say to kids who say， "Why should I read？"
As Dr． Seuss says． "The more you read， the more things you will know． The more you learn， the more places you'll go．"
（1）What is Andy's job？
（2）What do you think of Andy？
（3）Do you want to be a person like Andy？ Why or why not？
Athletics vs． Gardening
The students of Southside School were asked to give their opinions about whether the school should run an athletic program or start a vegetable garden．
An athletic program is hatch better than gardening． How are we ever going to win anything at the Inter﹣School Athletics without proper training？ At the moment， we only do athletics for one tam and the teachers train us． We need experts（专家）to teach us things like throwing and high jump． I know lots of kids say they're tot interested in competitions， but that's because they've never won anything． If they got better training and started winning things， they'd soon change their minds． People always say kids don't get enough exercise． Just because you do gardening outdoors doesn't make it exercise， so I don't sec how it matters． Athletics is much better for fitness and lots of kids can have a go at the same tine． I don't think there would be enough jobs for everyone in a garden． In fact， I think a garden is a really bad idea． I don't know why we're even considering it． Liz， Grade 8 |
I think a vegetable garden is a great idea． We already do hours of sport， including athletics． And not everyone likes sport． Gardening is a great way to get exercise without worrying about whether you're any good at it， or whether you're going to win． And you really do gel exercise when you garden． There's digging， weeding and watering Even picking things can be hard work ﹣ pumpkins aren't light you know! There are lots of kids around here who don't have gardens so they can't grow things even they want to． If you really want to do more sport， you can join a club． And think about it： What helps you to be good at sport？ You need to eat lots of fruit and vegetables． If we learn to cook all the things we grow， the garden will keep us all fit and healthy and then we'll be better at sport． Sam， Grade 8 |
（1）Which of these points do Liz and Sam both make？
A． Kids should take exercise．
B． Kids should eat vegetables．
C． Kids should try to win more．
D． Kids should be outside more．
（2）What is one reason Liz gives for saying "a garden is a really bad idea"？
A． Some students don't like getting dirty．
B． Some students don't enjoy being outside．
C． Some students already know how to garden．
D． Some students may have no chance to garden．
（3）Why does Sam say， "And think about it．： what helps you to be good at sport？"
A． To change the subject．
B． To introduce his next reason．
C． To support Liz's idea．
D． To find an answer to the question．
Every day there is less and less space on Earth for rubbish． Yet every day we make more and more rubbish． What can we do？ We can recycle some of our rubbish． Recycling means that the rubbish will be made into something that can be used again．
Recycling helps Earth． And it saves space in rubbish dumps． Half of everything that we put into landfills could be recycled instead． In fact， most things made of paper， metal， glass and plastic can be recycled．
Paper can be broken into small pieces and made into new paper． Steel and aluminum cans（金属雄）can be melted down（熔化）and made into new cans． The same is true of glass bottles． This can be done aver and over again． Recycling doesn't take as much energy as making these things the first time． So we can use less of Earth's fuel resources．
Plastic can be melted down， too． Then it can be formed into park benches， playgrounds and so on． Some people call plastic the "wood" of the future． Things made of plastic will last about 400 years﹣even if they stay outside in the weather． No wood can do that!
（1）The underlined word "landfills" in Paragraph 2 probably means ．
A． bench factories
B． places for rubbish
C． green mountains
D． recycling centres
（2）According to the passage， what happens last to the can？
A． The can is put into a recycling bin．
B． The can is melted down and reused．
C． A steel can gets filled with corn．
D． A person uses the corn in the can．
（3）What is the main idea of the passage？
A． Cans should be melted down．
B． Old newspapers can be reused．
C． We can build benches that last 400 years．
D． We should recycle everything that we can．
People all over the world eat eggs． Most of the eggs we eat come from hens． Eggs are easy to cook． They can be cooked in lots of ways such as fried or hard﹣boiled． Eggs can be used with other things to make cakes and ice﹣cream．
The fresh test Put your egg in a pan of water and use the guide below to find out how old your egg is． |
What happens to the egg Age of the egg |
Sinks（下沉）to the bottom of the pan and stays there 3﹣6 days old Sinks， but floats at an angle（角度）Just over 1 week old Sinks， and then stands on end About 2 weeks old Floats on top or just under the surface Over 2 weeks old Eggs last a long time． You can keep them for about four weeks in your fridge． |
（1）According to Paragraph 1， cakes and ice﹣cream are mentioned to describe ．
A． the birth of chickens
B． the difference between them
C． the use of eggs
D． the way of keeping them
（2）What makes a yolk dark orange？
A． The hen's food．
B． The colour of the shell．
C． The age of the egg．
D． The vitamins in the egg．
（3）What does the table above show？
A． How heavy an egg can be．
B． How long to cook an egg in a pan．
C． How to make an egg sink．
D． How to check the age of an egg．
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