人教新目标八年级下册英语课文

dinner, and then it’s time for homework.

Linda Miller, a mother of three, knows all about such stress. “In some families, competition starts very young and continues until the kids get older,” she says. “Mothers send their small kids to all kinds of classes. And they are always comparing them with other children. It’s crazy. I don’t think that’s fair. Why don’t they just let their kids be kids? People shouldn’t push their kids so hard.” Doctors say too much pressure is not good for a child’s development. Dr. Alice Green says all these activities can cause a lot of stress for children. “Kids should have time to relax and think for themselves, too. Although it’s normal to want successful children, it’s even more important to have happy children.”

Unit 5 What were you doing when the rainstorm came?

P35 3a

The Storm Brought People Closer Together

Ben could hear strong winds outside his home in Alabama. Black clouds were making the sky very dark. With no light outside, it felt like midnight. The news on TV reported that a heavy rainstorm was in the area.

Everyone in the neighborhood was busy. Ben’s dad was putting pieces of wood over the windows while his mom was making sure the flashlights and radio were working. She also put some candles and matches on the table.

Ben was helping his mom make dinner when the rain began to beat heavily against the windows. After dinner, they tried to play a card game, but it was hard to have fun with a serious storm happening outside.

Ben could not sleep at first. He finally fell asleep when the wind was dying down at around 3:00 a.m. When he woke up, the sun was rising. He went outside with his family and found the neighborhood in a mess. Fallen trees, broken windows and rubbish were everywhere. They joined the neighbors to help clean up the neighborhood together. Although the storm broke many things apart, it brought families and neighbors closer together.

P36 4b

Fill in the blanks with was, were, when or while.

At 7:00 a.m., I woke up. ______________ I______________making my breakfast, my brother

______________listening to the radio. ______________I was eating, the radio news talked about a car accident near our home. My brother and I went out right away to have a look._________________we got to the place of the accident, the car___________in bad shape from hitting a tree. But luckily, the driver_______________fine. The roads_______________icy because of the heavy snow from the night before. P38 2b

Do You Remember What You Were Doing?

People often remember what they were doing when they heard the news of important events in history. In America, for example, many people remember what they were doing on April 4, 1968. This was an important event in American history. On this day, Dr. Martin Luther King was killed. Although some people may not remember who killed him, they remember what they were doing when they heard the news.

Robert Allen is now over 50, but he was a school pupil at that time. “It was a bright, sunny day,” Robert remembers. “We were having fun in the playground when the school bell rang. Our teacher said, ‘Dr. King died just 10 minutes ago.’ We were completely surprised!” School closed for the day, Robert and his friends walked home in silence.

More recently, most Americans remember what they were doing when the World Trade Center in New York was taken down by terrorists. Even the date-September 11, 2001-has meaning to most Americans.

This was a day Kate Smith will never forget. She remembers working in her office near the two towers. “My friend shouted that a plane just hit the World Trade Center! I didn’t believe him at first, but then I looked out the window and realized that it was true. I was so scared that I could hardly think clearly after that.”

P40 Self- check 2

When I ____________ (be) in the sixth grade, I __________(join) a piano competition. I ___________(practice) for four hours every day and my piano teacher_________(come) three times a week to___________(help) me. Then the big day finally__________(arrive). I________(be) so nervous when they____________(call) my name. I________(go) up and_________(start) to play. While I__________(play), everyone________(sit) still and listened. I

played the song without any mistakes. Then I_________(wait) for them to call out the winner. When I__________(hear) my name, my heart_________(beat) so quickly I thought I would stop breathing. I couldn’t believe it. I___________(win)! It___________(be) the happiest day of my life!

Unit6

P43 3a

In November 1979, pupils in England were able to watch a new TV program called Monkey. Most of them were hearing this story for the first time. However, this story is not new to Chinese children. The Monkey King or Sun Wukong is the main character in the traditional Chinese book Journey to the West.

The story says that once upon a time there was a magic rock. One day, it suddenly broke open and gave birth to a monkey. To fight bad people, the Monkey King uses a magic stick. Sometimes he can make the stick so small that he can keep it in his ear. At other times, he is able to make it big and long. Sun Wukong can also make 72 changes to his shape and size, turning himself into different animals and objects. But unless he can hide his tail, he cannot turn himself into a person.

The Monkey king has excited the children of China many years. And as soon as the TV program came out more than 30 years ago, Western children became interested in reading this story because the clever Monkey King keeps fighting to help the weak and never gives up.

P44 4b

The Monkey King is the main character from the famous Chinese story Journey to the West. Once upon a time, a magic rock ______ (open) up and a monkey was born. This monkey is wonderful because he ______ (help) weak people. The Monkey King ______ (have) a magic stick, He ______ (use) it to fight bad people. He can______ (make) the stick big or small. He can sometimes make the stick so small that he can put it in his ear. As soon as he ______ (see) bad people, he thinks of ways to fight them. He can______ (turn) himself into different animals or objects. But unless he can hide his tail, he cannot make himself a human. Children all over the world______ (love) the Monkey King!

P45 1c

When the emperor______ at himself, he only ______ his under wear.

Nobody wanted to sound stupid. But suddenly, a young boy ______, “Look! The emperor isn’t ______ any clothes!”

The emperor had to ______ them silk and gold, but they ______ everything for themselves.

They were trying to cheat the emperor.

This story is about an emperor who loved . ______

Two ______ came to the city to make special clothes for the emperor. P46 2b

Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel lived near forest with their father and stepmother. One year, the weather was so dry that no food would grow. The wife told her husband that unless the left the children to die in the forest, the whole family would die. Gretel heard this, and Hansel made a plan to save himself and his sister. SCENE ONE: ____________________________ Gretel: Did you hear our stepmother planning to kill us? Hansel: Don’t worry! I have a plan to save us. Gretel: How can you save us? Hansel: Be quiet! I’m going outside to get something in the moonlight. Now, go to sleep. SCENE TWO: ____________________________- Wife: Get up, lazy children! Husband: Yes, dears. You must come with me to the forest to get wood. Wife: Here’s some bread. Don’t eat if until you get to the forest. SCENE THREE: ____________________________ Gretel: Hansel, what are you doing? Hansel: I’m dropping white stones along the way. Unless I do, We’ll be lost. Tonight, when the moon is shining bright, we’ll be able to see the stones. SENE FOUR: ____________________________ Wife: You bad children! What a long time you slept in the forest! Husband: We thought you were never coming back. Wife: Now, go to bad. As soon as you wake up, you must go to the forest with your father. Hansel: What, again? I want to go out to look at the moon.

Wife: No. You can’t go out now. SCENE FIVE: ____________________________ Gretel: What can we do? You have no more stones. Hansel: I’ll drop pieces of bread. As soon as the moon rises, we can follow them instead. SCENE SIX: ____________________________ Gretel: I can’t see any bread on the ground. Maybe it was the birds. Hansel: Never mind! Just keep walking. Unless we do, We won’t find our way out. SCENE SEVEN: ____________________________ Gretel: Hansel, we’re really lost! Hansel: Listen! That bird’s song is so beautiful that we should follow it. Gretel: Look! It’s leading us to that wonderful house made of bread, cake and sugar. Hansel: Let’s eat part of the house! (Then they heard an old woman’s voice from inside the house.)

Voice: Who is that? Who is brave enough to eat my house?

P48 3b

Gretel heard that their ________________planned to ________________ her and her brother. But Hansel had a plan to ________________himself and his sister. He went to get some white ________________ before he went to bed that night. The next day, the wife sent the children to the________________. Hansel ________________ the stones as they walked. Later that night, they could see the stones because of the shining ________________.The stones showed them the way home. Hansel wanted go get more stones, but his stepmother did not let him go out. The next morning, the wife sent the children to the forest again. Hansel had no stones, so he dropped ________________ of________________ .But the ________________ate them, so Hansel and Gretel were in the forest. They walked until they saw a ________________ made of food. Hansel wanted to ________________the house, but then they heard the voice of an old ________________coming from the house. P48 Self-check 2

Once upon a time, there ______ (be) an emperor. He______ (love) buying and looking at clothes.