8. The long hiccup
For many people the subject of hiccups（嗝）is a joke，
but for Harry Mendis，a fifteen-year-old schoolboy from Birmingham，it was something quite different． His hiccups began one Sunday lunchtime 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 hiccuped for sixty-eight years．He stopped in 1990at last，but nobody knows why． ( )1．Harry's hiccups lasted ____ ．
A．a week B．fourteen days C．twenty-eight days D．one month
( )2．His hiccups started after he ____ ．
A．drank a glass of water B．went to hospital C．ate an Indian meal D．finished his homework ( )3．His parents decided to take him to hospital when he ____ ．
A．hiccuped for four seconds B．held his breath
C．hiccuped at night D．couldn't stop hiccuping ( )4．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 ( )5．What does“shock”in this passage mean？
A． 震惊B．休克C．喷嚏D．哈欠
9
A chicken lays an egg．You feel sleepy．And a tree loses its leaves．All of these things，and many more，happen in a certain way，at a certain time each day or each year．They take place because of something called an internal clock．The word internal means “inside of”，and the internal clock is inside a certain part of every plant and animal．For example，there is an internal clock in the head of a chicken． The internal clock receives a signal，or message，from the world around it．Some of these signals include light，heat， darkness and cold．When the internal clock gets the signal，the body of the plant or animal produces a chemical that causes the living thing to do different actions．For example，daylight signals the chicken's internal clock to make a chemical．Then this chemical causes the chicken to lay eggs．
People are learning a lot about internal clocks．Farmers have even learned how to fool a
chicken's internal clock so that the chicken lays more eggs！ ( ) 1．A signal is____ ．
A．a chemical B．a message C．internal D．inside
( ) 2．The clock described in the story is called internal because it ____ ．
A．means “inside of” B．is inside every plant or animal C．never stops running D．produces a signal ( )3 In this story，one signal would be____ ．
A．cold weather B．a chemical C．falling leaves D．a sleepy dog ( ) 4．In the chain of events below，what is missing？
Daylight acts as A chicken's internal clock The chicken → → ？ → a signal． receives the signal． lays an egg． A. The chicken moves its body． B. The chicken is fooled by the farmer． C．The chicken makes a chemical． D．The chicken sees the daylight．
( ) 5．What do you think farmers do to make chickens lay more eggs？They ____ ．
A．make the chickens do different actions B．keep the chickens in a cooler place
C．feed the chickens a special chemical D．turn on lights in the chicken house at night
10. Fun For English
1. Find the job hidden in each sentence. e.g. You have to correct each error carefully. teacher 1. You hit my car! The dent is there for all to see! _____________ 2. The area is full of beautiful lakes and rivers. _____________
2 . One number is four times another number. The larger number is also 87 more than the smaller number. The smaller number: ________________
3. The 9:50 a.m. train is 15 minutes late. My watch is 10 minutes fast. What time does
my watch say when it arrives? 4. We can do nothing but stay at home, because it is raining cats and dogs outside. What does “it is raining cats and dogs” mean here? You may answer it in Chinese or in English. 5. Jack is twice as old as Jill, but in five years time he will only be one and a half times as old as Jill. How old are Jack and Jill now?
6. Rearrange （重新排列） the letters on each page of this diary to find six days of the week. Which day is missing?
Answer Sheet
1. ________ _______ _______ _______ ________
2. ________ _______ _______ _______ ________ ________ __________ 3. _____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ _____________ _____________ ____________
4. ________ _______ _______ _______ ________ _______ ________ 5. ________ _______ _______ _______ ________ _______ ________ 6. ________ _______ _______ _______ ________ _______ ________
7. _____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ _____________ _____________ ____________
8. ________ _______ _______ _______ ________ 9. ________ _______ _______ _______ ________
10. (1)_________________ _________________ (2) _______________
(3) _______________ (4)______________________________________ (5) _________________ (6) ________________
上南东校初一年级英语阅读竞赛试题答案（2009/6/2）
1. F T F T T 2. D A B D C C A
3. snowing, different， during, dresses, hour, Special
4. F T T F T T F 5. A B B B A A D 6. A D C C A D A
7. show, helps, talking, hurt, ill, secret, 8. B C D A A 9. B B A C D
10. (1) dentist driver (2)29.
(3)10:15 am (4) It rains heavily (倾盆大雨) (5) Jack is 10 Jill is 5 (6) Tuesday
Australians,
light
初一英语阅读理解竞赛题
