八下英语unit1-10sectionB2b课文原文

Helosthisarmbutisstillclimbing

AaronRalstonisanAmericanmanwhoisinterestedinmountainclimbing.Asamountainclimber,Aronisusedtotakingrisks.Thisis1oftheexcitingthingsaboutdoingdangeroussports.ThereweremanytimeswhenAronalmostlosthislifebecauseofaccidents.OnApril26,2003,hefoundhimselfinaverydangeroussituationwhenclimbinginutah.

Onthatday,Aron'sarmwascaughtundera360kilorockthatfellonhimwhenhewasclimbingbyhimselfinthemountains.Becausehecouldnotfreehisarm,hestayedtherefor5daysandhopedthatsomeonewouldfindhim.Butwhenhiswaterranout,heknewthathewouldhavetodosomethingtosavehisownlife.Hewasnotreadytodiethatday.Soheusedhisknifetocutoffhalfhisrightarm.Thenwithhisleftarm,hebandagedhimselfsothathewouldnotlosetoomuchblood.Afterthatheclimbeddownthemountaintofindhelp.

Afterlosinghisarm,hewroteabookcalledbetweenarockandahardplace.Thismeansbeinginadifficultsituationthatyoucannotseemtogetoutof.Inthisbook,Arontellsustheimportanceofmakinggooddecisionsandofbeingincontrolofone'slife.Hisloveformountainclimbingissogreatthathekeptonclimbingmountainsevenafterthisexperience.

DowehavethesamespiritasAron?Let'sthinkaboutitbeforewefindourselves"betweenarockandahardplace,"andbeforewehavetomakeadecisionthatcouldmeanlifeordeath.

DearMissLi,

I'dliketothankyouforgivingmoneytoanimalhelpers.I'msureyouknowthatthisgroupwassetuptohelpdisabledpeoplelikeme.Youhelpedtomakeitpossibleformetohavelucky.Luckymakesabigdifferencetomylife.Letmetellyoumystory.

Whatwoulditbeliketobeblindordeaf?Orimagineyoucan'twalkoruseyourhandseasily.Mostpeoplewouldneverthinkaboutthis,butmanypeoplehavethesedifficulties.Ican'tusemyarmsorlegswell,sonormalthingslikeansweringthetelephone,openingandclosingdoors,orcarryingthingsaredifficultforme.Then1daylastyear,ourfriendofminehelpedmeout.Shetalkedtoanimalhelpersaboutgettingmeaspecialtraineddog.Shealsothoughtadogmightcheermeup.IloveanimalsandIwasexcitedabouttheideaofhavingadog.

After6monthsoftrainingwithadogatanimalhelpers,Iwasabletobringhimhome.Mydog'snameislucky--agoodnameforhimbecauseIfeelveryluckytohavehim.Yousee,I'monlyabletohavea"doghelper"becauseofyourkindness!LuckyisverycleverandunderstandsmanyEnglishwords.HecanunderstandmewhenIgivehimorders.Forexample,Isay,"Lucky!Getmybook,"andhedoesitatonce.

Luckyisafantasticdog.Iwillsendyouaphotoofhimifyoulike,andIcouldshowyouhowhehelpsme.Thankyouagainforchangingmylife.

Bestwishes,

BenSmith

Dearsir，

Idonotunderstandwhysomeparentsmaketheirkidshelpwithhouseworkandchoresathome.Kidsthesedaysalreadyhaveenoughstressfromschool.Theydonothavetimetostudyanddohouseworktoo.Houseworkisawasteoftheirtime.Couldwejustletthemdotheirjobasstudents?Theyshouldspendtheirtimeonschoolworkinordertogetgoodgradesandgetintoagooduniversity.Alsowhentheygetoldertheywillhavetodohousework,sothereisnoneedforthemtodoitnow.Itistheparents'jobtoprovideacleanandcomfortableenvironmentathomefortheirchildren.Andanyway,Ithinkdoingchoresisnotsodifficult.Idonotminddoingthem.

MsMiller

Dearsir,

Ithinkitisimportantforchildrentolearnhowtodochoresandhelptheirparentswithhousework.Itisnotenoughtojustgetgoodgradesatschool.Childrenthesedaysdependontheirparentstoomuch.Theyarealwaysasking,"Couldyougetthisforme?"or"Couldyouhelpmewiththat?"Doingchoreshelpstodevelopchildren'sindependenceandteachesthemhowtolookafterthemselves.Italsohelpsthemtounderstandtheideaoffairness.Sincetheyliveinonehousewiththeirparents,theyshouldknowthateveryoneshoulddotheirpartinkeepingitcleanandtidy.Ourneighbors'songotintoagoodcollegebutduringhisfirstyear,hehadnoideahowtotakecareofhimself.Asaresult,heoftenfeltillandhisgradesdropped.Theearlierkidslearntobeindependent,thebetteritisfortheirfuture.

MrSmith

Maybeyoushouldlearntorelax!

Thesedays,Chinesechildrenaresometimesbusieronweekendsthanweekdaysbecausetheyhavetotakesomanyafter-schoolclasses.Manyofthemarelearningexamskillssothattheycangetintoagoodhighschoolandlateragooduniversity.Othersarepracticingsportssothattheycancompeteandwin.However,thisdoesn'tonlyhappeninChina.

TheTaylorsareatypicalAmericanfamily.LifeforCathyTaylor's3childrenisverybusy."Onmostdaysafterschool,"Cathysays,"Itake1ofmy2boystobasketballpracticeandmydaughtertofootballtraining.ThenIhavetotakemyothersontopianolessons.MaybeIcouldcutoutafewoftheiractivities,butIbelievetheseactivitiesareimportantformychildren'sfuture.Ireallywantthemtobesuccessful."However,thetiredchildrendon'tgethomeuntilafter7PM.Theyhaveaquickdinnerandthenit'stimeforhomework.

LindaMilleramotherof3,knowsallaboutsuchstress."Insomefamiliescompetitionstartsveryyoungandcontinuesuntilthekidsgetolder",shesays."Otherssendtheirsmallkidstoallkindsofclasses.Andtheyarealwayscomparingthemwithotherchildren.It'scrazy.Idon'tthinkthat'sfair.Whydon'ttheyjustlettheirkids,bekids?Peopleshouldn'tpushtheirkidssohard."

Doctorssaytoomuchpressureisnotgoodforachild'sdevelopment.Dr.AliceGreensaysalltheseactivitiescancausealotofstressforchildren."Kidsshouldhavetimetorelaxandthinkforthemselves,too.Althoughit'snormaltowantsuccessfulchildren,it'sevenmoreimportanttohavehappychildren."

DoYouRememberWhatYouWereDoing?

Peopleoftenrememberwhattheyweredoingwhentheyheardthenewsofimportanteventsinhistory.InAmerica,forexample,manypeoplerememberwhattheyweredoingonApril4,1968.ThiswasanimportanteventintheAmericanhistory.Onthisday,DrMartinLutherKingwaskilled.Althoughsomepeoplemaynotrememberwhokilledhim,theyrememberwhattheyweredoingwhentheyheardthenews.

RobertAllenisnowover50,buthewasaschoolpupilatthattime."Iwasathomewithmyparents,"Robertremembers."Wewereeatingdinnerinthekitchenwhenweheardthenewsontheradio.Thenewsreportersaid'doctorkingdiedjustafewminutesago.'Myparentswerecompletelyshocked!Myparentsdidn'ttalkafterthat,andwefinishedtherestofourdinnerin,silence."

Morerecently,mostAmericansrememberwhattheyweredoingwhentheWorldTradeCenterinNewYorkwastakendownbyterrorists.Thedate---September11,2001---hasmeaningtomostAmericans.

Thiswasaday,KateSmithwillneverforget.Sheremembersworkinginherofficenearthetwotowers."Myfriendshoutedthataplanejusthittheworldtradecenter!Ididn'tbelievehimatfirst,butthenIlookedoutofthewindowandrealizedthatitwastrue.IwassoscaredthatIcouldhardlythinkclearlyafterthat."

It's8:30AMatthechengduresearchbase.Pandakeepersarepreparingmilkforthebabypandas'breakfast.At9AM,theyfindthatmostofthebabiesarealreadyawakeandhungry.Whenthebabiesseethekeepers,theyrunovertothemwithexcitementandsomeoftheyoungpandasevenwalkintotheirfriendsandfallover!

Linwei,1ofthepandakeepers,says,"Theyaresocuteandlovely.Itakecareofthemliketheyaremyownbabies.Iwash,feedandplaywiththemeveryday.Theyareveryspecialtome."Infact,manypeoplearoundtheworldlovetheseblackandwhiteanimals.PandashavebecomesopopularthattheyarenowasymbolofChina.

Scientistssaytherearenowfewerthan2000pandaslivingintheforests.Another300orsoliveinzoosorresearchcentersinChinaandothercountries.Pandasdonothavemanybabies,maybeonly1every2years.Thebabiesoftendiefromillnessesanddonotliveverylong.Adultpandasspendmorethan12hoursaday,eatingabout10kilosofbamboo.Manyyearsago,therewerealotmorebambooforestsandpandasinChina,butthenhumansstartedtocutdowntheseforests.Astheforestsgetsmallerandotherhumanactivitiescausemoreproblems,pandascannotfindenoughtoeatandtheyarehavingfewerbabies.

Aneducationprograminchengduteacheschildrenaboutpandasandotherendangerdwildanimals.Theysendpeopletoschoolstotellchildrenabouttheimportanceofsavingtheseanimals.AndtheChinesegovernmentistryinghardtohelpsavethepandas.Scientistsaredoingresearchtobetterunderstandthehabitsofpandas.Weallhopethatinthefuturetherewillbealotmorepandas.

ACountryMusicSongChangedHerLifeForever

WhenSarahwasateenager,sheusedtofightoveralmosteverythingwithherfamily.But5yearsagowhileshewasstudyingabroadinEngland,sheheardasongfulloffeelingsaboutreturninghomeontheradio.ItmadeSarahthinkaboutherfamilyandfriendsbackintheUS.Shecametorealizehowmuchsheactuallymissedallofthem.EversincethenshehasbeenafanofAmericancountrymusic.

CountryisatraditionalkindofmusicfromthesouthernstatesofAmerica.NashvilleTennesseeisthehomeofcountrymusic.ManysongsthesedaysarejustaboutmodernlifeintheUS,suchastheimportanceofmoneyandsuccess,butnotaboutbelongingtoagroup.However,countrymusicbringsusbacktothe"goodolddays"whenpeoplewerekindtoeachotherandtrustedoneanother.Itremindsusthatthebestthingsinlifearefree---laughter,friends,familyandthebeautyofnatureandthecountryside.

Sarahhasn'tbeentoNashvilleyet,butitisherdreamtogothereoneday.Shehasalreadyreadalotabouttheplaceanddonesomeresearchonit.SheknowsthatthereistheCountryMusicHallofFameandMuseuminNashville.Therearealsoalwaysalotofgreatcountrymusicconcertswithfamousmusiciansandsingers,likeGarthBrooks.Sarahhasalreadylistenedtomostofhissongs."GarthisoneofthemostsuccessfulmusiciansinAmericanhistory.Hehassoldmorethan120millionrecords.Ihopetoseehimsingliveoneday!"

Singapore---APlaceYouWillNeverForget

HaveyoueverbeentoSingapore?ForthousandsoftouristsfromChina,thissmallislandinsoutheastAsiaisawonderfulandsafeplacetotakeaholiday.Ontheonehand,morethanthreequartersofthepopulationareChinese,soyoucansimplyspeakPutonghuaalotofthetime.Ontheotherhand,SingaporeisanEnglish-speakingcountry,soit'salsoagoodplacetopracticeyourEnglish!

HaveyouevertriedChinesefoodoutsideofChina?Maybeyoufearthatyouwon'tbeabletofindanythinggoodtoeatwhenyoutravel.InSingapore,howeveryouwillfindalotoffoodfromChina;youwon'thaveanyproblemgettingrice,noodlesordumplings.Singaporeisalsoanexcellentplacetotrynewfood.WhetheryoulikeiIdianfood,WesternfoodorJapanesefood,youwillfinditallinSingapore!

Mostlargecitieshavezoos,buthaveyoueverbeentoazooatnight?SingaporehasaNightSafari,youcanwatchtheseanimalsinamorenaturalenvironmentthaninanormalzoo.

OnegreatthingaboutSingaporeisthatthetemperatureisalmostthesameallyearround.Thisisbecausetheislandissoclosetotheequator.Soyoucanchoosetogowheneveryoulike---spring,summer,autumnorwinter.And,ofcourse,it'snottoofarfromChina!

HometownFeelings

Somepeoplestillliveintheirhometown.However,othersmayonlyseeitonceortwiceayear.Nowadays,millionsofChineseleavethecountrysidetosearchforworkintheci