牛津版（深圳•广州）2017-2018学年初中英语八年级下册...

—Yes. He got there half an hour ago.

—I think I should also do some sports.

—This afternoon, the lost bike was discovered at the bus stop.

—How terrible the weather is!

—Its population is growing fast. There may be more than three million people in the city soon.

—What's more, the price is reasonable.

—We need to help them and raise their spirits.

—She's a very considerate and caring girl.

—We have to do something to avoid danger.

—They are so ________!

—We haven't decided when to ________ yet.

—Yes. He's quite helpful.

—Hurry up, or we will miss the opening dance.

    John Smith was an old porter (搬运工). He had 1 at a train station for years. Every day he was busy carrying 2 things for the passengers. Though this work was tiring, John Smith liked it. He was 3 with his work. He was kind to everyone and always ready to help others. In return, people liked to ask him for 4.

    One morning John Smith stood in the station, waiting for the 5. Just then he saw a man running towards the trains with a big bag in his hand.

    "No train is starting. Why is he in such a 6?" the old man thought to himself. So he went up to the man and asked, "May I help you?"

    As soon as the man saw the porter, he stopped 7. "Excuse me, can I catch the 10:35 train to London?" the man asked with worries on his face.

    The old porter looked at him for a few 8 and said, "Well, Sir. I'd like to help you, but I can't answer your question because I don't know how 9 you can run." Then he explained to the man, "The 10:35 train to London left five minutes ago. Can you run fast enough to 10 it?"

    The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign (有独立主权的) island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. Visiting the Philippines is big fun. Perfect beaches. Friendly locals. Beautiful nature. Plus, since it's cheap to travel around the country, you'll get a great value for your money. Therefore, every year, many people travel to the Philippines. Maybe you are planning to go there. To help you make your decision, here are some great places to consider.

    A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin (顽童) was walking around the shining car. "Is this your car, sir?" he asked. Paul answered, "Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas."

    The boy was surprised. "You mean your brother gave it to you and it did cost you nothing? Sir, I wish…" He hesitated (犹豫). Paul thought of course he knew what the boy wanted, but what the boy said surprised him greatly. "I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that."

    Paul looked at the boy in surprise, and then he said. "Would you like to take a ride in my car?" "Oh yes, I'd love to," the boy answered.

    After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, "Sir, would you mind driving in front of my house?" Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the boy wanted. He wanted to show his neighbours that he could ride home in a big car.

    But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked. He ran up to the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled (残疾的) brother. He sat down on the step and pointed to the car.

    "There he is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent. And some day I'm going to give you one just like it. Then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas windows that I've been trying to tell you about."

    Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed elder brother climbed in beside him and the three began an unforgettable holiday ride.

    When he was a teenager, Hunter Adams was very unhappy and he spent many years in a special hospital for people with mental (心理的) health problems.

    When he left the hospital, Adams decided to become a doctor, so he went to a medical school in Virginia, USA. But when he was there, he did things in a different way. For example, he didn't like the doctor's white coats, so he wore shirts with flowers on them when he visited his patients and he tried to make them laugh. The doctors at the medical school didn't like Adams because he was too different.

    But Adams believed that people in hospital need more than medicine. He saw unhappy and lonely people, and he tried to help them as patients, but as people too. He spent a lot of time with children in the hospital and often dressed up like a clown (小丑) to make the children laugh.

    When he finished medical school and became a doctor, Adams opened his own hospital called "the Gusundheit Institute", together with some other doctors. They wanted it to be a place with a different way of working with sick people.

    Hunter Adams became famous during the 1980s, and in 1988, Universal Pictures made a film about his life. It was very successful. In the film, Robin Williams played Adams. Williams said, "Hunter is a really warm person, who believes that patients need a doctor who is a friend. I enjoyed playing him."

    Thang-ga (唐卡) is a special kind of painting. It was found only in Tibet, China. It started from the Tang dynasty. Its content touches every aspect (方面) of Tibetan history, politics, culture, social life and so on. Thang-ga paintings show Tibetan culture and people's lives. In recent years, Thang-ga paintings have caught the public's attention. At the same time, the Chinese government has also tried hard to protect the art.

    Most of the Thang-ga paintings handed down from ancient times were created by Tibetan Buddhism (佛教). They are bung in the hall for worship (崇拜). The colour of Thang-ga paintings looks wonderful and special. Because of the special environment of Tibet and the excellent skills of artists, the paints used in Thang-ga are different from other paints. Thang-ga painters traditionally divide paints into nine categories: soil, stone, water, fire, wood, grass, flower, bone and gemstone (宝石). These natural paints can also be categorized into seven colours as white, yellow, red, blue, green, black and purple.

    In the past, Thang-ga was made from minerals like gold and silver, as well as some plants. The paints were made by hand. It usually took a long period to finish a Thang-ga painting, from half a year to more than a decade, that is, 10 years. Though the work was hard and needed patience, the beautiful colours could last for hundreds of years.

    However, with the development of technology, people now use cheaper and more easily-made chemicals to make Thang-ga paints. The traditional paints used in Thang-ga paintings took a lot of work and they were made in many secret ways. Later people stopped making the paints and forgot about them. So the skills needed to make them were almost lost. The traditional Thang-ga paintings are difficult to find now.

    A 16-year-old student has won a televised Chinese poetry (诗歌) competition, winning fans over with her rich knowledge of Chinese ancient culture and works.

    Wu Yishu, a student at High School Affiliated to Fudan University (复旦大学附属中学) in Shanghai, beat other competitors in the second season of the Chinese Poetry Conference on China Central Television (CCTV) on 7 February, 2017. More than 100 competitors took part in the show.

    "I get feelings from ancient poetry that modern people cannot give me. I pay little attention to the competition result, but I love poetry, and it is enough as long as I enjoy the happiness brought by the poetry," Wu said. In the final, Wu performed strongly in many sections, such as competitors recalling poems by looking at sand paintings and reciting as many poems as they could think of relating to the Chinese character "Jiu", meaning liquor.

    As early as 1 February, 2017, when Wu recited an ancient Chinese poem about the months of a year, the judges estimated (估计) that Wu must have remembered at least more than 2,000 Chinese ancient works.

    The 1.8-metre-tall Wu said that she kept only one ancient poetry book on her bookshelves at her dormitory room instead of other books such as Maths, Physics and Chemistry books that her classmates have kept on their bookshelves. She is known among her classmates and teachers as she loves reading poetry and wearing ancient Chinese clothes.

    Wu's talented performance in the Chinese ancient rhythm works earned her many fans and inspired others to learn ancient works. Zhou Hong, a professor from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of East China Normal University, said that he had read some of the girl's poetry in 2015, and had published some on his blog.

    "I wish my daughter will, like Wu, show to the world the self-confidence of our great culture in the future," a web user with the username of "shudonglidexingxing" wrote on WeChat, a leading social networking service in China. Another WeChat user "Fangzhanbo" said that the beauty of both Chinese culture and the girl champion is "glamorous (迷人的)."

    Many people like animals and take them as their pets, so pet hospitals are usually very busy. Kind persons love animals are needed to help in busy animal hospitals. Vets (兽医) will teach them to take care of the animals.

    Scientists think that pets will (probable) be much smaller people in the future will live in much smaller space. Scientists are now working on making very small farm animals, and the same thing might be done to make small cats and dogs.

    It (be) said that some day you might own a panther (豹) as a pet. Some scientists believe that they might have to start turning wild animals into pets, since this might be the only way to save them from (die) out.

    What about taking a robot as a pet? This may sound strange, it could become true. Robot dogs have been made (sell). They are like real dogs. These pets might become more and more popular in the future.

    Lots of people miss their pets when they are holiday. One hotel in Minnesota has solved this problem. It lends cats to their guests. Many expels believe more and more people will like this idea. It is very possible that in the future you will be able to order a pet, as well as room service, at hotel.