浙江省杭州中学2023-2024学年八年级下学期英语第一二单...

Smile Train is a charity(慈善团体) that helps the millions of children around the world, who suffer from a facial defect(缺陷). The defect happens when a baby's top lip or mouth doesn't form properly before birth. Eating and drinking is very difficult for these babies. The charity provides free operations, which give these children a new smile, and with it, new hope and a new beginning.

Children with the defect need all the help. Although many sufferers are accepted by their families, sadly, others are not. In some countries, children with this defect are oftenabandoned at birth because their parents feel ashamed of them or cannot afford the operations . The good news is that the operation is not hard. It takes less than an hour and costs family nothing. The charity raises money and finds the right medical volunteers to perform the operations.

A Smile Train doctor from the UK said, "Each child who has the operation is given a second chance at life. After years of staying at home, the children can finally go to school and be happy. Every year I perform hundreds of operations free of cost through Smile Train, Some of the stories I have heard are quite surprising. One newborn baby girl was found abandoned on a train. Luckily for her, she was found and adopted(收养) by a passenger. This lady then heard about Smile Train and brought the baby to our hospital. I did the operation and gave hope to the family. Experienced doctors like me share our skills with local doctors. In this way, we make sure that these operations will always be available. "

We all know that getting the flu is not fun. There are headaches, coughs, fevers, and other terrible feelings. To help us feel better, we take some medicine and get much rest. We drink lots of water and eat healthy food to make us feel better.

However, some people don't want to get sick at all. So, they get a flu shot before the flu season starts. The flu shot is in fact, a vaccine (疫苗), not usual cold medicine. It will protect them from the flu.

The vaccine introduces some of the flu into the body. But don't worry. The flu is dead and won't make you sick. Itwill teach your body to know it and fight it off in the future, though.

Vaccines not only protect you but also protect others. That's because they help stop diseases from spreading(扩散) from person to person. When fewer people have the diseases, the chances of getting them go down. Sometimes, the diseases completely go away.

Even though vaccines are quite safe, some adults are afraid of them. Their worry is that the vaccines will cause serious side effects(副作用). Vaccines might cause side effects, but they are usually not as terrible as people think. For most people, vaccines are ▲ and make them better.

So, they are believable and people want them in their bodies. These days, people are in line for the new flu vaccines and hope they can protect them well!

How would you feel if someone decided to take away your park? Well that's what's happening in my community. There's a park that some people want to turn into a golf course(高尔夫球场). Let me tell you why I think it's a bad idea.

First, a park is meant to be for the whole community. Not everyone likes golf, so not everyone will get to use the park. This isn't fair. A community park should have open spaces for everyone to use.

Second, to make way for the golf course, lots of playground equipment(设施) will have to be moved or knocked down, which is a waste of time and money. It's also a waste of perfectly good equipment. The swings, for example, will probably just end up as litter.

Third, what about giving young people something to do? Not all kids are crazy about golf. At the moment, the park has a skating place and a playground. These attract lots of kids from the community. If you turn the park into a golf course, these kids won't have anywhere to go and they won't have anything to do. This means that they will stay at home and turn on a video game rather than get some exercise. It also means that they might be out on the street causing trouble. Wouldn't it be better to give them something to do at the park?

Finally, golf is expensive. Building a golf course and maintaining(维护) it costs a lot of money. Who is going to pay to maintain the golf course? What about those people who can't afford to join a golf club? That means that the golf course will only be available to people with lots of money.

Turning our park into a golf course is a bad idea. I suggest we have a community meeting before plans go any further.

Weather change is one of the biggest problems we face, and it's caused by us. We are destroying our own world and something has to change, but it's hard to know what to do because it's such a big problem! Today, we have 5 simple steps that you can take to help save the planet.

This doesn't see m like much, but a lot of plastic shopping bags end up in the ocean killing the wildlife. But if you choose to use these bags, you won't have to worry about your heavy things ripping(扯破) them!

Don't leave the water or lights on if you don't need it. Saving these simple things at home poes a long way to reducing our carbon footprint(碳足迹).

We may think that cars cause the most pollution, but actually the farms that make our food are no good. One of the ways to fight this is to eat less meat. Although meat is a necessary part of the human diet, we eat too much of it. Meatless Mondays is a popular idea for people who want to eat less meat.

We all know that recycling is important, but it's far more important to reduce our buying. The more we buy, the more we throw away later. And recycling is still not enough. Before you buy something, think about where you're buying from, and whether you really need it.

There's a reason that education is the best tool to prevent all kinds of problems. Simply understanding the problem is halfway to a solution. And it is always better to know more. Stay up to date with recent news and what you can do!

Wherever Paul Horton goes, his six-year-old dog Yogi walks closely behind him. They have always been best friends. 

One October morning, Horton was 1  his bike in the neighborhood. Yogi ran 2  beside his master (主人). Yogi had done it every morning for nearly three years. 3  they came to a tall stone edge (边缘)，Horton wanted to jump down from his bike. But the wheel hit the stone and Horton fell down 4 . As Horton tried to rise, he 5  the situation was very bad. He couldn't feel his legs. 

When Horton was 6  on the ground, Yogi was by his side nervously. Horton said, "Go home, Yogi. Go and get 7  to help. " Horton said the words slowly, again and again. 8 , Yogi refused to leave. But Horton continued asking Yogi to go. Finally, the dog 9 . 

That morning, Bruce Tate and Maggie Tate, two of Horton's neighbors, were taking a walk. When they saw Yogi running down the street alone, they thought it was very 10 . The dog never did that before. So they decided to 11  Yogi to see what happened. 

The wait was agony(痛苦) for Horton. When he heard the sound of Yogi, he, 12  his eyes and saw the Tates. They were surprised at Horton's condition and they sent him to the hospital quickly. 

13  he has to move in a wheelchair (轮椅) now, Horton feels better. Horton says that Yogi and he are much closer after the 14 . "I'm very thankful to Yogi. He played a very 15  role in saving my life. He's my watchdog and my hero," Horton says. 

Travelling by subway can be quite an adventure(冒险). It's hard to find your way in the space filled people. People run quickly to get a seat. And be (care) of that girl who is holding a cup of hot coffee.

To deal with these problems, all (country) have made rules for subways to follow. The most common one is no eating drinking on the subway. Many cities in the world have this rule.

New York City has asked passengers (take) off the backpacks on the subway. Also, passengers are told not to open (they) legs wide enough to take up two or even three seats.

There are some(interest) rules, too. Paris, France(suggest) that passengers shouldn't play music too loud through headphones or stare (盯着) at women for long time. New Delhi, the capital of India has stopped drunk people from (take) the subway since May 2013.

Whether your city has the same rules or not, it's always good to behave(举止) well on the subways.

Dear Jane,

Yours,

David