广州版八年级上册英语电子课本Word文档下载推荐.docx

1、Many dinosaurs ate plants. However, some dinosaurs liked to eat meat.Dinosaurs lived on Earth for more than 150 million years. Then, suddenly, they all died out. Nobody knows why. However, we can learn about them from their fossils. （SeeEarth history）Unit 2The king and the riceA long time ago, there

2、 was a king in India. The kings favourite game was chess.One day, a wise old man came to the palace and the king challenged him to a game. The king promised the old man, “You can have any prize if you win the game.”The old man said, “If I win the game, Id like one grain of rice for the first square

3、of the chessboard, two for the second, four for the third, and then double the amount for each of the rest of the squares.”“Is that all?” asked the king. “Wouldnt you like gold or silver instead?”“No, just rice,” replied the old man.The king and the old man played the game for a long time. Finally,

4、the old man won. So the king ordered his men to collect a bag of rice. He put one grain on the first square, two on the second, and so on. The king quickly realized the problem - even with all the rice in the country, he would still not have enough rice to put on all the squares!Unit 3Computer facts

5、Smaller and betterIn the 1940s, the first computers were bigger than cars. Now computers are becoming smaller and better.Some computers are tiny. You may be unaware of them. There is probably one inside your TV or washing machine. You depend on computers more than you realize.What can we do with com

6、puters?We can use computers to calculate. They can calculate at a faster speed than we can and almost never give wrong answers. We can also type and draw things with them. In addition, computers can do important jobs like operating railways and flying planes and spaceships.Is a computer clever than

7、me?The answer is “No”. Your brain can produce new ideas but computers cannot. However, one day computers may be able to do a better job than human beings. For example, they may be better than doctors at doing their job.What will happen to us if computers can do all our jobs? Will we have nothing to

8、do? Computers may change our lives, but will they make them better?Unit 4Great inventionsGreat inventions change the world. They help people live a better life. The following are three of the most important inventions in history.The wheelThe wheel is perhaps the great invention in history. After its

9、 invention, travelling became faster and more comfortable. A few thousand years ago, people started to use wheels on carriages. In the early 19th century, the first trains began to carry passengers. At the start of the 20thcentury, cars became popular. Without the wheel, we would not have these inve

10、ntions.The telephoneAlexander Graham Bell invented one of the first practical telephones in 1876. Since then, people have been able to speak each other over long distances. Today millions of people across the world own mobile phones. They allow people to keep touch with earn other anytime, anywhere.

11、The light bulbThomas Edison developed the first practical light bulb in 1879. Before the invention of the light bulb, people had to use oil lamps, gas damps or candles to see at night. With light bulbs, people can do as many things in the evenings as they can in the daytime. Can you imagine living w

12、ithout them?Unit 5 Educational exchangesAn exchange visit is educational and interesting!A group of British students from Woodpark School in London are visiting Xinhua Junior High School in Beijing on an educational exchange.“I was very nervous at first,” says Sarah. “However, my host family are rea

13、lly friendly. Im glad to be a guest in their home. Ive learnt to use chopsticks, and theyre teaching me a little Chinese!The students spend the weekdays studying with Chinese students. At the weekend, they tour around Beijing and visit places of interest with their host families.“Its been a fantasti

14、c experience so far,” says Eric. “Ive learnt a bit of tai chi, and I really enjoy it. Weve already learnt a lot about Chinese culture and history. The teachers have introduced us to Chinese painting as well. Weve also tried to paint some pictures ourselves! I havent had much success yet, but Ill kee

15、p trying.”“Ive made many new friends,” says Sarah. “I plan to keep in touch with them when I return home. Well see one another soon because theyll come over to the UK for the second part of the exchange next month. I cant wait!Unit 6The Trojan HorseThe captain stood on the high wall of the city of T

16、roy. “The Greeks have gone and weve won,” he said. “Theyve tried to capture our city for ten years. Now theyve given up and sailed away!”“But look over there,” a soldier said.“Theyve left a huge wooden horse.”“Ah, yes,” the captain said, “its too big. The Greeks didnt want to take it with them. Get

17、some he1p and pull it into the city.”That night, in the main square of the city, all the Trojans celebrated. They sang, and danced around the horse, and made jokes about the stupid Greeks. “I havent laughed like this since my childhood,” the captain said. After the party, they locked all the gates o

18、f the city and then all went to sleep.By midnight, the main square was empty, exceptfor the huge horse. Suddenly a secret door opened on the side of the wooden horse. The horse was full of Greek soldiers! They quietly climbed out of the horse, one by one.The soldiers opened the main gates. The Greek

19、 army entered the city.For ten years, the Greeks could not capture the city by fighting. In one night, however, they succeeded in capturing it through a clever trick.Unit 7Memory CornerHenry, Pau1a and Millie write for the school newspaper. They have written the short articles below to help students

20、 improve their memory.RosieBridge School27 MarchHenryA great way to help you remember something is to imagine a picture of it in your mind. If you make the picture big, strange or silly, you will remember it better. For example, to remember the word “smiles”, we can imagine there is a “mile” between

21、 the first letter and the last letter. This makes it the longest word in the world. Remember: a picture is worth a thousand words.PaulaA good method for remembering the spelling of a word is to make a short sentence with each letter of the word. For example, if you want to remember how to spell the

22、word “because”, you can use the sentence “Big elephants can always understand small elephants”.MillieYou will forget something very quickly unless you understand it well. For example, you may have trouble remembering the list of steps in the water cycle. However, it is easier to remember these steps

23、 if you understand how the water cycle works.Unit 818 M ayEnglish: fun for lifeEnglish Week at Rosie Bridge SchoolLast week, students at Rosie Bridge School worked hard to make their English Week a big success.There was an English book fair in the library and a treasure hunt. Some students put on an

24、 English play. Other students took part in an English singing competition.There was also a speaking competition. The students had to speak on a topic in English for two minutes.We spoke to the winner, Henry. “Im so happy that I won,” he said. “I advise people to speak slowly. If they want to be good

25、 public speakers, theyd better speak clearly and confidently.”We also spoke to several other students about English Week. One of them was Amy.“I really enjoyed English Week. It gave me a chance to learn new words. In my opinion, every school should have an English Week. Its well worth doing,” she sa

26、id.On the last day of English Week, the head teacher gave a speech to the whole school. He gave students some suggestions on how to improve their English. “You should communicate in English with your friends whenever you can. You should read English books and magazines, and watch English television programmes. Above all, you should enjoy English!” he said.