For many people the subject of hiccups (嗝) is a joke, but for Harry Mendes, a fifteen-year-old schoolboy from Birmingham, it was something quite different.
His hiccups began one Sunday lunch time 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 hiccupped for sixty-eight years. He stopped in 1990 at last, but nobody knows why.
【小题1】Harry’s hiccups lasted ____.

Dear Bill，

    I'm a middle school student now．I’m very  1  to come to this new school．I have new teachers  2  many more friends．They are all very friendly and   3  ．

   I often get up at 6：30 in the morning．  4  I have breakfast at 7：00．I usually go to school at 7：15．Our classes  5  at 8：00．We have Math，Chinese，Science and English lessons 6 8：00 to 11：40．In the afternoon，we have other lessons  7  Music，Art，P．E．and Computer．I often  8  with my classmates after 5：00．I like playing basketball，football，tennis and volleyball．I go  9  and do my homework．I have dinner at 7：00 p．m． 10  dinner, I often watch TV. I go to bed at about l 0：00．I enjoy my day very much．

                                                              With love from

                                                                 Nancy

1．A．beautiful         B．early             C．happy             D．1ate

2．A．also              B．and               C．else                D．too

3．A．pretty             B．scary            C．helpful            D．glad

4．A．Then              B．After            C．Before             D Again

5．A．begins           B．begin            C．have             D．has

6．A．at                   B．from             C．about              D．in

7．A．like                B．are like          C．likes               D．look like

8．A．meet              B．come            C．get                 D．play

9．A．on                  B．away            C．home               D．down

10．A．After            B．In                 C．As                  D．For

Most adults once studied at school, had classes and did their homework every day．The same   1   is going on at school now．  2   it seems that doing weekend homework is one 3   for the modern students．

All the students should agree that weekend homework should be abolished （取消）．It is    4   for them to study at school five days a week． They have a lot of interests．With homework to do on Saturday and Sunday, how can they find   5   to help their parents do the housework, go and see a football or basketball game or a good film, join in family recreation （娱乐）, or just have   6   at home? Because of these activities, the homework can't be finished   7   Sunday evening． So their weekend homework is usually done in such a hurry that on Monday teachers are    8   because many of the students know little about the   9  ．If there were no weekend homework to do, they would be   10   to go to school on Monday after two days' good rest and learn what the teachers teach better．

1． A． thing                     B． school                   C． class                    D． homework

2． A． Also                     B． But                       C． Still                      D． Though

3． A． question             B． reason                 C． problem                D． decision

4． A． not enough            B． enough                  C． no good                D． no use

5． A． friends                  B． time                      C． places                   D． money

6． A． a rest                    B． an exam                C． a lesson                D． a picnic

7． A． though                B． since                    C． after                     D． until

8． A． pleased                 B． sorry                    C． unhappy                D． satisfied

9． A． lessons                 B． games                   C． interests                D． activities

10． A． tired                    B． creative                 C． worried                 D． happy

When Ron Clark began teaching in 1995, his teacher gave him this advice, “If you can  1  the life of one child, you’ll be a success.” Up to now, Ron still doesn’t agree with that advice. When Ron entered a class, he decided to change every student’s life for the better.
Ron never planned on being a teacher. After  2 , he travelled around the world, living a life  3  of adventures(冒险), but after getting terribly sick, he went back to his hometown, North Carolina. Then he got  4  again and taught at a school there. “From then on it was like magic — I fell in love with teaching.” said Ron. After five years of teaching, he heard that some schools in East Harlem, New York were failing because there were  6  good teachers. “At that moment I had a(n)  6— it was like a calling,” he said. “And so I said, ‘I’m going to do it.”
Before school started, Ron went to every single student’s home to  7  with their families. He gave his students his home phone number, so if they had any  8  with their homework, they could call him. To connect with his students, Ron knew he should use special  9  of teaching. He learned to play funny games with them, gave them  10  lessons, and spent his time showing students  11  New York’s tourist attractions. His students studied harder and behaved better in  12 .
Because of his  13  in North Carolina and Harlem, Ron Clark has become one of the most successful teachers in America. And his book called The Essential 55, more than  14  else, has become very popular in the world.
Sold in over 25  15 , The Essential 55 has encouraged teachers around the world to influence the lives of all of their students. Ron Clark is now starting a new school in Atlanta, Georgia — probably his biggest adventure!