八年级英语是全球使用范围最广的语言,它也必将担负起帮助人类完成“巴别塔”的重任。下面是小编为大家精心推荐的八年级英语下册课文，希望能够对您有所帮助。

八年级英语下册课文(一)

P30 2b

Maybe You Should Learn to Relax!

These days, Chinese children are sometimes busier on weekends than weekdays because they to take so many after-school classes. Many of them are learning exam skills so that they can get into a good high school and later a good university. Others are practicing sports so that they can compete and win. However, this doesn‟t only happen in China. The Taylors are a typical American family. Life for Cathy Taylor‟s three children is very busy.” On most days after school,” Cathy says, “I take one of my two boys to basketball practice and my daughter to football training. Then I have to take my other son to piano lessons. Maybe I could cut out a few of their activities, but I believe these activities are important for my children‟s future. I really want them to be successful. ” However, the tired children don‟t get home until after 7:00 p.m. They have a quick dinner, and then it‟s time for homework.

Linda Miller, a mother of three, knows all about such stress. “In some families, competition starts very young and continues until the kids get older,” she says. “Mothers send their small kids to all kinds of classes. And they are always comparing them with other children. It‟s crazy. I don‟t think that‟s fair. Why don‟t they just let their kids be kids? People shouldn‟t push their kids so hard.”

Doctors say too much pressure is not good for a child‟s development. Dr. Alice Green says all these activities can cause a lot of stress for children. “Kids should have time to relax and think for themselves, too. Although it‟s normal to want successful children, it‟s even more important to have happy children.”

八年级英语下册课文(二)

P38 2b

Do You Remember What You Were Doing?

People often remember what they were doing when they heard the news of important events in history. In America, for example, many people remember what they were doing on April 4, 1968. This was an important event in American history. On this day, Dr. Martin Luther King was killed. Although some people may not remember who killed him, they remember what they were doing when they heard the news.

Robert Allen is now over 50, but he was a school pupil at that time. “It was a bright, sunny day,” Robert remembers. “We were having fun in the playground when the school bell rang. Our teacher said, „Dr. King died just 10 minutes ago.‟ We were completely surprised!” School closed for the day, Robert and his friends walked home in silence.

More recently, most Americans remember what they were doing when the World Trade Center in New York was taken down by terrorists. Even the date-September 11, 2001-has meaning to most Americans.

This was a day Kate Smith will never forget. She remembers working in her office near the two towers. “My friend shouted that a plane just hit the World Trade Center! I didn‟t believe him at first, but then I looked out the window and realized that it was true. I was so scared that I could hardly think clearly after that.”

八年级英语下册课文(三)

P43 3a

In November 1979, pupils in England were able to watch a new TV program called Monkey. Most of them were hearing this story for the first time. However, this story is not new to Chinese children. The Monkey King or Sun Wukong is the main character in the traditional Chinese book Journey to the West.

The story says that once upon a time there was a magic rock. One day, it suddenly broke open and gave birth to a monkey. To fight bad people, the Monkey King uses a magic stick. Sometimes he can make the stick so small that he can keep it in his ear. At other times, he is able to make it big and long. Sun Wukong can also make 72 changes to his shape and size, turning himself into different animals and objects. But unless he can hide his tail, he cannot turn himself into a person.

The Monkey king has excited the children of China many years. And as soon as the TV program came out more than 30 years ago, Western children became interested in reading this story because the clever Monkey King keeps fighting to help the weak and never gives up.