中考英语复习-八年级短文阅读7.docx

中考英语复习-八年级短文阅读71.A Young ScientistYou probably have a favorite piece of music. It makes you feel relaxed after a stressful day, or it cheers you up when youre feeling blue. Now an invention can suggest different music to you according to the different feelings you may experience during the day.The invention is Spark Care+. Sarah Park, a 14-year-old student from Florida, USA, created it. The invention won her the title of Americas Top Young Scientist.How does Spark Care+ work? First, it asks the user a lot of questions about how theyre feeling. Then it links the answers to the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. It also reads the users heart rate and blood pressure. Finally, it picks music for the user.Its not surprising that Sarahs invention is about music, as she is talented in music. She began playing the violin when she was 4 years old and gave a performance at Carnegie Hall at 10. But she decided to create Spark Care+ also because of her grandmother. “She has mental illness, but when she listens to my violin music, she wears a smile on her face,” Sarah said.Sarah is working on improving her invention and coming up with an app on the smartphone. She wants to make sure anyone can use her invention, not just people who are good with technology. “I really hope Spark Care+ will help a lot of people around the world with their mental health,” Sarah said.2.The Light at NightFirefighters always help people in need with their courage and wisdom. Recently, a firefighter named Ryan Benton touched many peoples hearts with his gentleness and love as he read a book to a little girl after a car accident.Ryan and his colleagues were on the scene to deal with this car accident in Billings, Montana, USA. The cars were damaged but luckily, all of the passengers were safe. Among the passengers, there was a little girl. She looked shocked and scared. 26-year-old Ryan noticed the small child. He thought a traumatic experience like this could make a little girl very fearful. Wanting to make sure she was okay and calm her down, Ryan sat down with her on the side of the road and began reading her a story. He made an effort to take her mind off the accident. This also gave her parents enough time to deal with the following steps.A nearby witness at the accident took a picture of this touching moment, and she shared it online. She said, “This firefighter is amazing as he was able to get the girls attention!”Love and gentleness are what people need most in the darkest moments in life. Ryan was really helpful. His small effort was heartwarming. He was the light on that cold, scary night.3.Flowers Brighten Hospital StaysEleanor Love is a doctor in Virginia, USA. She uses a special way to brighten hospital stays.When Love was a medical student, she found that flowers at weddings and some events often went to waste in the end. She then came up with the idea to give flowers to hospital patients.Love started the project The Simple Sunflower. Up to now, Love and her team have given about 1,000 flower bouquets to patients. Although a simple act, the gift of flowers can have a great impact on patients. It not only makes the patients time in the hospital more comfortable, but also improves their experience in the hospital and may make them less tired.Love shared one of her experiences. “Sara was staying in the hospital because of a heart illness. She felt upset and even didnt want to talk. When we bought her the flowers, she was shocked and very surprised. The flowers made all the difference. Her face lit up. She started to tell me about her stories at home. She told me she had been in the hospital for three weeks and it was a really long and difficult time for her. The flowers really brightened her days and brightened her stay.”What a beautiful way to reduce waste while giving a gift to those who need it most! 4.Monkeys Help Disabled PeopleAnimals are peoples friends. Many animals are close to people not because theyre pets, but because they are working animals. Capuchin monkeys can work as helpers for disabled people. Capuchin monkeys are smart and easy to train. They are small and dont eat much. They also live a long time. Best of all, capuchin monkeys are good with their hands. They can pick up things.Capuchin monkeys have to live with people before they get training. As soon as they are old enough to leave their mothers, the monkeys will live with people for about five years. The monkeys keepers must love animals and be willing to spend a lot of time with the monkeys. The monkeys need to learn to trust and get along with humans.After training, capuchin monkeys can help disabled people. The monkeys can turn lights on and off. They can get their owners a drink or a snack. They can put a CD in a CD player. They can bring their owner a book and turn the pages. They can pick up dropped things and give them to the disabled person.Do the monkeys mind working as helpers? The monkeys get food and a home. They also get rewards. Most important of all, they get lots of attention and a lot of love. If they could speak, they would probably say, “This is better than being in a zoo! For a monkey, this is the greatest job in the world.”