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Body · Beginner English
Why do we sneeze?
1Read
A sneeze is your nose’s way of cleaning itself.
Inside your nose are tiny hairs and a wet lining. When dust, pollen, pepper or germs tickle that lining, nerves send a message to the brain: ‘something is in here that should not be’.
The brain fires back a plan. You take a deep breath, your chest and throat muscles squeeze, and air blasts out through your nose and mouth at over 100 kilometres per hour. Out goes the dust.
Some people sneeze when they look at bright sunlight. The nerve for the eyes runs close to the nerve for the nose, and the signals get mixed up. It even has a name: the photic sneeze reflex.
2Words to learn
liningthe inside layer
tickleto touch lightly
blastto push out with force
reflexan automatic reaction
3Check your understanding
Question 1 of 3Multiple choice
What is a sneeze for?
4Explain it
Speaking challenge
Describe what happens in your body during a sneeze, in order.
0:45
Say it out loud. Nobody is listening — that’s the point. Mistakes are allowed.