Swimming and English Learning
Can you swim? Do you like swimming? Yes? Well， how can you learn to swim? I think the best way is to go into the water and learn. I’m afraid you’ll never learn to swim just by reading books about swimming or looking at others swimming. It’s the same with the English study. We must practice， practice and practice.
Listening and speaking are very important for beginners. The children in English-speaking countries first listen to others. Then they try to imitate and speak. We can listen to English programs on radio. You may just understand a few words. It doesn’t matter. Just be relaxed， try to catch every word.
Somebody may be a good listener. But he dare not speak. He’s afraid of making mistakes. You know we sometimes make mistakes when we speak Chinese. Don’t be afraid. We must be brave. If you really want to learn English well， you must try to speak with everyone so long as he knows English. Whether you know him or not is not important when there’s nobody to talk with， you can talk to yourself in English. It’s interesting and also a good way to practice your spoken English. Remember， the more you speak， the fewer mistakes you’ll make.
Reading and writing are more important for senior school students. First we must choose the books we’re interested in. A lot of reading will improve your language sense. This is the most important.
Keep writing English diaries. We can also write English articles. You may even post them to English magazines. Don’t be afraid of failure. Failure is the mother of success.
Easier said than done. Well， let’s do more practice from now on. I’m sure you’ll learn English well in this way. You can learn to swim by_______.
| A．reading books about it | B．looking at others swimming |
| C．having lessons on it | D．going into the river and learning |
We should learn English by _______.
| A．listening and speaking | B．reading and writing |
| C．A and B | D．swimming |
What will you do with mistakes when you speak?
| A．Don’t make mistakes. | B．Study hard. |
| C．Try not to speak English. | D．Don’t be afraid. |
What’s more important for senior school students?
| A．listening | B．speaking |
| C．reading and writing | D．learning |
We can listen to English ______， according to the passage.
| A．by train | B．on the radio |
| C．every minute | D．now and then |
Your seat number is ___________.
| A．9, Row 6 | B．6, Row 9 | C．9, Row 1 | D．6, Row 1 |
If you are late for the play, you’d better ___________.
| A．walk around |
| B．call up your friends |
| C．make much noise |
| D．walk into the theatre quietly |
You should ____________ at the theatre.
| A．use cameras and videos |
| B．sell your ticket |
| C．check your seat number |
| D．talk with your friends freely |
Here is a 2-way student exchange. Fred, 19 , spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.
Fred knew little German when he arrived. But after 2 months of studying, the language became easy for him. School was very different from what he had looked forward to and it was much harder. Students stood up politely when the teacher came into the room. They took 14 subjects while American students usually took 6 in the US.
Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was the law(法律) . All the children had to do their activities with their family. Fred also missed having a car. In Germany, you should walk to go out to have a good time.
At the same time, in America, Mike was forming his own ideas. He says,’ American schools are too easy for our level but I have to say that I like it a lot in Germany , we do nothing except study. Here we take part in many other activities.
| Differences between American school life and German school life |
||
| Items |
American students |
German students |
| Class rules |
They don’t have to stand up when their teacher come in |
They have to __ |
| ____ |
They do their own things alone. |
They have to listen to their __ |
| School ___ |
They have six and they are very easy for them |
They have 14, but the lessons are much more _ |
| Going out |
They can _ |
They have to ___ |
| School activities |
They have____ |
They have to ___ |
Young people and older people don’t always agree. They sometimes have different ideas about living, working and playing. But in one special programme in New York State, adults and teenagers live together in a friendly way.
Each summer 200 teenagers and 50 adults live together for eight weeks as members of a special work group. Everyone works several hours each day. They do so not just to keep busy but to find meaning and enjoyment in work. Some teenagers work in the woods or on the farms near the village. Some learn to make things like tables and chairs and build houses. The adults teach them these skills.
There are several free hours each day. Weekends are free, too. During the free hours some of the teenagers learn photo taking or painting. Others sit around and talk or sing. Each teenager chooses his own way to spend his free time.
When people live together, rules are necessary. In this programme the teenagers and the adults make the rules together. If someone breaks a rule, the problem goes before the whole group. They talk about it and ask, “Why did it happen? What should we do about it?”
One of the teenagers has this to say about his experience, “You stop thinking only about yourself; you learn to think about the group.”In one special programme in New York State, young and older people _______ .
| A．don’t work well together. |
| B．are friendly to one another. |
| C．teach one another new ways of building houses. |
| D．spend eight weeks together, working as farmers.. |
All the members work some time every day mainly to _______ .
| A．lead a busy life. |
| B．learn new skills of farming; |
| C．get used to the life on the farms |
| D．find value and pleasure in work |
Living together, _________ .
| A．the teenagers don’t have to obey the rules |
| B．the teenagers have to obey the rules the adults make |
| C．the members have no free time on weekends |
| D．the members are not allowed to break the rules they make together |
The last programme shows that the teenager thinks his experience in the programme is ____ .
| A．unpleasant | B．tiring | C．helpful | D．boring |
The best title for the passage is __________ .
| A．The rules of living together |
| B．Life in New York State |
| C．Teenagers in the special group |
| D．Free hours in the special work group |
Each morning a rich man found a poor man sitting on a park bench (长凳). The poor man always sat there, looking at the big hotel in which the rich man lived. One day the rich man got out of his car and said to the poor man, “Excuse me, but I just want to know why you sit here and look at my hotel every morning.” “Sir”, said the poor man, “I am a failure (失败者). I have no money, no family, no home. I sleep on this bench, and every night I dream that one day I'll sleep in that hotel.” The rich man said, “Tonight your dream will come true. I'll pay for the best room in that hotel for you for a whole month.
A few days later, the rich man went by the poor man's room to ask him how he was enjoying himself. To his surprise, he found that the man had moved out of the hotel, back to his park bench. When the rich man asked why, the poor man said, “you see, when I am down here sleeping on my bench, I dream I'm up there, in that big hotel. It's a wonderful dream. But when I was up there, I dreamed I was back to this cold bench. It was a terrible dream, and I couldn't get any sleep at all.”The poor man lived in ________ before he met the rich man.
| A．the hotel | B．his home | C．the park | D．the car |
Every morning, the poor man sat on the bench and __________.
| A．waited for the rich man |
| B．looked at the rich man's hotel |
| C．looked at the rich man's car |
| D．enjoyed the clean air |
Every night the poor man dreamed of _____________.
| A．sleeping in that hotel |
| B．becoming rich |
| C．owning that hotel |
| D．being the rich man's friend |
The poor man moved out of the hotel because __________.
| A．he didn't want to live in such a fine room |
| B．he didn't like the rich man |
| C．he couldn't pay for the room |
| D．he couldn't get any sleep at all there |
Michael Jordan is the most famous basketball player in the world. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He didn't like to talk to other people about himself. He was also very short. He didn't play very well when he joined the basketball team in his high school at first. But the next year things changed greatly for him as he grew much taller.
Michael Jordan became famous when he joined the university basketball team in North Carolina. Michael used his speed and strength (力量) to reach the basket again. He played so well that people called him “Air Jordan”.
After college, Michael became a basketball team member in the Chicago Bulls. The NBA was very surprised at this high-flying player. He was named “Rookie” (新秀) of the year in 1985 and “Most Valuable (价值的) Player” in 1987. He once set a record (创纪录) by getting 63 points in one game.He began to become famous in _____________.
| A．the university basketball team |
| B．the NBA |
| C．his high school at first |
| D．the Chicago Bulls |
He is often called“__________”.
| A．Rookie | B．the NBA | C．Air Jordan | D．Most Valuable Player |
The NBA was very surprised at the superstar when _________.
| A．he was young |
| B．he joined the basketball team in his high school |
| C．he joined the university basketball team |
| D．he joined the Chicago Bulls |