When employing role-plays, debates, topic discussions, etc., I have noticed that some students are often timid in expressing their viewpoints. This seems due to a number of reasons:
·Students don't have an opinion on the subject.
·Students have an opinion, but are worried about what the other students might say or think.
·Students have an opinion, but don't feel they can say exactly what they mean.
·Students begin giving their opinion, but want to state it in the same eloquent manner that they are capable of in their native language.
·Othermore actively participating students, feel confident in their opinions and express them eloquently making the less confident students more timid.
In fact, conversation lessons and exercises are intended to improve conversational skills. For this reason, I find it helpful to first focus on building skills by eliminating some of the barriers that might be in the way of production.Having been assigned roles, opinions and points of view that they do not necessarily share, students are freed from having to express their own opinions. Therefore, they can focus on expressing themselves well in English. In this way, students tend to concentrate more on production skills, and less on factual content. They also are less likely to insist on literal translations from their mother tongue.
Applying this approach can begin slowly by providing students with short role plays using cue cards. Once students become comfortable with target structures and representing differing points of view, classes can move onto more elaborated exercises such as debates and group decision making activities. This approach bears fruit especially when debating opposing points of view. By representing opposing points of view, students' imagination are activated by trying to focus on all the various points that an opposing stand on any given issue may take. As students inherently do not agree with the view they represent, they are freed from having to invest emotionally in the statements they make. More importantly, to some extent, students tend to focus more on correct function and structure when they do not become too emotionally involved in what they are saying.
Of course, this is not to say that students should not express their own opinions. After all, when students go out into the "real" world they will want to say what they mean. However, taking out the personal investment factor can help students first become more confident in using English. Once this confidence is gained, students - especially timid students - will be more self-assured when expressing their own points of view.The passage is mainly about how to ______ .
| A．teach students to do role-plays |
| B．have conversation lessons effectively |
| C．teach students to express their own opinions |
| D．help students discuss in class |
Which of the following does NOT make students shy in expressing their opinion?
| A．Other students are more eloquent. |
| B．They have no their own opinions. |
| C．They’re good at their own mother tongue. |
| D．They lack enough confidence. |
According to the passage, how are conversation skills easier to be build?
| A．By asking students to tell their own opinions. |
| B．By practicing arranged roles and opinions. |
| C．By keeping speaking in English. |
| D．By having debates at first. |
The underlined word eliminating can be best replaced by ______ .
| A．setting up | B．making room for |
| C．struggling for | D．getting rid of |
One of the benefits that the students can obtain from the role-play approach is that ______ .
| A．they focus more on the English language itself |
| B．they pay more attention to the factual content |
| C．they show more affection for their mother tongue |
| D．they gain more opportunity to express their own opinions |
Women love shoes! They will sometimes go to look for the perfect pair of shoes to wear only once with the perfect outfit or the fashion of the day. Once worn, these fashionable designer shoes may spend weeks, months, or years in the closet without being worn again until another special occasion comes up. With that said, are expensive designer shoes really worth their cost?
Historically, shoes were invented to free feet from sharp rocks, hot sands, and blisters. Shoes were made to be simple and functional, with tough leather soles and straps. As society became more sophisticated (复杂的), the role of shoes changed; shoes were made to add status to the wearer.
Shoe designers began to work on the production of fashion shoes for the wealthy; shoes meant more for show than for practical use or simplicity. Good shoemakers became well known and printed symbols on their shoes, so people could recognize the maker of that particular design. Designer shoes were thus born.
Many women develop serious problems with their feet after wearing these designer shoes during the workday and the medical costs for dealing with these problems can get very high. Some popular makers of designer shoes have been working towards combining comfort and practical use into their shoes, but it has been noted that women still go for style, beauty and uniqueness above everything else.
So to answer the question as to whether or not designer shoes are worth the cost, the answer is certainly yes, but be smart and invest in a pair of comfortable, not so stylish shoes for the days when you stay outdoors for hours! They can also be very expensive, but I can surely say that they are worth the cost.When shoes were first made, their main use was to _________.
| A．increase the wearer’s image |
| B．protect the wearer from discomfort |
| C．make the wearer more noticeable |
| D．show the simplicity of life |
From the passage, we can learn that __________.
| A．women like to wear designer shoes only during the workday |
| B．designer shoes are more practical and beautiful than common shoes |
| C．shoemakers won fame for their shoes’ prices |
| D．shoemakers printed symbols on their shoes for being recognized |
Designer shoes will remain on the market because they ________.
| A．make a lot of money for shoemakers |
| B．meet women’s demand for being special |
| C．will become increasingly comfortable |
| D．offer the wearer a chance to show off their wealth |
In this passage, the author wants to.
| A．explain why expensive designer shoes are worth the money |
| B．talk about the necessity of owning comfortable shoes |
| C．warn women of the danger of wearing designer shoes |
| D．talk about the history and development of shoes |
There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care. To water his flowers, he used two buckers. One was a shiny and new bucket. The other was a very old and dilapidated one, which had seen many years of service, but was now past its best.
Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets. Then he would carry them along the path, one on each side, to the flowerbeds. The new bucket was very proud of itself. It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled . The old bucket felt very ashamed because of its holes: before it reached the flowerbeds, much water had leaked along the path.
Sometimes the new bucket would say, “See how capable I am! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day! I don't know why he still bothers with you. What a waste of space you are!”
And all that the old bucket could say was, “I know I’m not very useful, but I can only do my best. I’m happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me, at least.”
One day, the gardener heard that kind or conversation. After watering the flowers as usual, he said, “You both have done your work very well. Now I am going to carry you back. I want you to look carefully along the path.”
Then the two buckets did so. All along the path, they noticed, on the side where the new bucket was carried, there was just bare earth; on the other side where the old bucket was carried, there was a joyous row of wild flowers, leading all the way to the garden.What does the underlined word “dilapidated” probably mean?
| A．Dirty | B．Dark | C．Worn-out | D．Plain-looking. |
What was the old bucket ashamed of?
| A．His past. | B．His aging. | C．His manner. | D．His leaking. |
The new bucket made conversations with the old one mainly to
| A．laugh at the old one |
| B．take pity on the old one |
| C．show off its beautiful looks |
| D．praise the gardener’s kindness |
Why was the old bucket still kept by the gardener?
| A．Because it was used to keep a balance |
| B．Because it stayed in its best condition |
| C．Because it was taken as a treasure |
| D．Because it had its own function |
Removing the sleeve(封套), you will find a book that is entirely white, except for the names of its author and subject in elegant black type on the cover. It is the perfect design for the biography of a man who insisted that even the insides of his products be perfectly constructed, and that his factory wails flash in the whitest white.
The cover was the only part of the book Steve Jobs wanted to control, writes Isaacson in his introduction. Though Mr. Jobs pushed the biographer of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin to write in his own way, generously allowing the writer more than 40 interviews, this book offers quite a different view of Mr. Jobs, who won much praise from his fans after his death on October 5th at the age of 56.
As a biographer of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, Mr. Isaacson knows how to celebrate long-dead genius, but he claimed that "Steve Jobs" would not be entirely praiseful words. The picture he paints, particularly in the first half of this book, is not nice. Mr. Jobs emerges as a controlling and often cold-blooded character. A child of the 1960s counter-culture (反主流文化), he hated, materialism and lived in simply furnished houses ( in part because he was too particular about furniture). But when Apple went public in 1980, he refused to give any share to Daniel Kottke, a Iongtime supporter and soul mate from college. "He has to abandon the people he is close to," observes Andy Hertzfeld, an early Apple engineer.
Mr. Jobs was undoubtedly possessing an extraordinary ability to attract others and inspire a kind of faith that could not be questioned. But also he could be cold and cruel. If he disapproved of an employee's work, he often shamed him. "This is who I am," he once said after being challenged,"and you can't expect me to be someone I'm not. " This disgusting personality wasn't always helpful,but it served a purpose, writes Mr. Isaacson, many would "end their chain of horror stories by saying that he got them to do things they never dreamed possible. "
Mr. Isaacson treats "Steve Jobs" as the biography of record, which means that it is a strange book to read so soon after its subject's death.The biography for Jobs is believed to have the perfect design because __
| A．it follows Jobs' style |
| B．its cover is entirely white |
| C．black and white are his favorite . |
| D．it is designed by a famous biographer |
The picture of Jobs that Isaacson paints in his book is __
①cruel②humorous③particular④generous
| A．①③ | B．②③ | C．①④ | D．③④ |
It can be safely concluded that
| A．Jobs is highly spoken of in the book |
| B．Isaacson doesn't think Jobs a good man |
| C．Jobs didn't care about the design of the book |
| D．all descriptions of Jobs are not nice in the book |
This passage can be classified as
| A．a personal diary | B．a book review | C．a news report | D．a TV interview |
Forget hard work and perseverance. Getting ahead is as simple as tidying your desk.
According to a leading expert, having a cluttered environment reflects a cluttered mind, but the act of tidying up can help you be more successful. The advice comes from Jayne Morris, the resident"life coach" for NHS Online, who said it is no good just moving the mess around. In order to clear the mind, unwanted items must be thrown away to free your "inner world", she said.
Ms Morris, who claims to have coached celebrities to major business figures, said:“Clearing clutter from your desk has the power to transform your business. " How? Because clutter in your outer environment is the physical sign of all the clutter going on inside of you. " Clearing clutter has a chain effect across your entire life, including your work. Having an untidy desk covered in clutter could be stopping you achieving the business success you want. " She is sure cleaning up will be helpful even though some of history's biggest achievers lived and worked in messy conditions.
Churchill was considered untidy from a boy throughout his life, from his office to his artist's studio,and the lab where Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin was famously untidy.
Among the recommendations is that simply tidying a desk at work and an overflowing filing cabinet(陈列柜) will instantly have a positive impact on "your inner world. " Anything that is no longer used should not be put into storage but thrown away completely.
Keeping something in the loft, garage or other part of the house, does not help because it is still connected to the person "by tiny energetic li.nes", Ms Morris. claims.
She said, "The things in your life that are useful to you, that add value to your life, that serve a current purpose are charged with positive energy that refreshes you and enriches your life. But the things that you don't ever use and don't need anymore have the opposite effect on your energy.
Things that no longer fit or serve you, use up your energy. "The underlined word "cluttered" (in Para.2) is closest, in meaning to __
| A．messy | B．brief | C．complex | D．aggressive |
Which of the following statements does Ms Morris agree to?
| A．Changing the position of staff frequently will help to build up a clear mind. |
| B．A tidy office will lead to a success in your business affairs in no time. |
| C．To have a free mind, we need to throw away unneeded items at times. |
| D．You can pack up your things in garage or loft to cheer you up. |
According to Ms Morris, an untidy desk probably means that
| A．you are quite a failure |
| B．you are in a messy mind |
| C．you are toe tired to deal with it |
| D．you have achieved the business success |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Less untidy, more successful. |
| B．How to improve your inner world. |
| C．Cleaning up makes you less intelligent. |
| D．Being bigger achiever needs more effort. |
As Apple tries to maintain its growth and success in China, the world's largest smart-phone market is becoming even more critical. Apple's shares(股份) fell sharply as the company's earnings for the holiday quarter through December disappointed investors.
The sales of the iPhone, which include both the iPhone 5 and older models, came in at the low end of analysts' expectations, while the company's income plan for the second quarter was below analysts' forecasts, though Apple is known to give conservative (保守的) forecasts.
Som'6 analysts have said that for Apple to regain its growth, the company.needs a more aggressive strategy for markets, or more specifically for China, where the market for smart phones has been expanding more rapidly than anywhere else. In China, demand is particularly great for inexpensive phones that run on Android(安卓) operating system, sold by many Chinese phone makers as well as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co.
But Apple says it's already enjoying strong growth in China. "We saw big growth in iPhones,"Chief Executive Tim Cook said. He said that the company has been quickly expanding its sales channels in China, including the number of Apple stores. "This isn't nearly what we need, we're not even close to that, but we're making great progress. " he said.
In China, a big missing piece for Apple is China Mobile Ltd. , the biggest local telecom carrier that doesn't yet sell the iPhone. Earlier this month, Mr. Cook met China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua in Beijing and discussed cooperation, stirring hopes that the world's largest mobile carrier may soon start offering the iPhone.
Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is working on a lower-end iPhone that could launch as early as this year. But one possible challenge for Apple in China is that low-pricod Android-based phones are getting better in terms of quality. A report from CLSA in late November showed that many smart-phones sold at about 1,000 yuan ( $160) came with higher-reso-lution screens, better cameras and more powerful processors than phones at that price did a year earlier.Apple's shares dropped sharply because in December__
| A．the iPhone wasn't popular in China |
| B．its product quality was widely criticized |
| C．the earnings for the holiday quarter was disappointing |
| D．the investors were not satisfied with Apple's management |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Apple tends to offer a lower sales forecast. |
| B．China Mobile Ltd began to team up with Apple. |
| C．Cook is pessimistic about what Apple did in China. |
| D．Apple didn't take measures to develop Chinese market. |
The author uses the report from CLSA to prove
| A．their prices are actually lower than a year earlier |
| B．Apple in China has ability to deal with any problem |
| C．low-ended Android-based phones are progressing fast |
| D．the promotion of lower-end iPhone will face a challenge |
The main purpose of the passage is to show the readers __
| A．Apple.'s high popularity in China |
| B．the challenge Apple faces in China |
| C．the approaching failure Apple will suffer in China |
| D．Apple's aggressive strategy in its market expansion |