Hi, Tom,
Thanks for your message and I am glad that you wrote to me for ideas.
I remember when I was learning English, I felt uncomfortable about speaking. I could remember lots of words and knew grammar rules, but speaking was difficult. I now feel a lot more confident about speaking, so here are some ideas that I have taken from my own experience.
Don' t worry about making mistakes.Other people will still know your meaning and they probably won't notice your mistakes.
Use every chance you get to speak. For example,it's a good idea to use only English in class and not to speak to your classmates in your own language. At home, you should also try practicing new words and grammar learnt in class.
Think about extra speaking practice outside the classroom. You can join a conversation group,such as the chat groups in the study centre. They are free to join.
Practice speaking online. There are lots of websites where you can communicate with someone from all around the world.
I hope this helps you and please come to me if you have other problems.
Best wishes,
Eliza
(1)How many suggestions does Eliza offer?
(2)What is Tom's problem when he is learning English?
(3)If you are Tom,will you take Eliza's suggestions? Why or why not?
Last month, a common graduation ceremony(毕业典礼) was held in Tianjin University,but it received much attention. Xue Minxiu, born in 1937, graduated with excellent grades after working hard for 4years.
Going to a university has always been a dream for Xue. But for some reasons, she didn't have the chance when she was young. Even so, she never forgot her dream. In 2014, she was accepted by Tianjin University and finally her dream came true. Since then, Xue has been a model for the people around her. She got up at 5o'clock every morning. Then she studied for a while before brushing teeth and having breakfast. Her room was filled with books and newspapers. Wherever she went, she would take books with her.
In fact, for her age had many difficulties during the four years. But nothing could stop her.Whenever she had problems, she would either solve them by herself or ask teachers for help. Through her hard work she Passed he exams and was named "a star student"during the first period of her college life.
"I think the meaning of our lives is to challenge(挑战)and improve ourselves whether we are old or young." Xue said at the graduation ceremony. "For me, learning something I enjoy is a lifelong journey. I want to thank Tianiin University for giving me the chance to achieve my dream. Our lifetime is short, so we should make good use of it."
(1)At the age of ,Xue was accepted by Tianjin University.
A. |
77 |
B. |
85 |
C. |
81 |
D. |
73 |
(2)With the help of ,Xue solved her problems in study.
A. |
her family and friends. |
B. |
her teachers and herself |
C. |
her teachers and classmates. |
D. |
her classmates and herself |
(3)What is the best title(标题 )for the passage?
A. |
A Graduation Ceremony |
B. |
A hard﹣working Old Lady |
C. |
A Difficult Examination |
D. |
A University in Tianjin |
(4)Where do you think the passage may come from?
A. |
A science report. |
B. |
A newspaper. |
C. |
A travel book. |
D. |
An advertisement. |
A person has two ears but only one mouth. That means we should listen, not just speak. The word "listen" has the same letters as the word "silent". Listening silently is a good quality that we should have.Then why is it important to be a good listener?
Listening is really helpful.
When someone is sad or angry, he wants to express his poor feelings. At this moment, we need to listen silently first until he gets calm(冷静的). Then we may have a good talk with him. Maybe it is a good way to help him out.
Listening is a kind of love.
For example, we may think our parents are always talking too much. But in fact, they do so because they are anxious about our health, study and so on. If we listen patiently, our parents will feel we care about them. A loving silence is often more powerful(有力量的)than words.
Listening is polite behavior.
Sometimes, we just want others to listen to us but forget to listen to others. In fact. That's not polite. In order to show our respect(尊重)for others, we had better listen to them first. Then we can express our ideas.
Listening sounds easy,but it's not. Every head is a world. So we should learn to listen with our ears, eyes and hearts as much as we can, and try to make ourselves
good listeners from now on.
(1)When someone is sad or angry, we should first.
A.express our poor feelings.
B.talk too much with him.
C.tell his parents about it.
D. listen to him silently.
(2)The underlined word "anxious" here probably means " ".
A.worried
B.angry
C.satisfied
D.excited
(3)Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. We should ask others to listen to us first.
B. We had better listen to others first.
C. We should let others respect us first.
D. We should express our ideas first.
Many animals around us are smart. Let's get to know some of them.
Dolphins are smarter animals in the sea. Researchers put sea animals to a test. In the test, the researchers made red marks on the animals bodies and took them in front of a mirror. Many sea animals either ran away or fought with the ones in the mirror. However, when the dolphins saw themselves in the mirror, they tried to clean the red marks off their bodies. So the researchers believed that the dolphins knew the ones in the mirror were Just themselves. |
Bees work hard,and they are smart enough to learn something.Researchers found a group of bees and taught them to tell which horizontal line(水平线)was higher than the other. If they cold find the higher line, they would get sugar as a prize. After training for a period of time, the researchers tested the bees. To their surprise, the bees found the higher horizontal line quickly and got sugar. Instead,when the researchers showed them vertical line(垂直线). the bees simply flew away,because they knew there was no way to get sugar. |
Chimpanzees (黑猩猩)are very human﹣like.They can learn fast and well. Researchers showed the numbers from one to nine on the screen. Chimpanzees and some college students were asked to remember where the numbers were after watching the numbers, in less than a second. The adult chimpanzees and the college students performed almost the same, but the young chimpanzees performed much better. It was amazing |
(1)In the test,the dolphin .
A. |
felt afraid and ran away from the mirror. |
B. |
tried to fight with the ones in the mirror. |
C. |
tried to clean the red marks off their bodies. |
D. |
didn't find any red marks on their bodies. |
(2)When the bees saw the vertical lines, they .
A. |
flew away |
B. |
found the higher line |
C. |
stayed there |
D. |
found the numbers |
(3) performed better in remembering where the numbers were.
A. |
The young chimpanzees |
B. |
The adult chimpanzees |
C. |
The old chimpanzees |
D. |
The college students |
Now,it seems that artificial intelligence(人工智能) is becoming more and more popular in life, and it has greatly influenced the ways we live, work and play. Can you imagine that you can play table tennis with a robot one day?
Recently,a scientist has invented a special robot that can be a table tennis coach. That means people can practice table tennis not only with humans but also with a robot.
Named Forpheus,the smart table tennis robot is quite special. It can study the movements of human players and the speeds of the ball. In this way, it can exactly judge(判断)the players skill levels(KF). Then it uses the information to change the ways to play. If the players are just beginners, Forpheus will play in a slow and easy way, but if the players are better ones, the robot will play in a faster and more difficult way. What's more, while playing, it encourages players to try their best with words like "Good job!", "Come on!" and so on. At the same time, it gives some good chance
improve their skills. So it is both a good partner and a clever coach.
Science and technology is developing quickly these days and it's hard to imagine what will happen in the future. " In the next 20years, it will be possible that one robot teaches another to play table tennis or even Invents another one!" Takuoya, the inventor of the robot, said.
(1)Artificial intelligence has influenced people's life in many ways.
(2)The robot can judge the skill levels of human players exactly.
(3)Forpheus is the name of the inventor of the robot.
(4)One robot will probably teach another to play table tennis in the future.
(5)The robot can encourage the human players, but it can't give advice.
Learning to communicate well is a skill you will use all your life. You need this skill in your personal life to express your feelings to friends and family members. You need to be able to communicate well in school, too. Your future job success may also depend on your ability to communicate.
Kinds of Communication
There are two main kinds of communication. The first kind is verbal communication( 语 言 交 流 ). It includes the use of words to send information. Speaking and writing are both forms of verbal communication.
Nonverbal communication( 非语言交流) includes any means of sending a message that does not use words. Your appearance, body language and the way you react are all forms of nonverbal communication.
Global(全球的) Connections
Communication Differences
Western cultures value direct eye contact(交流 ) and train kids to "look people in the eye". But Japanese, African, and many Latin American cultures avoid eye contact to show respect.
Go Green
Green Technology
Have you ever considered computers to be green technology? Think about all the trees needed to make paper for books and your written activities. The ability to transfer( 转 移 ) the written tasks to a computer makes it quite an environmentally friendly invention.
Community Connections
Good Manners
It is easy to have good manners if you try to think of others first. If someone new joins your group of friends or moves into your neighborhood, make a self﹣introduction first. Make him or her feel welcome. Help someone who needs a hand. Hold the door open for the person behind you.
Being an Active Listener
Communication is a two﹣way process. Sometimes you are the sender and sometimes you are the receiver. To receive the messages clearly, it helps to be an active listener. Active listening is a communication skill in which the listener shows a clear understanding of what a person is saying. You can do thisin several ways.
◆Repeat what you think the speaker is saying.
◆Let the speaker know you are listening by nodding or shaking your head.
◆If the message you receive is not clear, ask questions.
◆Listen before answering.
◆Do not interrupt(打断). Allow the speaker to finish what he or she has to say.
(1)Please translate the underlined(划线的) sentence into Chinese.(不超过 25 个汉字)
.
(2)Why are computers mentioned when talking about verbal communication?
.
(3)Which good nonverbal communication behaviors are given in the passage? (One or two examples are OK) .
(4)In the passage, the underlined word "this" refers to(指) .
(5)After reading the passage, what do you think of your communication skills? Why do you think so? .