Nothing is more important than people’s safety and ______. (健康)
In fact, medical workers are real ________(英雄) of our time.
Compared with our school, _______ is bigger. (他们的)
Don’t worry. The storm won’t________ (持续) long.
Every Sunday morning, I take a light jog around a park near my home. There’s a lake in one corner of the park. Each time I jog by this lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting by the lake with a small metal cage beside her.
Last Sunday, my curiosity (好奇心) got the better of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her. As I got closer, I found that inside the metal cage were three turtles, slowly walking around. She had a fourth turtle on her lap (大腿) that she was carefully brushing.
“Hello,” I said. “I’d love to know what you’re doing with these turtles.”
She smiled. “I’m cleaning their shells,” she replied. “Anything on a turtle’s shell, like algae (海藻) or scum (浮沫), stops the turtle from swimming. It can also weaken the shell over time. I’m doing this to help the turtles. It’s my own way of making a difference.”
“Wow! That’s really nice of you! But there are turtles living in lakes all around the world. And few of these turtles have kind people like you to help them clean their shells. So how exactly are you sure that you are truly making a difference?” I questioned.
The woman laughed aloud. She then looked down at the turtle on her lap, brushed the last piece of algae from its shell, and said, “Sweetie, every act of kindness matters. If this little guy could talk, he’d tell you I just made all the difference in the world.”
回答下面5个问题，每题答案不超过5个词。
1.Where does the old woman sit each time the writer meets her?
____________________________________________________________________
2.When did the writer decide to have a talk with the old woman?
____________________________________________________________________
3.How many turtles did the woman have when the writer stopped to ask her?
____________________________________________________________________
4.Why did the woman clean the turtles’ shells?
____________________________________________________________________
5.What can you learn from the story?
____________________________________________________________________
Would you like to be comfortable talking to other people? Holding conversations may help. Holding conversations may not seem like a skill. After all, everyone talks to other people frequently. But talking to new people makes many people nervous.
Here are some ways to make conversations more fun and less awkward (尴尬的).
Body language
As strange as it may seem, much communication happens without any words. The way you stand and act tells people a lot about you. When you’re talking with someone, stand up straight and look them in the eye. This shows your confidence. And if you’re nervous, acting like you aren’t can help you feel better. When you’re listening, look at the other person. Lean forward to show that you’re interested in what they’re saying.
Back and forth
A good conversation is not a speech, which means that both people need to participate. If you’re doing all the talking, pause to allow the other person to speak. If they don’t say anything, try asking them a question.
Questions can also help if you’re struggling (挣扎) to think what to say. Maybe they’ll say something you know or you can reply to. When you ask questions, try to think of open-ended ones. That means questions where the answer is more than just “yes” or “no”. Open-ended questions in English usually start with who, what, when, where and why.
Don’t fear silence.
Don’t feel worried or frightened if the conversation has quiet moments. Every conversation has some. Treat them as chances to change the subject to something you’re interested in. You could also comment on (评论) something you’ve done recently. Or you can ask a question about the other person.
So if you’re shy, be brave, ask a question, and start a conversation. As with any skill, you will improve on holding conversations with time.
Learn to be 1. talking to others | ||
Introduction | Everyone needs to talk to others often. But talking to new people makes many people nervous. Holding conversations may be of some 2. to you. | |
3. to improve your conversation
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Body language | *Stand up 4. and look them in the eye. *Act like you aren’t nervous at all while talking. *Lean forward to show your 5. in their topic. |
Back and forth | *Pause to give the other person time to speak. *Try to 6. of open-ended questions to ask. | |
Don’t fear 7.. | *Stay 8. if the conversation has quiet moments. *Treat them as 9. to change the subject of your talk. *Comment on your recent behaviour or ask a question. | |
Conclusion | You will succeed in improving your conversation skills 10. time goes on. |
