Dear Aunty,
After years of her crying. I finally gave in and allowed my daughter to have a cat. I now regret my decision. As someone needs to have a clean, tidy house, I no longer feel relaxed in my own home. If I tell her, “sorry, the cat has to go.” She will be heartbroken. What can I do?
-Feline Phobic
Dear Phobic,
I’m an animal lover and on your kid’s and cat’s side. Tell your daughter your problem. Ask her to help you come up with a plan. Perhaps you can agree to allow the cat only in certain areas of the house. This is a chance for your daughter to develop the sense of responsibility owning a pet requires.
Dear Aunty,
I got the highest grade on a biology test. Now the popular kids think I’m brainy, and want me in their lab group. I knew I was being used. Now, they want my homework. What should I do?
-Lily
Dear Lily.
Popularity can come at a price, but it’s no excuse to cheat. Offer to help new friends with their homework, but don’t give them yours.
Dear Aunty,
I’m one of six assistants in a dental(牙科的) office. But I’m new-there just four months. I’ve tried to join conversations, but they just ignore me. They go shopping together. No one invites me. How can I break into the circle?
-Crystal
Dear Crystal,
Humans run in packs like dogs. When a new dog enters the pack, a lot of discovery goes on. So bring cookies for everyone! Then try making friends with one co-worker. Invite her to lunch. When you get familiar with each other, tell her how hard you’re finding the situation at work. chances are, she’ll take you under her wing.
1.Aunty thinks that Phobic should .
A．try to persuade her daughter to give in.
B．spend more time cleaning the house.
C．ask her daughter to help tidy up
D．find a better way to keep the cat.
2.The underlined word “brainy” in the passage means .
A．excited B．friendly C．intelligent D．hard-working
3.According to the passage, .
A．Phobic can’t get along well with her daughter.
B．Aunty is fond of animals like cats.
C．Crystal’s coworkers are cheating her.
D．Lily has no interest in lab experiments.
Become a confident speaker. How to improve your English speaking skills and make you able to communicate more easily and effectively? The following tips will help you to become a more confident speaker.
Practice where you can and when you can. And practice is good — whether you speak to someone who is a native English speaker or not.
It’s important to build up your confidence. If possible, use the simple sentence structure that you know is correct, so that you can concentrate on getting your message across.
Try to experiment with the English you know. Apply (应用) words and phrases you know to new situations. Native English speakers are likely to correct you if you use the wrong word. They usually don’t mind if you use wrong grammar.
Try to respond to what people say to you. You can often get clues to what people think by looking at their body language. Respond to them in a natural way.
Never translate everything into your own language. It takes you much time and you’ll find it difficult to find an English answer right away. You don’t know how to do well. The more you want to act well, the more slowly you act. This will make you hesitant.
If you forget a word, do what native English speakers do all the time, and say things that ‘fill’ the conversation. This is better than remaining completely silent. Try using ‘um’, ‘er’, if you forget the word.
Don’t speak too fast! It’s important to use a natural rhythm (节奏) in speaking English, but if you speak too fast it will be difficult for people to understand you.
Try to relax when you speak, and you’ll find that your mouth does most of the pronunciation work for you. Speak English at a normal speed.
Final tips: Try to become less hesitant. Don’t be shy to speak — the more you do it, the more confident you’ll become. Remember to be polite — use “please” and “thank you” if you ask someone to do something for you.
1.What is the text mainly about?
A．Good ways of studying English well.
B．Suggestions on becoming a confident speaker.
C．Things to pay attention to when speaking English.
D．How to correct your mistakes as you speak English.
2.How many tips does the author offer in this text?
A．9. B．10. C．11. D．12.
3.In this passage, the underlined word “hesitant” in the sixth paragraph means “________”.
A．sure about what to do
B．fast to make a good decision
C．successful in answering questions
D．uncertain about how to express yourself
4.This text is most probably written for ________.
A．English beginners B．native English speakers
C．English teachers D．language experts
Young Jack moved to a new house. When entering his new bedroom, he saw that it was full of toys but it was tidy. That day he played all he liked, but went to bed without tidying up.
The next morning, when Jack got up, he found all the toys had been put back in their proper places. He was sure that no one had entered his bedroom, but the boy didn’t pay much attention to it. The exact same thing happened that day, and the next day. But on the fourth day when he went to get his favourite toy, the toy jumped out of his hands and said, “I don’t want to play with you!”
Jack felt surprised, but the same happened with every toy he touched. Finally, one toy said to him:
“We don’t want to play with you. You always leave us so far away from our proper places. You don’t know how arduous it is for us to climb back up onto the shelves, or jump into the box. We feel most uncomfortable and unhappy. You don’t know how uncomfortable and cold the floor is! We don’t play with you any more if you don’t promise to leave us in our proper places before you go to bed.”
Jack remembered how comfortable he felt in his bed and how bad he felt when he had once slept in a chair. He realized how badly he had treated his friends, the toys. He asked for their forgiveness(原谅)， and from that day on he always put his toys nicely in their proper places before he got into bed.
1.when Jack moved into his bedroom, .
A．it needed to be cleaned B．he found lots of toys
C．he brought lots of toys D．he put away his toys
2.Why did all the toys refuse to play with Jack?
A．because he always broke them.
B．because he didn’t like them any more.
C．because he only played with his favourite one.
D．because he did’t put them in their proper places.
3.The underlined word “arduous” in Para.4 probably means .
A．difficult B．easy C．regular D．useful
4.The purpose of the text is to tell us that .
A．we should have a good sleep
B．we should be fair to every friend
C．we should treat our friends well
D．we should always keep our rooms tidy
Recent studies show that only one out of three people have strong and healthy self-confidence. That 36 two out of every three people simply don’t know the 37 they already have to be successful when it’s 38 there in their hands! 39 if you want others to believe in you, you have to believe in yourself first. Remember: “No one can make you feel inferior (差的) unless you 40 them.” A successful businessman says, “You can’t push anyone up a ladder 41 he knows he can climb himself.”
Many of us have an image 42 , the image（形象）we have of ourselves. 43 one guy put it: “You can’t win a horse race if you think you look 44 on a horse.” To succeed, the first person you have to 45 is yourself! So stop believing your own lies about yourself. Just 46 your mind and you’ll change your life.
One of the most harmful weapons that can kill your success in life is the two little words: “47 ”. You know that people used to 48 that if human beings traveled faster than 30 miles an hour it would 49 our circulation（循环）of blood and kill us? Thank goodness a few people didn’t believe that 50 thinking, or we wouldn’t be riding in cars, buses, and flying in airplanes today. You’ll never know until you 51 .
Roger Bannister was the first human being to run a mile in less than 4 minutes. But 52 he did it, most people in the world didn’t think it was even 53 Yet only weeks after Bannister did it, suddenly 54 all over the world began running a mile in less than 4 minutes! If we believe something can be done, we’ll 55 do it.
1. A．reflects B．means C．reads D．explains
2. A．chance B．strength C．reason D．ability
3. A．immediately B．properly C．right D．accurately
4. A．But B．Because C．What D．While
5. A．challenge B．let C．admit D．help
6. A．if B．except C．unless D．until
7. A．quiz B．question C．mystery D．problem
8. A．As B．When C．While D．Since
9. A．curious B．good-looking C．funny D．serious
10. A．knock B．beat C．strike D．defend
11. A．settle B．bend C．fix D．change
12. A．I failed B．Not me. C．I can’t D．Can I?
13. A．think B．imagine C．expect D．doubt
14. A．start B．help C．close D．stop
15. A．empty B．silly C．reasonable D．terrible
16. A．realize B．try C．understand D．judge
17. A．before B．after C．since D．because
18. A．likely B．unbelievable C．impossible D．possible
19. A．runners B．workers C．competitors D．players
20. A．simply B．seldom C．usually D．never
They will fly to Shanghai, _____ they plan to stay for two days.
A．when B．which C．where D．why
On hearing the news of the accident in the mine, she _____ pale.
A．got B．went C．changed D．appeared
