English is one of the most difficult languages to master. Even if you might not yet sound like someone born and raised speaking the language, you should still congratulate yourself on how far you’ve come. Remember that practice makes perfect. So keep working at it and your skill level will certainly improve.
Create an English environment for yourself.1.The more you hear the language, the better you’ll understand how and when to use common words and phrases and how the language is pronounced.
Practise speaking English every chance you get, whether at school, at work or speaking to family and friends. When you speak in your native language, ask yourself, “How would I say that in English?”
Watch yourself speak English in the mirror.2.And practise changing anything you don’t like. If you’re uncomfortable making up things to say to yourself, just read your lessons aloud.
Use confident body language while you speak English. Even if you’re having trouble pronouncing words or remembering phrases, don’t keep your head down. Speak in a natural, conversational tone(语气); keep your back and head straight, and your chin(下巴) up. If you’re in a relaxed setting, put your hands behind your head and put your feet up.3.
Find a language friend who speaks fluent English and wants to learn your language.4.Increase your confidence by knowing you have something valuable to teach, as well as something to learn.
5.Instead of saying “I’m no good at this,” say “Every day I’m getting better.”
A. Take turns teaching each other
B. Train your body into feeling in control
C. Speak confidently about your English ability
D. Learning a language requires long hours of study and practice
E. Get comfortable with the way you look speaking the language
F. Read books, watch television shows, movies and plays in English
G. Improve your confidence by teaching those worse at English than you
WASHINGTON-Thousands of public schools have stopped teaching foreign languages in the last decade, according to a survey. But another contrary trend makes educators and policymakers abuzz: a rush by schools in all parts of America to give lessons in Chinese.
Some schools are paying for Chinese classes on their own, but hundreds are getting some help. The Chinese government is sending teachers from China to schools all over the world and paying part of their salaries.
No one keeps an exact count, but rough calculations based on the government’s survey suggest that perhaps 1,600American public and private schools are teaching Chinese, up from 300 or so a decade ago. And the number is growing fast.
“It’s really changing the language education landscape of this country,” said Nancy. Other indicators point to the same trend. “The number of students taking the Advanced Placement test in Chinese, introduced in 2007, has grown so fast that it is likely to pass German this year as the third most tested Advanced Placement language, after Spanish and French,” said Trevor Packer, vice president of the College Board.
“We’ve all been surprised that in such a short time Chinese would grow to surpass German,” Mr. Packer said.
A decade ago, most of the schools with Chinese programs were on the east and west coasts. But in recent years, many schools have started Chinese programs in heartland states, including Ohio and Illinois in the Midwest, Texas and Georgia in the South, and Colorado and Utah in the Rocky Mountain West.
America has had the study of a foreign language grow before, only to see the bubble burst. Many schools began teaching Japanese in the 1980s, after Japan emerged as an economic rival. But thousands of schools have dropped the language, the survey found. Japanese is not the only language that has declined. Thousands of schools that offered French, German or Russian have stopped teaching those languages, too, the survey found.
1.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “abuzz” in the first paragraph?
A.Be noisy like the sound of a bee.
B.Be interested in various activities.
C.Cause people to discuss something hotly.
D.Motivate people to march bravely.
2.What can we infer from what Mr. Packer said?
A.More and more people choose Chinese in the Advanced Placement test.
B.The Advanced Placement test is the most difficult one in the world.
C.Chinese is more important than Spanish and French.
D.Chinese is a necessary subject in most important tests.
3.What can we know from the last two paragraphs?
A.Many schools started Chinese programs in the Midwest ten years ago.
B.Chinese programs have been started in more areas in America recently.
C.American schools have slopped teaching French, German and Russian.
D.People are gradually fond of learning Chinese and Japanese in recent years.
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A.Chinese is being learned as an official language in America.
B.Foreign languages fade in American schools except Chinese.
C.Teaching Chinese in foreign countries has become a trend.
D.Foreign languages are no longer being taught in America.
课文短文改错
Several Chinese students who they are learning English post their biggest problems on an online forum. Liu Wen used to learning English well, but now he has a lot of trouble on his listening. When listened to native English speakers talking in a video, he can’t get the main idea. Jia Xin thinks listening to English radio programmes help him get used to how fast native speakers talk. He also repeats that he hears. Sometimes he even record his voice but compares his pronunciation with the radio host’s. His most difficult problem is how to polite in English. Li Rui’s biggest problem is vocabulary. She can’t keep all the new vocabulary straight in my mind and she certainly can’t remember how to use them proper.
单词拼写
1.The novel may become a modern ______ (经典作品).
2.The Victorians regarded the railways as bringing progress and ______ (文明).
3.D_____ the cold weather, we had a happy weekend.
4.French is not his n_____ tongue though he can speak it fluently.
5.Reading will increase your ______ (词汇量).
6.Measure the length and width of the ______ (开口) in advance.
7.Women in our country enjoy e_____ rights with men.
8.In production, we ______ (要求) not only quantity but also quality.
9.Several people ______ (描述) seeing strange lights in the sky.
10.The report seeks to r_____ the rise in crime to an increase in unemployment.
11.Too many job hunters make the ______ (典型的) mistake of thinking only about what’s in it for them.
阅读下面短文,根据所给情节进行续写,使之构成一个完整的故事。
My mom only had one eye. I hated her. She was such an embarrassment. She cooked for students and teachers to support the family.
There was one day during elementary school when my mom came over to say hello to me. I was so embarrassed.
How could she do this to me? I ignored her, threw her a hateful look and ran out. The next day at school one of my classmates said, “Your mom only has one eye!”
I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my mom to just disappear. I confronted (面对) her that day and said, “If you’re only going to make me a laughing stock, why don’t you just die?”
My mom did not respond. I didn’t even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because I was full of anger. I took no notice of her feelings at all.
I wanted to be out of that house, and have nothing to do with her. So I studied really hard, and got a chance to go abroad for further education.
Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. I had kids of my own. I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts. Then one day, my mother came to visit me. She hadn’t seen me in years and she didn’t even meet her grandchildren.
When she stood by the door, my children laughed at her, and I shouted at her for coming over uninvited. I screamed at her, “How dare you come to my house and scare my children! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!”
And to this, my mother quietly answered, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address.” and she was soon out of sight.
One day, a letter regarding a school reunion (同学聚会) came to my house. So I lied to my wife that I was going on a business trip. After the reunion, I went to the old house just out of curiosity.
My neighbors said that she died. I did not shed (流出 ) a single tear. They handed me a letter that she had wanted me to have.
注意：1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右;
2.应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语;
3.续写部分分为两段,每段的开头语已为你写好;
4.续写完成后,请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1
My dearest son,
I think of you all the time and I’m sorry that
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Paragraph 2
You see, when you were very little,
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With all my love to you.
Your mother
假如你是吴童，你的笔友李明来信说他的英语口语不好，想听听你的建议， 请你给他写一封回信，提出以下建议和看法：
1、不要失去信心，不要怕讲错，不要怕别人笑话；
2、找一个喜欢讲英语的同学，共同练习，互相帮助；
3、在课堂上要积极发言，如果讲错，老师会帮你纠正错误；
4、只要坚持下去，一定能提高英语口语水平。
注意：1、必须包括所有内容要点,不要逐字翻译，可适当发挥；
2、词数110左右；
Dear Li Ming,
Thank you for your letter. I’m sorry that you have some trouble in spoken English. Here is some of my advice on how to improving spoken English.
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