Public speaking and critical thinking

What is critical thinking ? to a certain degree ,it’s a matter of logic （逻辑）—of being able to spot weaknesses in other people ‘s argument and to avoid them in your own ,it also includes related skills such as distinguishing fact from opinion and assessing the soundness of evidence .

In the broad sense ,critical thinking is focused ,organized thinking –the ability to see clearly

their lationships among ideas. 1  the greatest thinkers ,scientists ,and inventors have often taken information that was readily available and put it together differently to produce new ideas.that,too,is critical thinking.

  2    As the class goes on, for example, you will probably spend a good deal of time organizing your speeches. While this may seem like a purely mechanical（机械的）exercise, it is closely connected with critical thinking. If the structure of your speech is loose and confused, chances are that your thinking. If the stucture of your speech is loose and confused, chances are that your thinking is also discovered and confused. If, on the other hand ,the stucture is clear, there is a good chance your thinking is too. Organizing a speech is not a matter of arraging the ideas your already have.    3

What is true of organization is true of many aspects of public speaking.   4   As you work on expressing your ideas in clear, accurate language, you will Improve your ability to think clearly and accutately.   5    As you learn to listen critically to speeches in class. You will be better able to assess the ideas of speakers in a variety of situations.

If you take full advantage of your speech class, you will be able to develop your skills as critical thinker in many circumstances. This is one reason public speaking has been regarded as a vital part of education since the days of ancient Greece.

A. Rather, it is an important part of shaping the ideas themselves

B. This may seem like a lot of time, but the rewards are well worth it.

C. It may also help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech

D. It has often been said that there are few new ideas in the world, only reorganized ideas.

E. If you are wondering what this has to do with your public speaking class, the answer is quite a lot.

F. The skills you learn in your speech class can help you become a more effective thinker in a number of ways

G. As you study the role of evidence and reasoning in speech making ,you will see how they can be used in other forms of communication as well.

Gardening can be a very relaxing hobby for many people and this wonderful experience is not just for adults. Children are interested in gardening as well, if given the chance to explore nature and science in this way. Gardening can bring joy to both children and their parents alike, especially when the experience is shared together.

The time that is spent gardening together builds precious memories within their hearts and minds for years to come. When you are gardening with your children, try to give them their own special area. Keep their area in the center of the best soil and light, as you want to make sure of a successful gardening experience.

Plastic tools easily break and are difficult to use in the dirt, so when you are gardening with your children, give them real tools to use if possible. Even offering to let them use your tools is a way to admit the worth of the work they are doing. It is also important to talk with your children about the whole process of gardening, from planting to the harvest. They need to understand how things work and the importance of what they are doing.

Show off the children’s gardening work by taking friends and visitors for a walking tour through the garden and point out the children’s particular spot. When you give attention to the children’s work, this is a great motivation（动机） for children to continue wanting to be involved. Do not force children to take part when they are in a bad mood or if they are becoming bored. Instead, allow them to do something different, like building a scarecrow(稻草人)! This makes the gardening experience even more interesting. As you work together side by side with your children, you will encourage a love of the land in them, as well as create lasting memories of time spent with you.

1.What is the text mainly about?

A. Teaching children how to garden.

B. Giving children the chance to show off

C. Helping children realize the importance of work.

D. Sharing the joy of gardening with children.

2.Why should you introduce your children’s work to your friends?

A. It makes your friends believe your children are smart.

B. It helps you gain more confidence in your children.

C. It encourages children to continue doing such work.

D. It attracts your friends to take part in your gardening.

3.What kind of people is the text mainly written for?

A. Children    B. Parents    C. Farmers    D. Teachers

阅读下面的短文，并根据要求回答问题。

Even if you really enjoy your job, it’s still possible to battle boredom as you work. You may not be able to make big changes—or change your job—but you can make small adjustments to your routine that can make every day seem, well, a little less routine.

1. Switch Your Seat 

Change your outlook at the office by changing your office. Ask your supervisor to help you find a new desk. Even switching desks with a neighboring coworker can offer a fresh atmosphere.

    If it's not possible to change your location, see if you can change your desk’s direction. A new view can be just as refreshing as a new location.

2. ______________

Start and end your day in a different way. Consider a new mode of transportation, if it’s possible. Take a subway. Ride a bike on sunny days. Carpool with a coworker. Use a new route to get to your job. You needn't change it for ever—just long enough to help you escape the boredom.

3. Find a New Work Style

    Sick of attending that long-standing Monday morning meeting? Try to change it to the afternoon.

    If you find yourself feeling most bored in the afternoons, try to arrange to do your favorite tasks then and tackle less desirable projects in the mornings.

If you usually communicate with coworkers via email and instant messaging, start dealing with people face to face. Increased communication with coworkers may help improve your mood.

4. Get and Set a Goal

    If your work is short of objectives, it's no wonder that work has become boring. Identify a goal and set an “achieve by” date for it.

Your goal needn’t be noble as long as you have enough enthusiasm for it. Perhaps you want to make a new project. Maybe you’d like to pursue a promotion. Or you may even set a goal of finding a new job altogether. Whatever it is, actively move toward an objective.

1.What is the purpose of the passage? (within 15 words)

____________________________________________________________________________

2.Which sentence in the text is the closest in meaning to the following one?

 You will feel bored when you are not working toward something.

____________________________________________________________________________

3.Fill in the blank in Paragraph 5 with proper words. (within 8 words)

4.List three methods of escaping from boredom in your daily. (within 5 words for each)

①                                 ②________________________________

③_______________________________

5.Translate the underlined sentence in the last paragraph into Chinese.

______________________________________________________________________________

阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。

首先，请阅读以下专家的解答：

A.First, let' s talk about your boyfriend.If he' s laughing at you about it and won' t stop (even after you've talked to him about the fact that it hurts and annoys you) then you might need to stop being friends with him. If he really doesn't care about how he is hurting you, then he's not good enough to be your boyfriend. Second, if that girl is bothering you and threatening to beat you up you really need to turn to an adult for help. If you can't feel safe at school, you can't concentrate and will get poor grades, which will affect your future.

B.It' s true that your first year in high school is important. It's a fresh start with your grades and it affects the rest of your high school years, but if you just stay calm, optimistic, and focused, you'll do fine. There's really no need to worry about grades as long as you work hard. Try to stay happy and confident. I think a good way to get an extra confidence boost is to wear your favorite clothes.

C.You' re already on the right track by knowing what you want to change about yourself and why you feel the way you do. Understanding yourself is a big step! One good thing to do is to hang out with people a lot like you. If you have more in common with someone, then it is much easier to talk to them. Usually when you feel comfortable around a group of people, your confidence increases a lot.

D.What I've discovered from my years of school changing is that confidence is the key to a good first day. Make sure you're not too threatening to your new classmates in any way, and it usually helps to be twice as nice as usual. Just smile and try to have fun. Also, about the clothes, wear something cute with bright colors. Then you'll look good, but you won' t have too many eyes on you all at once. Good luck and have fun!

E.Usually it helps your grades if your family life is less of a challenge. If you get better grades and quit running up high phone bills, you would get along better with your parents. Getting along with your parents is pretty important.They've been through a lot and are usually good people to go to for help. So try your best to get along with your family.

F.If you don't feel pretty, remember that everyone looks different. There are different kinds of "pretty”, believe it or not. Some people have great smiles, some have great hair, and some have nice eyes. Pay more attention to the parts of you that you like and pay less attention to what you don't like.

阅读下列人物的困惑，然后匹配相应的专家解答：

1.I am in eighth grade and am about to start high school.I am super nervous about going to high school and afraid that I won' t fit in and get good grades. It is all I think about nowadays and it is ruining my life. What should I do? Please help me!

2.I had a fight with a girl at school and ended up almost getting forced to leave school. Everybody makes fun of me and now my boyfriend is joining in with them. I have told him that it hurts my feelings, but he says that it is just a joke and that he may do it again. I feel scared to go to school, because I knocked her down at school and she'll get all her friends to beat me up the next time she sees me. I run as fast as I can to attend classes. Please help me!

3.My dad and mom always get me mad. I have bad grades.My cell phone's bill is quite high. I think it' s because of my anger at my dad and mom. What should I do to get along well with my family?

4.My family will move to a new city and I will have to start a new school. I'm really nervous about being a new kid. I don' t know what kids wear in a completely new school, how they act, or anything else. I don't want to make a bad impression on my first day. Oh, I will be in 10th grade and I've never changed schools before.

5.When I was eight my parents divorced(离婚).I used to be willing to do something and talk to someone I didn't know without being nervous. After the divorce I switched(转变) to many different schools and got really shy.My problem is that I'm shy around boys. I have to get to know them a lot to open up more and I think I might have ruined it a couple of times. I want my old self back. How do I open up even more without feeling scared?

It may help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech．At some point in every speech, every speaker says something that is not understood exactly as he has planned．Fortunately, the moments are usually not obvious to the listeners. Why? Because the listeners do not know what the speaker plans to say. They hear only what the speaker does say. If you lose your place for a moment, wrongly change the order of a couple of sentences, or forget to pause at a certain point, no one will be any the wiser．When such moments occur, don’t worry about them, Just continue as if nothing happened．

Even if you do make an obvious mistake during a speech, that don’t really matter. If you have ever listened to Martin Luther King’s famous speech – “ I have a dream”, you may notice that he stumble（结巴）his words twice during the speech．Most likely, however, you don’t remember．Why? Because you were fixing your attention on is message rather than on his way of speech-making. People care a lot about making mistakes in a speech because they regard speech-making as a kind of performance rather than as an act of communication. They feel the listeners are like judges in an ice-skating competition．But, in fact, the listeners are not looking for a perfect performer. They are looking for a well-thought-out speech that express the speaker’s ideas clearly and directly．Sometimes a mistake or two can actually increase a speakers’ attractiveness by making him more human．

As you work on your speech, don’t worry about being imperfect．Once you free your mind of this, you will find it much easier to give your speech freely．

1.

The underlined part in the first paragraph means that no one will ___________．

   A．be smarter than you        B．notice your mistakes

   C．do better than you          D．know what you are talking about

2.

You don’t remember obvious mistakes in a speech because ___________．

   A．your attention is on the content

   B．you don’t fully understand the speech

   C．you don’t know what the speaker plans to say

   D．you find the way of speech-making more important

3.

It can be inferred from the passage that ___________．

   A．giving a speech is like giving a performance

   B．one to two mistakes in a speech may not be bad

   C．the listeners should pay more attention to how a speech is made

   D．the more mistakes a speaker makes, the more attractive he will be

4.

What would be the best title of the passage? 

   A．How to Be a Perfect Speaker

   B．How to Make a Perfect Speech

   C．Don’t Expect a Perfect Speech

   D．Don’t Expect Mistakes in a Speech