“I don’t speak English”-these are the first words I learned when I came to America. Soon I was able to pronounce the four words clearly, and said them whenever an American tried to talk to me. This answer was very effective（有效的）at ending our conversation and saving me from another uncomfortable situation, or I would have to communicate in a language that I was not familiar with.

Before coming to the States, I thought I knew English pretty well. But the truth is that the grammar and vocabulary-based English that is taught in schools overseas（海外的）is not the English people speak in America.

But fear not! Once you are in America, you can immediately begin to bridge the gap（弥补差距）between the learned English that you already know, and the spoken English that is all around you. To do this, first of all, it is important not to fear when you realize that you may not be as prepared for daily communication as you thought. For me, as soon as I stopped worrying about my accent and started speaking, I made rapid progress. Often the people didn’t notice my mistakes because they were so glad to finally be able to communicate with me.

Another good idea is to listen carefully and pay attention to the way in which ideas are expressed. For example, if you are working hard and you want to stop working and rest for a little while, you can either say “I would like to stop working and rest for a while” or “I want to take a quick break from work.” The first sentence, I quickly learned, sounds dry and too formal for any kind of communication, while the second is an idiom（成语）that is widely used in American English conversation.

Finally, use what you already know---the vocabulary, the grammar and the spelling. Try to use these into the spoken language for more impressive and accurate（精确）speaking results.

1.What’ s the main idea of this passage?

A．You’d better say “I don’t speak English” in the USA.

B．How you can improve your spoken English in the USA.

C．Idioms are widely used to express your ideas in the USA.

D．Listening is the best way to improve your spoken English in the USA.

2.At first the writer preferred to use the sentence “I don’t speak English” to       .

A．admit he is a foreigner

B．save much time for himself

C．prevent himself from being laughed at

D．avoid getting upset in communicating with others

3.What’s the problem with the English taught outside the English-speaking countries?

A．It is quite different from what the natives speak. 

B．It is taught in boring and wrong grammar.

C．It has nothing to do with English.

D．It has too small a vocabulary.

4.When did the writer make rapid progress in spoken English?

A．As soon as he paid attention to the way Americans spoke.

B．The minute he found what has been learned useless.

C．The moment he got rid of the fear of speaking.

D．Immediately he arrived in the USA.

5.All the following are tips given buy the writer EXCEPT “       .”

A．speaking bravely                                    B．listening carefully

C．using what you have learned                    D．making few mistakes

Today both English language and Internet have brought the whole world right in your drawing room. Now you can do whatever you want to without leaving the comfort of your home. So English has become a must. Nothing is imaginable without it. How to solve the problem?

No speech can be imagined without listening. Develop a habit of listening to something in English daily. I mean to say, listen to English songs, short stories, interviews and short and simple conversations regularly. Repeat listening what you have just listened. Not once but many times. How does a child become able to speak? It is simple. He/She is compelled to listen whatever their parents and people around them speak. Gradually they begin to reproduce what they have heard. So enjoy listening. Listening practice will fix correct pronunciation of the words in your mind and you'll be able to utter them as naturally and easily as a native speaker does.

Speak what you have listened, as the more you listen, the more you will be able to speak and the more learning of the language will occur. So go on practicing speaking whatever you have heard. Furthermore speaking practice will train your mouth and ears. The main ideas of what you have listened and spoken will get fixed into your memory. Once the structures of sentences, phrases get fixed in your subconscious you'll never have to fumble for words, phrases or sentences when you converse with your friends or with someone else.

When you have taken these two steps, you will find amazing change. Now you can start to put in a little time in reading and writing skills as reading and writing skills have their own importance and place in a language learning and you can develop them on the strong foundation of listening and speaking skills later.

67. What’s the purpose of the first paragraph in the passage?

A. To tell us that the world is becoming smaller than before.

B. To show us the wide use of internet in today’s world.

C. To indicate the importance of learning English.

D. To suggest that it is convenient to live in today’s world.

68. What the author thinks is the most important step in learning English?

A. Forming the habit of listening                                 B. Practicing speaking

C. Keeping on reading daily                                           D. Improving writing skills

69. A child mentioned in the second paragraph is to_______.

A. explain how he becomes able to speak

B. show he could listen whatever others speak

C. introduce he can speak whatever he hears

D. indicate the importance of listening

70. Which of the following may be the best title of the passage?

A. The Steps of Listening

B. Learn English in Two Easy Steps

C. Listening Comes Before Speaking

D. Four Skills for English Learning

“Tell me what you were like when you were my age,” I asked my mother one afternoon. She looked up, 21 at my question. After a long time she answered, “I was 22 like you. Then, there was only one career for girls — being a hard-working 23. To tell the truth, it is 24 for me to tell you that I 25 my mother when I was growing up. I did so much for her. Besides doing lots of housework, every night I would go into my parents’ bedroom, and wash their feet with warm water. Not once did my mother ever said, ‘thank you’."
I stared out of the window, remembering 26 I grew up, always wanting to hear a word of 27 from her, but getting only the rule and 28 I could never live up to (做到). I remembered the years when she 29 me to get up at six every morning and cook breakfast for the family before leaving for school. Least of all, I remembered the times she’d 30 me to other girls who were as old as me and found me useless.
“Nothing was ever 31 enough for my mother,’’ continued my mother, “ but now I know she did 32 me, even if she never said so. I told you this just for a 33. Yes, I love all my children, but you are my first child, the first in everything to me. I have been very strict and hard on you, but I 34 you in the only way I knew. I am 35 proud of you.”
【小题1】

There was a time when I thought my dad didn’t know a thing about being a good father. I couldn’t   31 him ever saying the words “I love you.” It seems to me his only purpose in life was to say “__32_  ” to anywhere I wanted to go and anything I wanted to do, including getting a   33 .  Some parents bought their kids cars when they got their driver’s licenses. Not my dad ---- he said that I’d have to get a job and buy my own.

So that is what I did. I got a job at a very nice restaurant and   34  every penny I could and   35 I had enough to buy my car, I did! The day I brought that car home, my dad was the first one I wanted to   36  to. “Look, dad, a car of my own. If you ever want a ride, I’ll only   37 you five dollars.” I offered with a smile.

“I see,” was all he said.

One day, there was something wrong with my father’s truck. So he needed a   38 to work. . The sun wasn’t even up when we left the house,   39  it was already getting warm out. It was going to be a(n)   40 day. As I dropped my dad off, I   41  him, dressed in his work clothes, getting his   42  from the trunk of my car. Watching his sun-weathered face, and even from a distance I could tell there were   43  lines than I ever remembered being there before. I realized how hard my dad works for the family. My father is a cement finisher. In that instant, it   44 to me that he actually got down on his hands and knees to sweat over hot concrete to make a living for his family. And he did this day in and day out,   45  hot it got. Never, not once, had I heard him   46  about it. To him we were “worth” it. And never once did he “charge” us for it.

When he closed the trunk, his tools set off to the side, he walked over to my window to   47  me five dollars. I rolled down the window and said “Good-bye, dad. Keep your five dollars. It’s my   48. Don’t work too hard. I love you.” His   49 met mine, then glanced away in the direction of his waiting tools, he   50  his throat and said, “Oh, and… me, too.”

There was a time when I thought my dad didn’t know a thing about being a good father. I couldn’t   31 him ever saying the words “I love you.” It seems to me his only purpose in life was to say “__32_  ” to anywhere I wanted to go and anything I wanted to do, including getting a   33 .  Some parents bought their kids cars when they got their driver’s licenses. Not my dad ---- he said that I’d have to get a job and buy my own.

So that is what I did. I got a job at a very nice restaurant and   34  every penny I could and   35 I had enough to buy my car, I did! The day I brought that car home, my dad was the first one I wanted to   36  to. “Look, dad, a car of my own. If you ever want a ride, I’ll only   37 you five dollars.” I offered with a smile.

“I see,” was all he said.

One day, there was something wrong with my father’s truck. So he needed a   38 to work. . The sun wasn’t even up when we left the house,   39  it was already getting warm out. It was going to be a(n)   40 day. As I dropped my dad off, I   41  him, dressed in his work clothes, getting his   42  from the trunk of my car. Watching his sun-weathered face, and even from a distance I could tell there were   43  lines than I ever remembered being there before. I realized how hard my dad works for the family. My father is a cement finisher. In that instant, it   44 to me that he actually got down on his hands and knees to sweat over hot concrete to make a living for his family. And he did this day in and day out,   45  hot it got. Never, not once, had I heard him   46  about it. To him we were “worth” it. And never once did he “charge” us for it.

When he closed the trunk, his tools set off to the side, he walked over to my window to   47  me five dollars. I rolled down the window and said “Good-bye, dad. Keep your five dollars. It’s my   48. Don’t work too hard. I love you.” His   49 met mine, then glanced away in the direction of his waiting tools, he   50  his throat and said, “Oh, and… me, too.”