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

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.

1.You will pay _______ if you want to stay in the English club for half a year.

A．300 yuan          B．600 yuan          C．1200 yuan         D．2400 yuan

2.You can visit Ocean Museum _______ .

A．on Saturday        B．on Wednesday     C．on Monday        D．anytime

3.One can get free examinations in Health Centre if he is _______ .

A．9                B．17               C．67               D．73

4.If you are interested in the life of fish, you should go to ______ .

A．Health Centre                          B．Ocean Museum

C．Sunny English Club                      D．16 Yong Le Street

Most students develop a fear of tests. It is mainly because they lack self-confidence. Fortunately, overcoming your fear of tests is not difficult, as long as you follow the tips below:

  1   Those who think that they are not well-prepared are usually those who fear tests the most. As long as you know that you have studied well and for long enough, you will be successful.

   2  As long as you have studied well, you will be more confident of your ability to succeed in the test.

   3  This way, you know what to prepare for and you can gain confidence about how well you will do in the test.

You should know that tests only measure your ability, not your intelligence. So, even if you think you will do badly in one test, be sure that there are other tests to come in which you can do better.   4  

   5   However, with the right attitude and preparation, you can overcome your fear of tests through the use of these tips.

A．Ask your teacher beforehand about the material that is going to be covered in the test.

B．be confident of yourself.

C．Only if you overcome your fear can you achieve much in the tests.

D．Make sure that you are well-prepared.

E. Never be afraid of the coming test.

F. As long as you think that there is another tomorrow, you can overcome your fear of this one test.

G. A fear can be a hursle (障碍) to success.

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句最多有两处，每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\） 划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;

2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

A Internet is the biggest source of information in the world, and it’s access through a computer. It consist of millions of pages of data. NSFNET then became known for the Inter-Network, or “Internet.”

The World Wide Web is a computer network that allows computer users access information from millions of websites via the Internet. The World Wide Web invented in 1991 by an English scientist, Tim Berners-Lee. He made it is possible for everyone to use the Internet. For that moment on, the Web and the Internet grew. Within five years, the number of Internet users rose from 600,000 into 40 million. The Internet has created thousands of millionaires. Everyone in the world can access the Internet use the World Wide Web system.

假设你叫李华,自从上了高中后，发现自己不是很适应高中的学习生活，现在就目前的情况，给自己初中时最信赖的李老师写一封求助信。

1. 高中生活基本情况：

① 学科比初中多(9门功课)。② 每天作业时间3-4小时，课外活动时间很少。③ 睡眠时间不足，上课有时感到疲劳。 ④ 考试压力大，家长期望高。

2. 你目前遇到的最大的问题以及现在的感受。

注意：1．内容应包括以上所有信息，要有适当发挥。

2．词数：100左右。信的开头和结尾已经写好，不计入总词数。

3．参考词汇：课外活动：activities after class 压力 ：pressure  家长期望高 ：high expectations from parents

Dear Mr. Li ,

This is Li Hua. Remember me? How are you now? I need your help because I find I’m not very used to the high middle school life.

_____________________________________________________

Yours sincerely                    

Li Hua

One night I decided to spend some time building a happier and closer relationship with my daughter. For several weeks she had been   1 me to play chess(棋) with her, so I suggested a game and she eagerly accepted. It was a school night, however, and at nine o’clock my daughter asked if I could hurry my moves, because she  2  to go to bed; she had to get up at six in the morning. I   3  she had strict sleeping habits, 4   I thought she ought to be able to 5  some of this strictness. I said to her, “ 6 , you can stay up late for once. We’re having   7 .” We played on for another fifteen minutes, during which time she looked 8 . Finally she said, “Please, Daddy, do it quickly.” “No,” I replied. “If you’re going to play it 9  , you’re going to play it slowly.” And so we 10  for another ten minutes, until suddenly my daughter burst into tears, and admitted that she was beaten.

Clearly I had made 11 . I had started the evening wanting to have a 12   time with my daughter but had allowed my desire to win to become more 13  than my relationship with my daughter. When I was a child, my desire to win 14  me well. As a parent, I   15  that it got in my way. So I had to change.

1.                A．guiding         B．asking          C．training   D．advising

2.                A．agreed         B．needed         C．begged   D．hated

3.                A．knew          B．learned         C．guessed  D．heard

4.                A．so             B．for            C．but  D．or

5.                A．put up         B．take up         C．pick up   D．give up

6.                A．As usual        B．Go ahead       C．By the way D．Come on

7.                A．patience        B．luck            C．fun  D．success

8.                A．excited         B．proud          C．anxious   D．angry

9.                A．well           B．again           C．fairly D．regularly

10.               A．discussed       B．continued       C．counted   D．argued

11.               A．a mistake       B．a decision       C．an attempt D．an effort

12.               A．free           B．different        C．full   D．happy

13.               A．important       B．attractive       C．practical   D．interesting

14.               A．offered        B．served         C．controlled D．taught

15.               A．realized        B．apologized      C．imagined  D．explained

阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中的词语的正确形式填空。

COME AND EAT HERE

Wang peng felt very 1. （frustrate）when he saw none of his patrons(常客) would eat in his restaurant. In his opinion, nothing could be better than his fried rice, mutton kebabs, fatty pork or his   2. (sugar) cola. Who won his customers? He followed one of his best friends 3. Yong Hui’s newly   4.(open) slimming restaurant and was 5. (amaze) at the menu there: raw vegetables, fruit and water. It was obvious that Yong Hui was telling lies when promising to make the customers thinner. In order to win his customers back, he went to the library  6. (do) some research, 7. showed Yong Hui’s menu didn’t give the customers energy-giving food. Having found out the weakness of Yong Hui’s menu, Wang Peng 8.(write)his own sign, 9. (say) energy-giving food served. In fact, there was weakness in his menu, too. Food at his restaurant contains too much fat. So the only solution is to combine the two menus together to be a    10.  (balance) menu.

One day a few years ago a very funny thing happened to a neighbour of mine. He is a teacher at one of London’s big medical schools. He had finished his teaching for the summer term and was at the airport on his way to Russia to give a lecture.

He had put a few clothes and his lecture notes in his shoulder bag, but he had put Rupert, the skeleton (人体骨架) to be used in his lecture, in a large brown suitcase. At the airport desk, he suddenly thought that he had forgotten to buy a newspaper. He left his suitcase near the desk and went over to the shop.

When he got back he discovered that someone had taken his suitcase by mistake. He often wonders what they said when they got home and found Rupert.

1.Who wrote the story?

A．Rupert’s teacher.                      B．The neighbour’s teacher.

C．A medical school teacher.                 D．The teacher’s neighbour.

2.Why did the teacher put a skeleton in his suitcase?

A．He needed it for the summer term in London.

B．He needed it for the lecture he was going to give.

C．He wanted to take it to Russia for medical research.

D．He wanted to take it home as he had finished his teaching.

3.What happened at the airport?

A．The skeleton went missing.

B．The skeleton was stolen.

C．The teacher forgot his suitcase.

D．The teacher took the wrong suitcase.

4.Which of the following best tells the teacher’s feeling about the incident?

A．He is very angry.                        B．He thinks it rather funny.

C．He feels helpless without Rupert.           D．He feels good without Rupert.

5.Which of the following might have happened afterwards?

A．The teacher got back the suitcase but not Rupert.

B．The teacher got back neither the suitcase nor Rupert.

C．The teacher got back Rupert but not the suitcase.

D．The teacher got back both the suitcase and Rupert.

When children learn a language, they learn the grammar as well as words or vocabulary. No one teaches them; children just “pick them up”.

Before babies begin to produce words, they produce sounds. Some of these sounds will remain if they occur in the language being learned, and others will disappear. This is called the “babbling stage”.

A child does not learn the language “all at once”. The child first speaks only one-word “sentences”. After a few months, the two-word stage arises. During this stage, the child puts two words together. These two-word sentences have definite patterns and express grammatical and meaningful relationships. Still later, in the telegraphic stage, the child will produce longer sentences. These longer sentences are mainly made up of content words. The child’s early grammar lacks many of the rules of the adult grammar, but gradually it will become perfect.

All normal children everywhere learn language. This ability is not dependent on race, social class, geography, or even intelligence (智力). This ability is uniquely (独特的) for human.

1.This passage is mainly about ___________.

A．differences between a child’s language and an adult’s

B．ways of teaching babies to talk

C．children’s learning of the mother language

D．the importance of learning foreign languages

2.The phrase “pick them up” means____________.

A．raise them from the ground

B．learn them without much effort

C．use hands to help carry them

D．study very hard and remember them

3.During the “babbling stage”, babies ___________.

A．can only produce sound

B．learn to work without falling over

C．can understand people’s talk

D．begin to produce two-word sentences

4.The two-word sentences produced by babies __________.

A．are simpler than those produced in the “babbling stage”

B．are much more difficult than those produced in the telegraphic stage

C．are strictly grammatical

D．are meaningful and have function

5.The passage implies that any children can learn a language as long as he is ___________.

A．well-educated                          B．clever enough

C．unique                               D．physical normal