【推荐1】Some speaking activities do not give an exact picture of your true language skill. But storytelling does. Storytelling is the retelling of a story. It can be a short piece of invented story; or it can be the retelling of a news event. Or you can talk about something that happened in your own life.     1     On the other hand, an activity requiring your opinion can slow you down.     2    

For the storytelling activity, try to provide as much information as possible and aim for a recording of three minutes or fewer. Don’t just say, “I studied at the library.” Say, “     3     And most of the seats were taken, so I looked around and finally found a place, but it was near the window. It was cold, so I had to keep my coat on,” or something like that.

    4     Instead, it is to speak at a faster speed because you do not have to stop and think of each idea separately. Before the activity, you’d better speak out loud to yourself a few times to make sure you have your main points in mind.

When listening to the recording, do not expect to find all or even most grammar or vocabulary mistakes.     5     After the first recording, record yourself telling the same story at least once more and take note of your progress. But avoid memorizing your speech.

A．Put your speech into written or typed form.

B．The goal of giving such information is not to fill the time.

C．I walked into the library and thought about where I should sit.

D．That is because it forces you to think about your ideas as you say them.

E．Choose a place that you know well, like your home or a nearby bus station.

F．But you can easily find some mistakes, such as wrong verb and noun endings.

G．Storytelling frees you from forming complex ideas and lets you speak easily in English .

【推荐2】You watch a sad film and get caught up in your emotions. You cry your eyes out at the dramatic plot —you feel sad for the characters if they suffer, or happy for them when they are successful. It is only when the movie is over that you realize that what you were watching is not real.

But why couldn’t you accept that when you were so absorbed in the movie? It was reported in Science Daily this week that scientists at Case Western Reserve University, US, discovered that people simply cannot think emotionally and logically at the same time.

It has long been known that something different goes on in our brain when we use logic, rather than responding to something emotionally. Thinking logically is a step-by-step process, in which people make decisions through reasoning and find answers rationally. When we think emotionally or empathize (有同感) we look at things from someone else’s point of view and try to feel their pain.

Now scientists have found that thinking logically and emotionally are like the two ends of a seesaw (跷跷板)— when we’re busy empathizing, the part of the brain used for cold-hard analysis is suppressed (抑制). And it’s also true the other way round.

To come to this conclusion, scientists gathered 45 people — men and women — to take brain scans as they solved different kinds of puzzles. Some of the puzzles were tough and involved math and physics and others were social problems that required participants to put themselves in other people’s shoes.

Scientists found that when participants were doing a math problem, the region in their brain that is associated with logical thinking lit up, and when asked to make emotional decisions, the region for emotional thinking lit up. But the most interesting part is that when asked to solve problems that required both logical and emotional responses, the participants always used one of the regions at a time while the other one went dark.

“Empathetic and analytic thinking are... mutually (相互之间地) exclusive (排斥的)in the brain,” said Anthony Jack, leader of the study. “You don’t have to favor one, but cycle efficiently between them, and employ the right network at the right time.”

However, people sometimes ended up using the wrong one. This explains why some people are good at solving complex math problems but have poor social skills. And why even the smartest people get taken in by fake but touching stories.

1. Why does the author mention watching movies at the beginning of the article?

A．To show that we are easily moved by things that are not real.

B．To show that sometimes we only use emotional thinking.

C．To prove that emotional thinking is powerful.

D．To introduce the research based on this kind of experiences.

2. Scientists at Case Western Reserve University proved through their recent tests that ______.

A．logical thinking works differently from emotional thinking

B．logical thinking and emotional thinking take turns to function independently

C．logical thinking is much more efficient than emotional thinking

D．logical thinking and emotional thinking could work together

3. We can conclude from the last two paragraphs that ______.

A．people have to frequently switch between different types of thinking

B．adopting the wrong thinking mode could have bad results

C．people could only either have excellent logical thinking or emotional thinking

D．people who think logically could easily be controlled

【推荐3】You've decided your child is spoiled(惯坏的), and you want to do something about it. Is it too late? Not necessarily. Here are four tips from an expert forgetting your child to be have well.

    1    You've spoiled your child by giving him or her too much for too little. You can correct this by helping your child to learn to work harder for rewards and to understand that not all good behaviour is rewarded.    2    For example, at first, insist that your daughter put a few toys away before she gets a snack, and gradually increase the amount of work required for each reward.

Don't overreact(反应过度) to crying. When children don't get what they want, their natural behaviour is to cry. If you react every time your child cries, you maybe denying(拒绝给予) him or her an important chance to learn something.    3    

Prepare for a fight. At the beginning, children's demands will increase when they find out parents are not going to give them the new toys they want. When it happens, be careful not to give in just because the child shouts.    4    

Stick with the program. Your child will probably be upset when you begin making changes.    5    It means the requirements are getting stricter and that your child is adjusting(适应). Remember: give it time, and don't give up.

A．Rather, wait until the child calms down.

B．That's not necessarily a bad thing.

C．Start out making changes slowly.

D．Cut down on rewards.

E．Don't try to reason with him or her about the situation.

F．There is little doubt that things will get worse before they get better.

G．As a parent you need to know when to comfort a child and when to simply walk away.

【推荐1】If you seriously and honestly take a look at how you think, act and respond to life, you will quickly realize that in most cases your actions and responses are from fear rather than from love and joy.

Why is it so?     1     Humans, unlike animals or plants, are able to image hundreds of different possibilities about our future. But we cannot decide which will really take place and therefore we often feel confused and worried about our future. However, if we were certain about one outcome, we could get rid of any anxiety or anger. This is possible, only when we move from fear based living to love and joy based living.     2    

The only way out is to be aware of our fears.     3     Then we can try taking baby steps and move up the uncertainty. When faced with any situation next time, try to change the habit of being you and try to act out of love.     4     One step at a time, and try to change your habitual responses.

    5     They can be in a parent, a teacher or in yourself. Once you are able to develop unshakable faith in the process of life, you won’t bother about the outcome of most things. Instead, you will let go of your fears and learn to enjoy the process of life.

A．And see how things change for better.

B．The best way to lose your fear is to develop love and faith.

C．Only after we have the awareness can we accept our current position and uncertainty.

D．But how can we go from fear to love?

E．The main reason for this is that the future is unpredictable.

F．So it is from the fearful unknowing background that we act.

G．The amount of uncertainty we can think up about the future is unimaginable.

【推荐3】
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."
You probably heard those lines in grammar school, but do you really agree that harsh (严厉的) or negative words do not harm us? Words have power. Surely we all have had our feelings hurt by something someone said.
We may not say words to hurt others, but the way we interpret (解释) them and how we say them may cause great harm. Here’s an example:
An ancient king dreamed all his teeth had fallen out. He sent for a wise man to explain his dream to him: the dream means that all your relatives will die and you will be left alone!
The king was very angry and threw the interpreter into prison. He then sent for another interpreter who said, "Congratulations! King! You will live many more years. In fact, you will survive all your relatives. Long Live the King!"
Both interpreters gave the same interpretation, but there was a huge difference in the way they said it.
Our speech must be understood by those who hear our words, but the way we say things and the intention behind them have as much power as the words themselves. Words can cause anger or appreciation. Which would you rather receive?
People who say harsh and negative things may not mean to harm, but have you ever known anyone who is a naysayer? They often look at the dark sides of things. They always see the glass as half empty rather than half full. How do you feel when you are around this type of person? Remember words have power. Use them wisely.
1. The author mentions the story of the ancient king to show that _____.

A．one dream sometimes has different explanations

B．good words can bring good luck to people

C．people should be careful when talking to a king

D．different ways of saying things have different effects

2. The underlined word "naysayer" in the last paragraph refers to a person who always _____.

A．has a negative attitude	B．likes to be praised
C．talks big	D．likes to repeat what others say

3. According to the text, how can people understand each other better?

A．By sharing different life experiences

B．By accepting different habits.

C．By properly using words

D．By recognizing different values.

4. The author wrote the last paragraph to ______.

A．show how the dark sides of things affect people

B．advise people to see and say things positively

C．show how harsh and negative words hurt people

D．advise people to stay away from negative people

5. The passage mainly talks about ______.

A．the power of words	B．the cruelty of the king
C．how to understand others	D．how to build good relationships