When you finish high school or university, does learning finish? The answer is “no”. In many countries, people continue     1     (learn) all their lives. For example, learning can happen when you go to a museum. You learn when you play a sport or take a trip. Every day, you can improve     2     (you) by learning something new.

In Japan, lifelong (终身的) learning is very     3     (importance). People in Japan like to try new     4     (activity). Music, calligraphy (书法) and foreign languages are some of their favorite classes. Japanese take classes to improve their skills     5     (连词) learn new things.

Each time after taking     1     exam and seeing my scores, I have a lot to do.

In one notebook, for example, I write down not only the questions I got wrong, but     2     the ones that took     3     (I) a long time to think about on the test. I compare my idea with the right answer     4     (careful) and find out where I was stuck.

In another notebook, I write down good sentences and paragraphs mostly on Chinese and English test papers,     5     the test essays (文章) are usually good to study from. They can help make my writing much     6     (good).

For science     7     (subject), I often find out more about the background (背景) of a question to help me understand the question better. Once, I was stuck when I     8     (do) an energy conversion (能量转换) problem of an electric motor (电动机). So I learned about the structure of the motor. Afterward I found it much easier     9     (solve) similar problems.     10     (find) more background information has helped my study a lot.

It’s 6:00 p. m. and it’s time to go home. Some students are still (仍然) at school. We     1     (talk) about ways to learn English well now. Here are some good ideas for you.

Listen carefully in class. When you listen to the teacher carefully, you can learn much. You are really a lucky dog if your teacher is strict     2     you. You can also ask your English teacher if you have some     3     (question) in class.

Ask your classmates for help. We     4     (usual) ask teachers for help but sometimes they are not with     5     (we). You can ask your classmates, too. They are always     6     (friend) to you. And they must be happy to help you.

Practice English every day. You need     7     (do) a lot of practice before you can be good at English. Remember, Rome (罗马) is not built in a day. You can’t learn English well in a day, either. It     8     (take) time. So practice English for at least     9     hour every day. You can either read English books     10     talk with your friends in English. Then you can find it is easy. Let’s learn English happily.

English is very popular in the world. But it’s difficult to learn because it is so d    1     from our mother language. Also, we don’t have many c    2     to speak English with foreigners or hear English spoken.

So the first important thing for us to do, I think, is to practice s    3     English more both in and o    4     of class. In class I listen to the teacher carefully and t    5     my best to answer the teacher’s questions i    6     English. Out of class, I usually listen to some wonderful English songs to let me love this language more. On the other hand I often retell the texts in my own w    7    . I always work hard at English and n    8     give up.

Of course this is not e    9    . When I find something interesting, I write it down in English. At first, I couldn’t write well, but with the help of my teacher, I have m    10     great progress.

5 . Fill in each blank with a proper form of the word given or a proper word.

When learning vocabulary, don’t just remember     1     list of words. Instead, try to make five sentences by     2     (use) each word. Then use the new words as often as you can the     3     (one) day you learn them. This way will make you remember new words much longer. Practicing sounds     4     (be) difficult, for example, the “th” sound. It takes lots of time. Choose words that begin     5     “th” and repeat them over and over again     6     you are comfortable with them. Let’s try! This, that, those, them, think, thought, through, thin, thick…read, read, read in English, of course! Reading is one of the     7     (good) ways to increase your vocabulary and improve your grammar in a     8     (nature) and fun way. Be sure to choose topics or books you are interested in. When someone is speaking in English, listen to the main point. If you hear a word you don’t understand, just ignore (忽略) it and go on     9     (listen). If you stop and think about the word, you     10     (miss) the rest of he or she is saying.

I’m an American boy. If you think learning foreign languages is difficult, I can give you some of my     1     (way) to learn Chinese.

Study abroad.

You can try to study abroad. It’s the     2     (lazy) way. But it helps me keep good level of Chinese     3     I have to face many Chinese speakers every day.

Find friends who don’t speak English.

Finding friends who don’t speak your mother language     4     (be) the best way to improve. And this doesn’t even need to be local friends. I like to hang     5     with Korean and Japanese friends because they are also     6     (learn) Chinese. We are asked not to speak English but Chinese. In this way, my Chinese     7     (skill) improved a lot.

Sing a song.

Singing is such a great group activity, but it is terrible when you don’t know the songs. Ask your friends for a list of classic KTV songs and start learning your favorites. You’ll learn more grammar structures (结构). For example, you can learn lots of romantic (浪漫的) phrases     8     (express) your love in Chinese songs.

Watch YouTube!

If you don’t have time for foreign language films     9     TV shows, you can find vlogs or even different kinds of shows by people who speak your desired (想要的) language! I love watching vlogs in Chinese because it’s another way to get used to     10     (hear) real-life conversations. And it is a good way to learn new slangs (俚语) and phrases.

I think language learning is sometimes difficult, but try to keep it fun!

8 . The best way to learn a new l    1     is to make friends with native (本地的) speakers. Julia is from the UK. She had d    2     speaking Chinese when she came to China at first. She felt l    3     because she didn’t have any friends at school. Later, she tried her best to communicate with body language to express her ideas. Then she made a lot of Chinese friends. In order to r    4     her spirits, they organized parties for her. So Julia had chances to p    5     speaking Chinese. Friendship brought Julia much joy. The ability to speak Chinese brought her much courage in a new life.

Everyone is born     1     the ability to learn. But whether or not you can do this well depends on your learning habits. Research shows that successful learners have some good habits in common.

Creating an interest in what they learn. Studies show that if you are interested in something, your brain is more active and it is also     2     (easy) for you to pay attention to it for a long time. Good learners often connect what they need to learn with something interesting. For example, if they need to learn English and they like music or sports, they can listen to English songs or watch sports programs in English. This way they will not get     3     (bore).

    4     (practice) and learning from mistakes. Good learners think about what they are good at and what they need to practice more. Remember the saying , “Use it or     5     [lu: z] it.” Even if you learn something well, you will forget it unless you use it.“Practice makes perfect.” Good learners will keep practicing     6     they have learned, and they are not afraid of making mistakes.

Developing their study     7     (skill). It is not enough to just study hard. Good learners know the best way they can study. For example, they may take notes by writing down key words or by drawing mind maps. They also look for ways to review what they have learned. They may do this by reading their notes every day or by explaining the information to     8     student.

Asking questions. Good learners often ask questions during or after class. They even ask each other and try to find out the answers.     9     (know) comes from questioning.

Learning is a lifelong journey because every day brings something new. Everything that you learn becomes a part of you and changes you, so learn     10     (wise) and learn well.

10 . This week, we     1     (ask) students at New Star High School about the best ways to learn more English. Many said they learnt by       2     (use) English. Some students had more specific suggestions.

Lillian Li, who       3     (bear) in 2003, for example, said the best way     4     (learn) new words is by reading English magazines. She said that     5     (memorize) the words of pop songs also helped a little. When we asked about studying grammar, she said, “I never     6     (study) grammar. It’s too boring.”

Wei Ming feels differently. He     7     (learn) English for six years. He     8     (become) more and more interested in learning English grammar. He thinks studying grammar is a great way to learn a language. He also thinks that watching English movies isn’t a bad way because he can watch the actors say the words. Sometimes, however, he finds watching movies frustrating because the people speak too quickly.

Liu Chang said that joining the English club at school was the best way to improve her English. Students get lots of practice and they also have fun. She added that having conversations with friends was not useful at all. “We get excited about something and then end up speaking in Chinese,” she said.