1 . Accents are an important part of our identity. An accent gives clues about who we are, and the community we belong to or wish to belong to.     1    

What is the difference between accents and pronunciation?

Accents are about localized ways of speaking a language. A French person may speak English flawlessly (完美无瑕地), just with a French accent.     2     However, pronunciation is something that — as a learner— you can get right or wrong. If your pronunciation is correct, you can communicate effectively with others whatever your accent is.

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If you think back historically people were much more localized with generation after generation of families living in the same small villages and few people traveled out of that area during their lifetimes. So over many generations differences in accent emerged and became very distinct to particular areas. Mountainous villages that are not easily accessible often develop very strong and distinctive accents.

How important is it to get an accent right?

If you’re moving to a certain part of a country, you might want to integrate better with your new community.     4     That’s because it shows a sense of belonging to the community you are trying to fit in with.

How to improve your accent?

    5     And then learners should consider which sounds exist in the language you’re learning and then spend some time in front of the mirror practicing moving your tongue and mouth to get those new and different sounds. And learners should be aware of stress and tone, which can sometimes even change the meaning of words.

A．Where do accents and pronunciation emerge?

B．They’re also important for those learning a new language.

C．Try to adapt your speech to sound more like the locals’ speech.

D．The best way is to learn the specific accent of that region.

E．Where do different types of accents come from?

F．That’s fine because there is no wrong or right with an accent.

G．Learners should first think about which sounds don’t exist in your native language.

3 . 短语填空：用所给短语的正确形式填空，每个短语只能用一次。

turn to   make one’s fortune   thanks to     ought to     in the lead

1. Living alone, the old man had no option but to ________ the neighbour when he fell heavily to the ground.
2. First and foremost, don’t damage your health by working when you ________ be sleeping or resting.
3. In men’s 100 final race at the 14^th National Games in Xi’an, Su Bingtian ran ________, with Xie Zhenye close behind.
4. ________ technology, working is easier than it was a decades ago, in many aspects.
5. The live-stream salespersons like Mr.Li ________ by selling the goods online in the past several years.