Gestures refer to the communication where visible bodily actions are used to communicate important messages. They include movement of hands, face, or other parts of the body. Gestures benefit our lives a lot. Take language learning.
In some languages, certain syllables (音节) within words are pronounced with markedly more weight than others, called lexical stress. Languages such as English commonly feature lexical stress. For example, the word “accent” involves more emphasis on the first syllable, “ac”, than the second, “cent”. Native speakers of Chinese, however, don’t use lexical stress and therefore find it difficult to learn languages that feature it.
Making any hand gesture could help learners recognize lexical stress, which has been proved by Xing Tian’s team. They selected 124 native Chinese speakers, who watched videos of people performing hand movements that were synced(同步的) to recordings of the same English words. In addition, they also found when more pronounced gestures matched the stressed syllable, the participants were particularly good at identifying it.
The research involved several experiments, which makes it difficult to combine the results. Nevertheless, Tian estimates that the use of gestures helped identify lexical stress between 10 and 15 percent more accurately compared with no gestures at all, and how much help depends on the nature of gestures.
A follow-up study conducted by another team exposed the same Chinese speakers to Russian words and got similar results. “Our findings highlight the functional role of gestures in enhancing speech learning, suggesting practical strategies for language teaching and learning,” the researchers write in their paper.
The benefits of gestures extend far beyond teaching and learning. Since gestures are deeply integrated into our daily lives, they deserve more of our attention.
1. What do gestures mean?2. What did Xing Tian’s team find in their study?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
Gestures help learn lexical stress, but the degree to which they help depends on the complexity of the lexical stress.
4. Besides what is mentioned in the passage, how do gestures benefit you in your life? (In about 40words)
1.听说学习的重要性；
2.学习中遇到的问题；
3.你的建议。
注意：1.词数不少于100；
2.适当增加细节，使文章连贯；
3.开头、结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear friends，
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That's all. Thank you for listening.
Human history begins with stories. Some stories are so important that they
Learner’s dictionaries, all in English, are specially designed to help students.
5 . A Fluent Advantage
When schools go through budget cuts, foreign language classes are often placed on the cutting block. School administrators often do not understand how important foreign language study is for their students’ success in the real world. Far from cutting language classes, schools should be demanding them for all students. Studying a foreign language should be required in middle schools.
Language study strengthens students’ minds. Many studies have indicated that multilingual people—people who speak more than one language—are better at certain tasks. Specifically, multilingual people have better executive function than people who speak only one language. Executive function is the way the brain manages all the information it’s given, such as performing different tasks and deciding what to focus on. In brain scans, multilingual people show increased activity in the areas of the brain that control executive function. Researchers have guessed that this advantage exists because multilingual people must constantly decide which words from which language to use. As a result, multilingual people get lots of practice with executive function. Their brains can then apply those skills to other tasks, like paying attention or multitasking. This effect is especially strong for people who grow up speaking more than one language. The earlier students start language classes, the more benefits they may get from language study.
Moreover, language study helps prepare students for their future careers. Today, language skills are in high demand on the job market and more and more businesses work in many countries across the world. As businesses become global, they need people who can communicate easily across national borders. To prepare for their careers, more students should be learning foreign languages. From 2010 to 2015, the demand in the United States for workers who speak a second language doubled. This trend included workers of all skill levels and backgrounds.
Of course, in order to make better use of the advantages of foreign language study, middle school foreign language classes should not just make students memorize new words and sounds.
They must also teach students about new cultures. Foreign language classes should be required to include lessons about history, literature, customs, and government along with the languages themselves. These subjects will help students become better global citizens and support their studies in other subjects.
Requiring middle schoolers to study a foreign language offers them opportunities to sharpen their brains. It also gives them tools that will help them become productive members of today’s global society.
1. How does the author feel about foreign language study in middle schools?| A．More foreign language classes should be offered in middle schools. |
| B．Taking a foreign language class in middle schools should be a choice. |
| C．Foreign language classes should be cut because of the limited funds. |
| D．Studying a foreign language should be a middle school requirement. |
| A．people who speak more than one language have better executive function |
| B．being able to work in another country doubles people’s job opportunities |
| C．people learn languages better as young people than when they are older |
| D．people’s executive function improves after foreign language classes |
| A．To sum up his argument. | B．To put forward a solution. |
| C．To emphasize his point of view. | D．To introduce an additional suggestion. |
I: Introduction P: Point Sp: Sub-point (次要点) C: Conclusion
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
1. 诗词的题目和作者；
2. 诗词的主要内容；
3. 你推荐该诗词的理由。
注意：1. 词数不少于 50；
2. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Jim,
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Yours,
Li Hua
7 . Hearing Feelings behind Words
Most of us are taught to pay attention to what is said—the words. Words do provide us with some information, but meanings come from so many other sources. So it would be difficult for us to have an effective understanding if we rely too heavily on words alone. Words are used to describe only a small part of the many ideas we associate with any given message. Sometimes we can gain insight into some of those associations if we listen for more than words. We don’t always say what we mean or mean what we say. Sometimes our words don’t mean anything except “I’m letting off some steam. I don’t really want you to pay close attention to what I’m saying. Just pay attention to what I’m feeling.” Mostly we mean several things at once. A person wanting to purchase a house says to the current owner, “This step has to be fixed before I’ll buy.” The owner says, “It’s been like that for years.” Actually, the step hasn’t been like that for years, but the unspoken message is :”I don’t want to fix it. We put up with it. Why can’t you?” The more expansive meaning a message can be obtained by examining who said it, when it occurred, the related conditions or situation, and how it was said.
When a message occurs can also disclose associated meaning. Let us assume two couples do exactly the same amount of kissing and arguing. But one couple always kisses after an argument and the other couple always argues after a kiss. The ordering of the behaviors may mean much more than the frequency of the behavior. How about a friend’s unusually quiet behavior? It may only be understood by nothing what happened previously and the situations that required an abnormal amount of confidence. Some responses may be directly linked to a developing pattern of responses and seem illogic. For example, a person who says “No!” to a serials of charges like “You’re stupid,” “You’re lazy,” and “You’re dishonest,” may also say “No!” and try to justify his or her response if the next statement is “And you’re good looking.”
We would do well to listen for how messages are presented. The words, “It sure has been nice to have you over,” can be said with emphasis and excitement or ritualistically. The phrase can be said once or repeated several times. And the meanings we associate with the phrase will change accordingly. Sometimes if we say something infrequently it assumes more importance; sometimes the more we say something the less importance it assumes.
1. Effective communication is made possible between two conversing partners if .| A．they use proper words to carry their ideas |
| B．they both speak truly of their own feelings |
| C．they try to understand each other’s language |
| D．they are able to associate meaning with their words |
| A．I’m just kidding | B．I’m just saying the opposite |
| C．I’m just calling your attention | D．I’m just giving off some sound |
| A．the step has been like that for years |
| B．he doesn’t think it necessary to fix the step |
| C．the condition of the step is only a minor fault |
| D．the cost involved in the fixing should be shared |
| A．in a way of ceremony | B．without true intention |
| C．with less emphasis | D．light-heartedly |
8 . Language Learning
Learning a new language can be tricky at any age. But in a recent study, scientists have pinpointed the exact age at which your chances of reaching fluency in a new language seem to quickly drop off: 10. Does this mean you should quit your French class if you’re older than 10? Non!
Kids may be better than adults at learning new languages for many reasons. Children’s brains are more adaptable than those of adults.
The findings also offer ideas for adults hoping to pick up a new language.
| A．Now that’s worth talking about! |
| B．But they are unlikely to become fluent. |
| C．The study appeared in the journal Cognition. |
| D．For the study, the researchers created an online quiz. |
| E．This means they’re better able to respond to new information. |
| F．This gave researchers huge amounts of data from English speakers of many ages and backgrounds. |
| G．Researchers found that people did better when they learned by immersion rather than only in a classroom. |
9 . Because deaf people can’t hear, they have special ways of communicating. For example, they can learn to understand
10 . Some international languages are widely used for many purposes. Some minority lanuages will die out and some nations tend to keep minority languages. I reckon that most common used international languages ease our life quality and communication with different nationalities. On the other hand, we need to help improve minority languages.
There are many languages in the entire world but two or three minority languages die out each year. Some countries try to save dying languages. For instance, Australian Government created a project to save the language and culture of Maori who are Australian aborigines. And there are other projects to keep minority languages such as American Indian language.
However, the worldwide job market usually requires candidates who can speak English or other international languages. People who cannot speak lingua franca (共通语) could hardly be promoted at work. For example, some companies need an employee who can deal with foreign companies. So most people tend to learn at least one international language that helps them to find a better job.
Therefore, world needs one common lingua franca that should be spoken in any country. Consequently, one common language should be a required subject in every school. So anyone speaking one common language can travel without worries to any point of the world and trade their products. People will not be forced to learn many languages.
In conclusion, we should help minority nations to keep their languages for the cultural diversity. To ease the worldwide communication among nations, we should create a common language and provide courses of it. As a result, no one will face a language issue.
1. What does the underlined word “reckon” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Deny. | B．Fear. |
| C．Ignore. | D．Think. |
| A．Not all minority languages are useful. |
| B．Some minority languages have died out. |
| C．Maori is attractive to Australian tourists. |
| D．American Indian language is well preserved. |
| A．It benefits their journey. |
| B．They can earn more money. |
| C．It does good to find a good job. |
| D．They are eager to get promoted. |
| A．By learning a common language. |
| B．By wiping out minority languages. |
| C．By studying more languages at college. |
| D．By communicating more with foreigners. |
