1 . In Shakespeare’s HAMLET, Polonius asks the prince, “What are you reading, my Lord?” Hamlet replies, “Words, words, words.” Either, as is likely, Hamlet wasn’t interested in what he was reading, or, less likely, he didn’t understand the words he was reading. In this case, Polonius should have lent Hamlet a good dictionary.

Dictionaries are essential tools for people who like to read. There are so many words in English that even the most educated person will sometimes meet an unfamiliar word and have to look it up. Languages keep changing, too, with new words constantly being added and new meanings being applied to old words. For example, the 12th edition of Xinhua Dictionary, the most popular dictionary in China, has added new words such as “chu xin” “fen si” “er wei ma” etc. As for new meanings, “girl” once meant “a small child of either sex”. And “naughty” didn’t mean you were “enjoying playing tricks”; it meant you were poor.

A printed dictionary can’t keep pace with all the changes, which is why most dictionaries have websites and apps to help you keep up-to-date. However, I still prefer printed dictionaries because they give you more definitions and more examples of how a word is used. Even a simple word, such as “set”, has 430 meanings (the most of English words) but an online dictionary would only offer two or three. A printed dictionary also gives you the opportunity to discover new words as you run your finger down the page looking for the word you want.

There is no “official” English dictionary, but the Oxford English Dictionary is considered to be the best. For English language learners, however, I would recommend the Collins COBUILD Dictionary for Advanced Learners. Hamlet, by the way, was Danish and a college student. He would have appreciated the Collins Dictionary to help himself with his words, words, words. This dictionary has over 40,000 words and gives you full-sentence definitions with good examples of how words are used.

1. What’s the function of paragraph 1?

A．To introduce the topic.

B．To let the readers know more about HAMLET.

C．To arouse readers’ interest in Shakespeare.

D．To explain when it’s necessary to use a dictionary.

2. Why does the author mention “girl” in paragraph 2?

A．To show how powerful Xinhua Dictionary is.

B．To support the idea: languages keep changing.

C．To prove new words are being added to dictionaries.

D．To imply “girl” also means “boy” in some cases.

3. What’s the author’s attitude to printed dictionaries?

A．Favorable.

B．Ambiguous.

C．Negative.

D．Critical.

4. What’s the author’s purpose of writing the last paragraph?

A．To introduce the history of dictionaries.

B．To call on learners to use dictionaries.

C．To recommend Collins Dictionary.

D．To explain why Hamlet likes Collins.

2 . Anyone who has studied a foreign language knows how difficult it is to become really fluent.     1    

Find a conversation partner

Try to find someone in your school who is a native speaker and ask him or her to meet with you regularly to have conversations in that language.     2    

Watch TV

Try to find a foreign language TV station and watch often. At first the actors will seem to speak too quickly, but try to recognize a few words or phrases.     3     Pay attention to patterns of pronunciation and the way that the voices rise and fall when questions are asked and statements are made. Children’s shows are great for learning and reviewing basic concepts.

Go out and practice

If you are visiting a foreign country and trying to learn the language, you’ll want to take every chance to go out and practice.     4     Successfully making a purchase (购买) or getting information in a foreign language will help you become more confident. Going grocery shopping in your hometown may not be very interesting, but in a foreign country things are different.     5    

A．They actually became less fluent speakers.

B．Later it’ll become easier to follow the dialogues.

C．Any situation can be an interesting learning experience.

D．Are you trying to learn a new language in a foreign land?

E．Here are some suggestions to help you practice your language skills.

F．Each day make a habit of going to a place like a shop, restaurant or bank.

G．Talking to someone with whom you feel comfortable is a great way to get experience with actual usage.

3 . Do you know a native English speaker typically knows about 20, 000 words? If you’re learning English, how can you remember that number of words?     1    

Make word association webs. Start with the word you want to remember in the middle of a piece of paper. Then draw lines from it like a spider's web. At the end of each line write down any ideas or words or even pictures that you think of about that word.    2     The more you do this, the more connections you make. Lots of connections make it very easy for you to recall the word when you are trying to remember it.

Remember in word groups. Languages are tools for people to express their ideas and communicate. So, find examples of how each word is used in your text.    3     For example, if your word is “arrogant, write something in word groups, like “the tall, arrogant man”. This will help you to remember that “arrogant” is an adjective and that it describes people.

    4     Use roots, prefixes and suffixes to guess a word's meaning. Take “microbiology” as an example. First, look at the prefix “micro-” meaning very small and the suffix “-ology” meaning the study of something. Already you know part of this word's meaning is “the study of something small”. Now, you will probably remember “bio” means living things. Then, you can figure out that whole word's meaning—the study of very small living things.

Timing is everything. Using the new word immediately is the best way to learn it quickly and permanently. Use it 10 minutes later. Use it 1 hour later. Use it 1 day later. Use it 1 week later.    5    

A．Learn in small words.

B．Split the word into small parts.

C．There are several ways that actually work.

D．Here are some tips that should make your brain work faster.

E．After that, you'll rarely have to review—the new word is yours forever.

F．Write a few words before and after the word so that you remember how it is used.

G．You can also talk to yourself about how each word or idea fits together with the others.

4 . “I wonder by my troth, what thou and I did, till we loved?” those are the first words of a poem by John Donne that I learned at school and I still know the whole thing today. It’s just one of many poems I've stored in my memory, ready to recite and relish whenever I please.

It seems that poetry learning has gone out of fashion, but I'm still a fan because it doesn't just breed a lifelong love of poetry.     1     So why not dig out a poem you love and use it to exercise and enrich your recall?

Step 1. Know that poems are designed to stick in your mind.     2     See how they leave you with memory-arousing images and how they surprise you by breaking the rules, and control your senses and emotions. These are all great ways to make information more memorable.

Step 2.     3       When you're learning a poem, try linking the last word of one line to the first word of the next. In my John Donne poem, one line ends with “see”, and the next starts with “which”, so I pictured a “sea witch”. Making links like these can also help with learning names, and many other kinds of information.

Step 3. Put in a performance. When you're practising a poem, read it aloud, as dramatically and emotionally as you can.     4    

Step 4. Enjoy yourself. Learning poems gives your memory a workout, which improves your mood and gets you into good learning habits. So reap the rewards! Have fun putting rhymes into your shopping list, using rhythm to learn names, or “performing” revision notes before an exam.

    5    And, in the process, you'll be making your memory stronger for everything.

A．Learn through links since memory relies on connections.

B．It also boosts confidence and builds lasting memory skills.

C．So identify the tricks poets use - rhythm, rhyme and repetition.

D．Thus, short poems are good options because they are easily memorized.

E．Follow these steps to appreciate poems and enjoy them wherever you are.

F．Memory experts believe poetry learning can even cultivate an interest in study.

G．Adding gestures and moving around the room can also strengthen your learning.