1 . How to improve English pronunciation

It’s true that you do not have to sound exactly like a native English speaker. However, when you meet someone for the first time, a good pronunciation will help leave a good impression on him/her. Here are some tips on improving your English pronunciation.

    1    

You cannot correct your pronunciation when you don’t know the rules of it. So, start improving your pronunciation by first making yourself clear about the knowledge.

Watch while listening.

Find an article with recording.     2     In this way, you can learn the relationship between the spelling of a word and the sound, and what words sound like when they’re in a sentence together.

Have yourself recorded.

Hearing your own voice can be a strange experience. But it is a great way to improve your speech habits. If there’s a letter or word that you want to improve upon, record yourself saying it.     3     Find the differences and improve your way of pronunciation.

Add correct stress to words.

English is a stressed language.     4     You can hear this when you say a word out loud. For example, the word “introduce” is pronounced with a stress at the end, so it sounds like this: “in-tro-DUCE”．

Practice every day.

After learning how to say something correctly, you need to practice often.     5     With enough practice, you can get what sounds right too.

A．Learn the rules.

B．Write down what you hear.

C．Look at the words while listening to the recording.

D．Then compare it with the recordings of native speakers.

E．That means greater force is used in speaking some words.

F．There are some excellent recordings on English pronunciation.

G．For at least 30 minutes a day, repeat the correct way to pronounce the words.

2 . If you’ve ever learned a new language, you know how difficult it can be. Learning a new language, especially after early childhood, can be a huge task, burdened by long vocabulary lists to memorize, and troublesome tenses to master. However, it’s worth the effort. In today’s interconnected world, learning a new language can change your life. It will certainly change your brain.

John Grundy, a neuroscientist in bilingualism and the brain at Iowa State University, explains when you learn a new language, your brain gets rearranged, new connections are made and new pathways are formed. Grundy offers a useful analogy (类比): Imagine that you always take the same route to work. Then one day, the road is washed out. Now what? If you’d varied your route over the years, you’d have options already in mind. You could hop on another road. “It’s really just a remodeling of the brain that allows it to become more efficient,” Grundy says.

A 2012 study found that this remodeling can be significant. After three months of intense language study, recruits at the Swedish Armed Forces Interpreter Academy had increases in cortical (脑皮层的) thickness in areas associated with language processing.

And the remodeling doesn’t help with only language functions. Ashley Chung-Fat-Yim, who researches bilingualism at Northwestern University, says knowing a second language can help prevent cognitive decline. “There is a consistent finding that bilinguals are able to stave off symptoms of dementia (失智症) for about four to six years compared to monolinguals,” says Grundy.

If you’re thinking it’s too late, you’re probably wrong. When it comes to adding on a new one, adults aren’t at as much of a disadvantage as you might think. Chung-Fat-Yim says it’s not so much the age at which you learn a new language as the way you learn it. If you practice a lot and immerse yourself in the language, you can see the benefits at any age, especially when you get older.

1. What can we know about learning a new language from the text?

A．It is risky.	B．It is effortless.
C．It is rewarding.	D．It is enjoyable.

2. What happens to your brain when you learn a new language?

A．It becomes messy.	B．It becomes stable.
C．It gets more efficient.	D．It gets less creative.

3. What do the underlined words “stave off” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Extend.

B．Delay.

C．Show.

D．Worsen.

4. What message does Chung-Fat-Yim try to convey in the last paragraph?

A．It’s never too late to learn.	B．He who laughs last laughs best.
C．The early bird catches the worm.	D．Slow and steady wins the race.

3 . There are lots of good points of speaking more than one language. To start with, you need to set some common misunderstandings aside about language learning.     1    .

·Language learning is difficult.

Learning a language takes time, but is not difficult. You mostly need to listen and read. Believe me; it is very simple.    2     . Soon you will feel the happiness of understanding another language just like me.

·You have to have a gift for learning languages.

    3     Anyone who wants to, can learn. In Sweden and Holland most people know more than one language. Foreign athletes who go around the world usually learn new languages faster than learners in the classroom.

.     4    .

When you are learning the language, it is more important to listen. If you meet a native speaker, you will naturally spend most of your time listening before you already know the language.

·You would love to learn but you don't have the time.

How about the time you spend waiting in line, doing things around the house, or going for a walk?     5    ? Once you get started, even 10 or 15 minutes a day will soon grow to 30 minutes a day, or one hour. If you enjoy doing it, you will find the time.

A．No, you don't have to

B．I have done it many times

C．You need to speak in order to learn

D．Do you have to live where the language is spoken

E．Why not listen to a language on your mobile phone

F．Only children can learn to speak another language well

G．Avoiding these wrong opinions below can bring success

4 . 假设你叫李明，你的初中同学王强来信告诉你，他的英语跟不上那里学生的英语水平，课堂上听不懂，不知道怎样才能提高英语，希望你给他提些有关英语学习的建议。现在请你根据以下内容提示给他写一封回信。要点如下：
1.对他在英语学习方面有困难表示关心，并愿意提供帮助。
2.给他提出建议：①每天背单词、短语，丰富词汇量；②多听英语录音或光盘，模仿准确的语音语调，提高听力；③课外多阅读，提高阅读能力；
3.提出希望：希望他在英语方面能取得进步，并赶上其他同学。
注意：1.书信必须包括以上提供的内容要点，可以适当增加细节，使内容连贯；
2.词数：词数100左右；
参考词汇：记住：memorize;丰富：enrich;语调：intonation
Dear Wang Qiang,
I’m glad to hear from you.___________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Ming

5 . Great tips for learning a language

What is language for? Some people seem to think it is for practicing grammar rules and learning lists of words. That’s wrong. Language is for the exchange of ideas, for communication. Here are some simple yet instructive ways to learn a language.

◆ Practice speaking it as often as possible.     1     And the more you use it in real situations, the more natural it will become.

•     2     You must hear English, read English, touch English, smell English, and taste English. Feel English with your heart. Dip yourself in this language. Begin to think in English.

◆ Rome wasn’t built in a day.     3     Your hard working will be rewarded by God one day. God is equal to everyone!

◆ Keep an English diary. Try to write a few sentences about your day and then speak them out as many times as possible before you go to sleep. This habit will help you to “think” in English.     4     Besides, you will score higher on your composition exams!

◆Don’t be afraid to ask for help. The more times you ask for help, the more powerful your English will become. Never be afraid to ask!     5     An eager student will always find a teacher! Learning any language takes a lot of effort, but never give up.

A．Try to think in English whenever possible.

B．Use all your senses to learn English.

C．Learn as much as you can from as many different people as you can!

D．Everything is easier if you enjoy doing it!

E．A great man once said it is necessary to practice speaking as much as possible.

F．It will also help you live an organized and fruitful life.

G．Work harder and practice more.