Become a confident speaker. How to improve your English speaking skills and make you able to communicate more easily and effectively? The following tips will help you to become a more confident speaker. Practice where you can and when you can. And practice is good -- whether you speak to someone who is a native English speaker or not. It's important to build up your confidence. If possible, use the simple sentence structure that you know is correct, so that you can concentrate on getting your message across. Try to experiment with the English you know. Apply words and phrases you know to new situations. Native English speakers are likely to correct you if you use the wrong word. They usually don't mind if you use wrong grammar. Try to respond to what people say to you. You can often get clues to what people think by looking at their body language. Respond to them in a natural way. Never translate everything into your own language. It takes you much time and you'll find it difficult to find an English answer right away. You don't know how to do well. The more you want to act well, the more slowly you act. This will make you _ If you forget a word, do what native English speakers do all the time, and say things that 'fill' the conversation. This is better than remaining completely silent. Try using 'um', 'er', if you forget the word. Don't speak too fast! It's important to use a natural rhythm in speaking English, but if you speak too fast it will be difficult for people to understand you. Try to relax when you speak, and you'll find that your mouth does most of the pronunciation work for you. Speak English at a normal speed. Final tips: Try to become less hesitant. Don't be shy to speak -- the more you do it, the more confident you'll become. Remember to be polite -- use "please" and "thank you" if you ask someone to do something for you. How many tips does the author offer in this text? A) 9. B) 10. C) 11. D) 12.
C
(Question)
Speaking in his first National Day Rally speech on 15 August, Prime Minister Lee Hsien said Singapore's education system was set for more reforms in the years ahead, particularly for the primary and secondary education.Read the summary of his thoughts on education below. For a start, the Government is prepared to send and additional 3,000 teachers to Singapore schools, cut the courses of study even further and change the way the mother tongue, especially Chinese, is taught.But, for the changes to be successful, parents need to help. Singapore has a devoted group of teachers and principals and quite a few of them are outstanding, but the Republic's schools can be even better.To help the schools make a jump in quality, the Government plans that within the next 6 years, it will send 1,000 more teachers to primary schools, 1,400 to secondary schools and 550 more to junior colleges.Each school would decide how to use its extra teachers.Some may want to make classes smaller so students get more individual attentions while others may have new teachers assist more senior teachers, but the overall goal is to give teachers the time and space to come up with ways to bring out the best in their students. More teachers must not mean more homework, however.In fact, the Prime Minister wants to see the courses cut down so that there is less pressure on the students.Good grades are important but they should not be the only goal students have.PM Lee is convinced that "we must teach less so that our children can learn more." Another change will be in the teaching of the mother tongue so that students can become more fluent.The key is to teach Chinese as a living language not just an academic subject like Latin.Therefore, the focus should be on speaking and reading the language.To do this, there must be an environment outside the classroom that is contributing to strengthening the Chinese lessons. The key to teaching Chinese well is to _ . A) make it academic B) have a creative environment C) give more Chinese lessons D) encourage speaking and reading a lot
(Answer)
D
Ques: Our risk of cancer rises dramatically as we age. So it makes sense that the elderly should be routinely screened for new tumors -- or doesn't it? While such vigilant tracking of cancer is a good thing in general, researchers are increasingly questioning whether all of this testing is necessary for the elderly. With the percentage of people over age 65 expected to nearly double by 2050, it's important to weigh the health benefits of screening against the risks and costs of routine testing. In many cases, screening can lead to additional biopsies and surgeries to remove cancer, which can cause side effects, while the cancers themselves may be slow-growing and may not pose serious health problems in patients' remaining years. But the message that everyone must screen for cancer has become so ingrained that when health care experts recommended that women under 50 and over 74 stop screening for breast cancer, it caused a riotous reaction among doctors, patients and advocacy groups. It's hard to uproot deeply held beliefs about cancer screening with scientific data. Certainly, there are people over age 75 who have had cancers detected by routine screening, and gained several extra years of life because of treatment. And clearly, people over age 75 who have other risk factors for cancer, such as a family history or prior personal experience with the disease, should continue to get screened regularly. But for the remainder, the risk of cancer, while increased at the end of life, must be balanced with other factors like remaining life expectancy . A recent study suggests that doctors start to make more objective decisions about who will truly benefit from screening- especially considering the explosion of the elderly that will soon swell our population. It's not an easy calculation to make, but one that make sense for the whole patient. Dr. Otis Brawley said, "Many doctors are ordering these tests purely to cover themselves. We need to think about the rational use of health care and stop talking about the rationing of... Why do doctors recommend routine cancer screening for elderly people? A) It is believed to contribute to long life. B) It is part of their health care package. C) The elderly are more sensitive about their health. D) The elderly are in greater danger of tumor growth.
Ans: D
I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task.It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting,and then I realized whose it must be.I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year,maybe two,and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point. It was a very important event in the computerization of life--a sign that the informal.friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails.There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters,and we recognized one another's handwriting the way we knew voices or faces. As a child visiting my father's office,I was pleased to recognize,in little notes on the desks of his staff,the same handwriting I would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge-- except that those notes were signed"dad"instead of"RFW". All this has been on my mind because of the talk aboutThe Rise and Fall of Handwriting,a book by Florey.She shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well,but many others argue that people in a digital age can't be expected to learn to hold a pen. I don't buy it. I don't want to see anyone cut off from the expressive,personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does.For many a biographer,part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting. What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16th--century Italy.That may sound impossibly grand--as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings.However,they have worked in many school systems. Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague's handwriting? A) He had worked with his colleague long enough. B) His colleague's handwriting was so beautiful. C) His colleague's handwriting was so terrible. D) He still had a lot of work to do.
A