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　　Here are some tips we've put together to help you learn English well．

　　Ⅰ．SPEAK! SPEAK! SPEAK! Practice speaking as often as you can---even speaking to yourself is good practice．Try recording yourself whenever you can．Compare your pronunciation with the master version(原版)．See how you can do better and have another go．If you do this several times, you will find that each version is better than the last．

　　Ⅱ．WHY NOT LEARN WITH SOMEONE ELSE? It helps you a lot if you can learn with someone else．If you can persuade a friend or family member to study with you, it will make you keep working．

　　Ⅲ．DON'T GET STUCK BY A WORD YOU DON'T KNOW．Practice improvising(即兴的)ways of getting your meaning across when speaking spontaneously(本能地), even if you don't know the exact words or phrases．Think of things you might want to say whenever you have spare time．Use facial expressions, hand movements, and anything to get your meaning across．

　　Ⅳ．LANGUAGE LEARNING IS ALSO ABOUT INTUITION(直觉)．Guesswork is an important way to learn a new language．When listening to recorded material, you aren't expected to understand everything the first time around．If you play the same piece several times, you will most probably understand something new each time．

　　Ⅴ．BUILD YOUR VOCAVULARY．A wide vocabulary is the key to understand language learning but don't try to learn too much at once．It's best to study frequently for short periods of time．Take at most six or seven items of vocabulary and learn them every day．Put them into sentences to fix them in your mind, then come back to them later．

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　　Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and moved to New York City when she was ten years old．One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor．That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth century．After writing many letters to medical schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia．So determined was she, that she taught in school and gave music lessons to earn money for her schooling．

　　In 1849, after graduation from medical school, she decided to further her education in Paris．

　　Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was a woman．By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, managed to open a new hospital, the first for women and children．Besides being the first female physician and founding her own hospital, she also set up the first medical school for women．

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　　British society is considered to be divided into three main groups of classes－the upper class, the middle class．and the lower or working class．This is known as the class system and it is important to know something about it if you mean to understand British people and society．Most British people grow up with a deep knowledge and understanding of the class system even if they are not very conscious(意识到的)of it．As a result, more people know which class they belong to and are able to tell which class other people come from by the way they speak, the kind of clothes they wear, their interests and hobbies or even the type of food they eat．

　　Social class is not only about behavior and attitudes．For example, although many upper class people are rich and may own a lot of land, having a lot of money does not necessarily make a person one member of the upper class．It is also important to come from a particular kind of family, have friends who are considered suitable, have been to a certain type of private school and speak with the right kind of accent．There are people who are poor but who do not think of themselves as working class because their family background, education, political opinions, etc．are basically different from those of most working－class people．Many people do not like the class system but it is impossible to pretend that these differences do not exist or that British people do not sometimes form opinions in this way．

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　　A Guide to Living a Good Life

　　Author：Laura Rowley

　　Publisher：Wiley(March 1, 2007)

　　Laura Rowley makes us all understand the connection between money and happiness in our own lives so that we can spend our time and efforts wisely．She offers an insight(领悟)so that every reader can make smarter decisions and live a happier life．

　　The Science Behind Your Smile

　　Author：Daniel Nettle

　　Publisher：Oxford University Press(July 1,2007)

　　It is the first book mainly about what happiness is and how happiness works．Nettle examines whether people are basically happy, whether success can make us happy, why some people are happier than others, etc．

　　How to Teach Yourself to Be Happy and Enjoy Every Day

　　Author：M．J．Ryan

　　Publisher：Broadway(May 10, 2007)

　　Ryan's own desire to be happier first led her to study about happiness from brain science, psychology(心理学), and the wisdom traditions of the world．The happiness Makeover draws on wide - ranging knowledge and presents some suggestions that will help you a lot：

　　●Clear away worry, fear, envy, and grudges．

　　●Learn to think about yourself confidently．

　　●Find daily ways to truly enjoy the moments of your life．

　　Author：Steven F．Hotze

　　Publisher：Forrest Publishing(April, 2007)

　　Dr．Steven Hotze is leading a wellness revolution that advances a new model of healthcare．

　　In Hormones, Health, and Happiness, Dr．Hotze deals with the basic causes of poor health．You are shown how to reach and maintain the most favorable cell，tissue，and organ functioning．It can help you enjoy a better quality of life．

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　　Where we live, on the eastern shore of Maryland, the gentle waters run in and out like fingers slimming at the tips．

　　The Canada geese know this place, as do the white swans and ducks．In the autumn, they come home for the winter．Once or twice each year, snow and frozen rain move into the area．When this happens, if the river is at its narrowest, there is a freeze which hardens the water to the ice．

　　One morning, a friend of mine set the breakfast table beside the huge window, which overlooked the Tred Avon River．Suddenly she leaned forward and cried out, “There is a goose out there．”

　　We saw the figure of a large Canada goose, very iii, its wings folded tight to its sides, its feet frozen to the ice．

　　Then from the dark sky, she saw a line of swans．They floated from the top of the sky downward and at last landed on the ice．My friend was on her feet now, with one unbelieving hand against her mouth．As the swans surrounded the frozen goose, she feared what life it still had might be pecked(啄)out by those great swan beaks．

　　Instead, those beaks began to work on the ice．The long necks were lifted and curved down, again and again．It went on for a long time．At last, the goose's head lifted．Its body pulled．Then the goose was free and standing on the ice．And the swans stood in the air watching．Then, as if it had cried, “I cannot fly,” four of the swans came down around it．Their powerful beaks chipped off the ice and held in the feathers．Slowly, the goose spread its wings as far as they could go, and moved slowly into the sky．

　　This is a true story．I just think of it in the bad moments, and from it comes only one hopeful question：“ If so for birds, why not for man?”

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　　When I was a child, I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city．We lived on a farmstead, in the winter especially, we wear quite out off from the outside world．As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital．However, I soon discovered that city life has its problems too．

　　One big disadvantage is money．It costs so much to go out, not to mention basics like food and housing．Another disadvantage is pollution．I suffer from asthma(哮喘), and at times the air is so dirty that I am afraid to go outside．Then there is the problem of traveling round．Although I have a car, I seldom use it because of the traffic jams．One choice is to go by bicycle, but that can be quite dangerous．

　　Of course there are advantages．First, there is so much to do in the city, whatever your tastes in culture or entertainment．Besides, there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position．Finally, if you like shopping, the variety of goods is very surprising - and, what is more, shops are often only a short walk away．

　　Is life better then, in the city? Perhaps it is, when you are in your teens or twenties．However, as you get older, and especially if you have small children, the peace of the countryside may seem preferable．I certainly hope to move back there soon．

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　　Water problems in the future will become more intense and more complex．Our increasing population will tremendously increase urban wastes, primarily sewage．On the other hand, increasing demands for water will decrease substantially the amount of water available for diluting wastes．Rapidly expanding industries which involve more and more complex chemical processes will produce larger volumes of liquid wastes, and many of these will contain chemicals which are noxious．To feed our rapidly expanding population, agriculture will have to be intensified．This will involve ever - increasing quantities of agricultural chemicals．From this, it is apparent that drastic steps must be taken immediately to develop corrective measures for the pollution problem．

　　There are two ways by which this pollution problem can be dwindled(减少)．The first relates to the treatment of wastes to decrease their pollution hazard．This involves the processing of solid wastes "prior to" disposal and the treatment of liquid wastes, or effluents, to permit the reuse of the water or minimize pollution upon final disposal．

　　A second approach is to develop an economic use for all or a part of the wastes．Farm manure is spread in fields as a nutrient or organic supplement．Effluents from sewage disposal plants are used in some areas both for irrigation and for the nutrients contained．Effluents from other processing plants may also be used as a supplemental source of water．Many industries, such as meat and poultry processing plants, are currently converting former waste products into marketable byproducts．Other industries are potential economic uses for waste products．

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　　Imagine a boy from a small village in East Africa, He from a very early age has been looking after cattle．At twelve years old he knows more about cattle than most of you．However, he has never been to school．Has this boy ever had any education?

　　Education is discovering about ourselves and about the people and things around us．All the people who care about us－our parents, brothers, sisters, friends－are our teachers．In fact, we learn something from everyone we meet．We start learning on the day we are born, not on the first day" we go to school．Every day we have new experiences, like finding a bird's nest, discovering a new street in our neighborhood, making friends with someone we didn't like before．New experiences are even more fun when we share them with other people．

　　Encouragement from the people around us enables us to explore things as much as possible．As we grow up, we begin to find out what we are capable of doing．You may be good at cooking, or singing or playing football．You find this out by doing these things．Just thinking about cooking doesn't tell you if you are good at it．

　　We learn so much just living from day to day．So why is school important? Of course you can learn some things better at home than at school, like how to do the shopping, and how to help old or disabled people who can' t do everything for themselves．At school, teachers help us to read and write．With their guidance, we begin to see things in different ways．

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　　We are all called upon to make a speech at some point in life, but most of us don’t do a very good job．This article gives some suggestions on how to give an effective speech．

　　So, you have to give a speech－and you are terrified．You get nervous, you forget what you want to say, you stumble over words, you talk too long, and you bore your audience．Later you think, “Thank Goodness, it’s over．I’m just not good at public speaking．I hope I never have to do that again．”

　　Cheep up! It doesn’t have to be that bad．Here are some simple steps to take the pain out of speech making．Ask yourself the purpose of your speech．What is the occasion? Why are you speaking? Then, gather as many facts as you can on your subject．Spend plenty of your time doing your research．Then spend plenty of your time organizing your material so that your speech is clear and easy to follow．Use as many examples as possible, and use pictures, charts, and graphs if they help you make your points more clearly．Never forget your audience．Don’t talk over their heads,

and don’t talk down to them．Treat your audience with respect．They will appreciate your thoughtfulness．

　　Just remember：Be prepared．Know your subject, your audience, and the occasion．Be brief．Say what you have to say and then stop．And be yourself．Let your personality come through so that you make person-to-person contact with your audience．

　　If you follow these simple steps, you will see that you don’t have to be afraid of public speaking．In fact, you may find the experience so enjoyable that you volunteer to make more speeches! You’re not convinced yet? Give it a try and see what happens．