Q:

I’d like to know about fluency．What can I do to feel better when I’m talking to other people? Do you have some ways to learn it faster? Please help me!　　　—Roberto in Brazil

A:

Roberto wants to know how to become more fluent in English, and this is something you want to be able to do “fast”．

First, if you get to meet English speakers much, the important rule is to listen not just to native speakers of English, but also to very good users of English．If you don’t, then listen to the radio, TV or films in English．

The next step is to notice what it is that speakers of English do, which makes them sound fluent．The first trick(诀窍) is to probably have confidence．Some people think they might make mistakes．Don’t worry about that．Your listeners will usually try hard to understand you — a few grammar mistakes aren’t going to worry them．

What you do need to worry about is pronunciation, especially stress(重音)．When you learn a new word or expression, learn it with its stress．Notice how a native speaker says it or look it up in a dictionary．

Another good thing that speakers of English do is to have a few tricks up their sleeves(袖子) for when they need to give themselves thinking time．Sometimes they use “filler sounds” like er, um and so on．

It is also useful to know how to bring other speakers into your conversation so that you keep them interested － and this is often done by asking questions like “What do you think?” “How do you feel about this?” and so on．

So, to become a fluent speaker, you’ll need to put into practice all these kinds of things．And there’s the key: practise, practise, practise．　　　　　　　　　　　　　－Susan Fearn

56．Susan first encourages English learners to       ．

A．meet English speakers     B．listen to very good speakers

C．talk to English speakers   D．buy a radio or a TV set

57．When mentioning pronunciation, Susan pays special attention to    ．

A．stress B．expressions      C．dictionaries      D．words

58．What do the underlined words “to have a few tricks up their sleeves” probably mean?

A．To wear a lot of clothes．                   

B．To have a secret plan or idea．

C．To hide some tricks into their sleeves． 

D．To have sleeves covering their whole arms．

59．What do we know from the passage?

A．One can only learn stress from dictionaries．

B．Grammar mistakes worry one’s listeners a lot．

C．Asking questions can make one’s conversation attractive．

D．One can become fluent if one practises one of the suggestions．

第二卷
写作（共两节，满分35分）
第一节：短文改错（共10小题，每小题1分，满分10分）
此题要求改正所给短文中的错误。对标有题号的每一行作出判断。每行均有一个错误，请按以下情况进行改正：
该行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（﹨）划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线（﹨）划掉； 
该行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），在该行右边横线上写出该加的词； 
该行错一个词：在错的词下面划一横线，并在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。
Dear Tracy,
Although I’m 16 years old, but my father still treats              76._______
me as a carelessly child. He doesn’t value my opinions.           77._______    
He is very strict in me and often punishes me for                78 _______  
leaving things lying around in the house when he did this         79._______        
all time. I think he fails to set an example to me to               80._______    
follow. But he often says: “Doing as I say, not as I do.”          81._______        
Even more worse, he points out my past mistakes to guests,      82._______           
making me feel hurting. I love my father, but I can’t            83._______          
bear how he does. I have tried many times to talk              84._______      
with him but he never listen. Please, help me.                 85._______                         
Puzzled      

To Whom It May Concern:

My husband and I got married in 1965 and for the first ten years of our marriage I was very happy to stay home and raise our three children. Then four years ago, our youngest child went to school and I thought I might go back to work.

My husband was very supportive and helped me to make my decision. He emphasized all of the things I can do around the house, and said he thought I could be a great success in business.

After several weeks of job-hunting I found my present job, which is working for a small public relations firm. At first, my husband was very proud of me and would tell his friends , "My clever little wife can run that company she's working for."

But as his joking remark approached reality, my husband stopped talking to me about my job．I have received several promotions and pay increases , and I am now making more money than he is. I can buy my own clothes and a new car. Because of our combined incomes, my husband and I can do many things that we had always dreamed of doing , but we don't do these things because he is very unhappy.

We fight about little things and my husband is very critical of me in front of our friends. For the first time in our marriage, I think there is a possibility that our marriage may come to an end．

I love my husband very much, and I don't want him to feel inferior, but I also love my job．I think I can be a good wife and a working woman, but I don't know how .Can you give me some advice? Will I have to choose one or the other or can I keep both my husband and my new career?

Please help."Distressed"

The letter was most probable written ________.

       A．in 1975    B．around 1980  C．four years ago   D．in 1965

Her husband ________ when she first found her present job．

       A．was very critical of her   B．felt disappointed

       C．was proud of her     D．was happy but critical

What does the underlined word "promotion" mean?

       A．scolding   B．criticism C．prize D．advancement

As her income increased, ________.

       A．she found a gap emerged between her and her husband

       B．she bought more clothes and a house

       C．she did the many things she and her husband dreamed of

D．she felt very proud of herself

To Whom It May Concern:
My husband and I got married in 1965 and for the first ten years of our marriage I was very happy to stay home and raise our three children. Then four years ago, our youngest child went to school and I thought I might go back to work.
My husband was very supportive and helped me to make my decision. He emphasized all of the things I can do around the house, and said he thought I could be a great success in business.
After several weeks of job-hunting I found my present job, which is working for a small public relations firm. At first, my husband was very proud of me and would tell his friends , "My clever little wife can run that company she's working for."
But as his joking remark approached reality, my husband stopped talking to me about my job．I have received several promotions and pay increases , and I am now making more money than he is. I can buy my own clothes and a new car. Because of our combined incomes, my husband and I can do many things that we had always dreamed of doing , but we don't do these things because he is very unhappy.
We fight about little things and my husband is very critical of me in front of our friends. For the first time in our marriage, I think there is a possibility that our marriage may come to an end．
I love my husband very much, and I don't want him to feel inferior, but I also love my job．I think I can be a good wife and a working woman, but I don't know how .Can you give me some advice? Will I have to choose one or the other or can I keep both my husband and my new career?
Please help.
"Distressed"
【小题1】The letter was most probable written ________.

Would you please help me move the piano?________

A．You’re welcome.                      B．It’s a pleasure.

C．With pleasure.                         D．Don’t mention it.