My teachers suggested that I see a speech specialist (专家) in school.
I never really gave much thought to my speech. If other people understood what I was saying, then that was good enough. I didn’t mind repeating myself many times.
Before testing me, the speech specialist asked me what I thought of having good speech. I told her I thought it was not important.
“Well, when you are in an interview for a job, and they don’t know what you are saying, what are they going to say to you? Nice meeting you, bye,” she said.
Maybe good speech was important. I took part in 20-minute classes each week with the specialist.
After she tested me, she told me that I spoke too fast, and didn’t give enough eye contact (眼神交流). I learned that when I made eye contact with someone, it meant that I was talking to that person, and I could also see what he or she thought about what I was saying.
When my first speech class started, I found that I had been speaking too fast to be understood. Every time I spoke too fast, the specialist stopped me and told me to start again. At first, I got stopped after almost every other sentence. After a while, I felt my speech slow down. I wasn’t sure if people could understand me better, but my friends stopped asking me to repeat myself.
Speech is an important skill to have. If you do have good speech, that’s a good thing, but if you don’t have it, it is never too late to improve.
【小题1】The article is probably taken from       .

A new term has begun. Teachers are __36__ about the fact that new students are not easy to handle. They like to bring cellphones and MP3 players to school. What is __37__, some students even use cellphones to do with out-of-class matters in class, or sometimes just for fun. Some other students listen to MP3 players when they are having a lesson that they are not interested in.
Are these new students really that __38__? ‘Yes,’ says Delaney Kirk, a professor at Drake University. __39__ she adds it’s not their fault. Instead, the things that they bring into school --- cellphones, MP3 players and so on --- and the teachers are to blame. Kirk first began thinking about students’ manners six years ago. ‘I had my first class in which students were sleeping or talking to each other. It seemed that learning well __40__ nothing to do with them,’ she says. ‘At first, I got worried about this, but then I said to myself, “You’re teaching __41__, and you need to manage this … These students need to know more about manners. It’s time to help them develop some good __42__. They shouldn’t waste time doing nothing when they are young. Sooner or later, they might regret the time they have wasted.”’
Kirk also __43__ a list of suggestions to help teachers better manage their classes. The following are among her suggestions:
Tell students how they will benefit by taking the class. On the first day of class, emphasize its importance __44__ giving some homework that students must turn in next time.
Do not allow them to bring cellphones and MP3 players to the class at all.
Decide __45__ formal and informal the class will be.

Our English teacher was like a friend to us，and we all liked her．One day she came into the
classroom and shouted．“Who did this?”She held up a piece of broken glass and asked，“Who
__1__ the window?”She seldom became angry, __2__ this time she was．
I broke the window．I had done __3__ by throwing a baseball．I didn’t want to admit(承认)
It __4__ I didn’t have enough money to pay for a big window like that．“My father will be __5__,”I thought．At first I didn’t _6_ my hand，but later something strong in my heart
suddenly made me stand up.“I did it，”I said __7_．How difficult it was for me to say that!
My teacher __8__ a book from one of our book shelves and then began walking __9_ my desk. I was afraid that she was going to punish(惩罚)me．
“I know you like collecting __10__ very much，”she said，looking down at my __11__ face.
“Here is the hook about collecting stamps that you are looking for．Now，the book is__12__ and I shall not punish you．Remember，it’s because you _13_ the truth．”
I couldn’t believe it ! My teacher wasn’t punishing me．I didn’t _14_ to pay for the broken window. And I got my favorite book!
As time goes, the book is _15_，so is my wonderful teacher．But I will never forget the lesson the teacher gave me that day．

The other day, I happened to meet someone I hadn’t seen for many years. I couldn’t believe the change in him. In fact, he didn’t even seem like the ___16___ person.

   When I first knew Bill, back in college he was one of the most carefree(无忧无虑) people I had ever ___17___. Bill and I were in the same class in college, and ___18___ was never dull(枯燥的) when he was ___19___. With him there was one wild adventure (探险) after another. Sometimes I wonder how we ___20___ to study for our exams.

Last week I was in Huston on business and I ran into Bill in the bar at the hotel. At first I wasn’t ___21___ sure it was him. Was this short-haired businessman really the same person? I wasn’t really sure until I came near him but it indeed was Bill. Now he works for a bank. He talked most of the evening about his job, his new car and his house. How he had changed! Back when we were in college, the ___22___ thing Bill cared about was possessions(财物). Now they seemed to be his main ___23____.

I suppose it’ s ____24____ to expect people to remain the same, especially when I have changed so much myself. But I must say that I enjoyed the old Bill much more than the new one. Maybe he ___25____ the same way about me.

1.A. proper            B. same             C. usual              D. right

2.A. considered        B. supposed          C. met               D. expected

3.A. learning          B. life               C. work              D. fun

4.A. in               B. out               C. away              D. around

5.A. decided          B. continued          C. managed           D. hoped

6.A. more            B. less               C. still               D. even

7.A. first             B. last               C. next               D. only

8.A. interest           B. event             C. subject            D. problem

9.A. unnecessary       B. foolish            C. common           D. unusually

10.A. felt             B. acted             C. looked             D. discovered

A: Hello, Sally! Congratulations to you for winning the first prize in the speech contest!

B:     1.   

A: You used to be shy when you talked to others. Why did you take part in the speech contest?

B: Yeah, I used to be shy. And my mother was really worried about it. She told me I must have confidence in everything. She encouraged me to do that.

A:    2.   

B: I practiced the speech every day. In order to make it good, I had practiced it hundreds of times.

A:   3.   

B: I got excited and couldn’t help crying when I won the prize,but at first I could hardly believe I was the winner.

A:     4.     

B: Yes, it changed me a lot. And it made me feel confident. I’m very thankful to all the people who helped me.

A: Thanks for answering my questions.

B:   5.