Some students like to translate(翻译) when they practice speaking English. Translation is a very difficult exercise. During a conversation, we don’t really have time to translate what we understand. When we use translation, we don’t develop the necessary reflexes (反应能力) needed to speak and understand a foreign language. It is important to build up reflexes right from the beginning. It will help you later when your skills are good enough to take a conversation.
Here is some advice on how to build up reflexes when you only have basic words and grammar.
Relax!
No one is checking you except yourself! Look at each communication experience as an adventure. Try to relax first when you speak English. You will pick up on small details.
Context(上下文) is your friend.
What is context？ It means the situation in which something happens and that helps to understand it. (2)We can make good guesses about what is being said by using the context. It will be easy when you think about the context. You will feel much more comfortable and confident if you remember that.
Ask questions what you want to know.
After you have proudly asked for tickets at the train station, the booking-office clerk (售票员) spoke a long sentence to you about the place and the time. You may be a little unclear or have only understood a part of it. However, you can ask questions about what you want to know, such as, “Did you say…?” and “Would you repeat that more slowly?”. So that you can easily move the communication forward. Use body language.
Use body language to go with your words when you __(1)___ to learn a __(1)_____ language. The person you are speaking to only wants to understand you and will be carefully listening to you. As you become more proficient (熟练的) in your second language, you will depend(依靠) more on the language and less on body language. But there is no shame for a beginner.

【小题1】 在(1)处的空白处分别填入一个适当的词使句意完整、上下文通顺。
________  __________
【小题2】 将(2)句译成中文。
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【小题3】回答问题： What does the writer want us to do first when we speak English?
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【小题4】 在文中找出与 Maybe you didn’t hear clearly or understand all of it.意思相同或相近的句子，
并将它写在答题卡上。
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【小题5】 在文中找出最能表达该短文主题的句子，并将它写在答题纸上。
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When I was walking down the street one day, I found a small bag on the ground. I picked it up and opened it to see if I could find out the owner’s name. There was nothing inside it except some dollars and an old photo--- a picture of a woman and a young girl about twelve years old. I put the photo back and took the bag to the police station. Before I left, the policeman wrote down my name and address. He thought the owner might want to thank me.

  That evening I went to have dinner with my aunt and uncle. They had also asked a young woman to have dinner with us. Her face was familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I had seen her. During our talk, the young woman happened to say that she had lost her bag that afternoon. At once I remembered where I had seen her. She was the young girl in the photo, though she was now much older. She was very surprised, of course, when I told her about the bag.

   After dinner we went to the police station and she got back her bag. The policeman said to me, “It’s a wonderful thing. You not only found the bag, but also the owner of the bag.”

1. In the bag there was _______.

      A. nothing                        B. a new photo and some money

      C. an old picture and some money     D. some dollars and a piece of paper

2. The writer opened the bag because he wanted to________.

A. find some money          B. find some letters 

C. find the owner’s photo      D. find out whose bag it was

3. The writer gave the bag to ________.

      A. a policeman  B. his uncle  C. his aunt    D. his friend

4. How many people had the dinner that evening?

      A. Two       B. Three       C. Four       D. Five

5. The writer knew the young woman because _________.

A. he had met her somewhere before    B. she looked like the girl in the picture

C.she often had meals with the writer     D. she was the old woman in the photo

Many people think that if more time is spent, more work will be done. So students have to     the whole day doing homework except during the three meals. It is not      to see students lost in a sea of homework both at school and at home.
Modern students usually have many      . They love music, sports, reading and watching TV. A two-day weekend gives them time to do what they     . However, there’s much homework to do, so they usually don’t want to do it      Sunday night. In such a short time, students may finish it carelessly. The badly-done weekend homework makes teachers     .
Things always get        without the right ideas. Too much homework makes students     interests in learning. A horse runs faster after a        , but for students only rest is not enough. We should       this situation and try to give students more time to relax.