Try reading the following sentences as fast as you can. “She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I’m sure she sells seashore shells.”

Not very easy, was it? What you’ve just read is called a tongue twister (绕口令). It is an exercise made up of sounds that are hard to pronounce(发音，读) in order to help people pronounce words faster and more correctly. Try the next example.

“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Pete Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?”

Tongue twisters usually do not have much meaning. They are just designed to improve people’s ability  to pronounce words. Although they may be very difficult, these exercises are very important to people who are trying to speak English correctly. This is because tongue twisters help people to tell the differences between similar sounds.

So if you wish to pronounce words more smoothly, you’d better try picking out some tongue twisters and practicing them.

1.Tongue twisters are helpful in improving ___________ skills.

A. listening        B. writing      C. pronunciation     D. communication

2.The first tongue twister is hard because ___________.

A. it is very boring to read            B. it teaches us a lot of knowledge

C. we don’t know who “she” is        D. the sounds of “s” and “sh” are similar

3.The passage is probably taken from _________ in a school newspaper.

A. Story Time          B. Study Garden

C. Latest News          D. Lost and Found

Life is not easy, so I' d like to say "When anything happens, believe in yourself. "

     When I was a young boy, I was so shy to talk to anyone that my classmates   17  laughed at(嘲笑) me. I was sad but could do nothing. Later,  18  happened, and it changed my life. It was an English speech contest (比赛). My   19   asked me to take part in it. What a  20 idea! It meant I had to speak before all the teachers and students of my school.

     "  21  , boy. Believe in yourself. You are sure to win the contest. " Then Mother and I talked about many different topics.  22  I chose the topic "Believe in yourself", I tried my best to remember all the speech and practiced it  23   100 times. With the help of my mother, I did well in the contest. I could hardly believe myself when the  24  came that I had won the first place; I heard the cheers from the teachers and the students. Those classmates who once looked down on me, now all  25   "Congratulations!" to me. My mother hugged (拥抱) me and cried excitedly.

     Since then, everything has changed for me.   26   I do anything, I try to tell myself to be sure and I will find myself. This is not only for a person but also for a country.

1.A. never              B. often              C. also              D. still

2.A. something          B. anything            C. everything         D. nothing

3. A. father              B. teacher             C. friend             D. mother

4.A. funny              B. good               C. terrible            D. special

5.A. Hurry up           B. Come on           C. Look out          D. Hold on

6. A. At last            B. In fact            C. At once          D. At first

7. A. at                 B. in                 C. with              D. over

8.A. letter               B. topic               C. news              D. report

9.A. said                B. passed              C. sent               D. gave

10. A. Although            B. If                  C. Because           D. When

1 

Stress is the feeling you get when you’re really worried about something. This is the kind of worry that troubles you for hours, or   1   days. It makes you feel blue, scared or angry. You may find it    2   to eat and sleep, or you might eat and sleep much more than usual.

Too much stress is bad for you. Stressing out can lead to serious   3   like heart illnesses. But a moderate (适度的) amount of stress keeps your body and   4   alert (警觉的) and can make your performance better, like when you are doing a presentation to your class or   5   to the finishing line.

But, if you are seriously stressed out, look at these quick and easy ways to   6  . Firstly, you can go for a run, play tennis or ride your bike for a while    7   exercise produces more beta-endorphin(B-内腓) that controls stress. Secondly, having a good   8   is very important. You should try to get at least eight hours of sleep every night. Thirdly, eating a healthy, balanced diet that   9   all the food groups will help. Also, you can talk to the people you trust . Keeping your feelings inside may make the situation 10  while talking to a person you trust may make you feel better. They may be able to give you advice and help you solve your problem.

1.A. still          B. also                 C. even             D. only

2.A. easy           B. hard             C. possible             D. comfortable

3.A. worries        B. sadness          C. problems         D. questions

4.A. personality        B. strength         C. talent               D. mind

5.A. running        B. leading          C. replying         D. turning

6.A. relax          B. operate         C. complain         D. explore

7.A. although       B. unless               C. if                   D. because

8.A. walk           B. rest             C. time                 D. sense

9.A. includes       B. creates             C. develops          D. produces

10.A. better            B. worse                C. angrier              D. safer