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．

I‘d like to your pen-friend， and get to know more about your country.

I’d like to share the strangest of the strange moments I’ve had here．

Back in 2003 I had a pet rabbit named Alaska．Due to the rules the landlord had set，he had to be kept in the basement(地下室)．One night I went downstairs to feed him．Keep in mind I’ve always thought the basement was frightening．As I was facing his cage and putting the bowl of water inside，a big shadow appeared behind me，as if a big，tall man were standing behind me．I turned around and nobody was there，but I got the distinct(清晰的)feeling that I was being watched．I basically dropped the water bowl and ran upstairs shouting for my mom．Ever since then I can’t go down there alone．

Once I was trying to get to sleep，and I slept with the lights off．All of sudden I wanted to leave the room eagerly，but I couldn’t get out of my bed，I was too scared．The feeling of someone looking closely at me was so upset，I was physically afraid to move or breathe．I opened my curtains to let the street light in，thinking the light would help me feel better to move．That did nothing．I must have sat there on my bed for about fifteen minutes before I got up．I didn’t sleep in there that night．I’ve never felt anything so upset!

Then there are all the little things，like seeing things in the comer of my eye，hearing doors open or close when I’m home alone，and the feeling of being watched．Once when my sister wasn’t home(we share a room)I heard someone breathing from her bed and heard the sheets rustle(沙沙声)．Last week，I felt someone patting me in the shoulder when I was alone in my room．Sometimes I’ll be looking something and I’ll see one or more contorted(扭曲的)，angry faces．

I realize that when one is looking for something to happen they can make things happen or imagine it．These are the moments in which I know nothing was imagined，so I wanted to share them and get your opinions．Thanks so much．

【小题1】The writer to the text seems to         .

A．tell us his strange experiences

B．tell us what happens in his bedroom

       C．tell us an interesting story

       D．tell us what happens in his apartment

【小题2】Which of the following may be the reason why the writer is afraid to go to the basement?

       A．Because his pet is dangerous．

       B．Because a big shadow may appear behind him．

       C．Because there is a big，tall man there．

       D．Because his landlord forbids him to go there．

【小题3】We can learn from the third paragraph that         .

       A．the writer slept with the lights on that night

       B．the street light helped the writer a lot

       C．he was too scared to get out of his bed at one time

       D．he didn’t sleep at all that night

【小题4】From the text，we can see the writer believes his experiences are              .

       A．real                            B．not real

       C．creative                         D．imaginative

I'd like to tell you something more about the problem of pollution we are facing to. As we know, the factory besides our school gives off heavy smoke all day long. Very loud voices hurt our ears. Rubbish and waste are thrown here or there. It also sends out polluting water and poisonous gas. All this has made a great harm to the health and study of the teachers and students. But as time goes on, a little has done to change the situation. I don't think we could study well unless the problem is solved. We do hope you'll help and support us.

I'd like to tell you something more about the problem of pollution we are facing to. As we know, the factory besides our school gives off heavy smoke all day long. Very loud voices hurt our ears. Rubbish and waste are thrown here or there. It also sends out polluting water and poisonous gas. All this has made a great harm to the health and study of the teachers and students. But as time goes on, a little has done to change the situation. I don't think we could study well unless the problem is solved. We do hope you'll help and support us.