“Are you listening, Simon?” Simon’s teacher asks.

Simon smiles and shakes his head. He doesn’t often listen or try hard in class. _31_ is so much better. He wants to be heard. That evening, Simon starts to feel a little bit sick. By bedtime, his throat feels really bad. He has ice cream and hot chocolate to make his throat feel better, but he isn’t sure it’ll _32_.

The next _33_. When he opens his mouth to say, “Good morning,” nothing comes out but a “Guh”.

When he gets to school, Mrs.jacobs says ”hello” to him, and he just nods. When his friends start to ask him what TV shows he watches, he just can’t say anything. By the time they start _34_, almost everyone is looking at him as if he’s got a third eye.

Simon sits in class, bored _35_ he can’t talk to his classmates. He watches them talk to each other, but he can’t even do that.

You know what? It isn’t that bad. He can really do his _36_ that night. It gives _37_ more TV and game time because his work is all done.

The next day, his voice is _38_ back, but he stays quiet again. The third day, he can talk _39_, but he doesn’t talk. He listens and puts up his _40_ to speak.

What a difference that one day makes!

1. shake 摇晃   2. throat 咽喉    3. nod 点头     4. bored 无聊的     5. quiet 安静的

31. A. Standing            B. Sitting                C. Talking              D. Listening

32. A. work               B. study                 C. go                 D. use

33. A. evening             B. morning              C. week               D. time

34. A. work               B. class                 C. school              D. game

35. A. so                 B. after                  C. but                D. because

36. A. homework          B. housework             C. writing             D. reading

37. A. her                B. him                   C. it                  D. them

38. A. coming             B. going                  C. turning             D. giving

39. A. alone              B. hard                   C. back               D. fine

40. A. car                B. head                   C. hand               D. arm

Can you swim? Do you like swimming? Yes? Well, how can you learn to swim? I think the best way is to go into the water and learn. I’m afraid you’ll never learn to swim just by reading books about swimming or looking at others swimming. It’s the same with the English study. We must practice, practice and practice.

Listening and speaking are very important for beginners. The children in English-speaking countries first listen to others. Then they try to imitate(模仿) and speak. We can listen to English programs on radio. You may just understand a few words. It doesn’t matter. Just be relaxed, try to catch every word.

Somebody may be a good listener. But he is terrified to speak. He’s afraid of making mistakes. You know we sometimes make mistakes when we speak Chinese. Don’t be afraid. We must be brave. If you really want to learn English well, you must try to speak with everyone so long as he knows English. Whether you know him or not is not important. When there’s nobody to talk with, you can talk to yourself in English. It’s interesting and also a good way to practice your spoken English. Remember, the more you speak, the fewer mistakes you’ll make.

Reading and writing are more important for senior school students. First we must choose the books we’re interested in. A lot of reading will improve your language sense(语感). This is the most important.

Keep writing English diaries. We can also write English articles. You may even post them to English magazines. Don’t be afraid of failure. Failure is the mother of success.

Easier said than done. Well, let’s do more practice from now on. I’m sure you’ll learn English better in this way.

1.You can learn to swim by_______.

A. reading books about it                                                 B. looking at others swimming

C. having lessons on it                                                      D. going into the water and learning

2.We should learn English by _______.

A. listening and speaking   B. reading and writing      C. swimming               D. A and B

3.What will you do with mistakes when you speak?

A. Don’t make mistakes.                                                   B. Study hard.

C. Don’t be afraid.                                                              D. Try not to speak English.

4.What’s more important for senior school students?

A. Listening.                B. Reading and writing.               C. Speaking.                D. Learning.

5.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. It’s easier to do than to say.

B. Failure is the mother of success.

C. Practice makes perfect.

D. All things are difficult before they are easy.