Swimming and English Learning

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 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 dare not 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（勇敢）. 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. 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 well in this way.

(   ) 6. 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 river and learning

(   ) 7. We should learn English by _______.

A. listening and speaking       B. reading and writing

C. A and B                  D. swimming

(   ) 8. What will you do with mistakes when you speak?

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

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

(   )9. What’s more important for senior school students?

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

(   ) 10. We can listen to English ______, according to the passage.

    A. by train     B. on the radio   C. every minute   D. now and then

Most of you know this mathematical game, of course. You and your friend draw crosses and circles on a sheet of paper. You do it one after another. The first pupil who gets three marks in a row wins. But do you know that you can play this game another way and it will become more interesting? You must try to make your friend win. If you get your three marks in a row, you don’t win — you lose!

It is more difficult to play this game the other way. The second pupil can always win (if he plays the right way), but he may not win if the first pupil begins with his mark in the center. Then if the first pupil always takes a place on the other side of his friend’s mark, nobody will win.
If your friend does not know the secret which we have explained, you must play each time so as to leave him the greatest number of ways to win. You may try a few games and you will see how interesting it is to play the game this way.
【小题1】 The passage tells us that it is _____ to play this game.

根据汉语提示或首字母提示完成句子（共6小题，每小题1分，满分6分）

1.It’s one of the most famous____________(教堂) in his town.

2.she is as _________(活泼的)as a child.

3.W_________you do,you must try your best.

4.Eating too much burnt food can _______________(增加)the risk of cancer.

5.Why not _____________(考虑)visiting HongKong for your next vacation?

6.That company __________(提供)us with 3,000 dollars in 2012.