Pronunciation Tips

           These English pronunciation tips will help you get the most out of your Pronunciation Power program.

★ {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    For example, “threw” and “through”, although spelled differently, are pronounced the same. Also, identical（相同的）letters or letter clusters（字母组合） in words do not always produce the same sound. For example, the “ough” in “though” and “through” represents a different sound in each word.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

★ Imagine a sound in your mindbefore you say it.

    Try to visualize（想象)）thepositioning of your mouth and face.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

★ Listen to and try to imitate thePronunciation Power instructor.

    In addition to listening for specific sounds, pay attention to pauses, the intonation（语调） of the instructor's voice and patterns of emphasis.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}．

★ The English language has manydifferent dialects, and words can be pronounced differently.

    It is important, however, that you pronounce words clearly to ensure effective communication.

★ Finally, the Pronunciation Powerprogram is a tool to help you.

    But you must practice what you are learning! Remember that you are teaching your mouth a new way to move. You are building muscles that you do not use in your own language.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Use the program to exercise yourmouth a little bit each day.

a. Read these words over and over againand try to learn them by heart.

b. This can be just as important as the pronunciation of sounds.

c. Learn to practice what you hear, notwhat you see.

d. So you should force yourself to dowhat you really don't like to do.

e. Do not confuse pronunciation of words with their spelling!

f. It is like going to the gym andexercising your body.

g. Think about how you are going to make the sound.

    Be careful what you say around your dog. It might understand more than you think.

    A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany. The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child. Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee(黑猩猩).

    In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects. Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back. In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words.

    In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew. The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.

    The correct object was chosen in seven out of l0 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked out the answer by process of elimination(排除法). A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive.

    Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog. For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed (品种) known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.

    It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say. Even if they do, they can't talk back. Still, it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then. You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!

    Stress occurs when you feel that demands placed on you — such as work, school or relationships — are beyond your ability. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, untreated long-term stress can result in serious health conditions including anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Everyone is different, and so are the ways they choose to manage their stress. Some people prefer pursuing hobbies such as gardening, playing music and creating art, while others find relief in more solitary (独自的) activities: meditation, yoga and walking. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Do some exercise. The research keeps growing — exercise benefits your mind just as well as your body. We keep hearing about the long-term benefits of a regular exercise routine. But even a 20-minute walk, run, swim or dance session in the midst of a stressful time can give an immediate effect that can last for several hours.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It may seem difficult to get away from a big work project, a crying baby or a growing credit card bill. But when you give yourself permission to step away from it, you let yourself have time to do something else, which can help you have a new perspective or practice techniques to feel less overwhelmed. It's important not to avoid your stress (those bills have to be paid sometime), but even just 20 minutes to take care of yourself is helpful.

    Smile and laugh. Our brains are interconnected with our emotions and facial expressions. When people are stressed, they often hold a lot of the stress in their face. So laughs or smiles can help relieve some of that tension and improve the situation.

    Try meditation. Meditation and mindful prayer help the mind and body to relax and focus. Mindfulness can help people see new perspectives, develop self-compassion and forgiveness. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Much like exercise, research has shown that even meditating briefly can bring immediate benefits.

A. Take a break from the stressor.

B. Get some social support from whatever sources you can access.

C. Too much stress can affect body systems and cause mental problems.

D. Here are four healthy techniques that may help reduce stress in the short- and long-term.

E. But by finding positive, healthy ways, many of these negative health consequences can be reduced.

F. When practicing mindfulness, people can release emotions contributing to the body physical stress.

G. Some stress can be beneficial at times, producing a boost that helps people get through tough situations.

    For over one hundred and fifty years, Americans of all social classes have worn blue jeans. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Whether they are worn for work or for fashion today. Strauss' invention continues to be popular not only among Americans but also among people around the world.

    Levi Strauss was born in Germany in 1829. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}He grew up in Kentucky before moving to New York in 1847. Before becoming an American citizen and moving to the West in 1853, Strauss worked in his brother's dry goods business. This gave him a chance to produce his famous invention. After the gold rush of 1849, Strauss decided to move to the West to seek his fortunes.

    Strauss did not want to be a person who searched an area for minerals. Instead, he knew he could make a good living by selling supplies to the miners. At first, he planned to sell sewing supplies and cloth. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}When he heard miners complaining that their clothes were easily broken or they usually tore their pockets during mining, he decided to use a special fabric to make pants for the miners. These pants proved so popular that he quickly ran out of materials to make more.

    In 1873, Strauss received a letter from a Jewish tailor named Jacob Davis who had invented a process of connecting pockets with copper rivets(铆钉). This made the pants last a long time. Because Davis did not have the money to patent his idea, he offered to share it with Strauss if Strauss would agree to pay for the patent. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 

    By the time Strauss died in 1902, he had made a great contribution to American fashion. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}The business has been growing ever since and Levi Strauss' company is now one of the largest clothing companies in the world.

A. As a young boy, he moved with his family to the United States.

B. Nobody knew what kind of material was suitable.

C. He did and Levi jeans have been made with metal rivets ever since.

D. However, he did not get much business for those products.

E. He also made a great contribution to America's clothing industry.

F. Since they were invented by Levi Strauss, they have become a symbol of American consumer culture.

G. As the business grew, Strauss got much money from it.

    Studying longer does not necessarily mean studying better. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Below are some great ways of learning as much as you can without getting too stressed.

    Find the right place to study.

    The first thing you need to do is avoid distractions (分散注意力的事物) while studying. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You should keep away from television sets and phone calls. Get all of your study materials together, so you will not be interrupted in the middle of your session.

    Break down the tasks into smaller parts.

    When you have gotten everything ready, list the items you need to study, and arrange them across several hours or days, depending on how big your load is. As a general rule, assign (分配) at least one hour to each subject. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} By doing this, you will be able to know more easily how long you need for each topic.

    Schedule study breaks.

    When you have listed all of your tasks and made a schedule, you should arrange study breaks. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} This will give your eyes some time to rest, and yourself a chance to go to the bathroom or have some coffee. Scheduled breaks will reduce the need for you to interrupt yourself to the lowest level during the study session.

    Put your tasks in order of importance.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Just in case you run out of time to study, or if you think you do not have enough time to cover all topics, you should study in an order.

A．Each break may take about 15 minutes every two hours.

B．Learn to arrange the subjects in order of importance.

C．This means going to one place that will give you peace and quiet.

D．The key to efficient studying is following the schedule strictly.

E．You can find a way to test your knowledge by having a study partner.

F．If you have a broad subject, you will need to break it down into smaller parts.

G．To make the best use of your time, you need to learn how to study efficiently(高效地).

Every animal sleeps, but the reason for this has remained foggy. When lab rats are not allowed to sleep, they die within a month. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

One idea is that sleep helps us strengthen new memories. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We know that, while awake, fresh memories are recorded by reinforcing (加强) connections between brain cells, but the memory processes that take place while we sleep have been unclear.

Support is growing for a theory that sleep evolved so that connections between neurons(神经元) in the brain can be weakened overnight, making room for fresh memories to form the next day. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Now we have the most direct evidence yet that he is right. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}The synapses in the mice taken at the end of a period of sleep were 18 per cent smaller than those taken before sleep, showing that the connections between neurons weaken while sleeping.

If Tononi's theory is right, it would explain why, when we miss a night's, we find it harder the next day to concentrate and learn new information — our brains may have smaller room for new experiences.

Their research also suggests how we may build lasting memories over time even though the synapses become thinner. The team discovered that some synapses seem to be protected and stayed the same size. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}"You keep what matters," Tononi says.

A. We should also try to sleep well the night before.

B. It's as if the brain is preserving its most important memories.

C. Similarly, when people go for a few days without sleeping, they get sick.

D. The processes take place to stop our brains becoming loaded with memories.

E. That's why students do better in tests if they get a chance to sleep after learning.

F. "Sleep is the price we pay for learning," says Giulio Tononi, who developed the idea.

G. Tononi's team measured the size of these connections, or synapses, in the brains of 12 mice.