Some people make you feel comfortable when they are around. You spend an hour with them and feel as if you have known them half your life. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} .

    Here are several skills that good talkers have. If you follow the skills, they'll help you put people at their ease, and make friends with them quickly.

    First of all, good talkers ask questions. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} . One well-known businesswoman says, “At business lunches, I always ask people what they did that morning. It's a common question，but it will get things going.” From there you can move on to other matters—sometimes to really personal questions. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} . Second, once good talkers have asked questions, they listen to the answers .This point seems clear, but it isn't. Your questions should have a point and help to tell what sort of person you are talking to. And to find out, you really have to listen carefully and attentively.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} . If someone sticks to one topic, you can take it as a fact that he's really interested in it. Real listening also means not just listening to words, but to tones of voice. If the voice sounds dull, then, it's time for you to change the subject.

    Finally, good talkers know well how to deal with the occasion of parting. If you're saying goodbye, you may give him a firm handshake and say, “I've really enjoyed meeting you.” {#blank#}5{#/blank#} . Let people know what you feel, and they may walk away feeling as if they've known you half their life.

A. Real listening at least means some things.

B. You can become a popular person.

C. Almost anyone, no matter how shy he is, will answer a question.

D. And how he answers will let you know how far you can go.

E. If you want to see that person again, don't keep it a secret.

F. It's polite to listen to others with a smile.

G. These people have something in common.

    Although many Chinese students say their knowledge of English grammar is good, most would admit that their spoken English is poor. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, their spoken English does not have to remain poor. I would suggest that there may be some reasons for their problems with spoken English.

    First, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Obviously the better answer is to expand their vocabulary. However, you can speak, with a limited vocabulary if your attitude is positive. Others will follow you as long as you use the words that you know.

    Second, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Sometimes they make mistakes when they are speaking because they are shy and nervous. Yet students should remember that their goal should be FLUENCY NOT ACCURACY. You want to get your message across, to talk to someone in English, as quickly and as well as you can, even though sometimes you may use a wrong word or tense, but it doesn't matter because the person you are speaking to will understand you and make allowance for any mistakes he hears.

    Third, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.You have one mouth but two ears! All that hearing is necessary for you to start speaking.

    Fourth, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Instead of actively seeking out opportunities to improve their spoken English, they passively wait for speaking opportunities to come to them and wonder why their spoken English always remains poor. If you have this proactive outlook，then you will see English opportunities wherever you go.

A. not enough attention is paid to listening.

B. they fail to find suitable words to express themselves because of limited vocabulary.

C. most Chinese students are not active language learners.

D. They are so stupid that they cannot finish their necessary homework in time.

E. Whenever I speak to Chinese students they always say, “My spoken English is poor.”

F. it is no use crying over spilt milk.

G. they are afraid of making mistake.

How to Make Friends

    Friendship is a very important human relationship and everyone needs good friends. Good friendship has many benefits. If offers companionship, improves self-worth and promotes good health. There are times in our lives such as when we have recently moved into a new town, or changed our jobs or schools. Such changes often leaves us without a friend.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. But for many of us the process is difficult and requires courage. Below are some helpful suggestions on how to make and keep friends.

1）Associate with others.

    The first step to making friends is associating with other people. You can go to public places to meet new people. Besides, you will need to make yourself known by becoming an active member of such places.

2）Start a conversation.

    Starting a conversation is the second most important step in making new friends.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can always start the conversation. Being able to make small talk is a very useful skill in relating with other people.

3）{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Choosing friends with common interests is important in building friendship as these interests would always bring you and your friend together. Hanging out will always be a pleasant experience.

4）Let it grow.

    It is a good thing to stay in touch. However, try not to press your new friend with calls, messages or visits as this would likely wear him or her out and finally you may lose your friend.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. The best friendships are the ones that grow naturally.

5）Enjoy your friendship.

    The best way to enjoy your friendship is to allow your friends to be themselves.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Try not to change them from who they are to what you want them to be.  Become the kind of friend you will want your friend to be to you.

A. Be cheerful.

B. So you will need to give your friend time to react to you.

C. Making new friends comes easy for some people.

D. For a friendship to develop you need to stay in touch.

E. Do not wait to be spoken to.

F. Try not to find fault with your friends.

G. Do things together.

    My mother is a kind woman. She is very busy from morning till night. As a teacher, she works hard. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Both my brother and I love her dearly as she loves us. My mother has been teaching math at a middle school in my hometown. She goes to work early in the morning and does not return home until late in the afternoon. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} She treats them with patience and teaches them well.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Every day, when she comes back home from work, she sets about doing housework, sweeping the living room and bedrooms. As she has been very busy working every day, she looks older than her age. But she looks as cheerful and happy as ever. Mother never buys expensive dresses for herself. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Often she says to us, “Work while you work, and play while you play. That is the way to be a happy person. If you do not work, you will become lazy and be of no use to society". What a piece of good advice this is! {#blank#}5{#/blank#} This advice of hers will always serve as a guide to my behavior. My mother is great indeed, and I always feel proud of her.

A. She enjoys listening to classic music.

B. As a mother, she takes good care of us and gives us every comfort.

C. She loves her students and cares for them.

D. She often buys expensive and high quality clothes for us.

E. My mother is hard-working and never wastes money.

F. I never forget it and always bear it in my mind.

G. Can you tell us something about your mother？

How to Set Goals

    Whether you have small dreams or high expectations,setting goals allows you to plan how you want to move through life.Some achievements can take a lifetime to attain,while others can be completed in a day.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Determine your life goals.Ask yourself some important questions about what you want for your life.What do you want to achieve: today,in a year,in your lifetime?The answers to this question can be as general as "I want to be happy,"or "I want to help people."{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Set specific goals.Be specific and realistic about what it is that you want to achieve.Research shows that setting a specific goal makes you more likely to achieve it.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}For example,"Be healthier"is too big and vague to be a helpful goal."I want to eat more vegetables,and I want to run a marathon."is better.

    Write out your goals.Be detailed,be clear,and include your steps.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Keep your list in a place where you can get informed frequently.This will help keep you motivated.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}You may find yourself set in your ways concerning broad life goals,but take the time to re-evaluate your smaller goals.Are you accomplishing them according to your timeline?Are they still necessary to keep you on track towards your larger life goals?Allow yourself the flexibility to make some small changes to your goal.

A.Adjust your goals.

B.Track and measure your progress.

C.Having deadlines will keep you motivated.

D.Consider what you hope to achieve in 10,15,or 20 years.

E.Here are some important ideas that you may find helpful.

F.Writing them down tends to make them feel a little more real.

G.Remember that you may need to break large goals into smaller goals.

    What happens when you want to go from one place to another, but there's water in the way？That's the problem people faced for hundreds of years in the area that is now New York City. In the city, there is a natural canal called the Narrows, separating Brooklyn on one side from Staten Island on the other.

    But the Narrows isn't really so narrow. The water is almost a mile wide, and it's more than 100 feet deep. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}When they wanted to talk to each other, they climbed into their boats and sailed across.

    By the late 1800s, circumstances had changed dramatically. Population growth meant there were now many people needing to travel between Staten Island and Brooklyn for work. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Between 1888 and 1920 there were two major efforts to build a train tunnel to connect the areas. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Proposals to build a connecting bridge made during the 1910s also ended in failure due to opposition from the US Navy.

    Finally, after World War II, there were so many people living in New York City that leaders decided Brooklyn and Staten Island needed a direct connection. Since tunnels were too expensive, they decided to build a bridge. The design selected had two separate roadways stacked on top of each other. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Construction, which took five years, was completed in 1964 and cost $320 million. Today about 190,000 cars and trucks cross the bridge every day.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But in the case of the Narrows, figuring out a good solution took hundreds of years.

A. Sometimes getting from one place to another is easy.

B. Both were quickly abandoned however due to the high costs involved.

C. Neither road was large enough to satisfy the existing transport demands.

D. It was anticipated that the new train system would help the areas grow even faster.

E. Taking a boat every time was very slow, expensive and, in bad weather, unreliable.

F. Both would hang in the air from thick steel cables, supported by two giant steel towers.

G. For a long time that wasn't a problem, because only a few people lived in Brooklyn and Staten Island.