Suppose you work in a big firm and find English very important for your your job because you often deal with foreign businessmen.Now you are looking for a place where you can improve your English,especially your spoken English.

    Here are some advertisements about English language training from newspapers.You may find the information you need.

Global English Center

●General English in all four skills: listening,speaking,reading and writing.

●3-month (700 yuan),6-month (1,200 yuan) and one-year ( 2,000 yuan) courses.

●Choice of morning or evening classes,3 hours per day,Mon.—Fri.

●Experienced college English teachers.

●Close to city centre and bus stops.

Tel: 67605272           Add: 105 Zhongshan Road,100082

Modern Language School

●Special courses in English for business,travel,banking,hotel management and office skills.Small classes (12-16 students) on Sat.& Sun.from 2:00-5:00 pm.

●Native English teachers from Canada and USA.

●Language lab and computers supplied.

●3-month course: 1,050 yuan; 6 month course: 1,850yuan

Write or phone: Modem language School,675 Park Road,100056

Tel:67353019

The 21^st century English Training Center

●We specialize in effective teaching at all levels.

●We offer morning or afternoon classes,both of which last three months and a half at a cost of 800 yuan.

●We also have a six-week TOFEL preparation class during winter and summer holidays.

●Entrance exams: June 1 and Dec.1.

●Only 15-minute walk from city center.

Call 67801642 for more information

The International House of English

●Three/Six-month English courses for students of all levels at very low cost: 60 yuan for 12 hours per week; convenient class hours: 9:00-12:00 am.and 2:00-5:00 pm.

●A four-month evening program for developing speaking skills (same cost as day classes).

●Well-trained Chinese and foreign teachers experienced in teaching English as second/foreign language.

●Free sightseeing and social activities.

●Very close to the Central Park.

For further information call 67432308

    When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn't a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

    He listened to me quietly, and then he asked, “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn't you ever wonder what you're really like? Well, you now have that girl's opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”

    I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn't change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I got a fairly clear picture of myself.

    I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it. “That's just for you,” he said. “You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feel hurt. When something said about you is true, you'll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don't shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”

    Daddy's advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I've never had a better piece of advice.

    A new tool of communication called the “drift diary” is doing the rounds among young college graduates.

    The “drift diary”, like those ancient paper messages put into a bottle left to drift on the high seas to reach hundreds of miles away, connects lonely hearts.

    The “drift diary” was first started by a Beijing woman, who goes by the Net name Little S, in 2007. It has become the preferred tool of communication among youngsters afraid to reveal their innermost self to peers, but wanting to share their lives with others.

    The way it works is that the initiator（发起人）of the diary mentions it on popular  Internet forums such as Tianya and Douban. Those wanting to react or otherwise add to the diary then send their real names and addresses to the initiator via e-mails or text messages.

    The numbers in one group are usually restricted to between 30 and 50. The diary then passes on to another by express delivery or personal handover. The diary writers are mostly anonymous but if they wish to reveal their identity they can do so by posting their contact information at the end of their postings.

    The diary writers add not just words but also decorate the plain notebooks with cartoons, drawings or even dress it up with a ribbon or a new cover. Interesting experiences, travel journals, the simple joys of everyday living or sweet recollections of childhood, all find a place in these diaries. Most often, though, the writers set down their frustrations and predicaments.

    It usually takes one year for a diary to return to the initiator. The last recorder is the luckiest one, with access to all previous entries, while others can request photocopies of these from the diary's initiator.

    Ramadan is one of the most important festivals for Muslims. The name of the festival comes from the Arabic month in which it is celebrated. Ramadan is celebrated in countries all over the world, especially in Africa and the Middle East. The time for celebrating Ramadan varies each year. People celebrate it in the ninth month of the Arabic lunar calendar. During Ramadan, people must not eat during the day: from when the sun comes up to when the sun goes down, people celebrating Ramadan will not eat or smoke. When the sun has gone down, however, the celebration begins. People often stay up all night eating singing and dancing.

    In late spring, many people around the world celebrate Easter. The festival is a celebration of spring and it is also a religious holiday. It is the time for Easter bunnies and egg hunts, and of course for eating lots of delicious foods. Easter is celebrated in late March or early April but the exact dates are different form year to year. People celebrate Easter in different ways: in some countries, the Easter Bunny—a big rabbit—will visit and children will go on egg hunts, looking for eggs and candy that have been hidden by their parents. In other countries, Easter is a time for children to dress up like witches and go from door to door asking for candy—much like Halloween in the US. The Easter Bunny and the Easter Egg are popular symbols of the festival.

    Culture shock is the psychological（心理的）shock of having to adapt to new environment and new cultures which may be completely different from your own. To understand culture shock helps to understand what culture is.

    Culture shock is caused by the feelings that result from losing all familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse（交往）. Those signs include the ways with which we are familiar in daily life: When to shake hands and what to say when we meet people? When and how to give tips? How to go shopping? When to accept and when to refuse invitations? These signs, which may be words, gestures, facial expressions, customs or normals are gained by all of us in the course of growing up and are as much a part of our culture as the language we speak.

    During the first few weeks when a person enters a strange culture, most people are attracted by the new. But this “cooks tour” type of mentality（心态）does not normally last if the foreign visitor remain abroad and has to seriously deal with real conditions of life. He may feel anxious and frustrated（受挫的） People react to the frustration in the same way. During the first period, they reject the environment which causes the discomfort. “The ways of the host country are bad because they make us feel bad,” they complain about the host country and its people. The following period is homesickness. The home environment suddenly becomes so important that all difficulties and problems are forgotten and only the good things back home are remembered.

    Experiencing culture shock can be very difficult. There is a risk of sickness or emotional problems. However, culture shock can be part of a positive learning experience. Be patient! It is a process of adaptation to new situations. If you do like this, you will be a much stronger person, and you will be a citizen of the world.

    Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to cut your costs.

    AVOID BIG EVENTS     Big sporting events, concerts and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to find a room. A standard double room at the Thistle Brighton the final Friday of the Brighton Comedy Festival (19 Oct.) cost ￡169.15 at Booking.com. A week later, the same room cost ￡118.15.

    If you can be flexible and want to know dates to avoid -or you're looking for a big event to pass your time—check out sites such as Whatsonwhen.com, which allow you to search for events in the UK by city, date and category.

    STAY AWAY FROM THE STATION     If traveling to your destination by train, you may want to find a good base close to the station, but you could end up paying more for the sake of convenience at the start of your holiday.

    Don't be too choosy about the part of town you stay in. Booking two months in advance, the cheapest room at Travelodge's Central Euston hotel in London for Saturday 22 September was ￡95.95. A room just a tube journey away at its Covent Garden hotel was ￡75.75.And at Farringdon, a double room cost just ￡f62.95.

    LOOK AFTER YOURSELF     Really central hotels in cities such as London, Edinburgh and Cardiff can cost a fortune, especially at weekends and during big events. As an alternative consider checking into a self-catering flat with its own kitchen. Often these flats are hidden away on the top floors of city centre buildings. A great example is the historic O'Neill Flat on Edinburgh's Royal Mile, available for ￡420 for five days in late September, with room for four adults.