If you're looking for a challenging situation to practice your English, pick up the phone. Not being able to see the other person and the body language can make the chatting difficult. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are some tips to guide you through an average phone conversation in English.

1)．Greetings

    Every phone call should begin with a polite greeting such as “Hi, how've you been？” or “Nice to hear from you”. Even if you're calling a business contact for a specific purpose, it'd be rude to jump right into business.  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

2)．Getting to the point

    There always comes the point where you want to move on from friendly chatting and get down to business. What should you do in this situation? {#blank#}3{#/blank#} However, if you are waiting to find out why someone called you, you can guide the conversation by saying “So what can I do for you？”

3)．Interrupting without offence

    Sometimes you may happen to be speaking with a very talkative person. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Keep in mind when you'd like to interrupt, and be sure to do it politely. For example, begin with “I'd like to say something here”．

4)．Closing the call

    This can be the trickiest part of the conversation! It may be the time to offer good wishes if it's appropriate. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Sometimes it's easiest to just say you enjoyed speaking to the other person. Also remember cleverly saying the word well at the beginning of a sentence can indicate you're ready to end the conversation.

    Although problems are a part of our lives, it certainly doesn't mean that we let them rule our lives forever. One day or the other, you'll have to stand up and say – problem, I don't want you in my life.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Problems with friends, parents, girlfriends, husbands, and children —— the list goes on. Apart from these, the inner conflicts within our work, too. These keep adding to our problems. Problems come in different shapes and colors and feelings.

    But good news is that all problems can be dealt with. Now read on to know how to solve your problems.

    Talk, it really helps. What most of us think is that our problem can be understood only by us and that no talking is going to help. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Talking helps you move on and let go.

    Write your problems. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. When you write down your problems, you are setting free all the tension from your system. You can try throwing away the paper on which you wrote your problems. By doing this, imagine yourself throwing away the problems from your life.

    Don't lose faith and hope. No matter what you lose in life, don't lose faith and hope. Even if you lose all your money, family… you should still have faith. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    Your problems aren't the worst. No matter what problem you get in life, there're another one million people whose problems are huger than yours. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.Your problems might just seem big and worse, but in reality they can be removed.

    Go about and solve your problems because every problem, however big or small, always has a way out.

A. But the truth is that when you talk about it, you're setting free the negative energies that have been gathering within you.

B. When we have a problem, a pressing, critical, urgent, life-threatening problem, how do we try and solve it?

C. Tell yourself: when they can deal with them, why can't I?

D. Of course, we've been fighting troubles ever since we were born.

E. We can often overcome the problem and achieve the goal by making a direct attack.

F. Having a personal diary can also be of huge help if you don't want a real person to talk with.

G. With faith and hope, you can rebuild everything that you lose.

    All over the world people enjoy sports. Sports help to keep people healthy and happy, and to live longer.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}They buy tickets or turn on their TVs to watch the games. Often they get very excited when their player or team wins.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Football, for example, has spread around the world. Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers. What fun it is to jump into a pool or lake, whether in China. Egypt or Italy!{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Think how many lovers to skate or ski in Japan, Norway or Canada.

    Some sports or games go back thousands of years, like running or jumping. Chinese wushu, for example, has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new. Neither one is a hundred years old yet.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Water-skiing is one of the newest in the family of sports.

    People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game together they often become good friends.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}One learns to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace.

A. And think of people in cold countries

B. Sports help to train a person's character

C. Not a few people participate in different sports competitions themselves

D. Many people like to watch others play games

E. People aren't inventing new sports or games

F. Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere take part in them

G. People are inventing new sports or games all the time

    You only live once, and life is short. It's easy to look at people who are happy and assume that they don't understand your pain. The older you get, the more you realize that happiness takes work. People who smile in public have been through as much as people who cry, scream, etc. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}So how can you live life to the fullest? Here are some tips to help you out:

    Decide what's important to you. It doesn't matter what it is. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Your parents, friends and society in general all have their opinions, but you're the only person who will be around for every moment of your life. Do what makes you happy, and everything else will fall into place.

    Ready to take risks. Sometimes, there's danger involved in life, but every reward carries risk with it. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}However, if you never take risks, you'll never get anywhere in life. When people look back on their lives, they regret the chances they didn't take more than the ones they did.

    Ignore the haters. No matter what you decide to do with your life, there will always be someone around to point out the many ways you will fail. Know that every winner loses, but not every loser wins. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Instead, they keep pushing through failure.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Your being right about something doesn't mean there aren't other ways to look at it. Listening to ideas you don't agree with or understand keeps your brain active and healthy.

A. Keep an open mind.

B. Speak through your actions.

C. Successful people don't start out successful.

D. Don't do what you think people want you to do.

E. It is true that some actions might have bad results.

F. They just have the courage and strength to smile through it.

G. Think about your past and future, but only focus on the present.

    Body language provides a lot of information on what other people are thinking. A research has shown that 55% of communication comes from body language. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Next time you're in a meeting, watch for these cues(暗示):

    Real smiles crinkle (使起皱纹) the eyes. When it comes to smiling, the mouth can lie but the eyes can't. Real smiles reach the eyes, crinkling the skin to create crow's feet around them. People often smile to hide what they're really thinking and feeling, so the next time you want to know if someone's smile is real, look for crinkles at the corners of their eyes. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Have you ever been in a meeting with someone and noticed that every time you cross or uncross your legs, they do the same? Or perhaps they lean their head the same way as yours when you're talking? That's actually a good sign. It means that the conversation is going well and that the other party accepts your message.

    Eyes that lie. Most of us believe that it's difficult to hold someone's gaze (凝视) when they're lying. But that's such common knowledge that people will often try to hold eye contact, hoping to cover up the fact that they're lying. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you're talking with someone whose gaze is making you uncomfortable, something is up and they might be lying to you.

    Even if you can't read a person's exact thoughts, you can learn a lot from their body language.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Copying your body language is a good thing.

B. If they aren't there, that smile is hiding something.

C. Good sings lead to good conversations in a meeting.

D. You'll have to find out how long they have looked at you.

E. Learning how to understand that 55% can give you a lot of help.

F. That's especially true when words and body language don't match.

G. The problem is that most of them will hold eye contact until it feels uncomfortable.

Be a good Listener

    When communicating with others, we often focus (集中) on what we should say. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Try the following tips to become a good listener.

    Pay full attention to the speaker. You can't listen effectively (有效地) if you're constantly checking your phone or thinking about something else. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If you find it hard to do so, try repeating their words over in your head—it'll help you stay focused.

    Show your interest in what's being said. Nod and smile at the speaker from time to time. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} These show that you are listening with interest.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Listen without judging the other person or the things she tells you. If what she says frightens you, go ahead and feel frightened, but don't say to yourself, "Well, that was a stupid move." As soon as you allow yourself to be judgmental, you've decreased your effectiveness as a listener.

    Don't be a sentence-grabber. When you are trying to speed up the conversation by finishing the other's sentences, this usually lands you way off base. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} So what you need is patience, not speed.

A. Keep an open mind.

B. Look at each other in the eye.

C. The only way to find out is by listening.

D. But successful communication is more about listening.

E. Encourage the speaker to continue with small expressions like "yes" or "uh huh".

F. Stay focused on the moment-to-moment experience to pick up the important information.

G. You're following your own train of thought and ignore where the speaker's is headed.