Hi, my name is Mei Shan. I study in a high school now. It seems that my life has changed a lot in the past few years. For example, I used to be short but now I am tall. I used to have long hair, but now I have short hair because I have no time to take care of it. I used to be afraid of the sea because I didn't know how to swim, but now I am a good swimmer in our school. As for eating, I used to have meat and eggs but now I like eating more vegetables.

  When I was young, I didn't use to read any books, but now I often read some storybooks. When I was in primary school, I used to play ping-pong with my friends after school, but now I have to go home right now and do my homework. I didn't like math and I used to be terrified of tests, but now I like all the subjects and never mind any tests. In the past, I used to have time to chat with my friends online, but now I am too busy to do it. How I miss my old days!

     Speaking exams can be stressful! What if you don't understand the examiner (考官)? What if you don't get the exact word you need? Don't panic (惊慌)! Remember that everyone gets nervous in exams, especially oral exams. So, don't worry and our tips will help you feel more confident in a speaking exam.

★ Listening to as much English as possible will help to improve your speaking. Listening to songs, and watching films, TV series or video clips will help you feel more confident about speaking.

★{#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you speak English regularly in class, you will find it easier to speak in an exam.

★{#blank#}2{#/blank#} It's not a race. Before you speak, think carefully about what to say and speak a little slower than normal.

★{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Use words and expressions you have used before. If you don't know a word, think of another way to say it.

★{#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you find this difficult, practice with a friend at home. Stand at opposite ends of a room and speak to each other in English. Or speak to each other in English on your computers.

★{#blank#}5{#/blank#} So, take some deep breaths before the exam and try to relax.

    This is Jill. She is twelve years old. She has two new friends. They are Sami and Pat. Sami is a girl. She's twelve. She is short and slim. She's from England. She's English. Pat is a boy. He is twelve too. He's tall and strong. He's from America. He's American.

Hi, Daming,

    You ask me about how to improve（提高） your English listening. Here are some advice(建议). I hope they can help you.

    Relax(放松) yourself.

    Before you start listening to something, don't get excited or nervous（紧张的）.You need to relax．This will help you with your listening.

    Listen carefully to the first sentence.

    The first sentence tells a lot about the whole passage．For example，if，at the beginning，you hear “Our reporter says…”,you know you will hear a piece of news，not a children's story, or a science report.

    Think when you're listening.

    When you're listening, try to do some thinking．For example, you can think of the following questions: When, where and how? What does the speaker want to tell us? In this way, you may understand the passage better.

    Listen to important facts.

    It's important for you to remember some important facts. For example, if the passage is a science report, you should try to remember its findings, and how the scientists get their results. This is also very helpful to your listening．

Yours,

Tom

    Mr Turner was a famous writer. He was born in New York in a rich family on 13th September, 1941. His father came from England. He was a worker. His mother came from Australia and she worked as a doctor.

    When Mr Turner was seven, he began to go to school. He usually rode his bicycle to school. At school, he first wanted to be a manager. But at the age of fifteen, he decided to be a writer. In 1965, he wrote his first book and in 1967 he wrote his second book. After that he was famous all over America. At the age of thirty, Mr Turner married a woman from England. 然后他们去了英国并住在那里居住。 They had four children. Mr Turner died on 15th July, 2008.

    We are living in a colourful world with green trees, red flowers and the blue sky. Everything has its colour. Our moods also have different colours. I am a middle school student. Yesterday, I didn't want to get up early for school, but I was woken up by mum at 6:00 a.m. At that time my mood was like grey fog. I felt tired and sleepy.

    At noon, I helped a blind man cross the road on my way home. The blind man thanked me a lot. I felt very happy and the mood was like the red sun. It made me warm and sweet.

    In the maths class, my red mood changed to black, because I failed the exam. When I got the exam paper, I couldn't stop crying. But Mr Li told me to keep on studying hard.

    After school, I walked home and thought about Mr Li's words. I felt comfortable and energetic.

    The mood was like the blue sky, sunny and peaceful.