Pronunciation Tips

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

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    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.

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    Safety in the highway is not totally out of our hands. Here are four ways we can protect ourselves when we travel.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} people in small cars are injured more often and more severely than people traveling in large cars. Factories of small cars are strengthening their products' safety, which helps. But the mix of large cars and small cars on the road is the main reason of the problem.

    Being thrown into glass and mental cars parts, or being thrown from the car can really hurt or even kill you.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}The safety belt's main purpose is to pull you back if your car has a sudden crash with another vehicle or object, or if it rolls over. A belt can reduce the chance of deadly injury by 45% and the chance of serious injury by 50%.

    Air bags are important. More than half of all new cars sold have air bags. Air bags provide protection in frontal crashes—the type of crash that kills the most drivers—when they are also wearing safety belts. Most people are demanding air bags in the cars they buy.  {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Effective as they are, they can't take the place of safety belts.

    Drunk driving crashes are less likely to happen if you don't drink. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Many people have realised that drunk driving can lead to death and injury, prison time and other results. There are movements to strengthen penalties(处罚) for drinking and driving.

A. How to drive safely?

B. You are safer in a large car

C. How to protect ourselves in the highway?

D. Air bags are not installed in all cars.

E. That's why safety belts should be worn.

F. Drunk driving is the most serious problem.

G. But the protection provided by air bags is limited in side or rear crashes.

    The ability to move around from one place to the other is the biggest virtue one can ever have. We humans, possess an extraordinary virtue of seeing, experiencing and learning from it, and this is precisely what makes our journeys more satisfying and enriching.

    People travel for various reasons.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Though every person may have his/her own reason to go on a journey, it is essential to note that traveling, in itself, has some inherent advantages. For one, for some days getting away from everyday routine is a pleasant change.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}It makes a person forget his worries, problems, frustrations, and fears, although for some time. It gives him a chance to think wisely and constructively. Traveling also helps to heal; it can mend a broken heart.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Whether a person travels alone or with family and friends, the experience definitely gives him/her nice and exciting stories, which he/she can share with people back home. In fact, traveling away from home and spending time with near and dear one(s) can give the relationship an entirely new perspective and possibly, people may start understanding each other in a better way.

    With people, their culture, thoughts and ideas also travel. When they go from one place to the other, they are bound to meet people and share their thoughts and experiences with them. This is where exchange of ideas takes place, and it definitely broadens a person's outlook{#blank#}4{#/blank#}It is very interesting to discover new and unknown ways and values; they really add spice to life.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}It makes us more sensitive and more tolerant towards others. It makes it easier for us to meet and mix with different kinds of people, and also teaches us to live life to the fullest.

A. Traveling also creates lifelong memories

B. Some find traveling an extremely boring activity

C. Humans have been traveling for a variety of reasons

D. It not only refreshes one's body, but also mind and soul

E. It makes him/her think in a different way from a different perspective

F. Above all, traveling enables us to spend some time with our own selves

G. Some travel for work, others for fun, and some for finding mental peace.

    Have you used “um…” “like…” “you know…” in your speech? Catch words(口头禅) are unnecessary words used to fill up dead paces while you speak. Speaking too many catch words is like a bad habit that we are unaware of. While most people tend to ignore it in everyday conversation, in a formal speech or an interview, too many catch words can make even the best presentation look bad.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Stop when we are in doubt. Catch words are used more often when a person is unsure about the sentence to use next.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}If you are lost or in doubt over what to say next, just stop speaking, take a long pause, breathe in , figure out what to say and start again.

    Speak consciously and slowly. If the speech is too long and you talk continuously without thinking, then you might also be pushing in a few catch words in between.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}It is best to memorize the tricky parts of the speech, like the introduction and the conclusion where a majority of the catch words are used.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Preparing for the speech is very important when trying to remove catch words. Make it a point to pause when there is a comma or give two pauses at the end of the sentence. If certain words in the speech need to be emphasized then underline them and practice them as they need to be said.

    Avoid catch words in conversations. Get a friend or your partner to help you out when rehearsing a conversation.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Although it can be an unpleasant and often embarrassing process, but in the long run it helps in cutting down on catch words.

A. Practise your speech when you can.

B. Remember the saying that silence is golden.

C. Therefore we can find out best friends to guide us well.

D. Anytime you use a catch word, the friend can point it out.

E. So we should learn some ways to avoid speaking such words.

F. Structure the speech well to include as much information as is needed.

G. The mind is so busy trying to figure out what to say that there is a strong urge to speak such words.

    Do you ever feel like you read something over and over but you just can't seem to remember it?{#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, we all have to do it at some point for work or for school. Here are a few steps that will help us study more effectively and remember the information.

    1）Set a goal.

    Before you even start reading, it is important to set a goal. What do you hope you can learn by reading the material? What key points will you be required to know at a later date?{#blank#}2{#/blank#} If not, you should pay mare attention to the information you are looking for.

    2）Do the following things.

    First you need to notice the title above each section. That will tell you what the section is about.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Read the first and last sentences of each paragraph slowly and carefully and re-read them if you have to.

    3）Familiarize yourself with the material.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}So for a job, you might search online for something similar to what you are reading. For students, school websites are useful or another textbook may be able to explain words in a way that is easier to understand,

    4）Review the material

    After you have read and understood the material, review it a few times a day,{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Studies have shown that on average it takes several (anywhere from 3 to 8) times reading and reviewing a material before it becomes part of your permanent memory.

A. It can be very helpful to refer to extra material.

B. It can be hard to read something and keep it in mind.

C. It is easier to remember concepts when you rewrite them.

D. Also, topic sentences are valuable sources of information.

E. If everything is important, you wilt have to work a little harder.

F. This will help you understand it better and remember the information.

G. This doesn't change the fact that it can still be very difficult to remember things.

One of the healthiest Foods on the planet

    There is probably no flower more hated, or misunderstood, than the bright yellow dandelion (蒲公英). {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In an effort to have the perfect green grass lawn, people try their best to kill all dandelions with chemical products. Or they dig them out at the roots—only to see them grow right back.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} They are a great source of vitamin K and also are a good source of vitamins A and C. They also have vitamin E, folate and small amounts of other B vitamins. Also, they provide lots of iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium.

    Besides nutrition, another great thing about dandelions is that you can eat every part of them—from the bottom of the roots to the top of the flower. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Do not eat ones that have been treated with dangerous chemicals or are growing near high traffic areas.

    Dandelions are said to provide several possible health benefits such as helping in digestion and improving some skin conditions. They may also reduce inflammation (炎症).

    Children in many parts of the world have had the simple pleasure of blowing the soft, white dandelion tops. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} In fact, there is a game children play with dandelions that have gone to seed. Pick the white top, make a wish, close your eyes and blow! If you blow all of the seeds off in one breath, your wish will come true! {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Well, that is what many children believe.

B. They watch the seeds float easily in the air.

C. At least the seeds have traveled far and wide.

D. Just make sure to take care when picking wild dandelions.

E. You can let more of this nutritious food source continue to grow.

F. Dandelions are actually one of the most nutritious foods in the world.

G. In the United States, they are considered "weeds", the name for any unwanted plant.