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.

    Why is setting goals important? Because goals can help you experience everything you want in life. Instead of just letting life happen to you, goals allow you to make your life happen.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It's life having a sign to show you where you want to go. Think of it in this way. There are two drivers. One has a place clearly in mind which can be found on a map. He can drive straight there surely without any wasted time. The other driver has no goal or map.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} But she drives aimlessly(无目的地) around, never getting anywhere, just using up oil. Which driver do you want to be?

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} They decide what they want in life and then get there by setting goals and making plans. Unsuccessful people just let life happen by accident. Goals aren't difficult to set, and they aren't difficult to reach.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You are the one who must decide what to achieve and what direction you want to aim your life.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} They are harder to forget. Also when you write your goals in your own way, you are able to make yourself realize situations that will bring you closer to your goals.

    On September 19, Alibaba went public (上市) on the New York Shock Exchange. It shows that Ma Yun does his business successfully. A short Chinese man seems(似乎) to be the tallest man in the world right now. Ma was an English teacher in the past. Now he becomes the richest man on the Chinese mainland.

    Ma was born in Hangzhou and grew up as a happy kid. At the age of twelve, he found that English was very interesting. Every morning he got up at 5 a.m., and then ran to a hotel near the West Lake. There he could communicate with foreign tourists in English. He did it for nine years.The experience(经验) made him become a fantastic English speaker and also opened his eyes to the wide world. In a 1995 trip to the US, he knew the Internet for the first time. Seeing the chance, Ma returned to China and set up a website without knowing much about computers. Four years later, Ma set up Alibaba in Hangzhou. People called him “Crazy Jack Ma”. But fifteen years later, Alibaba has developed into the world's largest e-commerce (电子商务) company.

    Mr. Reynolds, my teacher, handed us a list of thoughts, and asked us to write a paper on one of those thoughts. I chose the topic" I wonder why things are the way they are."

    I wrote down all the questions that puzzled(困扰)me about life. I realized that many of them were hard to answer，and perhaps others could not be answered at all. When I handed in my paper，I was afraid that I might fail because I did not answer the questions.

    The next day, Mr. Reynolds handed me the paper and asked me to read it for the class. The other students became quiet as I began to read my story：

    Mum, why are the roses red? Why is the grass green and the sky blue? Why do I have to graduate(毕业)？Why do I have to grow up? Why do I have to be called "Grandma" one day？

    Dad, why can't I stay out until 12: 00? Why do I miss my old friends? Why do I miss being at home? Why do you love me so much？

Mum, Dad, why did you have to leave me? I need you.

    At the end of my story, I looked at Mr. Reynolds, and I saw a tear slowly coming down his face. Then I realized that life is not built on the answers we receive, but on the questions we ask.