Common public speaking problems

    The use of "I feel", "I think" and "maybe"

    In the question-and-answer session of the speaking competition, many contestants began their answers with uncertain expressions like "I feel", "I guess", "I hear", "maybe" and "perhaps".

    These words show that the person is only speaking from his or her point of view. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} 

    Work on keeping your answers brief and to the point, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} . Instead of the empty-sounding "I guess", using facts, together with a clear conclusion based on those facts, is far more likely to be popular with an audience.

    Using only one speaking style

    Don't stick to the same tone. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    For example, when they spoke about their dreams, some sounded romantic. Others used humor. Very few used several different styles together. Try mixing more than one style, rather than just sticking with the same one.

    Irresponsible answers

    Public speaking is different from personal conversations. You're responsible for your words. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} So you should think twice before you talk. Don't be like the student who, when asked about his opinion on book piracy（盗版）, started by saying he supported it.

    Talking around the topic rather than directly answering it

    You should focus on one point and give a clear solution. The key is to work out what question is being asked. Is it asking you to discuss a certain topic or to present your own point of view?

    Use one or two arguments together and give a strong conclusion. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} 

A. It can be boring. Try to mix it up.

B. Even though you want to answer quickly, you don't want to sound foolish.

C. Also work on delivering them with calmness and confidence.

D. Deliberate gestures and affected（做作的）expressions of feelings are improper in a successful speech.

E. Remember that judges are not judging you on whether they agree, but on your ability to say what you think clearly.

F. This lacks the support of facts and seems not to be reliable for the judges and audience.

G. Confidence is extremely important in public speaking as it lets a speaker sound more convincing.

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

    Injuries and deaths caused by driving after drinking are preventable. Sadly, actions by the police can only catch a small number of drunk drivers on the roads. It is up to each person to make the decisions. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} So we should help guide our friends and persuade them to avoid driving after drinking. Here are some tips.

    Start talking to the person early. With every drink, judgment becomes increasingly uncontrolled. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} So as soon as your friend starts drinking, you should try to persuade him to make a plan to get home safely. Remember, after he gets drunk, he may not listen to you.

    Help the person realize he is drunk. Talk to him and show him that he is increasingly clumsy. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, ask who you can call to pick him up, or what public transport he would like to use. If he knows he is drunk, he may follow your advice.

    Make last efforts. If all else fails and a drunk person wants to drive home, threaten to call the police or take his keys. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} When he is not concentrated, take his keys. This may make it easier to convince him to take a cab home. Remember, don't give him the keys even if he's angry.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you once drove home after you got drunk, your friend may not listen to you. So in order to succeed in persuading your friend to avoid driving after drinking, you should behave yourself first.

A. Ask him where his keys are.

B. Set a good role model.

C. Give him an alternative way to get home.

D. But it isn't easy to make the right decisions.

E. Make him realize drinking makes him look like a fool.

F. The police will come to help you out once you call them.

G. It means the more one drinks, the less likely that he will listen to you.

Auckland International Airport (AKL) Services

    We are open for all international flights and provide high standards of for visitors to New Zealand. We offer information on a range of attractions, and we also offer a booking service for activities, accommodation and transport. Buses into the city centre are provided at a competitive price.

    The second floor of the international terminal offers a view of the airfield and all incoming and outgoing flights. There is a café situated here as well as a restaurant, which is available for all airport visitors to use.

    Passengers who require immediate medical attention should dial 9877 on any public telephone in the terminal. The chemist's is located on the ground floor near the departure lounge, and sells a complete range of products.

    Departing passengers can put their luggage or packages into recyclable plastic bags to protect them from damage. Luggage storage, charged at $10 per hour, is available on the first floor. Transit（过境）passengers have free access to storage service.

    Every international passenger, with the exception of children under 12 years of age, is required to make a payment of $25 when leaving New Zealand. This can be arranged at the National Bank on the ground floor.

    As Auckland International Airport has adopted the “quiet airport” concept, there are usually no announcements made over the public address system. Details of all arrivals and departures are displayed on the monitors located in the terminal halls and lounge areas.

    The airport meets the needs of business travelers and has several rooms available for meetings or business gatherings. These are located next to the airport medical center on the first floor. For information and bookings please contact the Airport Business Manager on extension 5294.

    Did you know that badminton is also a fast-paced competitive sport? Badminton has been a Summer Olympic sport since 1992. Para-badminton will be included in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. Here's what you need to know if your child is interested in badminton.

    Badminton is played on a 44-foot-long rectangular (矩形的) court that is 17 feet wide for singles and 20 feet wide for doubles. It is divided in the middle by a net placed 5 feet off the ground, like volleyball, not at ground level like tennis.

    In competition, each match is a set of three games played to 21 points. There is a one-minute break when a player or team reaches 11 points, and a two-minute break in between the first and second games and the second and third games.

    Age kids can start: About 6 years old.

    Best for kids who: Have good skills, are patient and hardworking, and can handle the pressure of one-on-one or two-on-two competition.

    Team or individual: Matches can be singles (one-on-one) or doubles (two-on-two).

    Fun fact: Badminton is the only sport that has mixed doubles event in the Olympic Games.

    Costs: Beginners are expected to pay $30 to $40 for an entry-level racket (球拍). Badminton shoes are similar in price to other athletic shoes. Join a club or team for lessons and court time. A one-hour group lesson for beginners should cost $20 to $25, with costs increasing as your child moves up the ranks. You will also pay entry fees for competitions.

    Time commitment required: Beginners will play for just an hour or two per week.

Potential for injury: Players have a very low risk of injury. Players who wear glasses should use eye protection.

    Students perform less well in final exams if smartphones are allowed in class, for non-academic (非学业的) purposes in lectures, a new study in Educational Psychology finds. Students who don't use smartphones themselves but attend lectures where their use is acceptable also do worse, suggesting that smartphone use damages the group learning environment.

    Researchers from Rutgers University in the US performed an in-class experiment to lest whether dividing attention between smartphones and the lecturer during the class affected students' performance in within-lecture tests and a final exam. 118 students at Rutgers University took part in the experiment during one term of their course. Smartphones were not allowed in half of the lectures and allowed in the other half. When smartphones were allowed, students were asked to record whether they had used them for non-academic purposes during the lecture.

    The study found that having a smartphone didn't lower students' scores in comprehension tests within lectures, but it did lower scores in the final exam by at least 5%, or half a grade. This finding shows for the first time that the main effect of divided attention in the classroom is on the length of time in keeping memory, with fewer things of a study task later remembered. In addition, when the use of smartphones was allowed in class, performance was also poorer for students who did not use them as well as for those who did.

    The study's lead author, Professor Arnold Glass, added: "These findings should alarm students and teachers that dividing attention is having a not obvious but harmful effect that is damaging their exam performance and final grade. To help manage the use of smartphones in the classroom, teachers should explain to students the alarming effect—not only for themselves, but for the whole class."

    This is the first-ever study in an actual classroom showing a relationship between losing attention from smartphones and exam performance. However, more researches are required to see how students are affected by using smartphones after school.

    Most parents fear getting letters home from their children's school. They are usually informing them that their child is in big trouble. But ahead of the SATs exams next week, one school decided to send a letter of a different type.

    Bosses at Buckton Vale Primary School in Stalybridge sent letter to all pupils in the sixth grade to tell them how special and unique they are. The letter highlights all the natural skills and abilities the pupils have and everything that makes them "smart'' individuals.

    They are told how their laughter can brighten the darkest day and that the examiners do not know the pupils are kind, trustworthy and thoughtful.

    The letter, signed by the headmaster and two other teachers, has been put on the school's Facebook page and shared more than 9. 000 times with more than 7,000 likes.

    The letter reads, "Next week you will sit your SATs tests for maths, reading, spelling, grammar and punctuation. We know how hard you have worked, but there is something very important you must know. The SATs test does not assess all that makes each of you special and unique. The people who create these tests and score them do not know each of you in the way that we do and certainly not in the way your families do. "

    The letter goes on to say that the tests are not the most important thing in life, adding, "The scores you will get from this test will tell you something, but they will not tell you everything. There are many ways of being smart. You are smart!"

    The letter has been welcomed by many parents on Facebook. Lynn McPherson wrote, "That's great instilling (逐步灌输) hope, faith and belief. " And Mary Tilling said, "Every child school receive one of these. Brilliant. "