Learning a second language

    Nowadays, more and more people are learning a second language. So why should we invest time in learning a second language? Is it worth it? What are the benefits of learning a second language? Let us see.

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    If your work involves regular contact with speakers of foreign languages, being able to talk to them in their own languages will help you to communicate with them better. It may also help you to make sales and to negotiate and secure contracts. Knowledge of foreign languages may also increase your chance of finding a new job, getting a promotion or a transfer overseas, or of going on foreign business trips.

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    Needless to say, being able to speak a foreign language, for example, the Japanese, would benefit you a lot when you are travelling to Japan. Being able to speak the language of the target country will save you a lot of communication trouble and inconvenience. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Education

    If you are a high school student or a college student who is interested in going abroad for further education, then you will, in all possibility, have to learn the language of the country where you wish to move to, for further studies. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

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    Learning a second language can help in broadening one's horizon, it can help in learning about the culture of that particular country and it can pave the way for new interests and hobbies. Not only can you enjoy forms of art and literature connected with the new language, but you can also meet new people, make new friends and develop long-lasting relationships…all on the basis of learning a new language.

    Health is the most important thing in the world．Nothing is more important than health．If one takes away our money, houses, cars, or even our clothes, we can still survive．{#blank#}1{#/blank#} That is why we always try to eat in a healthy way and exercise often.

    How can we keep healthy? In order to eat healthily, I usually avoid eating food high in fat, like French fries or cookies, which are junk foods．{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Besides, I only eat a little meat.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Taking exercise every day helps us build a strong body．Regular exercise is an important part of keeping me healthy.

    What's more, I think friends are important part of one's health．{#blank#}4{#/blank#} I always feel better when I am with friends than I am alone．When I am with my friends, I always laugh．Laughing is also an important part of health．It is good to stay with my friends.

    By eating properly and exercising regularly, I can keep my body at a proper weight and keep healthy．By spending time with my friends, I can keep my mind as well as my body happy．These things sound easy to do, but not many people can manage them．{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

                                                                  Five Ways to Improve Communication Skills

    Communication is one of the most important skills we can ever learn. It affects everything that we do —whether we're communicating at work to meet deadlines and achieve results, or communicating with friends, family and partners to build strong relationships. Thus communication is very important. Here are five ways to improve your communication skills.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} This reflects a real lack of respect. By interrupting someone, what you're basically saying is "I don't care what you're saying—what I have to say is more important".

    Don't finish other people's sentences.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Wrong. Research has shown by doing this you are dis-empowering (剥夺权利) the other person because you are taking control of the conversation, so bite your tongue!

Paraphrase.

If you want to show that you have really understood someone, then paraphrasing (解释) is a great tool{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Here's an example: "So Barney, what I'm hearing is that results are the number one objective for you right now and we need to find some fast solutions for you?"

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Focus on active listening instead of passive listening. The difference is that active listening means you engage with and respond to the other person based on what he/she has said, while passive listening is simply the act of listening with no response.

    Maintain eye contact.

    By looking at the other person in the eyes, you are proving that you're interested in what he/she is saving.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. All you do is repeat back to someone what he/she has just said, before you comment yourself.

B. You don't see them interrupting others or leaving off mid conversation.

C. Listen actively.

D. This also keeps you focused (集中) and less distracted (分散).

E. Talk actively.

F. I used to do this a lot thinking I was helpfully finishing people's sentences for them.

G. Never interrupt people.

    Goals are the guides all through our life. We all have goals that we are moving towards and making a great effort to achieve. This is a good thing. Or can it be bad? How many of us never reach our goals and yet we have tried so hard and really thought about nothing else? I believe the mistake most of us make is that we do not focus on our present situation.

    Let me explain. Most of us see our present situation as a stepping stone that we use simply as a means of reaching our final destination. We don't take time to truly appreciate where we are today and all the great things we already have in our lives. We should focus our attention on the journey and not on the destination, or we will miss the beautiful scenery along the way.

    Let's use our job as an example. Now most of us want a promotion. We have plans to become the manager or general manager in our companies. Unfortunately, most of us will never reach the goal, but will watch others achieve our goal instead.

    What we should be doing is focusing on the job we are currently in now. Forget where we want to get to and just focus on the present. You see, what we can control is our performance in our current job. We can decide to be the best we possibly can in our current job. Now this may mean further education to have the skills we currently do not have. It may mean working harder to produce better results than our colleagues. It could simply be a change of attitude, such as stopping complaining and becoming a more devoted and supportive employee. By doing our current job to the best of our abilities, we in fact give ourselves the best chance of promotion.

    So the best thing for all of us to do to achieve our goals is to just focus on what we have and where we are now. Do the best and be the best we possibly can in our current situations, and we will give ourselves the very best chance of reaching our goals in the future. We have heard the old sayings and they are true: “Rome wasn't built in a day.”, “Patience is a virtue”, and so on.

Have patience, have appreciation of what we already have, and take time to help ourselves be the very best we can. Do these things and we will all reach our goals, but more importantly, we will enjoy our life every day.

注意：每个空格只填1个单词。

    A total of 604 people injured in a chemical plant explosion on March 21 in Xiangshui, Jiangsu Province were still receiving medical care in nearby medical facilities, including 19 in critical condition and 98 seriously wounded. The fire quickly spread to 16 neighboring enterprises, with the latest death toll at 64.

    At the same time, rescuers were busy inspecting chemical plants damaged in the explosion for possible poisonous substance leaks. Since the explosion, six rounds of search and rescue missions have been launched, and the search area has been expanded from 1.1 square kilometers to 2 sq km. More than 4,500 medical workers and 116 ambulances have so far participated in rescue work. The National Health Commission sent 16 leading experts to treat the injured. As of the noon of March 24, victims were being treated in 16 hospitals. Specialized treatment plans had been made for every patient. Psychologists have also been sent to help the recovery of the patients, their relatives and rescuers. Workers have been sent to comfort the families of the killed. The bodies will be treated according to ethnic and religious customs where applicable.

    Sang Shulou, 36, discharged from the hospital after receiving treatment, with signs of obvious injury on his face, said that he was blessed to have survived the explosion that happened just 100 meters away from him. “I was driving a car passing the explosion site when the car was pushed away fiercely by the wave,” he said.

    More than 1,600 homes near the explosion site have been repaired. Owners of homes beyond repair will receive compensation and assistance in moving to new homes.

    The State Council, China's Cabinet, has set up a special investigation group to look into the explosion. The investigation would be thorough. It also severely criticized the local government and the company involved for their not learning lessons from previous environmental violations and failing to make effective corrections, Official records show that the concerned company had been punished several times before for taking advantage of safety loopholes and violating environmental protection regulations. Chenjiagang Chemical Park also experienced several similar safety accidents over the past few years.

    Today, in most of the theatres in Britain, the stages are situated behind a sort of arch (拱门), called the proscenium (幕布前的舞台部分)arch. The arch runs across the building with the stage on one side of it and the auditorium, housing the audience, on the other. The audience is kept to the area from which it can get a clear view of the stage. This type of theatre has been is use for three hundred years. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The actor can ignore them until the end, when they applaud the performance. If an actor wants to speak to the audience he tends to step out of the picture, as it were—down to the edge of the stage.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Stage furniture or properties—"props", as they are referred to in the business – are now as few as possible. Elaborate scenery is used only when it is going to last throughout the play, or when it is so constructed that it can be changed quickly. Modern theatres are built with the stage extending far in front of the proscenium arch, if indeed they have a proscenium arch at all, electricity, already long in use, has recently had a revolutionary effect. A change of lighting is as good as a change of scenery, and simpler and quicker; it can light one part of the stage in place of another. Footlights have been found unnecessary. Curtains also are hardly necessary, since the stage can be darkened to signify the end of a scene.

    The modern idea of having the stage in front of the proscenium arch is not really modern, of course. It makes our stages much like Shakespeare's. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} The famous speeches of Hamlet, for instance, can be delivered more quietly and naturally than they were in the las century. The actors no longer have to worry much about not being heard, or about turning their backs to the auditorium. They can get closer to the audience, while a larger audience can see them at work.

    Moreover, nowadays, people are finding that modern theatres are built to sit in comfortably for two or three hours at a stretch. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The result of these improvements is that, in spite of the high price of seats, perhaps more people than ever before are keen on theatre-going.

A. Over the last few decades, since the Second World War, theatrical customs have altered.

B. It makes people feel, as they watch a play or a show, that they are seeing a living and moving picture.

C. All these innovations have quickened up the pace of the drama.

D. This is an advantage both for actors and audience.

E. Today the theatres are much more comfortable because of the many improvements.

F. Often they can meet and eat in the restaurants attached to the theatres.