Question: I have been learning English for about 7 years. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} And I still can't make myself understood in English. However, I love learning English. How can I learn English well? Please help me.

Answer: Many people have asked me this question. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Here I will give you several tips for learning English.

●{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    First of all, you must want to learn. If you are not interested in learning English, no class will help you and no book will help you. So you have to be honest with yourself. Ask yourself, “Do I really want to learn English?” If you can't answer “yes” to this question, it is better for you to set English aside until you're ready and willing to learn.

● Set goals (目标).

    To learn English well, you must set some goals. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It will also help you to see your progress. Ask yourself, “What are my goals? What areas would I like to improve?” Think about what your goals are, and review once in a while to see that you are making progress toward your goals.

● Practice, practice, and practice.

    After you have set your goals, you have a better idea of what you need to practice. Just like the athlete whose goal is the Olympics must train daily, you as a language learner must practice language every day to make progress toward your goal. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Want to learn.

B. I think it is not easy to learn it well.

C. Make friends with some Americans online.

D. Reading is a very good way to learn new words.

E. The answers are as different as the people asking the question.

F. The more you practice, the more progress you will make.

G. Having goals will help you remember what areas you want to work on.

    Training for a marathon requires careful preparation and steady, gradual increases in the length of the runs.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, buy the best-fitting, best-built running shoes you can find. No one can say which brand will work best for you or feel best on your feet, so you have to rely on your experience and on the feel of each pair as you shop. When you have found shoes that seem right, walk in them for a few days to double-check the fit.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.As always, you should stretch(伸展) at least ten minutes before each run to prevent injuries.

    During the first week, do not think about distance, but run five minutes longer each day.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}, it is wise to take a day off to rest. But during the next week, set a goal of at least a mile and a half per run.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} After two weeks, start timing yourself.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.Depending on the kind of race you plan to enter, you can set up a timetable for the remaining weeks before the race.

A. For a good marathon runner

B. After six days

C. Before you begin your training

D. With each day, increase the distance by a half mile

E. Time spent for preparation raises the quality of training

F. If they still feel good, you can begin running in them

G. Now you are ready to figure out a goal of improving distance and time

How to become a better reader

    Language and literacy (读写能力) are among humans' greatest inventions. Evolving（演变）over the course of human history, languages are a reflection of our cultural and societal attitudes. Today, surrounded（包围）by social media, television, movies, and, of course, books, the ability to read and write is important to expressing one's feelings. Most humans acquire language in early childhood and speak fluently when they are about three years old, but our continued relationship with language gives shape and meaning to our lives.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Take it slow. Many readers feel that they read too slowly, especially compared with others.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}The best readers are flexible（灵活的）— slowing down when needed — and always have a dictionary at hand.

    Read aloud. When humans first began reading written words, it was unusual to read in silence.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Try listening to the author reading their own work — you'll be surprised to find how clearly it comes through on the page.

    Write. Writing and reading go hand-in-hand: how and what you read affects how and what you write, and the best readers often make the best writers. But while much can be learned from close, repeated readings, there are many pleasures to language that can only be experienced through the practice of writing.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Tell your friends. All of the literature is essentially communication from an individual's inner voice to an audience.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}It's a good way to see the world from someone else's eyes and, in the process, carefully examine your own reaction to what you're reading.

A. But the truth is that the faster you read, the less likely you are to understand fully what you're reading.

B. Can you remember the first piece of writing that transported you to another world?

C. There is something magical about sharing books with friends or a book club.

D. Try writing every day for a month, and you will never read the same again.

E. Reading out loud is one of the best ways to improve your reading ability.

F. Here are 4 ways to become a better reader.

G. In no time, you'll be appreciating novels like fine wine.

    I have two younger cousins starting their “Third Year of High School.” Though I don't talk to them often, I'm both excited for them and also worried. Are they growing up too fast? Are they eating right? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    I throw myself into anxiety. But, today, I stepped back for a moment and came to this realization: my cousins are smarter than my 16-year-old self. If I could go back in time, here's what I would say to myself.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} There's a time for everything—don't speed it up. This is especially true for love. Life is much longer than the distance from now until tomorrow.

    Maintain your digital diet. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Being connected has benefits, but please don't become a victim of the internet.

    Study. You're just starting to define who you want to be and what you want to do. Make sure you study, get the grades, light the midnight oil. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Study the other things in life—the people who are transforming your community and the simple stuff that makes our world go round. You will discover that each bit of detail will change how you view life.

    Be an upstander, not a bystander. Your biggest childhood regret is not standing up for that kid. The kid is the one who was accused of not fitting in right; the one whose shirt was always stained and whose eyes were dull. Your biggest regret is walking away. And, it doesn't matter if you turned away from the taunting（嘲弄）. It doesn't even matter if you were nice to him when the other kids weren't around. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Take your time.

B. You'll regret not being more sympathetic, more courageous, more of a leader.

C. Are they dating?

D. Don't be afraid of what will happen.

E. But, don't just study what teachers say you should.

F. Are you worried about your life.

G. You don't need to spend every waking moment on a device.

    What I should keep in mind:

    Everybody doesn't have to love me. I don't necessarily like everybody I know, so why should everybody else like me? I enjoy being liked and being loved, but if someone doesn't like me, I will still be okay and still feel like I am an okay person. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} I don't need approval all the time. If someone does not approve of me, I will still be okay.

    I don't have to control things. I will survive if things are different than what I want them to be. I can accept things the way they are, accept people the way they are, and accept myself the way I am. There is no reason to get upset if I can't change things to fit my idea of how they ought to be. There is no reason why I have to like everything. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    I am responsible for my day. I am responsible for how I feel and what I do. Nobody can make me feel anything. If I have a rotten day, I am the one who allowed it to be that way. If I have a great day, I am the one who deserves credit for being positive. It is not the responsibility of other people to change so that I can feel better. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    It is important to try. I can. Even though I may be faced with difficult tasks, it is better to try than to avoid them. Avoiding a task does not give me any opportunities for success or joy, but trying does. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I might not be able to do everything, but I can do something.

    I can be flexible. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} More than one person has good ideas that will work. Everybody has ideas that are worthwhile. Some may make more sense to me than others, but everyone's ideas are worthwhile, and everyone has something worthwhile to contribute.

A. I can get along well with them.

B. Even if I don't like it, I can live with it.

C. I can deal with it when things go wrong.

D. I am the one who is in charge of my life.

E. Things worth having are worth the effort.

F. There is more than one way to do something.

G. I cannot make somebody like me just like someone cannot get me to like them.