We cannot remember clearly since when we have started to take our mobiles to a dinner table. This happens a lot, especially when we eat out. Once a dish comes, instead of lifting our chopsticks, we take out our mobiles and click. Later, we post the photos onto microblog or WeChat, “waiting to be liked”. Then we check our mobiles from time to time during the meal to see whether we get “liked” or not. We just cannot leave our mobiles for only a meal.
Does that sound familiar to you? Do you do that often? If not, how do you feel when others do that when having dinner with you?
A recent study shows what we are used to doing is not so good. Spending time taking photos of food makes the food less satisfying. To test this, some researchers did an experiment. (Some people, before, were, take, asked, could, to, photos, enjoy food, they). It proved that the more photos they took, the less delicious the food seemed to them. So, why not stop taking photos and just enjoy the food in front of you?
Besides the scientific result, there are also some other bad influences of taking photos of food before meals. After posting the photos onto the Internet, one will involuntarily (不自觉地) check his mobile many times. “Does everyone like my photos? I hope a lot of people like them!” It seems that your mobile secretly calls your name all the time, even when you are with real people.
So, next time you go out to have dinner with your family or friends, how about not taking photos of food? Let the food be delicious as it is and share your life with people around you. Trust me. It will be a wonderful time.
1.What happens a lot at the dinner table nowadays?
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2.What does the recent study tell us about taking photos of food?
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3.将文中括号内的单词连成一个句子，使短文意思通顺、完整。
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4.What does the fourth paragraph mainly talk about?
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5.What does the writer advise us to do while we’re having dinner with others?
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It can be a frightening experience for people to visit a new place, because most people are not comfortable with --- English. So how can you keep away from this kind of situation? Learn how to speak English fluently. Here are four English speaking tips you must know to become a more confident English speaker.
1.Listen first.
Listen carefully to understandable English every day. Most people turn to textbooks to study English grammar rules, but you cannot learn the correct English pronunciation of the words only by reading them. You do not need to learn grammar in detail because this can prevent you from speaking English fluently. Instead, listen to how native English speakers pronounce and watch their mouth movements carefully. Also watch English shows and movies to develop your spoken English and improve your vocabulary.
2.Practice makes perfect.
Read aloud in English for 15 to 20 minutes a day in front of the mirror, which helps in pronunciation and improves your English communication skills. Also, practice with your friends and family. Talking with a good English speaker can help improvise (即兴发挥) your usage of words and form of sentences.
3.Think in English.
At the beginning, most English learners usually think of what they have to say in their native language, translate and then say it in English. This can be tiring in the mind. If your goal is to speak English fluently, you need to learn “thinking” in English. Make up the sentences in English as you think about them.
4.Be more confident.
All these tips will be for nothing if you are not that confident in your English speaking skills. It is quite natural to make mistakes when learning a new language.
Try to relax if you’re speaking in English. When you speak at a normal speed, you’ll discover that you will be able to pronounce the words correctly and people will understand you. Most of the time, the person you are talking to even doesn’t know your mistakes.
In a word, learning English does not happen overnight. It takes a lot of time, effort and practice. Don’t lose confidence and never give up. Follow these tips and practice every day. Soon, you would learn to speak English fluently as if it is your own language.
English speaking tips you must know
Introduction | It’s many people’s dream to be 1. to speak English fluently in a new place. |
Listen first
| Remembering grammar rules won’t help you learn the 2.English pronunciation. Listen to how native English speakers pronounce and watch carefully how their mouths 3.. Watch English shows and movies to improve your spoken English and 4.. |
Practice makes perfect
| Regular reading 5. can make it easy for you to 6. with others. Practice with your friends and family. |
Think in English
| Thinking in your native language makes you 7. in your mind. Thinking in English and 8. up the sentences in English as you think about them are necessary. |
Be more confident | Making mistakes is a necessary part of language learning. Most of the time, the person you are talking to is not even 9. of your mistakes. Try to relax to speak at a normal speed and make yourself 10.. |
Conclusion | Learning English does not happen overnight. Practise daily and never give up. |
Dear Mum,
How are you? I’m writing to tell you about my life in Nanjing.
My plane arrived at Nanjing International Airport on the morning of March 2. In the past few days I 1. (visit) many places of interest in Nanjing. Yesterday I 2. (show) around the Confucius Temple and Xinjiekou—the most famous business street in Nanjing. I 3.(choose) a pearl necklace for you. I’m sure you 4. (like) it.
Nanjing is a good place 5. (travel) to, I think. I 6. (have) a good time here now. I’ll tell you more about my experiences here later.
Yours,
Jane
1.It will be Helen’s ______（nine）birthday tomorrow. I’d like to send her a DIY card.
2.Simon and Linda looked at each other and kept the secret to ______ (they).
3.It’s much _____ (sun) today than yesterday, let’s go on a picnic in the park.
4.Frogs are ______ (active) in cold weather and always sleep in winter.
5.He hasn’t made a ______ (decide) whether to go or stay.
1.Oh, my God! I ______ my English book in my bedroom.
2.Don’t get angry with him, he is only a boy ______.
3.The best season to visit Beijing is ______. People can see the maple leaves.
4.Spud Webb never gave up, as a result, he ______ in playing in the NBA.
5.He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a ______ man.
The first Starbucks coffee shop opened in 1971 in downtown Seattle, Washington，in the United States. It was a small coffee shop that roasted its own coffee beans. The coffee shop’s business did well, and by 1981 there were three more Starbucks stores in Seattle.
Things really began to change for the company in 1981. That year, Howard Schultz met the three men who ran Starbucks. Schultz worked in New York for a company that made kitchen equipment. He noticed that Starbucks ordered a large number of special coffee makers, and he was curious about the company. Schultz went to Seattle to see what Starbucks did, and he liked what he saw. He wanted to become part of the company. In 1982, the original（原先的）Starbucks owners hired Schultz as the company’s head of marketing.
In 1983, Schultz travelled to Italy. The unique atmosphere of the coffee bars there caught his eye. To Schultz, it seemed that Italians spent their daily lives in three places; home, work, and coffee bars. His experience in Italy gave Schultz a new idea for Starbucks back in Seattle.
Schultz created an atmosphere for Starbucks coffee shops that was comfortable, and customers everywhere seemed to like it. Between 1987 and 1992, Starbucks opened 150 new stores—and that was only the beginning. In fact, by the year 2000, three new Starbucks stores opened somewhere around the world every day!
Today, Starbucks has thousands of stores, including stores in twenty-six countries. One thing that helps make Starbucks succeed in cities outside the United States is the way Starbucks works with local stores and restaurants. By working together with a store already in the city, Starbucks gets an understanding of customers in the city. This understanding helps Starbucks open stores in the right locations for their customers.
1.What is the main idea of this passage?
A. How Starbucks has grown B. What Starbucks makes
C. Starbucks’ customers D. How Starbucks makes its coffee
2.Which is true about Starbucks’ first ten years of business?
A. It grew very quickly B. It was a small company
C. It made special coffee makers D. It was run by Howard Schultz
3.About how many new Starbucks opened in 1999?
A. 3 B. 150 C. 300 D. more than 1000
4.What helps Starbucks succeed in places outside the United States?
A. Opening restaurants in just a few locations each year
B. Only selling locally produced coffee beans
C. working with other major coffee-making companies
D. Learning about local customers
