我的英语口语和听力提高日记

Tracy~

Dec 1

Speaking in Formal Situations We speak different ways, depending on the situations we're in. When we're in with our friends, we speak casually.we may be careless about our grammar and use a lot of slang. In the more formal situations, however, we ought to speak more carefully and respectfully. Such situations may include speaking with the new acquaintances, people in authority, and older people. Meetings and class discussions call for more formal english, too. In this lesson, you'll learn key phrases that can be used in these formal settings. Speaking with someone in authority Lana has been called to the office of her high school principal, Mr.Walters. Lana:You wanted to see me, Mr. Walters? Mr,Walters:Yes,lana, please sit down. How are things going? Lana: Quite well, thank you. My  senior year is quite busy, but thankfully i'm managing. Mr,Walters:Oh, I wouldn't say you're "managing",lana, Not at all. Lana: I beg your pardon,sir? To the best of my knowledge, I'm doing OK. Mr.Walters:I'm sorry. I can see I'v alarmed you. What i mean is ,you're not just managing.lana.you're doing much better than that.you're the best student in the senior class. Lana: Oh,i see,well ,thank you,you're very kind.

Tracy~

Dec 2

Asking for information


lana,your grades,attitude and conduct are a good example to everyone.


i don't know what to say. i just try to do my best.


i know that. So let me explain why i asked you to come see me. There will be a national student conference in New York in May. Our school has been invited to send one student. Would you like to go?


Me? Wow! i feel honored that you'd ask me. Mr.Walters.


well,you deserve the honor.


Thank you very much. This is so exciting! But before i decide,may i ask you a couple of questions?


Certainly


First, will this cost much? My parents don't have a lot of money?


The conference sponsor will pay all your expenses,Lana


I see. I wonder if you could tell me, who is the sponsor, and what is the conference about?


The sponsor is the Better World Society. The conference is called "Tomorrow is Ours". It's about students working together for a better tomorrow.


I see, I've heard of the Better World Society.


Is something wrong?


I don't want to be ungrateful,but i'm not sure if i agree with their views?


what's to disagree with? You want to help build a better world,don't you?


Yes, of course. Well, may i talk to my parents about this? The final dicision is theirs.

Tracy~

Dec. 3

Disagreeing and responding to disagreement


A group of college students and their teacher, Professor Adams, are having a class discussion. Two of the students,Pam and Elaine, are doing most of the talking.


Pam: In my view, ancient Rome had the greatest empire in history.


Elaine:I'm not sure if i agree, Pam. Surely there have been greater empires than the Roman Empire.


Pam: You may be right, but i can't think what they might be, Rome controlled the entire known world.


Elaine: I would suggest that the British Empire was greater.


Adams: Really? How so?


Elaine:Well, the known world was much larger at the time of British Empire. So Britain controlled a truly global empire. It transformed the world more,too.


Challenging a statement


Pam: Can you give an example?


Elaine: Sure. The English language has spread everywhere.But the language of Rome is dead.


Pam: I have to challenge that statement,Elaine.It is true that English has spread, but not everywhere.


Adams: I agree. One shouldn't overstate the case. Elaine. Besides,Latin spread a lot, too, and it isn't as dead as you think. It's very much a part of many modern European languages, including english.


Responding to correction


Elaine: That's a good point, Professor. I hadn't thought of it that way before. Still, didn't the British Empire control more of the world that the Roman empire?


Adams: Yes, I think it's safe to say so. OK,class, we'll stop our discussion here for today.

Tracy~

Dec 5

                 Read Your Phone


You're at the office, and you've been waiting to see the doctor for over an hour.you're bored. And you forgot to bring something with you to help pass the time. What can you do?


Just reach your own cell-phone. Believe it or not, you can now read entire novels on your phone. Web sites offer cell-phone users hundreds of titles to choose from. The novels are sent in short installments as text messages. It's like having access to a whole library through your phone.


Who's reading?


Cell-phone novels first appeared a few years in Japan. They then quickly spread to other places throughout Asia.Who's actually reading cell-phone novels? Teenagers and people in their early 20s are the biggest audience. But the trend is slowly catching on with older readers. too.


Some writers have even composed novels especially for cell phones. Because phonos can only receive small amounts of text, each installment must be short. So writers create stories that are concise and fast-moving, This style of writing has attacted people who usually don't like to read.

Tracy~

Dec. 6

Readers get involved


A few writers even make their novels interactive. Readers send them text messages after each new installment of a novel. And the writers use the readers' comments to create new plot twists. One such novel, Deep Love, was later published as a traditional book in Japan. It became a bestseller and was even made into a movie.


But the Japanese writers aren't the only ones writing novels for cell phones. Well-known writer Xuan Hwang, for example, also composed a cell-phone novel. It contained just 70 Chinese characters in each text-message installment.


Hard on you eyes?


For book lovers, these cell-phone novels may sound like a bad idea. Because the phones' screens are tiny,only a few lines of text can bve displayed at a time. Doesn't make reading novels rather unpleasant?


Not at all, say the novels'fans. The screens are much easier to read than you might imagine, they say. Reading them just takes a little getting used to. For cell-phone readers, the convenience makes up for any shortcomings. After all, what other novel can you hole in the palm of your hand?

Tracy~

Dec. 7

                    The lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe


Imagine stepping into your closet and suddenly finding yourself in a  magical land called Narnia. It's a place with talking animals, an evil witch and a noble lion-ruler.


That's exactly what happens to four children in the new film The chronicles of Narnia: The lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. At first, the children find Narnia a charming, peaceful land. But soon they discover that its is under a curse. Unknown to the children, a great battle is about to take place. And the four of them have major roles to play.


Some people may notice similarities between this film and The lord of Rings. Producers for both movies used the same filming location,New Zealand. They also used the same special effects company, WETA workshops.


The movie is based on the best-selling movel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.C.S. Lewis completed the novel in 1950.Since then, more than 60 million people worldwide have read the beloved book. Now at last, C.S. Lewis fans, and other movie-goers, can experence for themselves the magic of Narnia.

Tracy~

Dec. 8

                              C.S. Lewis


C.S. Lewis created worlds of magic,mystery and hope. More than 40 years after this author's death, that magic lives on. Lewis' humbel and engaging writing style continues to delight readers. Children around the world still enjoy The Chronicles of Narnia. Adults still find encouragement and hope in his writings, as well.


Born in 1898 in Belfast, Ireland, Lewis was an imaginative, intelligent child who loved to read and write stories. In 1908, his mother died of cancer. Soon after, Lewis was sent to boarding school in England.


Lewis hated the competitive atmosphere of his boarding school. But he continued to love philosophy, mythology and languages.His teacher wrote to lewis' father:"You may make a writer or a scholar of him, but you'll not make anything else."


Lewis was accepted to University College, Oxford,in 1916. But in 1917 he left school to fight for Britian in WW1.he was wounded fighting in France and sent back to England. After recovering, he continued his education. He went on to become a professor of English literature at Magdalan College,Oxford.

Tracy~

Dec. 9

                    C.S. Lewis


A reluctant convert


At Oxford,Lewis made a number of longlife friends. One of them was J.R.R. Tolkien,author of The Lord of The Rings. Lewis was not a Christian, but Tolkien and several of his other friends were. They often talked and argued about God.


Lewis started to see evidence of God in the natural beauty,in the love between friends, and in the writings of his favorite authors. Still, he refused to admit God was real. calling himself "the most reluctant convert in all of England." But finally Lewis came to believe in God completely.


After that, Lewis dedicated his life to writing books that would encourage others. He wrote books that addressed complex questions about God and humanity. Although he wrote about compicated issues,Lewis saw himself as an ordinary person who knew very little. People loved his modesty.


During WW2, the British Broadcasting Company invited him to give a series of talks over the radio. Lewis agreed, and his Sunday afternoon talks were incredibly polular. Another radio broadcaster later called them "messages of hope in the darkness of war"

Tracy~

Dec. 10

                      C.S.Lewis


Grief and joy


For many years, Lewis only wrote books for adults. But during WW2,some children came to live with him, and inspired him to write stories for them. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was published in 1947.


His friends criticized him for writing children's stories, saying it was not "serious" writing. but Lewis didn't care. He wrote six more children's books in the next few years. All seven books together form The Chronicles of Narnia. They have sold over 100 million copies. Many regard them as Lewis' finest achievement.


When Lewis was in his 50s, he formed a friendship with an American woman named Joy Gresham. Their friendship developed into love, and they were married in 1956. Tragically, Joy died of cancer only four years later.


Lewis wrote a short,heartbreaking book, A Grief Observed, about the despair he felt after her death. But the book also tells how the experience gave him a better understanding of himself and his love for his wife. Lewis died in 1963. But his books live on and continue to captivate readers around the world.

Tracy~

Dec.12

             Spotlight on Hokkaido


When many people think of Japan, they picture the huge, crowded city of Tokyo. But there's another Japan to discover.This is a Japan of green farms and forests. It's a land of snow-capped mountains, sandy breaches and relaxed, heathy living. This Japan can be explored and enjoyed on Hokkaido.


Hokkaido, Japan's second-largest island, is seperated from the largest island, Honshu, by the Tsugaru Strait. The railway under the strait is the world's longest. It's longer even than the Channel Tunnle linking England and France.


Hokkaido is a place of unspoiled natural beauty, here, agriculture has more importance than manufacturing and industry. The island produces a large prrportion of Japan's rice, fruit and vegetable products. Hokkaido is quite sate, too.Crime is almost unheard of.


Hokkaido presents a four-season destination for Japanese and international tourists. Most travelers to the island-and there are many-arrived by air. The Tokyo-Sapporo air route, the world's busiest, has 45 round trips each day. Hokkaido can also be reached by ferry or train from Honshu.