A
Q:
I’d like to know about fluency（流利）．What can I do to feel better when I’m talking to other people? Do you have some ways to learn it faster? Please help me!
—Roberto in Brazil
A:
Robert wants to know how to become more fluent in English, and this is something you want to be able to do “fast”．
First, if you have a chance to meet English speakers, the important rule is to listen to them speak English, especially those very good users of English．If you don’t, then listen to the radio, TV or films in English．
The next step is to notice what it is that speakers of English do, which makes them sound fluent．The first trick(诀窍) is to probably have confidence．Some people think they might make mistakes．Don’t worry about that．Your listeners will usually try hard to understand you — a few grammar mistakes aren’t going to worry them．
What you do need to worry about is pronunciation, especially stress(重音)．When you learn a new word or expression, learn it with its stress．Notice how a native speaker says it or look it up in a dictionary．
Another good thing that speakers of English do is to have a f ew tricks up their sleeves(袖子) for when they need to give themselves thinking time．Sometimes they use “filler sounds” like er, um and so on．
It is also use ful to know how to bring other speakers into your conversation so that you keep them interested － and this is often done by asking questions like “What do you think?” “How do you feel about this?” and so on．
So, to become a fluent speaker, you’ll need to put into practice all these kinds of things．And there’s the key: practise, practise, practise．
—Susan Fern
21. Robert wants to know how to ______________?
A. speak English fluently. B. learn English.
C. talk to other people. D. become confident.
22. At first, Susan encourages English learners to______________?
A. meet English speakers. B. listen to very good speakers.
C. talk to English speakers. D. buy a radio or a TV set.
23.When mentioning pronunciation, Susan pays special attention to______________.
A. stress B. expressions
C. dictionaries D. words
24. What’s the key to becoming a fluent speaker?
A. To become confident.
B. To listen to very good speakers.
C. To practice, practice and practice.
D. To pay special attention to stress.
