Say It: Pronunciation
Users of this app developed by Oxford University Press can practice more than 35, 000 words. It can record your voice and then create a waveform from your voice, which you can compare to that of the model speaker. A marker shows which part of each word to stress.
The app offers a free version. But its usability is limited. You would need to buy the paid version to get full use of the app, which costs $6. 99.
ELSA Speak
ESLA Speak uses artificial intelligence (AI) to act as your own pronunciation teacher. This app offers a speaking test with detailed results and a score. And its AI software lets you have conversations with the computer and get assessment.
The app has a free 7-day trial version. After that, you would need to pay for the full version. Prices range from $0.99 to $99.
Accent Training
This app centers on a few important elements of pronunciation, including reduced speech, intonation and connected speech.
The app is free, but unwanted ads show up often. You can choose whether to pay $2. 99 to remove them.
English Pronunciation Tutor
This app developed by Language Arts Press is useful if there are speeific sounds in English that give you continuous trouble.
The app is free for the first unit only. After that, you would pay $5. 99 to activate the full version.
None of these apps can replace real-life speaking practice. But if you are in serious need of pronunciation support, try them.
One day Robin went with his family to eat in a restaurant. They were sitting at a table and waiting for their meal. Suddenly, everyone around them started to cover their noses. Some of them even left their tables and went away.
When Robin's family turned around to see what had caused this, they saw two homeless boys. The boys looked dirty and smelled bad. But both boys were smiling and had beautiful blue eyes. They were looking for someone kind. One of the boys went to the counter and he counted the coins he had. The other boy looked sick and he stood quietly.
The young lady at the counter asked the boy what they wanted. He said, "We only want a cup of coffee. "That was all they could afford. They wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up. It was really cold outside. But to sit inside the restaurant, they had to buy something.
When Robin's mother saw this, she wanted to help the boys. She ordered some more food. Then she went to the two boy's table. She put the food on the table. The boys looked up at her and said, "Thank you. "When Robin saw what his mother did, he understood what the unconditional love was. His mother treated those boys kindly. She did not expect anything in return. Now Robin saves his own pocket money and helps homeless people whenever he can.
Danelien van Aalst at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and her colleagues have investigated how relative age affects popularity among 14 to 15-year-olds in the Netherlands, Sweden and England. They collected survey data from 13, 251 students from the three countries.
Each teenager was asked to identify five of the most popular students in their class. The researchers then compared the popularity of each child to their age relative to that of their classmates. They discovered a connection; the older the student was, the more likely he or she was to be considered popular.
"A child enters school before or after a certain cut-off date and that determines how old or young you are relative to your year group. "says Danelien van Aalst. "We found that if you're born right after the cut-off date, making you one of the oldest members of your class, you're going to be popular.
They found that the same effect also applied at the year group level. Here, it was the children who were the oldest relative to all of their fellows in the year group一rather than just those in their particular class—that were the most popular.
All three countries showed almost the same pattern. However, at the year-group level, it was the most pronounced in England. At the classroom level, it was in the Netherlands that the pattern was the strongest. This is partly because the country has a system of grade retention- when students don't meet their academic requirements, their teachers will hold them back a year, which means they then are older than all the other classmates and often the most popular.
This relative age effect has been shown in other areas." Relative age has earlier been demonstrated to affect school performance—relatively older children do better in school, "says Herman van Werfhorst at the University of Amsterdam, who wasn't involved in the study. Similarly, previous research has shown that older children tend to be better at sports than younger students in the same year group.
Your glasses may someday replace your smartphone, and some New Yorkers are ready for the switch. Some in the city can't wait to try them on and use the maps and GPS that the futuristic eyewear is likely to include.
"I'd use it if I were hanging out with friends at 3 a. m. and going to the bar and wanted to see what was open, "said Walter Choo, 40, of Fort Greene.
The smartphone-like glasses will likely come out this year and cost between $250 and $600, the Times said, possibly including a variation of augmented (增强的) reality, a technology already available on smartphones and tablets(平板电脑) that overlays information onto the screen about one's surroundings. So, for example, if you were walking down a street, indicators( 指示信号) would pop up showing you the nearest coffee shop or directions could be plotted out and come into view right on the sidewalk in front of you.
As far as a mainstream consumer product, this just isn't something anybody needs," said Sam Biddle, who writes for Gizmodo. com. " We're accustomed to having one thing in our pocket to do all these things," he added, "and the average consumer isn't gonna be able to afford another device (装置) that's hundreds and hundreds of dollars.
Google publisher Seth Weintraub, who has been reporting on the smartphone-like glasses since late last year, said he is confident that this type of wearable device will eventually be as common as smartphones.
"It's just like smartphones 10 years ago, "Weintraub said." A few people started getting emails on their phones, and people thought that was crazy. Same kind of thing. We see people bending their heads to look at their smartphones, and it's unnatural," he said. "There's gonna be improvements to that, and this a step there."
Laughter is the best medicine. It helps solve problems, improve relationships, and support both physical and emotional health. Read the following suggestions and learn to make laughter part of your life.
Laughing at yourself is one of the biggest differences between happy people and unhappy people. It communicates to both you and the people around you that it's no big deal. So be brave enough to share your embarrassing(尴尬) moments. Attempt to laugh at your awkward situations rather than regret them. When something negative happens, try to make it a humorous story that will make you and others laugh.
Surround yourself with amusing reminders tolighten up. Put up a funny poster in your office. Choose a computer screensaver that makes you laugh. Frame photos of you and your family or friends having fun. All of these are good resources of laughter.
Even if you don't consider yourself a humorous person, you can still seek out new friends who are ready to laugh and who can make you laugh. These are people who find humor in everyday events. Their playful points of view and laughter are contagious (传染的). When you are around them, you'll be more likely to laugh too.
Don't go a day without laughing. Set aside 10 minutes each day to do something that amuses you. You can watch some humorous videos or look at some funny photos online. Try thinking back to a joke you heard or read, or a comedy you watched.
As long as you have a joyful heart and purposely make time to laugh, you'll be amazed at how differently you will begin to view your job, your family, your relationships and yourself.
A.Laugh at yourself.
B.Spend time with funny people.
C.Keep a toy on your desk or in your car.
D.If you can't find any humor at hand, recall something funny.
E.But not everyone is good at laughing genuinely and accurately.
F.Try to schedule this right after the most stressful part of your day.
G.Avoid negative people and don't hold on to things that make you unhappy.
Lydia Denton felt very sad when she learned about the incidents, in which many children in the U. S. died because someone left them in hot cars. But no one has come up with a good way to deal with the1, The little girl, who would enter the seventh grade, decided to find a2.
Two years later, the 12-year-old girl from North Carolina won a $20000 prize for her3, the Beat The Heat Car Seat, a car seat device measuring the 4of a car. The device is able to. 5the parents of the danger when the inside temperature of the car6 reaches 102 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lydia used part of her$ 20000 to continue to. 7her device with the hope of getting itto market as soon as possible8it can be something that will savelives and something that most people can9 to get it.
With her 14-year-old brother and 10-year-old sister, Lydia also10some of her prize money. They also helped bring the11 in the car seat device. Her brother was really great at coding and her little sister would12them with some sweets or cakes.
Lydia's mom, a science teacher, said it was13to watch her three kids cooperate tothink out a way to the problem that has14for years. They have proven that time and time again nothing is15. She is really proud of them.
While the Internet has guaranteed the place of English as the most used language, Chinese still holds the top position as the most used mother tongue. Since Shang dynasty, Chinese people (use)a complete system of characters. One of the great advantages of using one single writing system is that people speak different dialects can understand each other's writing. Therefore, communication can go on many troubles. People in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan still write traditional Chinese characters, while people on Mainland China use (simplify) Chinese characters, but it does not pose much (difficult) in recognizingthe characters. Some scholars believe that Chinese characters are one of the important (factor) that keep South and North China unbroken for very long time. Some scholars even consider Chinese characters (be) the Fifth Great Invention of Ancient China, alongside the other Four Great Inventions, which are paper, the compass, gunpowder and movable typography. Though pronunciation marks are (slight) different, Chinese characters (adopt) in other languages in ancient time, which indicates China's cultural influence on these countries since ancient times, especially during the Tang and the Song dynasties.
I grew up in a poor family with six brothers, three sisters, my father and mother. We had little money and few goods, but plenty of love and attention. I was happy and energetic. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, he could still afford a dream.
My dream was athletics. By the time I was sixteen, I could throw a ninety-mile-per-hour fastball and hit anything moving on the football field. And I was so lucky that my high-school coach was Ollie Jarvis, who not only believed in me, but often told me "Dream is priceless". However, when I was about to get off the ground, one particular incident happened, which almost ruined my long-held ream.
It was the summer holiday in senior two and a friend recommended me for a summer job. I was offered $ 12. 25 per hour. Compared with the average $3.5, that was a big sum. I was so excited, because this meant a chance for money in my pocket, certainly money for a new bike and new clothes, and the start of savings for a house for my mother. The prospect(前景)of the job was inviting, and I wanted to jump at the opportunity.
Then I realized I would have to give up summer baseball training to handle the work schedule. I didn't dare to tell my coach, I thought of the advice my mother often gave me when I lacked courage, "If you make your bed, you have to lie in it. "I decided to talk to my coach in person. After all, my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his disappointment to me.
注意：
1）续写的词数应为150左右;
2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
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I gathered my courage and knocked at his door. …… That question reminded me of what my coach used to say. |
