—Because she is very     . She is never tired of explaining something to us again and again.

—I often practice English    chatting    my American friend.

— I think so. He practices     it every day.

—That's good. We tried     any noise, for you were sleeping.

—They can communicate more freely.

    How can you think in English? I think the best way is to practice as what a football player does every day. During the1the football player will pass the ball to his teammates over and over again. So he won't have to2passing the ball in the game; he will just do it. You can train yourself to3in English this way. The first step is to think of the words that you use daily, simple everyday words4book or shoe or tree. For example,5you see a “book” you should think of it in English instead of in your mother language.

    After you have learned to think of several words in English, then move on to the next step-thinking in6. Listening and repeating is a very useful7to learn a language. Listen first and don't care too much about8you fully understand what you're hearing. Try to repeat what you hear. The more you listen, the9you learn. After you reach a higher level,10having conversations with yourself in English. This will lead you to think in English.

    Reading is the key to school success and, like any other skill, it takes practice. A child learns to walk by practicing until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other. An excellent sportsman practices until he can play quickly, correctly and without thinking. Educators call it “automaticity(自动性)”.

    A child learns to read by sounding the letters and finding the meaning of the words. With practice, he stumbles less and less, reading by the phrase(短语). With automaticity, he doesn't have to think about the meaning of words, so he can give all his attention to the meaning of the text.

    It can begin as early as the first grade. In a recent study of children in Illinois schools, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found that automatic readers in the first grade not only read almost three times as fast as the others, but also got better results in exams.

    According to Rossman, the key to automaticity is the amount(数量) of time a child spends reading, not his IQ. Any child who spends at least 3.5 to 4 hours a week reading books, magazines or newspapers will probably reach automaticity. It can happen if a child turns off TV just one night for reading at home.

    You can test yourself by reading something new that is suitable (适合)for your level. If you read aloud with expression, with a sense of the meaning of the sentences, you probably are an automatic reader. If you read brokenly, one word at a time, without expression or meaning, you need more practice.

    When the teacher asks a question in class, Wang Xiaobin never raises his hand and this situation is very common at middle schools. This 15-year-old boy always waits for other classmates or the teacher to give the answer. “What if my answer is wrong?” Wang asks.

    Wang said only six or seven students in his class raise their hands when a question is asked. ①“I think it's a problem that may affect (影响) our studies, but I am afraid of making mistakes in front of my classmates,” he said.

    When we asked the teacher, Hu Wei, why the students didn't raise their hands, he said, “They lack (缺乏) confidence, they are afraid of showing off, or they're afraid of losing face by giving wrong answers.”

    To encourage students to raise their hands in class, Hu suggests that teachers should repeat the question, then try to guide and encourage students to offer their answers. ②Hu also advised students not to be shy, but brave enough to try.

    Sun Pin, 16 of Fujian, always raises her hand as soon as she comes up with the answer, even if she isn't sure she has gotten it right. Sun can't understand why some of her classmates keep silent in class. She enjoys raising her hand a lot. “It keeps me enthusiastic(热情的) and confident to express my idea,” Sun said. “Raising my hand has really made me excellent.”

    Students learn their lessons in class. They sit in the classroom listening to their teachers. This is a way of learning. Is this the only way for students to learn? Of course not. There is another way to learn. Students can teach themselves. For example, if you cannot remember something when you are doing your homework, what will you do? You can look at your book to find the answer.

    How to teach yourself? The first thing you do is reading. Read something you are interested in, or you have to read. The second is that you must ask yourself questions. A clever student is usually good at asking questions. The third is to answer the questions yourself by working hard, by reading books, and sometimes by asking other people. These are the ways of teaching yourself. If you keep doing like these for a long time, you are sure to have great progress in your study.