If you want to become a fluent English speaker and be good at writing, you should take some advice. There are four skills in learning English which are reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The most important thing you must bear in mind is that reading and listening are inputs whereas speaking and writing are outputs. In other words, if you want to improve your speaking and writing skills you should first master the skills of reading and listening.
Read as much as you can. But your reading must be active. It means that you must think about the structure, unfamiliar words etc. as you read. There is no need that you pay attention to grammar or try to understand all the unfamiliar words you come across, but the fact that you see them for the first time and recognise them whenever you see them, for example, in other passages or books, is enough. It would be better to prepare yourself a notebook so you can write down the important words or sentences in it.
As for listening, there are two choices: aside from reading, you can listen every day for about 30 minutes. You can only pay attention to your reading and become skillful at your reading, and then you can catch up on your listening. Since you have lots of inputs in your mind, you can easily guess what the speaker is going to say. This never means that you should not practise listening.
For listening I advise cartoons or some movies that are specially made for children. Their languages are easy and do not contain difficult phrases or slang (俚语) terms. Or if you are good at listening you can listen to VOA or BBC programs broadcast every day. Again the thing to remember is being active in listening and preferably taking some notes.
If you follow these pieces of advice, your speaking and writing will improve automatically (自动地), and you can be sure that with a little effort they will become perfect.
While reading, you'd better stand up
秋风桐槐说项羽
梁 衡
这里今属江苏省宿迁市,我原本以为故里者只是一古朴草房,或农家小院,不想竟是一座新修的旅游城,而城中真正与项羽有关的旧物也只有这两棵树了,一棵青桐和一棵古槐。
中国人知道项羽是因为司马迁的《史记》,一篇《项羽本纪》在中华民族的文明史上树起了一个英雄,从此国人心中就有了一个永远抹不去的楚霸王。斯人远去,旧物难寻,今天要想触摸一下他的“体温”,体会一下他的情感,就只有来凭吊这两棵树了。那棵青桐,树上专门挂了牌,名“项里桐”。据说,项羽出生后,家人将他的胞衣(胎盘)埋于这棵树下,这桐树就特别的茂盛,青枝绿叶,直冲云天。项羽是公元前232年出生的,算到现在已有两千二百多年了。梧桐这个树种不可能有这么长的寿命。但是,这棵“项里桐”却怪,每当将要老死之时,树根处就又生出一株小桐,这样接续不断,代代相传。现在我们看到的已是第九代了。在中国神话中梧桐是凤凰的栖身之地。有桐有凤的人家贵不可言,项羽在此树下出生盖有天意。现在这棵九代“项里桐”正少年得志,蓬勃向上,挺拔的树身带着一团翠绿的披挂,轻扫着蓝天白云。
桐树之东不远处,有一棵巨大的中国槐,说是项羽手植。它体型庞大,巍然如山,又寿命极长。由于此地是黄河故道,历史上黄河几次决口。这故里曾被淹没、推平,唯有这棵槐树不死。其树身已被淤没六米多深,我们现在看到的其实是它探出淤泥的树头,而这树头又已长出一房之高,翠枝披拂,二人才能合抱。岁月沧桑,英雄多难,这个从淤泥中挣扎而出的树头某年又遭雷电劈为两半,一枝向北,一枝向南,撕肝裂肺,狂呼疾喊,身上还有电火烧过的焦痕。向北的那枝,略挺起身子,斗大的树洞,怒目圆睁,青筋暴突,如霸王扛鼎;向南的一枝已朽掉了木质部分,只剩下半圆形的黑色树皮,活像霸王刚刚卸落的铠甲。但不管南枝、北枝都绿叶如云,浓荫泼地。两千年的风雨,手植槐修成了黄河槐;黄河槐又炼成了雷公槐。这摄取了天地之精、大河之灵的古槐,日修月炼,水淹不没,沙淤不死,雷劈不倒,壮哉项羽!
项羽是一面历史的多棱镜,能折射出不同的光谱,满足人们多方位的思考。后人纷纷从不同角度褒贬他,评点他,抒发自己的感慨。唐代诗人杜牧抱怨项羽脸皮太薄:“胜败兵家事不期,包羞忍耻是男儿。”宋代的李清照却推崇他的这种刚烈:“生当作人杰,死亦为鬼雄。”毛泽东则借他来诠释政治:“宜将剩勇追穷寇,不可沽名学霸王。”
这个旅游城的设计是以游乐为主,所以强调互动,游人可以上去乘车骑马,可以与雕像拥抱照相,可以出入项羽的卧房、大帐。但是有两个地方不能去,那就是青桐树下和古槐树旁。两棵树周都围了齐腰的栏杆,只可远观而不可亵玩。再嬉闹的游人到了树下也立即肃穆而立,礼敬有加。他们轻手轻脚,给围栏系上一条条红色的绸带,表达对项王的敬仰并为自己祈福。于是这两个红色的围栏便成了园子里最显眼的、在绿地上与楼阁殿宇间飘动着的方舟。秋风乍起,红色的方舟上托着两棵苍翠的古树。
站在项羽城里,我想,我们现在还能知道项羽,甚至还可以开发项羽,第一要感谢司马迁,第二要感谢这两棵青桐和古槐。幸亏有这青桐、古槐为项羽故里存了一脉魂,为我们存了一条汉文化的根。我以为要记录历史有三种形式。一种是文字,如《史记》;一种是文物,如长城、金字塔;第三种就是古树。因为世间比人的寿命更长,又与人类长相厮守的活着的生命就只有树木了。它可以超出人十倍、二十倍地存活,它的年轮在默默地帮人类记录历史。
秋风梧桐,黄河古槐,塑造了一个触手可摸的项羽。
(有删改)
is that they set off very early.
About a hundred yards along the path we came to a deep valley, on the far side of which the path led into some very thick bushes. Rather than push through these, I decided that if we walked along the bottom of this valley we could go up again and rejoin the path on the far side of the bushes.
As I climbed down into the valley a bird flew off a rock on which I had put my hand. On looking at the spot from which the bird had risen I saw two eggs. They were a kind that I did not have in my collection. So I placed them carefully in my bag, wrapping them in dry grass.
As we went further down the valley, the sides became steeper(陡峭)and not far from where I had entered it came to a drop of about twelve to fourteen feet. The water that rushed down all these small valleys in the rainy season had worn the rock as glass. As it was too deep to climb down, I handed my gun to one of the men and slid down it. My feet had hardly touched the sandy bottom when two men jumped down, one on each side of me. They quickly gave me the gun and asked me if I had heard the tiger. In fact, I had heard nothing, possibly because of the noise I made sliding down the rock. The men said they had heard a tiger growling(吼)somewhere nearby, but they did not know from which direction the noise had come.
公孙述字子阳。父仁为河南都尉,述补清水长。仁以述年少,遣门下掾随之官。月余,椽辞归,白仁日:“非待教者也。”后太守以其能,使兼摄五县,政事修理,奸盗不发,郡中谓有鬼神。及更始立,豪杰各起其县以应汉,南阳人宗成自称“虎牙将军”,入略汉中。述闻之,遣使迎成等。成等至成都,虏掠暴横。述意恶之,召县中豪杰谓日:“天下同苦新室,思刘氏久矣,故闻汉将军到,驰迎道路。今百姓无辜而妇子系获窯屋烧燔此寇贼非义兵也吾欲保郡自守以待真主诸卿欲并力者即留,不欲者便去。”豪杰皆叩头日:“愿效死。”述于是使人诈称汉使者自东方来,假述辅汉将军、蜀郡太守兼益州牧印绶。乃选精兵千余人,西击成等。比至成都,众数千人,遂攻成,大破之。成垣副杀成,以其众降。二年秋,述恃其地险众附,有自立志。于是自立为蜀王,都成都。十一年,帝[注]遣征南大将军岑彭攻之,满等大败,述将王政斩满首降于彭。帝乃与述书,陈言祸福。述省书叹息,以示所亲光禄勋张隆,隆劝降。述日:“兴命也。岂有降天子哉!”左右莫敢复言。十二年,述弟恢及子婿史兴并为大司马吴汉所破,战死。自是将帅恐惧,日夜离叛。帝必欲降之,乃下诏喻述日:“将帅疲倦,吏士思归,不乐久相屯守,诏书手记,不可数得,朕不食言。”述终无降意。九月,吴汉又破斩其大司徒谢丰,汉兵遂守成都。述谓延岑曰:“事当奈何!”岑日:“男儿当死中求生,可坐穷乎!财物易聚耳,不宜有爱。”述及悉散金帛,募敢死士五千余人,以配岑于市桥.伪建旗帜,鸣鼓挑战,而潜遣奇兵出吴汉军后,袭击破汉。汉堕水,缘马尾得出。
(选自《后汉书·公孙述列传》
[注]帝:指光武帝,下同。
①后太守以其能,使兼摄五县,政事修理,奸盗不发,郡中谓有鬼神。
②男儿当死中求生,可坐穷乎!财物易聚耳,不宜有爱。
During a new interview, Professor Hawking warned AI will soon perform (well) than humans. Professor Hawking even say that AI may replace humans altogether, he didn't state exactly a timeline for his forecast. He said, "I fear that AI may replace humans altogether. If people design computer viruses(病毒), some will design AI that improves and copies itself. will be a new form of life. "
During interview, Professor Hawking also urged more people (take) an interest in science, (say) that there would be "serious consequences " if this didn't happen. He said that a new space programme should (develop), adding that humans may have to turn to other suitable planets for habitation. He said:" Our Earth is becoming too small for us, global population is increasing at a (surprise) rate and we are in danger of self-destructing. "
This isn't the first time that Hawking (express) fears about the rise of AI.