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Unit1SomeStrategiesforLearningEnglishLearningEnglishisbynomeanseasy.Ittakesgreatdiligenceandprolongedeffort.Nevertheless,whileyoucannotexpecttogainagoodcommandofEnglishwithoutsustainedhardwork,therearevarioushelpfullearningstrategiesyoucanemploytomakethetaskeasier.Herearesomeofthem.1.Donottreatallnewwordsinexactlythesameway.Haveyouevercomplainedaboutyourmemorybecauseyoufinditsimplyimpossibletomemorizeallthenewwordsyouarelearning?But,infact,itisnotyourmemorythatisatfault.Ifyoucramyourheadwithtoomanynewwordsatatime,someofthemareboundtobecrowdedout.Whatyouneedtodoistodealwithnewwordsindifferentwaysaccordingtohowfrequentlytheyoccurineverydayuse.Whileactivewordsdemandconstantpracticeandusefulwordsmustbecommittedtomemory,wordsthatdonotoftenoccurineverydaysituationsrequirejustanoddingacquaintance.Youwillfindconcentratingonactiveandusefulwordsthemosteffectiveroutetoenlargingyourvocabulary.2.Watchoutforidiomaticwaysofsayingthings.Haveyoueverwonderedwhywesay,“IaminterestedinEnglish”,but“IamgoodatFrench”?AndhaveyoueveraskedyourselfwhynativeEnglishspeakerssay,“learnthenewsorsecret”,but“learnofsomeone’ssuccessorarrival”?Theseareallexamplesofidiomaticusage.InlearningEnglish,youmustpayattentionnotonlytothemeaningofaword,butalsotothewaynativespeakersuseitintheirdailylives.3.ListentoEnglisheveryday.ListeningtoEnglishonaregularbasiswillnotonlyimproveyourear,butwillalsohelpyoubuildyourspeakingskills.Inadditiontolanguagetapesespeciallypreparedforyourcourse,youcanalsolistentoEnglishradiobroadcasts,watchEnglishTV,andseeEnglishmovies.ThefirsttimeyoulistentoatapedconversationorpassageinEnglish,youmaynotbeabletocatchagreatdeal.Trytogetitsgeneralmeaningfirstandlistentoitoverandoveragain.Youwillfindthatwitheachrepetitionyouwillgetsomethingmore.4.Seizeopportunitiestospeak.ItistruethattherearefewsituationsatschoolwhereyouhavetocommunicateinEnglish,butyoucanseekoutopportunitiestopracticespeakingthelanguage.Talkingwithyourclassmates,forexample,canbeaneasyandenjoyablewaytogetsomepractice.Alsotrytofindnativespeakersonyourcampusandfeelfreetotalkwiththem.Perhapstheeasiestwaytopracticespeakingistorehearsealoud,sincethiscanbedoneatanytime,inanyplace,andwithoutapartner.Forinstance,youcanlookatpicturesorobjectsaroundyouandtrytodescribethemindetail.Youcanalsorehearseeverydaysituations.Afteryouhavemadeapurchaseinashoporfinishedamealinarestaurantandpaidthecheck,pretendthatallthishappenedinanEnglish-speakingcountryandtrytoactitoutinEnglish.5.Readwidely.Itisimportanttoreadwidelybecauseinourlearningenvironment,readingisthemainandmostreliablesourceoflanguageinput.Whenyouchoosereadingmaterials,lookforthingsthatyoufindinteresting,thatyoucanunderstandwithoutrelyingtoomuchonadictionary.Apageadayisagoodwaytostart.Asyougoon,youwillfindthatyoucandomorepagesadayandhandlematerialsatahigherlevelofdifficulty.6.Writeregularly.Writingisagoodwaytopracticewhatyoualreadyknow.Apartfromcompositionsassignedbyyourteacher,youmayfindyourownreasonsforwriting.Apenpalprovidesgoodmotivation;youwilllearnalotbytryingtocommunicatewithsomeonewhosharesyourinterests,butcomesfromadifferentculture.Otherwaystowriteregularlyincludekeepingadiary,writingashortstoryandsummarizingthedailynews.Languagelearningisaprocessofaccumulation.Itpaystoabsorbasmuchasyoucanfromreadingandlisteningandthentrytoputwhatyouhavelearnedintopracticethroughspeakingandwriting.Unit2SailingRoundtheWorldBeforehesailedroundtheworldsingle-handed,FrancisChichesterhadalreadysurprisedhisfriendsseveraltimes.Hehadtriedtoflyroundtheworldbutfailed.Thatwasin1931.Theyearspassed.Hegaveupflyingandbegansailing.Heenjoyeditgreatly.Chichesterwasalready58yearsoldwhenhewonthefirstsolotransatlanticsailingrace.Hisolddreamofgoingroundtheworldcameback,butthistimehewouldsail.Hisfriendsanddoctorsdidnotthinkhecoulddoit,ashehadlungcancer.ButChichesterwasdeterminedtocarryouthisplan.InAugust,1963,attheageofnearlysixty-five,anagewhenmanymenretire,hebeganthegreatestvoyageofhislife.Soon,hewasawayinthisnew16-metreboat,GipsyMoth.Chichesterfollowedtherouteofthegreatnineteenthcenturyclipperships.Buttheclippershadhadplentyofcrew.Chicheaterdiditallbyhimself,evenafterthemainsteeringdevicehadbeendamagedbygales.Chichestercovered14,100milesbeforestoppinginSydney,Australia.Thiswasmorethantwicethedistanceanyonehadpreviouslysailedalone.HearrivedinAustraliaon12December,just107daysoutfromEngland.HereceivedawarmwelcomefromtheAustraliansandfromhisfamilywhohadflowntheretomeethim.Onshore,Chichestercouldnotwalkwithouthelp.Everybodysaidthesamething:hehaddoneenough;hemustnotgoanyfurther.Buthedidnotlisten.AfterrestinginSydneyforafewweeks,Chichestersetoffoncemoreinspiteofhisfriends'attemptstodissuadehim.Thesecondhalfofhisvoyagewasbyfarthemoredangerouspart,duringwhichhesailedroundthetreacherousCapeHorn.On29JanuaryheleftAustralia.Thenextnight,theblackesthehadeverknown,theseabecamesoroughthattheboatalmostturnedover.Food,clothes,andbrokenglasswereallmixedtogether.Fortunately,bedandwenttosleep.Whenhewokeup,theseahadbecomecalmthenearestpersonhecouldcontactbyradio,unlesstherewasa