My teachers suggested that I see a speech specialist (專(zhuān)家) in school.
I never really gave much thought to my speech. If other people understood what I was saying, then that was good enough. I didn’t mind repeating myself many times.
Before testing me, the speech specialist asked me what I thought of having good speech. I told her I thought it was not important.
“Well, when you are in an interview for a job, and they don’t know what you are saying, what are they going to say to you? Nice meeting you, bye,” she said.
Maybe good speech was important. I took part in 20-minute classes each week with the specialist.
After she tested me, she told me that I spoke too fast, and didn’t give enough eye contact (眼神交流). I learned that when I made eye contact with someone, it meant that I was talking to that person, and I could also see what he or she thought about what I was saying.
When my first speech class started, I found that I had been speaking too fast to be understood. Every time I spoke too fast, the specialist stopped me and told me to start again. At first, I got stopped after almost every other sentence. After a while, I felt my speech slow down. I wasn’t sure if people could understand me better, but my friends stopped asking me to repeat myself.
Speech is an important skill to have. If you do have good speech, that’s a good thing, but if you don’t have it, it is never too late to improve.
【小題1】The article is probably taken from       .

On my first job, I worked as a sports editor for a small newspaper. I never got a letter from my readers, so I was 　3l that there was an envelope（信封）on my desk one morning. From the 　32 , I could see it was from a most popular newspaper.

When I opened it, I found a note and it read, “You did a good job. Go on!”

The note was 　33 by Mr. John, a famous sports editor. As I was a green hand（新手）, his words made me 　34 . After that, I kept the note in my desk drawer. Whenever I doubted
35 I had the ability to be a good editor(編輯) , I would read John’s note and become
36 again.

Later, when I made friends with Mr. John, the note writer, I learned that he often wrote notes to 　37 young people in many fields. “When I make 　38 feel happy,” he told me, “I feel happy, too.”
　 　39 , why are there few note writers like John in our life? In my 　40 , many people are afraid that they cannot be well understood. Also, writing takes more time and it is not
41 to pick up the phone. The problem with phone calls is that they cannot 　42 a long time, but a note is a good way of record and our words can be read 　43 .

So, when you find some people around you need 　44 , please write a note of encouragement to bring them more confidence. Maybe, you are not sure what will
45 , but remember Mr. John’s words—making others feel happy makes you happy, too.

(　 ) 31. A. certain　 　　　　 B. sure　　　 　　 C. surprised　　 　　 D. frightened

(　 ) 32. A. calendar 　　　　　 B. envelope　 　　　 C. book　　　　 　　 D. photo

(　 ) 33. A. signed　 　　　　　 B. picked　 　　　　　 C. copied　　　 　 D. practiced

(　 ) 34. A. unhappy 　　　　 B. sleepy　　 　　　 C. excited　　　　 D. sad

(　 ) 35. A. why　 　　　　　 B. that　　　　 　　 C. what　　　　 　　 D. whether

(　 ) 36. A. serious 　　　　　 B. confident　 　　　 C. strict　　 　　　　 D. humorous

(　 ) 37. A. expect 　　　　　　 B. describe　　 　　 C. introduce　　 　　 D. encourage

(　 ) 38. A. other 　　　　　　 B. the other　　 　　 C. others　　 　　　 D. the others

(　 ) 39. A. But　 　　　　　　　 B. However　 　　　 C. Therefore　　 　　 D. Actually

(　 ) 40. A. opinion 　　　　　　 B. advice　　 　　 C. idea　　　　 　　 D. decision

(　 ) 41. A. stronger 　　　　 B. weaker　 　　　　 C. harder　　　　 　 D. better

(　 ) 42. A. wait　 　　　　　　 B. last　　　 　　　　 C. stop　　　　 　　 D. rest

(　 ) 43. A. once 　　　　　　　 B. only once　 　　　 C. more than once 　 D. less than once

(　 ) 44.A. thanks 　　　　　　 B. truth　　 　　　　 C. trouble　　　　 D. help

(　 ) 45. A. happen 　　　　　 B. matter　　 　　 C. turn　　　　 　　 D. hold