昨天其实是培训的第一天，只不过没有上课罢了，昨天进行了一系列(A Series Of)的英语测试，包括凯思英语测试、听力和写作、口语摸底测试，其中只有凯思测试当场能看到成绩，估计我的成绩不咋的，毕竟好久没有进行过这方面训练了，成绩单如下：
词汇能力：166
综合表达：198
听力理解：206
综合填空：155
总分：725
但正如一位同事所说，如果现在考得好，那么结业测试不就显不出来你有所进步了么，心想也对^_^。

今天是正是上课的第一天，大连的海风可真是凉，我们住的地方和大海就搁着一座山(听他们说的，我没去过^_^)，每天早晚都能感受到有些潮湿的海风从大海的那个方向吹来，吹在身上凉飕飕的，直起鸡皮疙瘩。

按照课程安排，今天第一节课是中教听力/写作课，老师是一位年轻的小伙，通过其自我介绍得知，他是大连海事大学的英语系研究生，曾经做过某大连媒体的英文频道记者，还给很多会议作过笔/口译。今天课上的主要内容是分析昨天我们的听力试题，通过分析找出我们目前的一些在听力方面的不足之处。有以下几点建议：
(1) 一定要把每个词都听出来，这是你训练的目标；
(2) 自己练习听力时要学会自问自答，当听完一段短文或者对话，要问自己几个问题，看自己是否听明白了；
(3) 注意收集各种语音现象，如美音中常见的连读。

下面是一些课上的细节：
如何听英文中的数字和年月日？
老师建议在最初训练听英文数字时要学会做’笔记’，比如听到一个数字是1, 234, 567, 890，我们知道英文中的一些单位包括billion、million、thousand等都是3位一升级的，我们听的时候很是不适应。所以当我们听到上面的数字时，我们可以做如下笔记：1B 234M 567T 890，这样我们可以顺利的将这个笔记理解为：one billion, two hundred and thirty-four million, five hundred and sixty-seven thousand , eight hundred and ninty。关于英语年月日的记法则更是多种多样：举几个有代表性的年份吧：
1900 — nineteen hundred
1905 — nineteen o five
1940 — nineteen forty
2000 — two thousand
2006 — two thousand and six
2056 — two thousand and fifty-six or twenty fifty-six

还有一种语音现象值得我们注意，如thirty, starting等，以startling为例，其音标为/sta:tig/，这里辅音/t/夹在元音/a:/和元音/i/之间，而且后面的元音为非重读音节，这样在读这个单词时，你会听到发类似/sta:lig/的发音，而不是/sta:tig/，同理thirty也是如此，其最后的t发类似/l/的音。

我们的外教是一位光头的伦敦小伙子Alex，他自报家门出身于London University之Royal Holloway College，今年年方27，曾经供职于Bank Of England，一个相当于China Central Bank的英国银行，他所学专业为Electronic And Finance。之所以来中国是因为他自己觉得在年轻的时候应该多做些more risk的事情，在朋友的劝说下来到了中国。他说他喜欢大连，因为大连干净、环境优美，另外一点就是大连比较新，白领人士多，文化层次高。

他首先讲了我们这120学时课程的大致内容包括：
.Speech(Presetation)
.Group Discussion
.Responding to unexpected question
.Knowledge & Skill

之后告诉我们说英语的一些注意事项：
.Tone
.Body language
.Justifying opinion
.Empathy / audience

After that，Alex突然问了我一个问题：Which color do you like? 我慌忙回答：Both white and blue are my favorite. Alex马上继续问Why? Why do you like these two colors? 我回答：They are simple and make me feel comfortable, I think. Alex问这个问题的目的就是想告诉我们当一个西方人问你问题时，你在给出你的答案的同时，你也最好Justify Your Opinion，给出这么回答的原因，否则西方人会继续追问你原因的。

接下来Alex给了我们几个Topic，让我们发表看法，Such as the following issues:
. Introduce your partners.
. Tell us the biggest mistake or regret you have done before.
. Tell us something about your company or your job.

话题结束后，Alex根据他在中国的一些教学经验，给我们纠正了/s/和/θ/的发音，如果你能读出下面这些单词，如these，sees，sings，things，并且让你的同伴正确判断出你在读哪个单词，那你的发音就该没问题了。

Idioms在口语中也是很重要的，按Alex的计划在整个培训过程中，将会介绍60个左右最常用的Idioms，Idioms不同于Slang，Idioms是整个英语语言国家通用的一些表达方式，而Slang则是各个英语国家特有的，其他国家的人听不懂的表达法。

.Take A Shot = take a try. [Ex.] Don’t worry. Take a shot.
.Piece of cake = Easy  [Ex.] English is a piece of cake (for me).

我们的教材是’新视野大学视听说’教程，对这本教材的第一印象还是不错的。下节课开始学习这本教材。

脱口而出，’不耻下问’乃英语学习之真精神也，这里我们要学习一些经典的’问句’。

一、How …?

1、How about …?
How about taking a walk?
How about parking here?
How about going for a trip?

2、How do you like … ?
How do you like living in China?
How do you like your new job?
How do you like my new car?

3、How much should I pay for …?
How much should I pay for the hotel room?
– Actually, it’s free.

4、How often do you …?
How often do you go on a vocation?
– I never had a chance to go on a vocation.

How often do you eat out?
– I eat out all the time. I hate to cook.

5、How can you …? (带有强烈个人感情色彩)
How can you stand such terrible weather?
How can you stand her nagging all the time?
How can you stand the pressure here?

How can you treat me like that?
How can you do such a stupid thing?
– I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking I guess.

6、How come …? (!其后接正常语序)
How come he failed the exam ? Isn’t he the best student in the class?
How come you never visit us any more?
How come I have to go to bed so early?

7、How long have you been …?
How long have you been learning English?
How long have you been in China?
How long have you been feeling like this?

How long have you been married?
How long have you been working here?
How long have you been a computer programmer?
How long have you been having this dream?
How long have you been waiting here?
How long have you been collecting stamps?
How long have you been a football fan?

8、How long will it take …?
How long will it take to get there?
How long will it take to make a million dollars?
How long will it take to rebuild New York city?
How long will it take to finish the project?
How long will it take to conquer English?
How long will it take to fly from Beijing to New York?

9、How do you know … ?
How do you know I can’t do it?
How do you know it won’t work?
How do you know which stocks to buy?
How do you know my name?

10、How are you getting along with …?
How are you getting along with your roommate?
How are you getting along with your colleagues?
How are you getting along with your new girlfriend?
How are you getting along with your new boss?
– OK, I guess. I really don’t see him that much.

二、What …?

1、What about …?
What about your future?
What about the new restaurant?
What about going together?

2、What else …?
What else can I do for you?
What else have you heard?
What else do yo want to know?

3、What kind of …?
What kind of person do you think you are?
What kind of fool do you think I am?
What kind of movie do you like?

What kind of girl do you like?
– I like a loving, considerate, intelligent girl who is confident and knows what she want to do with her life.

4、What do you think … ?
What do you think I should do ?
What do you think you wants?
What do you think America will do to fight the terrorism?

What do you think the chances are of my passing the TOEFL exam?
– I think that your chances are good. You’ve been preparing for a long time and I’ve noticed a big improvment in your spoken English.

5、What would you like to…?
What would you like to know?
What would you like to do next?
What would you like to drink?

6、What do you think of …?
What do you think of China so far?
– Amazing!/Pretty good!

What do you think of her new boyfriend?
– I think he is easy-going, handsome, but stupid.

7、What’s wrong with …?
What’s wrong with George W. Bush?
What’s wrong with this world?
What’s wrong with your phone?

What’s wrong with the computer?
– It’s a cheap piece of junk.

8、What’s your favorite … ?
What’s your favorite food?
What’s your favorite kind of music?

9、What seems to be the problem with … ?
What seems to be the problem with your sister? She looks very upset this morning.

10、What makes/made you … ?
What made you so angry?
What makes you think he did it?
What makes you so motivated?

What makes you say that?
– I’ve been studying English for years. I know what I am talking about.

What makes you do such stupid things?
– I don’t know. I can’t control myself. I don’t want to do stupid things but I just can’t help it.

三、Why …?

1、Why didn’t you …?
Why didn’t you wait for me?
Why didn’t you tell me?
Why didn’t you buy it?

Why didn’t you say something earlier?
Why didn’t you call me?
– I’m terribly sorry. I slipped my mind.

2、Why don’t we just … ?
Why don’t we just have dinner together somewhere this Saturday?

3、Why do you think …?
Why do you think(What makes you think) Guangzhou is a bad place to live?

4、Why do you have to …? (有质问的语气)
Why do you have to tell her the truth?
Why do you have to leave so early?
– I have an early appointment tomorrow morning.

5、Why is it that…?
Why is it that I have had nightmares all these nights?
– Maybe you shouldn’t eat so much chocolate before bedtime.

四、When …?

1、When are you going to …?
When are you going to buy a new house?
When are you going to ask your boss for a raise?

2、When would you like to …?
When would you like to place an order?
– I’m not sure. I still need some time to think it over.

3、When do you want me to …?
When do you want me to have ready for you?
When do you want me to report for work tomorrow?

4、When could you possibly …?
When could you possibly finish this?
When could you possibly let me know the result?
– We will let you know the result as soon as possible.

5、When will it be convenient for you to …?
When will it be convenient for you to arrange an interview for me?
When will it be convenient for you to come to my office?