Many people always say that listening to spoken English is too hard for them. But if you don’t understand what people are saying, how can you talk with them? It may be difficult, but learning by listening is necessary.

As we know, different people have different pronunciations of the same word. Standard pronunciation is important for English speaking as well as for listening. In China, people from one area may not understand what people from another area are saying because of the different Chinese dialects (方言). Standard Chinese pronunciation can help people from different places understand each other easily.

It is the same as English. If your pronunciation is not standard, it is hard for other people to understand you.

If you want to learn how to listen to English, the following ways are helpful.

Get some good books with tapes. Do the exercises, from the simple to the difficult, step by step.

You can also watch English-language films and TV programs, listen to English-language radio.

Try to listen every day, even if only a few minutes. At first you may understand few words. Don’t give up. Just listen.

Remember to read and speak English every day. It will help you to listen better, spend an hour reading English every day. Finally you will notice that you are making progress.

Talk to English-speaking foreigners as often as possible. Foreigners will speak slowly with you, use simple words, and use body language to help you understand them. Don’t be afraid to talk to them. They won’t mind if you have trouble because they may have more trouble making themselves understood in Chinese.

We often dine out with others, but do you know some basic etiquette（礼节）? If you behave well at the table, it will make your partners happy. But if you don't know how to behave yourself, you will feel embarrassed. Here are some tips for the table etiquette.

When helping a woman pull her chair to the table, hold it and guide it. Don't shove（碰撞）it against the back of her legs. If you're seated at a table with eight or fewer guests, wait for everyone to be served and for the hostess（女主人）to begin eating before you dig in. At a long banquet table, it's OK to start when several people are seated and served.

If you prefer not to have wine while dining out, don't turn your glass upside down, and don't make a big deal of saying you don't drink. Simply place your fingertips on the rim（边缘）of the glass and say “Not today, thanks.”

When you excuse yourself to go to the restroom, just say “Please excuse me.”

When out with friends or family—even at a fancy restaurant—it's OK to ask for your leftovers（吃剩的饭菜）to be wrapped. But don't do it at a business lunch or dinner.

Information Card

If you do not use your arms or legs for a long time, they become weak. When you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. Everybody knows that. But many people do not know that memory works in the same way.

When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by using it. When someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it a chance to become strong.

If a friend says that his arms and legs are weak, we know that it is his own fault(过错). But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame (负责), and few of us know that it is just his own fault.

Have you ever noticed that some people who can’t read or write usually have better memories? This is because they can’t read or write and they have to remember things with their mind – they can’t write them down in a little notebook. They have to remember days, names, songs and stories, so they are always exercising their memories.

So if you want to have a good memory, learn from those people: practice remembering.