HOW WE LEARN @])q
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Students in your class are different from one another in many ways. You all have different personalities, abilities and physical appearance. In other aspects you have a lot in common. Certainly you are the same age and same nationality, and you probably have some similar hobbies and interests. You are also all at school and attend the same classes. But do you know that although you are studying the same subjects, you might be learning them in different ways?  @GYM4T  
Learning style theory suggests that different people have different ways of obtaining information and use various methods to demonstrate their intelligence and ability. PT|W{RlNl  
Although experts have many ideas and categories of learning, it is evident that people learn in three basic styles: learning through seeing, learning through listening and learning through doing. > @ulvHL  
When learning something new, if you prefer to read the information, you are probably a student who learns through seeing. These learners like to see the teacher's facial expressions and body language clearly and tend to sit at the front of the classroom. They take detailed notes, think in pictures and can most easily absorb information from textbooks with diagrams, graphs, photographs and drawings. 7 3k3(r
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Students who find it easiest to learn a new concept by hearing a teacher explain it are learning through listening. Reading aloud, using a tape recorder, hearing anecdotes and talking things through are the best methods for these learners to acquire new information. They give close attention to both the content of the discussion and the way that things are said, such as how the sound of the voice and speed of speech show the mood of the speaker. %cD7}o:u  
Learning through doing means being active exploring the environment and finding out about things by moving and touching. Students who have this learning style take a hands-on approach to education and enjoy doing experiments or surveys. They do not like to sit still for long periods of time and sometimes find it hard to concentrate when reading or listening. &Q^ M[X  
Teachers study people's various ways of learning as part of their training. They select a variety of activities to suit their student's different learning styles. However, restrictions of time, space and resources often make it impossible for teachers to provide the best exercise for all learners. )#r]x1[Kn  
If you are aware of your own learning style, there is a lot you can do personally to improve your study skills and find the most appropriate ways to approach your study tasks. As a result, you will be able to manage your own learning and study more effectively.

Part 1 l7=WO#Pb  
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J:Good morning, I saw your advertisement in the paper for Chinese courses and I dropped by to get some more information. vy330SQPo  
T: Great, which course are you interested in - General Chinese or Business Chinese? Arb-,[kwN  
J: Well, I'm not sure, what's the difference between them? Z}'"c9oB  
T:The General Chinese course is for beginners. It covers everyday situations - you know, shopping, booking tickets, ordering food in a restaurant, things like that. It's quite popular with people intending to visit China for a holiday. *z A1NH5  
J:I see, so is it mainly Chinese conversation, or does it include learning to read and write as well? LAwAFma>  
T:It mainly deals with spoken Chinese, but students do learn to recognise about 300 characters - enough to read simple passages. \hwz;V.J"  
J: Mmm, and the Business Chinese course? 
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T:That's a more intense course for people who need to use Chinese for business. Most of the students work for corporations who have projects in China. It teaches a specialised vocabulary that's used in meetings, reports, letters and so on. There's a lot of speaking practice in this course too, but it places more stress on developing reading and writing skills than the General Chinese course. UE9r1g`z  
J: Is it suitable for beginners? ES#K'Lf  
T:Well, some beginners do choose this course, but they find the workload quite tough. I suggest you take the General Chinese course first because most students find it helps them to have a basic knowledge of the language before they start. iE$/ Rcp  
J: I see. And what about the cost?... [fade out]

Part 2 0 vz!)  
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Hello everyone, thanks for coming. Well, we all know that exams are stressful and cause anxiety. Today, I'm going to explain what happens to your body when you feel anxious, and then give you some advice that might be helpful to you. 'P >h2^z  
To start with, it's important to understand that anxiety is a normal, natural response to stress or fear, and in fact it's quite useful. Anxiety causes physical changes which prepare your body and mind to face challenges. So feeling anxious about an exam is okay and actually helps you to perform well. M#]URS2h<O  
Anxiety becomes a problem, however, if you experience it too frequently or over a long period of time. In this situation, it becomes difficult to concentrate and you may find you get upset easily or lose confidence. It's also common to suffer from extreme tiredness and to have difficulty sleeping. Now, I recommend a 3-step approach to beat anxiety: Firstly, use breathing exercises to reduce your body's physical stress. Secondly, use positive thinking methods to calm your mind and improve your concentration, and thirdly, plan your study schedule using the "eating an Elephant" approach. q}7(w$&  
What do I mean? Well, if I asked you to eat an elephant, you'd probably feel you couldn't do it. You'd start to worry, feel stressed and experience anxiety. But if I gave you an elephant steak - say, about this size - could you eat it? &uv7`VT  
Yes, so eating an elephant is easy if you cut it into smaller pieces and just eat one piece at a time. And when you study you should "cut up" your workload into small pieces and concentrate on one piece at a time, rather than the "whole elephant". Ok, let's look at each of the 3 steps in more detail...[fade out]

DISANCE LEARNING BR6HD7G  
Distance learning is being adopted in several countries to help children in remote rural schools, and it is also becoming increasingly popular with individuals as a means of obtaining higher or further education. While distance learning is a very different experience from attending a university or college, it does have several advantages and can be ideal for people in particular circumstances and with certain characteristics. Distance learning students do not need to be in the same place as the course provider. They can even be in different country. M(^IRI-  
As a result, the cost is usually much lower than attending a university or college. Students can also take as long as they want to complete the course, so they can organize their study while they are working. Many distance learners even continue to do a full-time job. 50S*_4R  
Distance learning allows students the freedom to arrange their own study schedule, but the disadvantage of it is that many students tend to put off their study tasks and spend much longer on their course. dZ,7q_r,~  
Distance learners never meet the other students or teachers face to face - so they have to motivate themselves to complete projects without encouragement and advice from other people. While students who attend college or university are able to acquire information from lectures, distance learners usually depend only on written materials. a<pEVV\NB~  
To be successful, distance learners have to be good readers. They must be able to analyse and absorb written texts with little help from a teacher. U$ZbBVa`~  
Because distance learners are not in the academic environment of a university, they have to discipline themselves while studying. For example, students with children may be disturbed by their children from time to time. Other features of campus life that distance learners cannot experience are the lively social and sports activities. ]w8h# p  
Therefore distance learning would not suit people who wee further or higher education as an opportunity to make friends and have fun as well as to study.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR MEMORY JL_(%._J  
Have you ever heard anyone say "I have a terrible memory"? It is quite common for people to believe that their difficulties in remembering are just part of their personality. In fact, research has proved that human beings' memories are surprisingly similar and our ability to remember can easily be improved. ,Z|O y|+'  
The German philosopher Hermann Ebbinghaus carried out one of the earliest studies of human memory, which resulted in the "Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve". His experiments were conducted in 1885, but his conclusions still apply to students today. KD#zsL)3  
Ebbinghaus discovered that when we learn something new, we forget most of it immediately. He found that more than 50% of the information is forgotten after one hour, and almost two-thirds within one day. iU.` TqR7  
The good news is that our rate of forgetting then declines, so the material we can recall after one day (usually about 20%) will stay in our memory. t#M[w|5?  
Ebbinghaus then carried out experiments to see if reciting made a difference to our ability to remember. It is evident that reciting the information just once increases how much we can recall to about 66%, and we remember it for several weeks. This rate is even higher if the facts or ideas are "meaningful", and further reciting keeps the material permanently in our memories. As we forget most new information within one day, the first recitation should take place as soon as possible - no later than 24 hours after learning it. LL:N/1ysG  
Although Ebbinghaus referred to "reciting", many educators today prefer to use the term "to review". t`&mszd~T  
The reason for this is that learners frequently misunderstand what effective reciting involves.  U'b}%[  
Take language learning an example: students often tend to recite lists of single vocabulary items, rather than to review them in a context. If you try doing this, you will find that you do remember a lot of words, but you will not understand how to use them appropriately. A more useful method is to use the new vocabulary by describing or retelling the main ideas of the text, presentation or discussion in your own words. In the way, you "review" or "recite" the vocabulary in a context, so the information becomes "meaningful" and you will remember much more.

Within a few decades, a quarter of China's population will be aged 60 or over. As a result, there will be fewer full-time workers between the age of 20 and 65 to support the older people and children in the society. As the age distribution of the population changes, education will become increasingly important as a means of improving the health and employment opportunities of older people. jo"nK,r  
It will also help strengthen family relationships and the sense of community. QgU]3`z"  
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The Ministry of Education introduced the first University of the Third Age (UTA) in Shandong in 1983. There are now about 17,000 UTAs in China providing a wide-ranging curriculum to about 1.4 million older people. ]&]G  
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When the age restriction for the University Entrance Exams was lifted in 2001, several older people, including a 73-year-old Shandong man, signed up to take the test. Bdh*[S\u@E  
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In the autumn of 2004, business woman Liu Fuzhen joined her 14-year-old son at Yincai Junior Middle School in Lingshai as a full-time member of second grade class. It is 23 years since Mme Liu dropped out of school to help her family through financial difficulties by finding work. Having set up a successful property business, Mme Liu has now decided to pursue her childhood ambition of completing high school and attending university.

Dialogue 1: Conversation during dinner between Rachel and older male guest. !+PrgIp>  
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MG: Miss Verinder, my congratulations to you on your birthday gift. The diamond is beautiful and it looks very pretty on your dress. QAV6{QShj  
Rl: Thank you, it is lovely, isn't it? {:gx*4}q8  
MG: Yes, but may I give you some advice? If you go to India, do not take your diamond. I_ZJnu<  
R: Why not? .4CDQ&B0K  
MG: You know that it came from India. Well, many people in that country would like to have it back and they would do anything to get it - even kill someone. You must be very careful of your safety, even in England. I suggest you put it into a safe at the bank and do not wear it. 1$T`j2s  
R: But it seems a pity to lock it away where nobody can see it. I want to show it to everyone!

Dialogue 2: Conversation between Rosanna and another female servant during the service of dinner. 2.niB>  
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R: And he has such lovely rich brown hair... N~8H\   
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S: Rosanna, pay attention! What's the matter with you tonight? Why do you keep looking at Mr Blake? vnvpb! @Q  
R: Oh, I can't help it! N,Ma\D+^t  
S: Rosanna, listen to me. You must stop dreaming. It is no good falling in love with Mr Blake. You are a servant girl and he could never marry you. Besides he seems to be very fond of Rachel. )xV37]  
R: I know and she is so beautiful, but maybe... vw2E$ya  
S: No, it can never happen. You must face the truth. Now go and get the meat from the cook...

Dialogue 3: Conversation during dinner between Franklin and Mr Candy. !OY}`a(z  
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F: I gave up smoking last week, but since I stopped I haven't been able to sleep. z)U7  
C: Ah, yes. Well, allow me to recommend a medicine that can make you fall asleep Mr Blake. Gj-nTN  
F: Ha! You doctors! Most of the time you just guess which medicine to use. 'UWkJ2:!  
C: Sir, you are talking about my profession! OVDuF&0  
F: Profession? No, you medical people are not professionals; you don't really know what you are doing. You cannot help me. I must just wait until I get better. >FwK_Zd'  
C: You are wrong Mr Blake. You are making a mistake. You should go to see a doctor.

A: Mum! Mum! Come here! $bD`B'5  
M: Goodness Andrew, what's the matter? W"*2,R[}%  
A: I'm making a list of everything we need to do for my wedding party. Q)y5'u qZ  
M: Oh er, yes dear. u;]xAr1  
A: First of all: I want to invite all our relatives and friends - I'll leave that to you. Make sure you send the invitations early and write RSVP on them, that means they should let us know if they accept or decline. I hope everyone can come. Then we need find a restaurant and sort out the food and wine. It will have to be a splendid banquet - only the best is good enough for my Sophie. Dad can do all that. ML MetRP  
M: Mmn. +zd/<  
A: 'invitations, food and wine', Oh yes, you can organise the music, it should be pretty easy. Just find the most popular entertainers in town and hire them.  'entertainers: Mum'. OK, we need a luxury car to bring Sophie and I to the restaurant. Tell Dad to make enquiries about what is available... Mum, are you listening? 3u/A qL  
M: Yes, dear. 3z, Ci$[  
A: While you do all that I will go shopping for my clothes. I must look elegant so they will have to be top quality. I'll need your assistance Mum because I don't have enough money... a|=^   
M: Er... S6_:\Q  
... and I want a beautiful wedding ring for Sophie. You'll have to pay for that too - get the most expensive one in the shop. Oh Sophie will be delighted! Ll-QhcC$  
M: Andrew... there's just one thing... ^H7xFd|>  
A: What? UKZ)Bo o  
M: Your girlfriend is called Maria!