Public Speaking and Critical thinkingWhat is ...

Public Speaking and Critical thinking

What is critical thinking? To a certain degree, it's a matter of logic -- of being able to spot weakness in other people's arguments and to avoid them in your own. It also includes related skills such as distinguishing fact from opinion and assessing the soundness of evidence.

In the broad sense, critical thinking is focused, organized thinking -- the ability to see clearly the relationships among ideas. ___. The greatest thinkers, scientists, and inventors have often taken information that was really available and put it together differently to produce new ideas.That, too, is critical thinking.

__　　 _. As the class goes on, for example, you will probably spend a good deal of time organizing your speeches. While this may seem like a purely mechanical (机械的) exercise, it is closely connected with critical thinking. If the structure of your speech is loose and confused, chances are that your thinking is also disordered and confused. If, on the other hand, the structure is clear, there is a good chance your thinking is too. Organizing a speech is not just a matter of arranging your ideas you already have. ____.

What is true of organization is true of many aspects of public speaking. ____. As you work on expressing your ideas in clear accurate language, you will improve your ability to think clearly and accurately. __　　　 As you learn to listen critically to speeches in class, you will be better able to assess the ideas of speakers in a variety of situations.

If you take full advantage of your speech class, you will be able to develop your skills as a critical thinker in many circumstances. This is one reason public speaking has been regarded as a vital part of education since the days of ancient Greece.

A. Rather, it is an important part of shaping the ideas themselves.

B. This may seem take a lot of time, but the rewards are well worth it.

C. It may also help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech.

D. It has often been said that there are few new ideas in the world, only reorganized ideas.

E. If you are wondering what this has to do with your public speaking class, the answer is quite a lot.

F. The skills you learn in your speech class can help you become a more effective thinker in a number of ways.

G. As you study the role of evidence and reasoning in speechmaking, you will see how they can be used in other forms of communication as well.

高二英语其他题困难题查看答案及解析

University graduates should develop such skills as critical thinking, and inter-personal communication, ________ are important in personal development.

A. which are believed by the manager that

B. which are believed by the manager

C. which the manager believes that

D. which the manager believes

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Knowing office rules— whether _______ or not—is critical, particular for young job seekers.

A. written     B. writing    C. being written   D. having been written

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

What is critical thinking? To a certain degree, it's a matter of logic -- of being able to spot weakness in other people's arguments and to avoid them in your own. It also includes related skills such as distinguishing fact from opinion and assessing the soundness of evidence.

In the broad sense, critical thinking is focused, organized thinking -- the ability to see clearly the relationships among ideas. 1.__. The greatest thinkers, scientists, and inventors have often taken information that was really available and put it together differently to produce new ideas. That, too, is critical thinking.

_2._. As the class goes on, for example, you will probably spend a good deal of time organizing your speeches. While this may seem like a purely mechanical (机械的) exercise, it is closely connected with critical thinking. If the structure of your speech is loose and confused, chances are that your thinking is also disordered and confused. If, on the other hand, the structure is clear, there is a good chance your thinking is too. Organizing a speech is not just a matter of arranging your ideas you already have. 3.___.

What is true of organization is true of many aspects of public speaking. _4._. As you work on expressing your ideas in clear accurate language, you will improve your ability to think clearly and accurately. __5.　　 As you learn to listen critically to speeches in class, you will be better able to assess the ideas of speakers in a variety of situations.

If you take full advantage of your speech class, you will be able to develop your skills as a critical thinker in many circumstances. This is one reason public speaking has been regarded as a vital part of education since the days of ancient Greece.

A．Rather, it is an important part of shaping the ideas themselves.

B．This may seem take a lot of time, but the rewards are well worth it.

C．It may also help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech.

D．It has often been said that there are few new ideas in the world, only reorganized ideas.

E . If you are wondering what this has to do with your public speaking class, the answer is quite a lot.

F. The skills you learn in your speech class can help you become a more effective thinker in a number of ways.

G. As you study the role of evidence and reasoning in speechmaking, you will see how they can be used in other forms of communication as well.

高二英语信息匹配中等难度题查看答案及解析

Almost everyone is afraid of something --- snakes, heights, public speaking and so on.

It is normal and can even be helpful to experience fear sometimes. In dangerous situations, fear can keep our bodies alert (警醒的) so that we can act quickly to protect ourselves.

But for some people, fear develops into a “phobia”, which is a strong and unreasonable fear of something. For example, the majority of us feel a little scared when looking down from a tall building. But people with height phobia may have trouble breathing, feel dizzy or turn down a great job just because the company is on the 20th floor.

Phobias can prevent you from living a normal life. “People with spider phobia would stay out of their home or dormitory room for days if they thought a spider was present,” Katherina Hauner, a researcher at Northwestern University, US, told ABC news. This is why scientists have been trying to find a cure for this disease.

Since fear comes from experience --- from what we are told, what we see others experience and what happens to us --- some scientists think if they can “rewrite” these unpleasant memories, they might be able to help people overcome their phobias.

In a study by Hauner and other scientists, participants with spider phobia were asked to first touch a spider with a paintbrush. Seeing that it was not actually dangerous, they then tried touching it while wearing a glove. Finally, they could hold it with their hands.

Certain medicine has also been found to be helpful. Back in 2010, researchers at the University of Hiroshima, Japan, injected (注射) a special medicine into a fish --- who was afraid of light --- to turn off the fear center in its brain. From then on, the fish no longer feared light.

While the search for solutions to phobias is making great progress, it’s an open question whether getting rid of fear is good. Some people want to use these methods to make soldiers fight harder in wars by taking away their sense of fear. Dave Smithson of the charity Anxiety UK thinks that’s a bad idea. “It’s fear that prevents us from doing crazy things,” he says. “There’s a name for people who don’t have fear of consequences: psychopaths (精神变态者).

1.The main point of the article is to ___________.

A. show us what kind of role fear plays in our lives

B. discuss if it is good to try to get rid of fear

C. inform us of fear and phobia

D. discuss scientific studies related to fear

2.How does the writer make the meaning of “phobia” clear?

A. By making comparisons.                                     B. By giving examples.

C. By giving data in numbers.                               D. By giving descriptions.

3.Which of the following shows the progress scientists have made in finding solutions to phobia?

A. New medicine can shut off fear centers in animal brains whenever needed.

B. They can use phobias to keep our bodies alert so that we can protect ourselves.

C. They can now reduce the pain which is connected with phobia.

D. They have succeeded in helping some people ignore memories related to phobia.

4.Which of the following would Dave Smithson probably agree with?

A. There is nothing to fear except fear itself.

B. We should not let fear affect our decisions.

C. Fear is not a completely bad thing.

D. Without fear, everyone would be brave.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

When speaking in public, it is important to _____ your message _____ and keep the attention of your audience.

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

Nowadays, there seems little room for traditional literature, but skills like writing or critical thinking actually ________ promise for opening doors to good entry-level jobs.

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Critical Reading

Critical reading applies to non-fiction writing in which the author puts forth a position or seeks to make a statement. Critical reading is active reading. 1. . Here are the things you should do to be a critical reader.

Consider the context of what is written.

You may be reading something that was written by an author from a different cultural context than yours. Or, you may be reading something written some time ago in a different time context than yours. 2..

Question opinions made by the author.

Don't accept what is written at face value. 3. . Look for facts, examples, and statistics that provide support. Also, look to see if the author has involved the work of authorities.

4..

Assumptions are whatever the author must believe is true in order to propose opinions. However, in many cases, you must read carefully in order to identify any indirect assumption. Once you identify an assumption, you must decide whether or not the assumption is valid.

Evaluate the sources the author uses.

In doing this, be certain that the sources are credible as well as relevant. 5. . For example, studies done by Einstein in the early 20th century may not be appropriate if the writer is discussing the current state of knowledge in physics.

A. Analyze assumptions made by the author

B. What is written may very well reflect the author’s position

C. Before accepting it, be certain that the author provides abundant support for any view made

D. Look to see that what is written is consistent with what others have written about the subject

E. It involves questioning, evaluating and forming your own ideas about what the author is saying

F.　 Moreover, if the author is writing about a subject in its current state, be sure that the sources are current

G. In either case, you must take into account any differences between your values and attitudes and the author’s

高二英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析

Women, as all research suggests, are far more critical of their appearance than men. Most of them are likely to feel dissatisfied with their reflection in the mirror.

It is quite possible that men looking in the mirror are either pleased with what they see or indifferent. Research shows that men generally have a much more positive body-image than women---if anything, they may tend to over-estimate their attractiveness. Some men looking in the mirror may literally not see the flaws in their appearance.

Why are women so much more self-critical than men? Because women are judged more on their appearance than men, and standards of female beauty are considerably higher and more inflexible. Women are continually bombarded (轰炸) with images of the “ideal” face. And constant exposure to idealized images of female beauty on TV, magazines and billboards makes exceptional good looks seem normal and anything short of perfection seem abnormal and ugly.  It has been estimated that young women now see more images of outstandingly beautiful women in one day than our mothers saw throughout their entire adolescence.

Also, most women trying to achieve the impossible standards of female beauty have in fact become progressively more unrealistic during the last century. In 1917, the physically perfect woman was about 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed nearly 10 stone. Even 25 years ago, top models and beauty queens weighed only 8% less than the average women, now they weigh 23% less. The current media ideal for women is achievable by less than 5% of the female population---and that’s just in terms of weight and size. If you want the ideal shape, face etc., it’s probably more like 1%.

1.The passage is mainly to _____________.

A．compare different views on beauty between women and men

B．tell us that standards of female beauty are very high

C．explain why women are more critical of their appearance than men

D．show us that women pay more attention to their appearance than men

2.Which of the following is NOT the reason why women are more critical of their appearance?

A．People pay more attention to their appearance than men’s.

B．The criterion (标准；准则) used to judge women’s beauty is more critical and less changeable.

C．Idealized images of female beauty are constantly shown in different media.

D．Women tend to pursue perfection by nature.

3.Which statement is true about men?

A．Few men will feel pleased when they are looking themselves in the mirror.

B．Men looking in the mirror usually ignore the flaws in their appearance.

C．It is likely that men will consider themselves more attractive than they really are.

D．Men don’t care about their body image.

4.Nowadays, if an average woman weighs 110 pounds, then a physically perfect woman should weigh about _________.

A．85 pounds         B．101 pounds        C．90 pounds         D．135 pounds

5.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Most women try to achieve the standards of beauty.

B．The standards of female beauty. in the past were more easily achieved than today.

C．Women are more unrealistic in their pursuit of beauty than men.

D．Less than 5% of the female population can achieve the current media ideal for women.

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

Public speaking is a common cause of stress for everyone. The idea of standing in front of a large group with all eyes on you can make you feel fearful in almost all kinds of situation, for example giving a presentation in class, proposing a toast at dinner or making a work-related presentation. It seems to be a fear that’s impossible to overcome. If you have ever experienced this, you know while the anxiety may develop at the actual event, it is a feeling that begins much earlier than the actual day. There are many ways you can work on your confidence and prepare yourself for a public speaking event.

A consultant specializing (专门研究) in presentation skills can help you to overcome your sense of panic. Working with a consultant does not indicate that you have a major problem; it is only an approach to receiving guidance on relaxation strategies, such as deep breathing, which can help you deal with public speaking problems with ease.

Consultants can also help you work on your confidence. Confidence is extremely important in public speaking as it lets a speaker sound more convincing. Even well-established public speakers practice techniques such as meditation (沉思冥想) to calm themselves before a public appearance.

It’s well worth the time and effort to overcome the fear of public speaking, particularly if talks and presentations are part of your work description. Keep in mind that many of those around you are also struggling with this fear of public speaking. It will help you to become an able speaker if you can prepare beforehand. For example, you can put in time on planning your presentation in detail and practicing it many times in secret. As you get more and more familiar with your material, you’ll be able to fine-tune (微调) the details of your presentation and this will make you a confident speaker. Your speech will become excellent in terms of style and content.

Remember that the more you get into this pattern of feeling good about yourself, the stronger you will feel about approaching events when you have to make a speech. You can also work on physical details such as adjusting your tone (音调) before the presentation by doing some warm-up exercises.

In a word, believing in yourself and presenting yourself well can help you deeply impress your audience. And after a few speeches you’ll notice yourself overcoming the sense of panic that you now feel in public speaking situations.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析