提别提示
参加英语角的同学：如果你全程参与英语角活动，在当晚活动结束时，可领取英语角官方出具的活动参加证明，用于冲抵周三晚上的晚自习考勤。经学校领导同意，“云南大学英语角”可作为星期三晚自习形式之一。不参加活动的学生不可领取。
WHAT CAN I DO?
When we talk about environmental protection, many of us would think of big deals the government should do, but few would really start doing anything from themselves. This time we talk about our duty to protect the environment. Not just to blame others for their fault but to take action, from little things, to make a difference.
What have you done, so far, no matter how small it is, to protect our planet? What can we do in our life to reduce pollution, waste and damage? If many people are still doing the wrong things, what can you actually do to wake them up and change their habits?
We do not only speak. We talke action, too.
Please come to the English corner to share with us your ideas about the topic!
Queen Elizabeth's War on Plastic
Source: news.com.au
Queen Elizabeth II Has Banned Plastic Straws and Bottles from Royal Estates
QUEEN Elizabeth II has declared war — on plastic — with a newwaste plan put into place across the royal estates.
Theenvironmentally-conscious move was said to be inspired by nature documentarianand naturalist Sir David Attenborough, after the pair worked together on adocumentary about wildlife in the Commonwealth, according to TheTelegraph.
Buckingham Palace has said the royal household has a “strongdesire to tackle the issue” and would do so by cutting back plastics, such asstraws and plastic bottles.
A spokesman for the Palace said, “Across the organization, theroyal household is committed to reducing its environmental impact.
“As part of that, we have taken a number ofpractical steps to cut back on the use of plastics,” he said.
These steps would include phasing out plasticstraws in public cafes and banning them completely from staff dining areas.
Royal cafe takeaway food containers will nowbe compostable or biodegradable, while those working and living withinBuckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburghwill only be able to use crockery and glasses, or recyclable cups.
The initiative comes after the EU announcedplans to make all plastic in Europe recyclable or reusable by 2030.
The Queen’s stance follows that of her sonPrince Charles, who often talks about environmental issues, including thedamage plastic garbage is doing to the oceans.
Last year he said climate change was“catastrophically underestimated” and urged that world leaders act urgentlyto protect our marine environments.
Prince Charles has a long history ofenvironmental advocacy and established the International Sustainability Unit in2010 to address major environmental challenges across the globe includingmarine degradation, deforestation and animal conservation.
He has even weighed in on the degradation ofthe Great Barrier Reef, saying: “The fact that significant portions of theGreat Barrier Reef on Australia’s eastern coast have been severely degraded orlost over the last few years is both a tragedy and also, I would have thought,a very serious wakeup call,” he said.
According Cleanup.org.au, an estimated 1trillion plastic bags are used and discarded worldwide each year — and many ofthose bags are only used once.
Australians alone use around 5 billion plasticbags a year — with some 50 million entering the litter stream.
Single-use bags will soon be banned across allstates and territories in Australia, except NSW. Meanwhile, major supermarkets— Coles, Woolworths and IGA — have already announced they will phase outsingle-use plastic bags this year.
This story originally appeared in news.com.au.
英语角为谁而办？
英语角是为英语口语不够好的同学、英语口语不够好的同学、英语口语不够好的同学而存在的。重要的事情说三遍，因为广为存在的误解是：英语不好为什么要去英语角？以为英语不好就不去英语角，那就大错而特错了！为了说明这一点，请容我分析一下口语是怎样练出来的：
一、英语课堂帮我们发现问题、指出方向。每周一次听说课上，由于学生很多，老师是不可能让每个学生都讲上45分钟的。老师只能通过练习、作业告诉你，你的听力和口语都有什么优势、什么不足，该怎么练。很多同学上完一学期的听说课，课堂上加起来讲英语的时间都没有两个小时，如何提高口语？很明显，简而言之：单靠课堂无法练好听力和口语。所以，课堂是发现问题、了解学习方法的地方。假如你每学期参加10次英语角、每次去两小时，那么每学期你将会有10x2=20小时的每周持续性口语练习，口语练好自然不是问题。
二、练习口语的一个环节：正音。老师告诉你你的哪些音有问题，你就要警觉，课后要通过操练来纠正。正音纠正常见办法有两个：(1)录下自己的发音，对比标准录音进行比较，比如用复读机/复读软件；(2)找人练，在对话中让对方给你纠正，比如去找老师、老外或者去英语角。通常情况下，一个人的语言定式思维，会让自己很难听到自己发错的音，需要别人帮忙。
三、练习口语的二个环节：语言输入。没有输入的口语听起来是很错误百出和弱智的。听力、阅读都是语言输入的手段，进步最快的是听外文节目和朗读/背诵。你的读写课、快速阅读、听力练习都是语言输入。你输入的好句子多了，忘记的好句子也就多了。为了不让好句子都忘掉，有一个办法：用。怎么用？方法是写作（如：作文）和口语交流（如：去英语角）。
四、练习口语的最有效的环节：真实交流。很多口语练习效果不好是因为我们背诵一段，然后假装交流。很遗憾，那是假的。真实的交流中，你根本不会有那么多时间思考，必须迅速给出回应。这一点，有几种办法可以改进：1、和不懂中文的老外交流；2、和老师用英文交流；3、去英语角。
这就是英语角的作用：（1）补充课堂时间不足的问题、（2）帮助正音、（3）提供语言输出场所、（4）营造真实语言交流场景。如果英语不够好，就应该去英语角。
同时，你还可以知道的是：这个英语角是永久免费的，所有负责英语角活动的大外部老师和学生会干部都是志愿为大家服务的。我们负责办好英语角，练好口语是你自己的事情。
英语角，就是为你而办的。
For you, for free, for ever.
FOR YOU, FOR FREE, FOR EVER
感谢杨勇坚教授帮忙审校！
