When I speak English, I always speak off and on. Could you please tell me how to develop oral skills of making connected speech?
我说英语时经常时断时续。您能否告诉我如何练习能连贯表达的口语技巧?
I assume you mean you speak in bursts, when you say you‘speak off and on’. The first thing to be aware of is that most speaking is the product of interaction with another person, or with other people. We rarely give speeches. This means we have to train ourselves to understand what others are saying and then to reply to what we have heard. There are different kinds of conversation, which require different skills. For example:
我想你所提的“时断时续”(说英语)可能是指突然迸发式的说话方式。首先,你必须明白,大多数口头表达是与他人交往的产物。我们很少发表长篇大论,这就是说我们必须培养我们自己理解别人讲话的能力,然后根据我们所听到的内容作出回答。会话的性质不同,要求的技巧也自然不同。例如:
Exchange of information. This is one of the most common kinds of everyday interaction. Your friend tells you about things he/she enjoys doing in his/her spare time. You listen carefully, then you tell him/her what you enjoy doing in your spare time. You answer like with like. The chances are that you will use the simple present tense a great deal in this kind of exchange.
交流信息。这是我们每天最常见的交流形式。你的朋友告诉你他/她在业余时间所喜欢做的事。你仔细听,然后告诉他/她你在业余时间所想做的事。你就如此这般回答。在这种交流中,你一般会大量使用一般现在时。
Narration. Your friend tells you about an experience in the past tense (how he/she missed the bus, was late for work, what the boss said, etc.). You listen carefully, then tell a story of your own. The chances are you will use the simple past and past progressive tenses a great deal in this kind of exchange. It’s always easier to tell a story in chronological order: begin at the beginning, go on to the main event, then conclude the story.
叙述。你的朋友用过去时告诉你一段经历(他/她如何误车,然后上班迟到,老板说些什么,等等)。你仔细听,然后讲述你自己的经历。在这种交流中,你一般会使用一般过去时或过去进行时。按时间顺序讲述一个故事较为容易:某事开始于……,然后叙述正文,最后结束讲述。
Exchanging views and opinions. Your friend tells you what he/she thinks about something, first by describing a situation, then saying what his/her opinion of it is and giving reasons. You listen carefully, then reply in the same way. You are likely to state facts (something you read in the paper), give an example or examples, and then say what you think of it. You are likely to use phrases like‘In my opinion...’, ‘I think ...’, ‘I agree with what you say, but ...’, ‘I’m afraid I disagree. I think ...’and so on.
交流看法和观点。你的朋友告诉你他/她对某事的看法,他/她先描述一段场景,然后发表他/她的意见,并给出理由。你仔细听,然后以同样的方式作出回答。你有可能陈述事实(你从报纸上读到的东西),给出一个或几个例子,然后说明你的看法。你很可能用些诸如In my opinion...,I think...,I agree with what you say, but...和I’m afraid I disagree. I think... 等短语。
文:路易亚历山大 新概念英语作者