Pronunciation is the biggest thing that people notice2 when you are speaking English. Let me tell you a true story about this.
　　当你说英语时，发音是人们能注意到的最明显的特征。我给你讲一个真实的故事。
　　Michal and I once went to a conversation class taught by Americans. Before the class started， the teacher said to us， “So， do you speak good English？”
　　我和米哈尔曾经参加过由美国人讲授的对话课。在上课之前，老师对我们说：“你们的英语说得好吗？”
　　I said， “We think so.”
　　我回答说：“我们认为还好。”
　　The guy said， “It sure sounds like you do.”
　　那个人说：“听起来确实如你所说。”
　　Notice that I just said three words， and the teacher could already tell if my English was good or bad. Why did he think my English was good？ It wasn’t because I used difficult words or grammar structures3. It was the way I pronounced English words.
　　请注意，我只说了三个单词，老师已经知道我的英语是好是坏了。他为什么认为我的英语很好呢？这不是因为我使用了复杂的单词或语法结构，而是我的英语发音。
　　When you talk to a person in real life， they may not notice your limited4 vocabulary or grammar mistakes5. But they will notice right away if your pronunciation is good or bad. If your pronunciation is bad， they will think about you as the guy/girl who speaks bad English， and good grammar and vocabulary won’t help you！
　　當你在现实生活中与人交谈时，他们可能不会注意到你有限的词汇或语法错误。但是他们会立即注意到你发音的好坏。如果你的发音不佳，他们会认为你的英语说得不好，语法和词汇好对你没有帮助！
　　◆Communication6
　　Good pronunciation should be one of the first things that you learn in English. You can use simple7 words to say what you want to say. You can use simple grammar structures. But there is no such thing as“simple pronunciation”. Even if you use correct grammar， people may simply not understand what you want to say.
　　◆交流
　　良好的发音应该是你学英语的第一件事。你可以用简单的词说出你想说的话，可以使用简单的语法结构，但是没有“简单的发音”之类的东西。即使你使用正确的语法，人们也可能根本不理解你想说的话。
　　◆Can you communicate in English？
　　Almost all English learners say，“I don’t need to study pronunciation. I just want to communicate in English.” Many of them think that they can communicate in English because they can communicate with their teacher and other students. Do not make this mistake！You have to remember that：
　　◆你能用英语交流吗？
　　几乎所有的英语学习者都说：“我不需要学习发音。我只想用英语交流。”他们中的许多人认为自己可以用英语交流，因为他们可以与老师和其他学生交流。不要犯这个错误！你必须记住：
　　●Your teacher has been listening to bad English for years. He or she can understand it much more easily than the other people.
　　●Other students are usually from the same country as you. So， they speak English like you and they make the same mistakes. So it is easy for them to understand you. 　　●你的老师多年来一直在听不地道的英语。他或她比普通人更容易理解它。
　　●其他学生通常与你来自同一国家。因此，他们和你讲一样的英语，而且犯的是同样的错误。因此，他们很容易理解你。
　　The only true test is： Go to America or Britain and try to talk to “normal8 people”—a clerk at a supermarket， a bus driver， etc. If they can understand you， then you can say that you can communicate in English.
　　唯一的真实考验是：去美国或英国，然后与“正常人”交谈，例如超市的店员、公共汽车司机等。如果他们能听懂你的话，那你就可以说你能用英语交流。
　　◆Communication is not enough9.
　　If you can communicate in English with people from other countries， congratulations！It’s a big achievement10. Now you should ask yourself two questions：
　　●Is my English easy to understand？
　　●Is my English pleasant11 to listen to？
　　◆能沟通是不够的。
　　如果你可以和其他国家的人用英语交流，那么恭喜你！这是一个很大的成就。现在，你应该问自己两个问题：
　　●我的英语好懂吗？
　　●我的英语好听吗？
　　Some people communicate successfully in English， but have a heavy foreign accent12. Although you can understand what they are saying， it is not easy. You have to listen to them really carefully， which takes effort.
　　有些人可以做到用英语交流，但有很重的外国口音。尽管你可以理解他们在说什么，但这并不容易。你必须认真仔细地听他们说的话，这很费力。
　　If you speak English with a heavy foreign accent， you are making things difficult for people who listen to you. If you have a clear， pleasant accent， people will simply enjoy talking to you. They will want to spend time with you.
　　如果你说英语时带有很重的外国口音，那对于那些听你说话的人来说，想听懂就会很困难。如果你拥有清晰明了，且动听的口音，人們将很乐意与你交谈，也会愿意和你相处。
　　【Notes】
　　1. pronunciation [