TwoHandedSword: What is it about reading aloud that seems to be causing the problem? Are you trying to silently read ahead, anticipating what comes next, which may be breaking your concentration and distracting you? Are you unsure about how certain words are supposed to be pronounced, and stumbling because you're second-guessing yourself? Or is it something else entirely?
Vingry: I think it's because when I'm reading aloud, I'm automatically focused on trying to get every pronounciations of the words I read correctly and giving little to no attention to understanding what it is that I'm reading actually means. Whereas when I read silently, my mind is able to grasp the idea or message that every sentence is trying to say.
Not saying that my pronounciations become worse when I read silently, no they're not, they're the same as when I read aloud. It's just that being able to hear my own voice when I read somehow makes me much more conscious on getting it sound perfect and basically shuts down any functions in me that allow me to understand the text. I'm honestly wondering whether there are people who feel the same way.
That makes a lot of sense. I don't do it with reading, but after I finish having a conversation in a target language (usually Spanish) I go back over what I said, nitpicking my own pronunciation and word choices. I am by far the strictest teacher I've ever had.
JocktheLock1: Question about a game and insurance company.
The lizard game Gex, was the character inspired by Geico's mascot or was Geico inspired by the Gex lizard main character?
There probably is no connection but to me they just look so similar.
I can't answer this question, but I can offer up this fun fact: the Geico gecko wasn't originally intended as the face of the company. In his first few appearances, he was shown getting upset that his (landline!) phone was getting so many wrong numbers, because people were looking in the White Pages (remember those?) and misdialing the number for Gecko since the name was so similar to Geico.
Those commercials were very popular, and Geico ended up "hiring" him and making them their official ambassador/mascot. There was even a crossover commercial, where the "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" dog spotted him at a casting call, and sarcastically said "Oh, look. A talking gecko."