Some expressions in English can be really puzzling. Have a look at the following

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Some expressions in English can be really puzzling. Have a look at the following to see how it challenges your brainpower.
Homeric laughter
The "Homer" in this expression is the Greek poet. People laugh differently. Some laugh silently, while others tend to laugh loudly. "Homeric laughter" refers to laughter of the latter kind. It is at times uncontrollable, and the entire body shakes during the process. This kind of laughter is called Homeric laughter because this is how the gods laughed in Homer"s classics.
A three-ring circus
When you refer to a situation as being a three-ring circus, you are saying that it is a situation of complete confusion. There are so many activities taking place all together that they leave you confused or annoyed. The expression comes from the world of entertainment — the circus. The area where the artists perform their acts is called the "ring". In the past, some of the circuses were so grand that they had three acts taking place simultaneously in three different "rings". The audience had to decide which "ring" they wanted to focus on.
In the swim (of things)
When someone is in the swim of things, the individual is actively participating in the things happening around him, as in "I"ve been ill, but soon I’ll be back in the swim of thing." In the world of fishing, fishermen use the word "swim" to refer to the section of the lake/river where fish can be found in plenty. So, if you are a fisherman and wish to catch a lot offish, where would you be? You would be "in the swim".
Chickens have come home to roost
The word "roost" refers to the place where birds rest. It could be anything — the branch of a tree, a henhouse, etc. The expression is normally used to mean that the bad things that someone did in the past have come back to bite or upset the individual. In other words, one has to face the consequences of the deeds done in the past. The original form of this 700-year-old expression was "curses are like chickens; they always come home to roost".
小题1:Which of the following can best describe the picture?

A．Homeric laughter	B．A three-ring circus
C．In the swim (of things)	D．Chickens have come home to roost

小题2:What does the underlined word "simultaneously"(Paragraph 3) mean?

A．At the same time.	B．Step by step.
C．All of a sudden.	D．One after another.

小题3:lf you want to know more about such expressions, which website will you probably visit?

A．www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/China.html

B．www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/university.html

C．www.chinadaily.com.cn/culuture/language.html

D．www.chinadaily.com.cn/entertainment/fashion.html

小题4:The passage is written to .

A．tell readers some old and interesting stories

B．indicate the development of English phrases

C．correct some misunderstandings about words

D．explain the meanings and origins of some phrases

答案

小题1:D
小题2:A
小题3:C
小题4:D

解析

本文告诉我们一些令人迷惑的英语表达的意思及来历。
小题1:D 推断题。从本图中可知，那些送给他的钱一步步地把他送进了监狱，所以符合最后一个成语的意思：善有善报，恶有恶报；害人终害己。
小题2:A 词义猜测题。In the past, some of the circuses were so grand that they had three acts taking place simultaneously in three different "rings".意思是：在过去，马戏团是如此的宏伟，可以共三套节目同时进行。
小题3:C推断题。本文跟语言有关，故选C。
小题4:D 主旨大意题。本文要解释一些短语的意义及来源。故D项正确。

举一反三

Modern society cannot well do without the contribution that women can make in the professions and other kinds of work. There is a serious shortage of nurses and teachers, to mention only two of the occupations followed by women. It is a waste to give years of training at public expense only to have the qualified teacher or nurse marry after a year or two and be lost forever to her profession. The training, it is true, will help her in her duties as a mother, but if she continued to work, her service would be more widely useful. Many factories and shops, too, are largely staffed by women, many of them married. While here the question of training is not so important, industry and trade would be seriously short of staff if married women did not work.
We can see then that there are good reasons for regarding it as desirable that married women should have some occupation outside the home. However, there are serious objections. Schools do not keep children occupied the whole day and school holidays are long. The mother’s working day will almost certainly end well after the school day and her holiday will not begin at the same time as her children’s. There will be therefore a period when children are not taken care of unless a substitute for the mother can be found, or unless it becomes more generally possible for women to work part-time. There seem to be some grounds for believing that there is more bad behavior among the children of working mothers than among those of mothers who stay at home, but more evidence is required before we can be certain of this. What we can be certain of, however, is that many more will continue to do so.
小题1:According to the writer, women nurses and teachers ought to carry on their occupation after marriage because______.

A．they are not allowed to give up their jobs

B．their training should not be wasted

C．they want to make a living by themselves

D．they must still improve themselves as mothers

小题2:According to the writer, one possible way for the children of working mothers to be attended to is that________.

A．schools keep children occupied the whole day

B．their mothers change their occupation

C．their mothers do not work full time

D．their mothers should stay at home

小题3:The clause “unless a substitute for the mother can be found” means_______.

A．if someone takes over the mother’s occupation

B．if no mother works all day

C．if no one takes care of the children for the mother

D．if someone takes care of the children for the mother

小题4:The writer believes that bad behavior among the children of mothers who do not work is _________ among the children of working mothers.

A．possibly less than	B．about the same as
C．a little greater than	D．certainly more than

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Friends play an important role in our lives, and although we can’t be more familiar with the fact of friendship, we often don’t clearly understand how we make friends, especially with Americans. Here are some pieces of advice on making friends with Americans:
　　1. Visiting places Americans enjoy: parties, churches, restaurants, parks and sports clubs.
　　2. Be willing to take the first step. Don’t wait for them to get close to you. Americans in China may not know you speak English. They may be uncomfortable if they can’t speak your language.
　3. Use small talks to open the conversation. Ask them where they’re from, why they come to China, etc. . Remember: Be careful not to ask personal questions about age, salary and so on.
　　4. Show an interest in their culture, their country or their job. Americans like to talk about themselves!
　　5. Invite them to join you for dinner or just for coffee or tea. Try to set a specific(明确的)time. Americans sometimes make general invitations like “Let’s go out for dinner sometime. ”Often this is just a way to be friendly. It is not always a real invitation.
　　6. Don’t expect too much at first. Maybe they’re being friendly. But maybe they want to be your good friends. It will take time to tell.
小题1:According to the text, Americans like to visit the following places except＿＿＿＿.

A．shopping centers	B．parks
C．sports clubs	D．churches

小题2:What should you say when meeting an American for the first time?

A．What’s your age?

B．How much do you get in a month?

C．Nice to meet you! Are you from America?

D．Let’s get together sometime. I want to ask you some questions.

小题3:What is mainly discussed in the text?

A．It’s very important to be a good friend of an American.

B．Some advice on how to make friends with Americans.

C．Something about the friendship in America.

D．Friendship is the most important in our life.

小题4:Which is the best way to make friends with an American?

A．To ask him if he is willing to make friends with you.

B．To spend a long time learning about him.

C．To wait until he tells you his thoughts.

D．To ask him to join you for dinner.

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More Chinese are seeking out the surgeon’s knife to improve their looks.Yet the tragic death of the former Super Girl Wang Bei has made people aware of the risks of cosmetic surgery, which is becoming increasingly popular. Wang Bei，24，is said to have gone under the knife in Wuhan，to jump-start her stage-show career. It seems that the ambitious singer has finally achieved the fame and influence after her death.
For years Miss Lu expected a plastic surgery to make her jaw fashionable narrow and her face smaller. She finally decided against it after hearing of the death of Wang Bei. "Wang Bei’s death rang the warning bell for me，"Miss Lu said in her blog." It was frightening and I gave up the plan. "
A common thread of online discussion is why someone considered beautiful was so dissatisfied with her looks. Some netizens said Wang was a victim of society’s impractical standard of beauty：double eyelids，and the pointed chin typical of Western actresses. Others said her death indicated the limits to which people would go to achieve fame and fortune.
Last year 15 billion yuan was spent on cosmetic surgery and the figure is expected to rise 20％ annually. The International Society of Plastic Surgery ranks China first in Asia in terms of the number of cosmetic surgeries in 2009. Worldwide, China is third, after Brazil, while the United States is first.
Nowadays，people are living longer and better. But the effect of aging off their appearance affects their mood and confidence. Many older women want to look young and beautiful. Young people, on the other hand, see cosmetic surgery as the key to wealth and love. "They want to improve their appearance to find better opportunities at work and in marriage，"says a famous plastic surgeon. "We’re living in a highly competitive society. People regard appearance as a weapon in life battle. Those who are young and naturally good-looking tell me，‘I don’t care how much I spend. Just make me look more beautiful.’ "
Advice from a surgeon and psychologist：
1.Choose regular, qualified hospitals with a good reputation.
2.Try to find an expert surgeon who will not suggest several operations over time.
3.Don’t expect too much from changing your appearance. Safety should be the first.
4.Have a realistic understanding of the risks of the surgery (death，injury and failure)and make a balanced decision.
小题1:What’s the influence of Wang Bei’s death on the public?

A．People will feel alarmed at cosmetic surgery.

B．Young people will have no interest in beauty.

C．Doctors will be afraid to perform operations.

D．No one will dream of becoming a Super Girl.

小题2:It is mentioned in the passage that________.

A．Miss Lu’s face is narrow and small

B．Wang Bei is a victim of the Internet

C．all Westerners have the pointed chin

D．the US ranks first in cosmetic surgery

小题3:What’s the main idea of the 5th paragraph?

A．People are living 1onger and better nowadays.

B．People are living in a highly competitive society.

C．Social competition leads females to seek beauty.

D．Cosmetic surgery is the key to wealth and love.

小题4:According to a surgeon and psychologist,it is better to________.

A．change your appearance sooner

B．make a reasonable decision

C．do several operations over time

D．try some different hospitals

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We all remember seeing hitchhikers, standing by the side of the road, thumb, sticking out, waiting for a lift. But it is getting rare nowadays. What killed hitchhiking? Safety is often mentioned as a reason. Movies about murderous hitchhikers and real-life crime have put many drivers off picking up hitchhikers. That no single women picked me up on my journey to Manchester no doubt reflects the safety fear: a large, strangely dressed man is seen as dangerous.
But the reason may be more complex: hitchhiking happens where people don’t have cars and transport services are poor. Plenty of people still hitchhike in Poland and Romania. Perhaps the rising level of car ownership in the UK means the few people lift hitchhiking are usually considered strange. Why can’t they afford cars? Why can’t they take the coach or the train?
Three-quarters of the UK population have access to a car; many of the remainder will be quite old. The potential hitchhiking population is therefore small. Yet my trip proves it’s still possible to hitchhike. The people who picked me up were very interesting-lawyer, retired surgeon, tank commander, carpenter, man who live in an isolated farmhouse and a couple living up in the mountains. My conclusion is that only really interesting people are mad enough to pick up fat blokes in red, spotted scarves. Most just wanted to do someone a good turn; a few said they were so surprised to see a hitchhiker that they couldn’t help stopping.
The future of hitchhiking most likely lies with car-sharing organized over the Internet, via sites such as hitchhikers.org. But for now, you can still stick your thumb out (actually, I didn’t do much of that, preferring just to hold up my destination sign) and people-wonderful, caring, sharing, unafraid people-will stop.
In the UK, with its cheap coaches and reasonable rail service, I don’t think I’ll make a habit of it. But having enjoyed it so much, I’m ready now to do a big trip across Europe and beyond. In the 1970s a female friend of my wife’s hitchhiked to India. How wonderful it would be to have another go, though Afghanistan might be a challenge. I wish I’d got that tank commander’s mobile number.
小题1:The author tried to hitchhike but was rejected by single women drivers because .

A．they were not heading towards Manchester

B．they thought most hitchhikers were dangerous

C．hitchhiking had been handed and they didn’t want to break the law

D．he was a strong man in strange clothes who seemed dangerous

小题2:Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Movies have discouraged people from hitchhiking

B．Car ownership levels are lower in Romania than in the UK.

C．25% of UK people don’t have access to cars.

D．Increased car ownership has reduced the need for hitchhiking.

小题3:The “fat blokes in red, spotted scarves” in Paragraph 3 most likely means .

A．murderous hitchhikers	B．friendly and talkative hitchhikers
C．typical hitchhikers	D．strange hitchhikers like the author

小题4:According to the author, future hitchhikers are more likely to .

A．visit websites and find people to share cars with

B．stand by roads with their thumbs sticking out

C．stick out signs with their destinations written on

D．wait for some kind people to pick them up

小题5:From the last paragraph, we know that the author .

A．frequently hitchhikes in Britain

B．plans to hitchhike across Europe

C．thinks public transport is safer for travel

D．is going to contact the tank commander

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Everyone needs recognition(赏识) for his achievements,but few people make the need known quite as clearly as the little boy who said to his father,“Let’s play darts(飞镖).I’ll throw and you should say ‘Wonderful!’”
Fran Tarkenton,former Minnesota Vikings quarterback,once called a play that required him to block onrushing tacklers.
FEL quarterbacks almost never block.They’re usually vastly outweighed by defenders,so blocking exposes them to the risk of severe injury.
But the team was behind,and a surprising play was needed.Tarkenton went into block,and the runner scored a touchdown.The Vikings won the game.
Watching the game films with the team the next day,Tarkenton expected a big pat on the back for what he’d done. It never came.
After the meeting,Tarkenton approached coach Bud Grant and asked,“You saw my block,didn’t you,Coach?How come you didn’t say anything about it?”
Grant replied,“Sure,I saw the block.It was great,but you’re always working hard out there,Fran.I figured I didn’t have to tell you.”
“Well,”Tarkenton replied,“if you ever want me to block again,you do!”
小题1:What does the author intend to tell us in the passage?

A．Praise can have people take risky actions.

B．Encouragement can make people achieve greater progress.

C．No recognition,no progress.

D．People will be discouraged without praise.

小题2:The author gave the little boy as an example in order to .

A．show the importance of encouragement

B．show father’s deep love to the son

C．show the boy was complete understanding of his father

D．prove the boy was cleverer than the coach

小题3:Which of the following can describe the Fran Tarkenton’s action of blocking onrushing tacklers?

A．Quick,brave,exciting.	B．Brave,risky,successful.
C．Brave,successful,kind.	D．Fast,clever,strong.

小题4:What did Fran Tarkenton expect while watching the game films?

A．Recognition.

B．Pride.

C．Cheers.

D．Reward.

小题5:It can be inferred from the passage that .

A．Fran Tarkenton was angry with the coach

B．the coach learned a lesson from Fran Tarkenton

C．Fran Tarkenton might not take a risk in blocking again

D．the coach will highly praise Fran Tarkenton next time he blocks

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