阅读理解。 Today we tell about the expression "down to earth". Down to earth mean

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阅读理解。     Today we tell about the expression "down to earth". Down to earth means being open and honest. It is easy
to deal with someone who is down to earth. Such people could be important members of society, but they do
not consider themselves to be better than others who are less important. They do not let their importance "go to
their heads." Someone who lets something go to his head feels he is better than others. He has a "big head."
     A person who is filled with his own importance and pride is said to have "his nose in the air." Often the
person who has a big head and his nose in the air has no reason to feel better than others.
     Americans use another expression that is similar in some ways to down to earth-"both feet on the ground."
Someone with both feet on the ground is a person with a good understanding of reality. She has what is called"
common sense". She does not allow her dreams to block her understanding of what is real.
    The opposite kind of person is one who has his "head in the clouds." Someone with his head in the clouds
is a person whose mind is not on what is happening in real life. Such a person may be called a "daydreamer."
     The person who is down to earth usually has both feet on the ground. But the opposite is not always true.
Someone with both feet on the ground may not be as open and easy to deal with as someone who is down to
earth.
     When we have both our feet firmly on the ground, and when we are down to earth, we do not have our
noses in the air. We act honestly and openly to others. And our lives are like the ground below us-solid and
strong. 1. He who considers himself to be better and more important than others is likely to _____. A. have his head in the clouds
B. be easy to deal with
C. have a "common sense"
D. have a "big head" 2. Which of the following expressions is similar to "down to earth"? A. his nose in the air
B. go to his head
C. both feet on the ground
D. daydreamer 3. The passage is mainly about _____. A. some popular American expressions
B. how to be down to earth
C. why to be honest and open
D. how to deal with someone who is down to earth

答案

1-3: D C A

举一反三

阅读理解。     Many different tribes live in the Ituri rain forest of Africa, but the Pygmies are the most unusual. Most
of the men are not much more than four feet tall. They weigh only about eighty pounds. The women are
even smaller and thinner. But in spite of the fact that they are small, these people are perfectly formed men
and women.
     It is an exciting experience to visit a Pygmy encampment for the first time. Before you go, you must
send words ahead that you are coming. Some friendly native or trader must take the message to the Tiki-Tikis.
Otherwise the whole tribe will vanish into the depths of the jungle long before you have come within hailing
distance.
     The great Ituri rain forest seems cut off from the rest of the earth. There are living, dead, and dying trees
on every side. Except where a clearing has been burned and chopped out, a man may live his whole life in
the Ituri and never see farther than twenty yards.
     It takes sharp eyes to discover the almost hidden path to the Pygmy camp. The path is no wider than a
small man"s foot. No sound breaks the silence in this part of the forest. There are no signs of people.
     The stranger must walk carefully. What appears to be a twisted branch may prove to be a deadly snake.
A spotted gold patch of sunlight may be a crouching leopard.
     Even the Pygmy camp comes as a surprise. The leafy shelters in which the little people live are scarcely
three feet high. They look so much like the surrounding undergrowth that they might easily be passed by.
These houses contain no furniture of any sort. The beds are merely plantain leaves spread out on the earth
floor. There are no cooking pots: food is eaten raw or smoked over a fire. Spears, bows and arrows are the
only possessions of these people. When the tribe moves to a new camp there is nothing to carry except these
weapons and babies too small to walk. 1. According to the passage, we can conclude _____. A. the Pygmies are the shortest tribe worldwide
B. the Pygmies are short but normal in mentality
C. most of the Pygmy men are more than four feet
D. the Pygmies live in the forest of America 2. Paragraph 2 mainly suggests that the Pygmies _____. A. are unwilling to communicate with people outside
B. are very cruel and they will kill you with the spears
C. are friendly to the tourists visiting them for the first time
D. move so fast and often that can"t be caught up with easily 3. Which of the following word can describe the life of Pygmy?A. Quiet.
B. Active.
C. Hard.
D. Busy. 4. Which of the following is TRUE of the Pygmy? A. Their houses can"t be easily found in the Ituri rain forest.
B. Their houses, which are three feet high, are made of wood.
C. Weapons and cooking pots are their most valuable possessions.
D. They are living in harmony with dangerous animals around.

题型：安徽省模拟题难度：| 查看答案

阅读理解。     How would you like to come home after a long day, open the door, and walk into an elephant? That"s what
you would do if you lived in Elephant House in Margate, New Jersey. The elephant-shaped house was built in
1881 by James Lafferty. In 1962, Herbert Green built a chicken-shaped house.
     Sarah Winchester tried to build a ghost-proof house in San Jose California. Workers built fake chimneys,
doors that open onto blank walls and stairs that lead nowhere. Many rooms were torn down and then rebuilt in
a new way to confuse the ghosts. It took 38 years to complete the house!
     Some houses are built of strange materials. A house in Pigeon Cove, Massachusetts, is built of more than
100,000 newspapers. In Canada, George Pat built a house entirely out of bottles.
     Some homes stand for great wealth and power. The Palace of Alhambra in Spain is one of the most beautiful
homes in the world. The man who built it loved water. A stream runs through all 9 acres of the palace. In each
room there is a small pool of sparkling water.
     Wealthy Americans design dream houses, too. In 1895, Cornelius Vanderbilt built and moved into a house
named the breakers. He called it his summer cottage. It cost $ 10 million to build and had walls decorated with
gold. This "summer cottage" could hold 60 guests comfortably.
     Dream houses don"t have to be expensive. A man named Baldasera built a house with 90 rooms for about
only $ 200 by digging under the earth. Baldasera worked alone. He spent about 40 years completing his
underground house. 1. The passage mainly talks about _____. A. old houses
B. building materials
C. building history
D. unusual houses 2. The builder of the Palace of Alhambra is probably proud of _____. A. the shining pools in the rooms
B. his special personality
C. his mother country Spain
D. the large area of his house 3. The Breakers was built _____. A. in 1881 by Sarah Winchester
B. in 1881 by James Lafferty
C. in 1895 by Cornelius Vanderbilt
D. in 1962 by Herbert Green 4. Baldasera built his house _____. A. without any tools
B. without spending much money
C. with his family
D. with much help from others

题型：四川省模拟题难度：| 查看答案

阅读理解。     Visitors to Britain may find the best place to sample local culture is in a traditional pub. But these friendly
pubs can be dangerous places of potential gaffes (失礼) for the newcomers.
     A team of researchers have discovered some of the unknown customs of British pubs-starting with the
difficulty of getting a drink. Most pubs have no waiters-you have to go to the bar to buy drinks. A group of
Italian youths were waiting 45 minutes before they realized they would have to fetch their own. This may
sound inconvenient, but there is a hidden purpose.
     Pub culture is designed to promote sociability (社交) in a society known for its reserve. Standing at the
bar for service allows you to chat with others waiting to be served. The bar counter is possibly the only site
in the British Isles in which friendly conversation with strangers is considered entirely suitable and really quite
normal behavior. "If you haven"t been to a pub, you haven"t been to Britain."This tip can be found in a bookle,
Passport to the Pub: The Tourists" Guide to Pub Etiquette, a customers" rule of conduct for those wanting to
sample" a central part of British life and culture".
    The trouble is that if you do not follow the local rules, the experience may fall flat. For example, if you are
in a big group, it is best if only one or two people go to buy the drinks. Nothing annoys the regular customers
and bar staff more than a group of strangers blocking all access to the bar while they chat and hesitate about
what to order. 1. The underlined word "sample" in the first paragraph probably means "____". A. taste
B. experience
C. test
D. record 2. The culture of pub in Britain is developed to ____. A. encourage people to communicate with each other
B. encourage more people to consume drinks
C. attract more tourists to the pubs
D. form its own character of culture 3. If you don"t follow the local rules in a pub, ____. A. you won"t buy good local drinks
B. you may annoy the regular customers and bar staff
C. you may fail to feel the local culture
D. you might get into a dangerous place 4. What may be the best title for the passage? A. Self-service Pubs in Britain
B. British Local Pubs: Special Chat Places
C. Local Pub Culture in Britain
D. Manners in British Local Pubs

题型：河北省期末题难度：| 查看答案

阅读理解。     No one knows yet the accurate number of lives which have been lost in this terrible fire. But reports
suggest that it is more than one hundred.
     A wall of flames fifty feet high and at least one hundred and fifty miles wide is now racing towards
the forests and rich farmlands of southern Victoria. Towns less than one hundred miles from Melbourne
will be in danger unless the wind changes. People are rushing excitedly into the streets. The police have
warned them not to see the fire but many people are doing so.
     The cause of the fire is unknown. No rain has fallen in this part of Australia for three months, and the
hot, north-west wind from the great central desert is blowing at more than thirty miles an hour.
     The firefighters are travelling to the fire by road, rail and air. But it is not easy to get there. Flames and
fallen trees have cut off or blocked roads and railway lines. The thick smoke often prevents them from
finding the air strips (飞机跑道).
     It is said that the fire has brought the greater danger to the country since the Second World War. 1. By the time the article was written, the fire ____. A. had just broken out
B. had been put out
C. was spreading violently (猛烈地)
D. was coming to an end 2. The writer wrote this article mainly to tell people ____. A. the fire was terrible and dangerous
B. it was impossible to put out the fire
C. more than one hundred people died of the fire
D. to join in the fight against the fire 3. In the 4th paragraph, the writer suggested that ____. A. the fire would soon be controlled by the firefighters
B. it would be very difficult to put out the fire
C. the government was paying great attention to the fire
D. the fire had caused great losses and the airport was in danger 4. The underlined word "accurate" in the first sentence has the same meaning as ____.A. recent
B. whole
C. rough
D. exact

题型：重庆市模拟题难度：| 查看答案

阅读理解。     Cittaslow has discovered China, and it is awarding a little village in Jiangsu the title of "slow city".
     The bored teenagers of Gaochun are impatient with the leisurely pace of hometown life. For them there
is no nightlife to speak of, no bright lights, no excitement and they cannot wait to grow up and leave for the
urban attractions of the big cities. But it is this laid-back lifestyle that has attracted international attention. At
least, a quiet village within Gaochun county has come under the spotlight. Yaxi village, population 20,000, is
about to be designated China"s first "slow city" by Cittaslow, the sustainable lifestyle movement that first
surfaced in Italy 11 years ago.
     At home, the residents at Yaxi are unfazed and pretty much unimpressed by the honor. To them, life has
been like this for as long as they can remember. Here, growing old gracefully is natural.
     Nobody living in this little county had heard of Cittaslow or the words "slow city" before this.
     "The first time I heard the term was last July, when the vice- president of Cittaslow, Angelo Vassallo,
visited Yaxi village," says Zuo Niansheng, the chief editor of local newspaper Gaochun Today.
     "Vassallo was deeply impressed by this village"s natural and cultural resources and said it perfectly fitted
the requirements for a slow city," says Zuo. That was how Yaxi became connected with Cittaslow.
     The Slow City must also be committed to protect and maintain the natural environment as well as promote
a sustainable way of development, all of which are the current strategies adopted in Gaochun. "We"ve been
doing this for years," adds Zuo.
     Cittaslow was founded in Tuscany, ltaly in 1999. It was a spin- off from the Slow Food Movement which
started, also in Italy, in 1986 as a protest against the first McDonald"s opening near the Spanish Steps in Rome.
The movement championed a return to healthy, nutritious home-grown, home-cooked foods.
     Slow Food has expanded globally to more than 130 countries. Its mission has also broadened to include the
promotion of sustainable foods and local small businesses, and the localization as opposed to globalization of
food production.
     Cittaslow is an expansion of the Slow Food Movement, and it actively advocates a lifestyle that is
sustainable, and that will improve quality of life, mid will preserve cultural and culinary (烹饪的) heritage. 1. According the passage, Cittaslow is a( n) ____. A. organization
B. person
C. lifestyle
D. honor 2. What"s the reaction of the residents at Yaxi to the award according the passage? A. Very excited.
B. Very shocked.
C. Indifferent.
D. Very happy. 3. Why is the village Yaxi awarded the title of "slow city"? A. Because it is full of excitement and activities of nightlife.
B. Because the residents at Yaxi enjoy a leisure life.
C. Because it is very rich and has a lot of attractions.
D. Because foreign people prefer to small towns. 4. It can be inferred from the passage that ____. A. young people at Yaxi enjoy their life very much
B. China is more and more popular with foreign people
C. the first McDonald"s in Europe was opened in Spain
D. the lifestyle of"slow city" will be good to environment and people

题型：湖北省模拟题难度：| 查看答案