B
Expressions about water are mostly as common as water itself.
The expression “to be in hot water” is one of them. It is a very old expression. Hot water was used five hundred years ago to mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle. That no longer happens. But we still get “in hot water”. When we are in hot water, we are in trouble. It can be any kind of trouble, serious or not so serious. A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police. A young boy can be in hot water with his mother if he walks in the house with dirty shoes.
“Being in deep water” is somewhat like being in hot water. When you are in deep water, you are in a difficult position. Imagine a person who can not swim being thrown in water over his head. You are in deep water when you are facing a problem that you don’t have the ability to solve. You can be in deep water, for example, if you invest in stocks without knowing anything about the stock market.
“To keep your head above water” is a colorful expression that means staying out of debt. A company seeks to keep its head above water during economic hard times. A man who loses his job tries to keep his head above water until he finds a new job.
“Water over the dam” is another expression about past events. It is something that is finished, and cannot be changed. The expression comes from the idea that water has floated over a dam and cannot be brought back again. When a friend is troubled by a mistake he or she has made, you might tell him or her to forget about it. You say it is water over the dam.
Another common expression “to hold water” is about the strength or weakness of an idea or opinion that you may be arguing about . It probably comes from a way of testing the condition of a container. If it can hold water, it is strong and does not have any holes; if it does not hold water, then, it is weak and not worth debating.
“Throwing cold water” also is an expression that deals with ideas or proposals. For example, you want to buy a new car because the old one has some problems, but your wife throws cold water on the idea because she says a new car costs too much.
60. Don’t cheat in this exam! Or you’ll if you are caught cheating by the teacher.
A. be in hot wate B. have to hold water
C . be in deep water D. keep your head above water
61.The expression using water in Paragraph has almost the same meaning as “Things done cannot be undone.”
A. 3 B. 4 C . 5 D. 6
62. We can see from this passage that many of the expressions using water have meanings.
A. double B. unpleasant C . close D. moral
63.The best title for this passage should be .
A. The history of water B. Cold water or hot water
C . Water and it culture D. Expressions concerning water
The Sahara Festival is a three-day African celebration of the very recent past, which takes place every year either in November or December. It is part military display and part competition. The military display comes first. It is very popular with tourists and local people and especially with government leaders.
During the opening ceremonies, the government leaders first make speeches. They welcome everybody to the display and hope that everyone will enjoy themselves. Then there is a display of soldiers who march very smartly in front of the place where the government leaders sit. Then horsemen from several different countries show off their beautiful clothes and their good riding skills. One after another they come and dancers from all over the Sahara take their turns to show off their wonderful traditional clothes and dances. They are accompanied by men playing drums and beating strong rhythms for the dancers.
The highlight of the opening ceremony are the races which take place in the evening. It is the grand finale of the day. Men ride their horses very fast. Some ride with their legs in the air, others ride in pairs on different horses. It is so fast and so wonderful!The Sahara Festival is a festival which .
| A．has a very long history in North Africa |
| B．is not celebrated on the same dates each year |
| C．is attended mainly by the people in the Sahara |
| D．is celebrated only by travelers from different countries |
Before the races begin, take part in the activities during the opening ceremonies.
| A．horsemen, dancers, horses and soldiers |
| B．horsemen, horses, government leaders and dancers |
| C．government leaders, horsemen, dancers and soldiers |
| D．musicians, soldiers, government leaders and soldiers |
The underlined word “finale” in the third paragraph most probably means the of the opening day.
| A．first part | B．middle |
| C．last part | D．whole |
This passage mainly tells readers .
| A．what happens on the opening day of the Sahara Festival |
| B．how people celebrate during the three-day Sahara Festival |
| C．what takes place at the closing ceremonies of the Sahara Festival |
| D．how animals race on the first and the last days of the Sahara Festival |
Gift No. I
Offer to be your mother's health friend. Promise to be there for any and all doctor's visits whether a disease or a regular medical check-up. Most mothers always say "no need," but another set of eyes and ears is always a good idea at a doctor's visit. The best part? This one is free.
Gift No. 2
Help your mother organize all of her medical records, which include the test results and medical information. Put them all in one place. Be sure to make a list of all of her medicines and what times she takes them. "Having all this information in one place could end up saving your mother's life," Dr. Marie Savard said.
Gift No. 3
Enough sleep is connected to general health conditions. "Buy your mother cotton sheets and comfortable pillows to encourage better sleep," Savard said. "We know that good sleep is very important to our health."
Gift No. 4
Some gift companies such as Presents for Purpose allow you to pay it forward this Mother's Day by picking gifts in which 10 percent of the price you pay goes to a charity (慈善机构). Gift givers can choose from a wide variety of useful but inexpensive things ---many of which are "green" --- and then choose a meaningful charity from a list. When your mother gets the gift, she will be told that she has helped the chosen charity.What are you advised to do for your mother at doctor's visits? ______
| A．Take notes. | B．Buy medicine. |
| C．Be with her | D．Give her gifts. |
What can be a gift of organization for your mother? ______
| A．Keeping her medical information together. |
| B．Buying all gifts for her from one company. |
| C．Making a list of her medical check-ups. |
| D．Storing her medicines in a safe place. |
Where can you find a gift idea to improve your mother’s sleep? ______
| A．In Gift No. 1. | B．In Gift No. 2. |
| C．In Gift No. 3. | D．In Gift No. 4. |
Buying gifts from Presents for Purpose allows mothers to ______
| A．enjoy good sleep | B．be well-organized |
| C．get extra support | D．give others help |
Some people do not like anything to be out of place; they are never late for work; they return their books to the library on time; they remember people's birthdays; and they pay their bills as soon as they arrive. Mr. Dodds is such a person .
Mr. Dodds works in a bank, and lives on his own. The only family he has is in the next town :his sister lives there with her husband, and her son, Mark, Mr. Dodds does not see his sister, or her family, from one year to the next, but he sends them Christmas cards, and he has not forgotten one of Mark’s seventeen birthdays.
Last week Mr. Dodds had quite a surprise. He drove home from the bank at the usual time, driving neither too slowly nor too fast. He parked his car where he always parked it, out of the way of other cars, and he went inside to make his evening meal. Straight away, there was a knock at the door. Mr Dodds opened the door to find a policeman standing on the door-step .
“What have I done wrong ?” Mr. Dodds asked himself . “Have I driven on the wrong side of the road? Has there been some trouble at the bank? Have I forgotten to pay an important bill?”
“Hello, Uncle ,” said the policeman,” My name is Mark.”From the passage we know that his sister ______.
| A．lives in the next town with her husband and son |
| B．is the only member of the family that he knows |
| C．never writes back to him |
| D．has a small family: a son and Mark, her husband |
“He has not forgotten one of Mark’s seventeen birthdays” means ____.
| A．he has not forgotten Mark’s seventeenth birthday. |
| B．he sent Mark something on his seventeenth birthday |
| C．he always sent a Christmas card on Mark’s birthday |
| D．he always sent Mark something on his birthday |
There was a knock at the door when Mr. Dodds was ______.
| A．driving home from the bank |
| B．parking his car |
| C．ready to make his evening meal |
| D．just about to shut the front door |
The policeman was there _______.
| A．to ask Mr. Dodds to go to see his uncle |
| B．to ask Mr. Dodds to park his car not too near to other cars |
| C．to meet Mr. Dodds, his uncle |
| D．to see Mr. Dodds about some trouble at the bank |
Many people take it for granted(认为…理所当然) that black is a color of bad things while white should always mean something good．This may be because, in their opinion, black is related to darkness and white to purity．
However, that is not always the case．Did you know that the same one colour may mean differently in different places of the world?
In the English-speaking world, black is the colour of mourning．People wear black clothes at the funeral．Red is concerned with danger or bloodshed (流血)．Yellow is the word for fear．If you are afraid, you are yellow．Yet none of these sayings is true outside the English-speaking world．In China and Korea white is the colour of mourning．In Russia, China and some other countries, red stands for beauty, life and excellence．In Italy and Germany, you are yellow with anger, not with fear．
Even within the English-speaking area it is not difficult to find colour contradictions (矛盾)．A redcap in the United States is a porter in a railway station．In Britain, however, a redcap is a military policeman．Both names are logical because both men wear red caps．Similarly, the British term for an American white collar worker is sometimes called a black-coated worker．
One does not have to cross an area to find color differences．Would you rather be red-blooded? If we go back to the origin, we find that both terms are logical as both names suggest．The expression "blueblood" comes from Spain, where some noble families proudly said that they had "blue blood"．But then why “blue” blood? Because they were fair-skinned, and it is only natural that their blood vessels (血管) stood out appearing blue．Yellow is concerned with anger in ______.
| A．Russia | B．Britain |
| C．China | D．Germany |
Both Britain and America would probably agree that ______.
| A．a redcap is a porter in a station |
| B．black is the color of mourning |
| C．a black-coated worker is employed in an office |
| D．red stands for beauty and excellence |
The best title for this passage is ______.
| A．The Development of the Symbolic（象征性的）Use of Colors |
| B．The Meaning Concerned With Certain Colors |
| C．Colors that Carry Bad Meanings |
| D．The Origin(起源) of Blue Blood |
When some Spanish called themselves “blueblood”, they actually meant ______.
| A．they had heart trouble and their faces looked blue |
| B．they had blue blood in their vessels |
| C．they were fair-skinned |
| D．they came from a noble family |
A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present．On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office，a street urchin(顽童) was walking around the shining car．“Is this your car，Paul？”he asked．
Paul answered，“Yes，my brother gave it to me for Christmas.” The boy was surprised．“You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you anything？Boy，I wish…” He hesitated(犹豫)．
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for．He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly.
“I wish,” the boy went on，“that I could be a brother like that.” Paul looked at the boy in surprise, then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car？”
“Oh yes，I'd love that．”
After a short ride，the boy turned and with his eyes shining，said，“Paul，would you mind driving in front of my house？”
Paul smiled a little．He thought he knew what the boy wanted．He wanted to show his neighbours that he could ride home in a big car. But Paul was wrong again. “Will you stop where those two steps are？” the boy asked．
He ran up to the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled(残疾) brother. He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car.
“There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent. And some day I'm going to give you one just like it…then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas windows that I've been trying to tell you about.”
Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride.From the story we can see the urchin ________．
| A．wanted Paul’s brother to give him a car |
| B．wished to give his brother a car |
| C．wished he could have a brother like Paul's |
| D．wished Paul could be a brother like that |
The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ________．
| A．to tell his brother about his wish |
| B．to show he had a rich friend |
| C．to let his brother ride in the car |
| D．to show his neighbours the big car |
We can infer（推断）from the story that ________．
| A．Paul couldn't understand the urchin |
| B．the urchin had a deep love for his brother |
| C．the urchin wished to have a rich brother |
| D．the urchin's wish came true in the end |