Expressions cover all parts of our life. They may be around your ears every day. You may know a lot of Chinese expressions that describe how you feel. Here are some English ones for your enjoyment.
Have Your Heart in Your Mouth
This expression means that you’re really afraid or anxious about something. When your heart starts beating so much that you can feel a thumping(怦怦跳) in your throat, it may feel like you “have your heart in your mouth”.
Have Butterflies in the Stomach
How did butterflies get in your stomach? Well, those really aren’t butterflies in there. It is a way of describing those nervous feelings you might get before a test or a very important decision.
These stomach flutters(跳动) are normal and happen to many people. Some people believe having a few butterflies might even help you perform better.
Sick as a Dog
If you’ve ever been very sick, you may have used this expression. Because dogs eat just about anything they find, they often get sick. So it’s all right to describe someone who’s not feeling well as being “sick as a dog” .
Under the Weather
When it’s rainy all day outside, how would you feel? This expression comes from the idea that bad weather might hurt a person’s health and mood .Someone believes ________ if you ‘have butterflies in the stomach” before a test.
| A．You’re sure to fail | B．You will forget everything |
| C．You might do better | D．You are sure to do better |
When somebody says “ under the weather” , he must feel __________ .
| A．upset | B．happy | C．calm | D．afraid |
All expressions discussed in the passage are about _________
| A．health | B．habits | C．feelings | D．Weather |
阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。（共10分，每小题2分）
“I sometimes get up at three or four in the morning to surf the Internet.”
“I check my e-mail almost forty times a day.”
“I seldom spend less than three hours each time on the net.”
“Spend more time in chat rooms than with my real-life friends.”
Do you know any people like these? They are part of a new addiction(瘾) called Internet addiction. According to experts, Internet addicts(迷)spend at least thirty to forty hours online every week. They lose control of the time they spend on the Internet.
For example, one college student was missing for several days. His friends were worried and 1ooked for him everywhere but couldn’t find him. They called the police. The police found the student in the computer lab: he was surfing the Internet — for seven days straight.
A study shows that about six to ten percent of Internet users become addicted. The teenagers spend more time on the Internet than with families. That’s why some experts worry most about young people.
Is “surfing the Internet” a hobby or all addiction for you? You may have a problem if you have one of the following symptoms(症状):
★You can’t wait to get online again.
★You go out with your friends less and less.
★You’ve decided to spend a short time online，but then you spend several hours.
★You do not go to important family events or you do not do school projects because you like to spend hours on the Internet.
What is the solution(解决办法)? Some experts suggest that people set strict limits(限制) on their time for Internet use. You have to learn to control it, or the Internet would control you.Do Internet addicts spend at least thirty to forty hours online every week?
Where was the missing college student found?
Why do some experts worry most about young people?
How many symptoms are mentioned in the passage?
What’s the passage mainly about?
“Yes, ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard NASA’s Space Elevator. We’re going to leave soon. The entire ride will take about five hours, so sit back and enjoy the trip. As we rise, be sure to look out the window. You’ll see the sky change from deep blue to black. It is one of the most wonderful views（景色）you will ever see! ”
Does this sound like the Sci-Fi Channel? Well, it’s not. Scientists are thinking that a “space elevator” will be possible toward the end of the 21st century. A space elevator will consist of a long cable (电缆) from the Earth’s surface into space to an altitude(高度) of about 35,786 km. “Elevators” will travel along the cable and move people and loads between Earth and space. One of the greatest advantages is that the cost will be much less. Researchers estimate (估计) that a passenger with baggage at 150 kg might cost only $222! Compare that to today’s cost of around $3.3 million for the same weight. It would make “cheap” space travel possible. Scientists believe carbon nanotubes (纳米管) may be used to make high-strength materials for the cables, although they are still being studied.
It was Arthur C. Clarke who brought this idea to the general public. In his science fiction novel Fountains of Paradise, engineers build a space elevator on top of a mountain peak on an island. One day, Clarke was asked a question by a student during his speech. The student asked when the space elevator would become a reality. Clarke answered, “Probably about 50 years after everybody stops laughing.” He’s got a point. When we stop thinking of something as impossible, then we start working on its development.Why should passengers in a space elevator look out the window while they are moving into space?
| A．Because the blue sky is very beautiful. |
| B．Because the view outside is wonderful. |
| C．Because the sky changes from black to blue. |
| D．Because the trip will take about seven hours. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Scientists haven’t used carbon nanotubes to make the cables. |
| B．Traveling in space elevators will cost much less in the future. |
| C．Passengers will be able to travel in space elevators with baggage. |
| D．Space elevators will travel for 35,786 km around the Earth’s surface. |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Possible Now: Space Travel | B．Cheap Space Travel |
| C．Going into Space in an Elevator | D．Space Travel — Impossible |
The Vieira family moved to the United States in 1981. At that time, they decided to stop speaking Spanish at home and only communicate in English. This was because they were now living in an English-speaking country.
Now the Vieira children are adults, and they sometimes travel to Spain to visit their family and friends. But they cannot communicate with them. Unfortunately this is common. When people move to new countries, they often leave their own customs and mother language behind. This is a mistake because there are many benefits（益处）of knowing more than one language.
One advantage of speaking more than one language is that you can communicate directly with more people around the world. You do not have to depend on others to talk for you, so you’re more independent. People who know only one language must use others to help them communicate.
Furthermore, speaking a second language also allows people to experience other cultures and customs more effectively（有效地）. Local expressions, vocabulary, and even jokes can have a powerful effect on a person’s understanding of another culture. So, knowing more than one language increases your knowledge of other cultures.
Finally, having more multi-language speakers improves relationships between countries. If people from different countries can communicate well, the world can become closer. Countries will then have more respect for each other and better understand each other’s problems.
The benefits of knowing more than one language are clear. In fact, there are no disadvantages. It is very sad that many people don’t try to learn another language. It is even worse when people let themselves forget their mother language and become silenced.The passage begins with the experience of the Vieira family in order to______.
| A．discuss the need for teaching a new language |
| B．show the problems of speaking only one language |
| C．describe the advantages of moving to another country |
| D．introduce the passage’s main characters to the readers |
According to the passage, if you can speak more than one language, you can______.
| A．find a better job |
| B．make more friends |
| C．better understand history |
| D．communicate more independently |
The underlined phrase “multi-language speakers” (In Paragraph 5) means “people who know ______.”
| A．more than one language | B．a new language |
| C．their mother language | D．body language |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．How to learn another language. |
| B．The importance of learning English. |
| C．The benefits of learning other languages. |
| D．The reasons why people come to America. |
Kindergartens may teach you very important things you need to know. Dancy, a 5-year-old boy, saved his father’s life with the skills he learned.
The boy’s father became seriously ill on the way home from a father-son shopping. He couldn’t speak and could hardly move, but he tried hard to stop the car safely. At that point, Dancy used his father’s phone to call his mother for help. The 5-year-old boy tried his best to give her useful information and he was able to tell where they were. Just as he had learned in the kindergarten, Dancy read the letters he saw on a nearby store sign: “F,U,R,N,I,T,U,R,E.” But that wasn’t enough for his mother to find them. Then he added that they were near a bridge. Finally, his mother understood he was talking about a store called Furniture 22 on New Jersey’s Route 22. The mother called 911 and the father was saved in time.
“He just thought his dad needed help,” Dancy’s mother told the reporter. She also pointed out that her husband was a hero, too. “It is surprising for him to get offthe highway and get himself and his child to safety even when he was so sick,” she said.
Shine, head of the kindergarten, felt proud of his pupil. “Dancy’s spelling skills helped him seize（抓住）the moment,” he said. “And that’s the real value of education.”When the father became seriously ill, he and his son were ______.
| A．on the wayhome | B．in the kindergarten |
| C．in a shopping center | D．at a bus station |
Dancy called ______for help when his father couldn’t speak.
| A．911 | B．his mother | C．Shine | D．the reporter |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Dancy drove his father home. |
| B．The reporter was really a hero. |
| C．Shine sent Dancy’s father to hospital. |
| D．Dancy saved his father with his spelling skills. |
News Review
Head-on Train Crash
On May 18, two trains had a head-on crash（相撞）near New York City. Over 250 people were on the trains then. About 60 people were hurt, but no deaths were reported.
Travel Time
Tourists came together to the Taishan Mountain, on May1. Over 180,000 tourists visited the place of great interest from April 29 to May 1, during the three-day holiday.
Brave Volunteer
Liao Zhi, a dance teacher from Chengdu who lost her 1-year-old daughter and her legs in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, arrived in Ya’an 13 hours after the earthquake. The dancer said she had had a terrible time herself and knew what people needed most, so she decided to come and offer help.
Tomato Competition
A tomato competition was held in Huainan, Anhui Province, on April 16. The best tomatoes were chosen according to their shape, color and taste. The competition hoped to encourage the farmers to grow better tomatoes.About ______ people were hurt in the Head-on Train Crash.
| A．18 | B．29 | C．60 | D．250 |
Liao Zhi, the dance teacher from______, came to Ya’an to offer help.
| A．Chengdu | B．Huainan | C．Taishan | D．New York |
The Tomato Competition in Anhui Province was held to______.
| A．help the people in Ya’an |
| B．save the people on the trains |
| C．help grow better tomatoes |
| D．forget the terrible time |