“As easy as falling off a log” is often used to describe a job that does not take much effort. You might hear a student say to her friend that her spelling test was “as easy as falling off a log”. . It is easier to fall off the log than to stay on it.
. One is “easy as pie”. Nothing is easier than eating a piece of sweet, juicy pie unless it is a “piece of cake”.
“Piece of cake” is another expression that means something is extremely easy to do. A friend might tell you that his new job was a “piece of cake”.
Another expression is “as easy as shooting fish in a barrel”. It is hard to imagine why anyone would want to shoot fish in a barrel. But, clearly, fish in a barrel would be much easier to shoot than fish in a stream. .
Sometimes, things that come to us easily, also leave us just as easily. In fact, there is an expression —“easy come, easy go”—that recognizes this. . Easy come, easy go.
When life itself is easy, when you have no cares or problems, you are on “Easy Street”. Everyone wants to live on that imaginary street. . It means to treat a person kindly or gently, especially in a situation where you might be expected to be angry with him. A wife might urge her husband to “go easy on” their son, because the boy did not mean to damage the car.
A.If you ever tried to walk on a fallen tree log, you understand what the expression means. |
B.You may win a lot of money in a lottery, then spend it all in a few days. |
C.Every people has its own way of saying things, its own special expressions. |
D.Another “easy” expression is to “go easy on a person”. |
E. There are several other expressions that mean the same thing.
F. And one last expression, one that means do not worry or work too hard.
G. In fact, it would be as easy as “falling off a log”.
Mr Backer is a kind-hearted man. Once he gave some food to a poor woman. Mr White, the boss of the restaurant, found it and became angry. He often gave the leftovers(剩饭菜) to some poor workers. Mr Backers lost his work for it. It was difficult for him to find work in the small country though(虽然) he was an able cook.. The war made all stop. Children couldn't go to school, most shops were closed, even some farmers were hungry. Some people were made to leave their houses and they had to find the safe places. It was an autumn night. Mr Backer hadn't any food to eat and went to bed, but he couldn't fall asleep. suddenly he heard a noise in his room. He saw a man looking for something useful there. He said nothing and watched it carefully. At last the man brought a few old clothes out of a broken paper box and took them away. He got up quickly and followed him gently(文雅地), with his quilt on his back. The man didn't find him and went into a small and wet house. Mr Backer also went in and saw there was nothing in the room. The thief(贼) saw him and was surprised. He asked, “What did you come here for?” “You have carried my things here,” said Mr Backer. “I have to move there, too!”Mr White sent Mr Backer away because .
A.he couldn't cook |
B.he didn't work hard |
C.he didn't like him at all |
D.he gave some leftovers to the poor woman |
____________ , so the people in the small country got into trouble.
A.The war broke out(爆发) |
B.It didn't rain |
C.Children couldn't go to school |
D.Shops and factories were closed |
Mr Backer couldn't go to sleep because.
A.the weather was cold | B.the weather was hot |
C.he was hungry | D.he was ill |
Mr Backer said nothing when the thief went into his room because.
A.he wanted to send him to the police station |
B.there was nothing expensive there |
C.he was afraid the man could hurt him |
D.he hoped the man could help him |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can
be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower
more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!The writer of this passage must be ______.
A.an American | B.a Chinese |
C.a professor | D.a student |
From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.
A.warmly welcomed at the airport |
B.offered a ride to his home |
C.treated hospitably at his home |
D.treated to dinner in a restaurant |
The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.
A.strict with time | B.serious with time |
C.careful with time | D.willing to spend time |
A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.
A.Friendships between Chinese |
B.Friendships between Americans |
C.Americans’ hospitality |
D.Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships |
◇Share Flats Happy Valley big flat, 1 room ready for use immediately. Quiet and convenient, fully furnished, park view. $6, 800 including bills with maid. Female nonsmoker. No pet. Sara 25720836 or 10077809.
◇Moving Sale 2 armchairs, red/brown at $400 each; coffee table, black, wood, $800; oil painting, big, $900; Tianjin carpet, green 3×7, $600; double bed, $500; mirror, big, square, $500; fridge, big, double-door, $1000; old pictures, $140, up, each; plants, big and small. Tel: Weekend, 2521-6011/Weekday, 2524-5867.
◇Part-time Laboratory Assistant Wanted Required by busy electronics(电子) company to help with development of computer. Should have an electronics degree and some practical experience of working in an electronics laboratory. Hours 9:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Fourteen days paid leave. Salary ¥6598-10230 dependent on experience. Letter of application to: Mrs. G Chan, NOVA ELECTRONICS, 45 Gordon Rd, Hung Hom Kowloon.The one who put on the first ad probably wants to _______.
A.rent(租) a beautiful flat of her own in Happy Valley |
B.find another lady to share the cost to rent a flat |
C.share her room in a flat with whoever has no pet |
D.take on a maid to look after herself and the flat |
according to the ads, you may _______.
A.buy an old picture for $150 |
B.call at 25720836 and see a beautiful park |
C.buy two armchairs for $ 400 |
D.hire a maid by paying $6 800 |
If you want to buy some old furniture, you should_______.
A.get in touch with NOVA ELECTRONICS |
B.call at 2524-5867 any day except Monday |
C.do it before you move to another place |
D.call at either 2524-5867 on Monday or 2521-6011 on Saturday |
Once you can get a part-time job in NOVA ELECTRONICS, _______.
A.you have to work at least 4 hours a day |
B.you should write a letter to Mrs. G Chan |
C.you will be given 14 days off each year besides weekends |
D.you will get no more than $6 598 each month |
When Christopher Columbus landed on the then unnamed Costa Rica in 1502, he saw many Indians wearing gold earrings. So he thought the land must be rich in gold. He named the place Costa Rica, which means “rich coast” in Spanish.
Though little gold was found, Costa Rica today is indeed rich with coffee and bananas. Coffee is the most important product in Costa Rica and most of it is exported (出口) to other countries like America and West Germany. Bananas are the country’s second most important export.
Costa Ricans also grow many other crops such as fruits, corn and beans for their own use. Costa Ricans love colors and their houses are painted in bright colors.
Education is very important to the Costa Ricans. Almost every village has a school and education is a must for children between seven and fourteen years of age. Boys and girls go to separate (单独的) schools. Classes begin in March and end in November. The other three months of the year are harvest time and the children have to help their parents to pick coffee beans.The Costa Ricans may NOT paint their houses ______.
A.pink and red | B.grey and black |
C.blue and green | D.yellow and orange |
From December to February, school children in Costa Rica ______.
A.have lessons every day |
B.have their examinations |
C.help their parents pick coffee beans |
D.help their parents decorate their houses |
This passage is mainly about ______.
A.Christopher Columbus |
B.Costa Rica |
C.some products from Costa Rica |
D.the education of Costa Rica |
News that Microsoft made a $44.6 billion bid to buy Yahoo resulted in heated discussions made by many Internet users. Here are some responses:
Diane Burke of Weeks bury, Kentucky
I think it would definitely be an interesting combination. Everyone recognizes the names Yahoo and Microsoft, but everyone also says, “Did you Google it?” Such a catchphrase (时髦话) is going to be hard to beat.
Shaun Carney of Laurelville, Ohio
I think the merger (合并) will provide more competitions for Google. I don’t think the merger will allow Microsoft to develop faster than Google, though. I believe the increased competition this merger brings will force Google to stay on top of its game by offering more fresh and original Internet tools and expanding on the tools it already offers.
Toni Suarez of Hacienda Heights, California
I view the merger as a necessary element in preventing a monopolization (垄断). Perhaps it would bring better high technology innovations to e-mail and help in researching and developing a better Internet!
Rick R. of Edgewater, Florida
It sounds like a disaster to me. If this were to happen, I would stop using my Yahoo e-mail account because I don’t like the feeling of Microsoft spying upon my business. I will sign up for Google.
Antonio Glosser of Kansas City, Missouri
Right now, Yahoo offers a lot of features and tools at no cost for all different levels of Internet users. Microsoft seeks nothing but profit. Undoubtedly, they’ll do nothing other than find ways to start removing Yahoo’s formerly non-priced features. Microsoft’s greed will ruin the great thing that Yahoo currently is.How many companies are mentioned in the passage?
A.One. | B.Two. | C.Three. | D.Four. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A.Shaun’s attitude towards Google is passive. |
B.Toni believes the Internet will have a promising future. |
C.Rick will support Google after the merger. |
D.Antonio is afraid that the merger will cost Yahoo’s free features. |
The passage is mainly about ______.
A.the future of Yahoo and Microsoft |
B.the strengths of Yahoo and Microsoft |
C.the strengths and weaknesses of large companies |
D.opinions on the merger of Yahoo and Microsoft. |