A.She will have a rest at home. | B.She will visit her uncle. | C.She will travel to London. |
A.To a restaurant. | B.To a school. | C.To the students Club. |
A.Listening to music. | B.Playing basketball. | C.Climbing mountains. |
The other day I was doing some shopping and a homeless man, who was untidy and spent most of the time talking to no one, walked toward a group of us at the checkout stand. I overheard him say to the man in front of me, “I don’t want to steal from this store... would you buy me some food?”
The man in front of me pretended not to hear him; it was as if he were not there. I waited patiently for my turn to be questioned, but it never came. So I asked him, “Can I buy you something to eat?” He gladly accepted. The man got a bag and began putting cupcakes in the bag. As my things were being rung up I watched the man put the cupcakes into the bag; 1, 2, 3... He finally stopped and I asked him how many he had got and he replied 6.
The cashier looked at me in surprise and then added them to my order. After I was through, the man was walking around the store; he said he wanted something to drink, too. The cashier seemed to be keeping a close eye on him. I admit I was too, as I didn’t want him to steal anything either! I told the cashier that if he got a drink I’d just pay for it.
In the end, we both ended up leaving the store, but he stood right outside holding the cupcakes and talking to himself. Or maybe he was talking with someone who he thought was there.
This man’s circumstances (处境) made me sad. How many of our homeless also suffer from a mental illness? Maybe that’s even what led him to be homeless. I also thought about the watchful eye the cashier and I kept over him. Maybe for different reasons, I still hope to run into him again someday, and maybe we can sit down and have lunch together.
1.What did the other man do when asked by the homeless man?A.He gave him some money for food. | B.He walked him to the checkout stand. |
C.He did not react to his request at all. | D.He offered to buy him some cupcakes. |
A.Because he doubted if a theft might happen. |
B.Because he thought the man might need help. |
C.Because it was his duty to watch the customers. |
D.Because it helped speed up the check-out process. |
A.He thanked the author. | B.He spoke to himself |
C.He talked with someone. | D.He ate the cupcakes. |
A.Positive. | B.Honest. | C.Caring. | D.Responsible. |
A.A student. | B.A manager. | C.A professor. |
A.Exciting. | B.Interesting. | C.Boring. |
A.Eat out. | B.Study. | C.Have a picnic. |
English is full of funny expressions that don’t always make sense. Idioms are phrases and sentences that do not mean exactly what they say. Even if you know the meaning of each word, you may not understand the idiom because you don’t understand the culture behind it. Here are some English idioms based on animals.
When children jump around and act silly, their parents may tell them to stop “monkeying around”.To “monkey around” means to do things that are not useful or serious, or to simply waste time.
Many American families have and love pet dogs. But for some unknown reason, Americans use “dog” in a phrase that means to feel unwell. If you are “as sick as a dog”, you’re really, really sick.
Sometimes you may also hear cats mentioned in conversations, “I told you to keep that secret, but you have just ‘let the cat out of the bag’!” You probably guessed it — that idiom means to reveal a secret or tell facts that were previously unknown.
Dogs and cats don’t always get along, but they appear side by side in a commonly used idiom. When it rains heavily, people might say it’s “raining cats and dogs”.
Heavy rain often ruins people’s plans for outdoor activities. But on a lovely day, you can have a picnic. If a swarm (一群) of tiny bugs love your food and start to hover (盘旋) around you, it would be really annoying. That experience perfectly explains why people often tell someone who keeps bothering them to “stop bugging me”.
Idioms are very common in both spoken and written English. If you want to have a better understanding of English, you have to learn idioms.
1.According to Paragraph 1, which is right about idioms?A.Expressions which are based on animals. |
B.Expressions with rich cultural background. |
C.Expressions that always make sense. |
D.Expressions which are easy to understand. |
A.Children jump around and waste time. |
B.Children do something useful and serious. |
C.Children play with monkeys with their parents. |
D.Children spend time playing with their family pets. |
A.Dogs and cats always get along nicely. |
B.Bugs can be used to show your annoyance. |
C.Americans believe cats can give away secrets. |
D.Americans use the idiom “as sick as a dog” to describe a healthy man. |
A.By sharing experiences. |
B.By making comparisons. |
C.By giving examples. |
D.By listing figures. |
It was not turning out to be the great fishing trip we had imagined. It certainly was not the one Father had promised. All day the rain beat against the roof of our cabin.
Father sat at the window, looking out over the lake. My older brother Jeremy, who had recently turned sixteen years old, lay on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. I paced the room, occasionally glancing toward Father to see if there was any sign that the rain would let up.
“I wish we’d never come out to this boring place,” Jeremy said.
I stopped pacing and looked at Father. He gave no sign that he had heard, and I hoped he hadn’t. This trip meant a lot to him. He used to come out here with own father.
I started pacing again.
“I mean, if we’d stayed home, at least I could watch TV, go out with my friends or play my guitar,” Jeremy continued.
Silence continued for some time. I kept pacing, imagining the trip I had dreamed of before the bad weather had set in. I saw us in the boat, anchor dropped in a calm bay casting our lines toward shore, the way Father had described it when he was trying to convince Jeremy to come along.
Father stood up and turned to face us. He smiled at me. “Come on, get up, Jeremy,” he said. “Let’s go fishing, boys.” He picked up his fishing rod and the tool box, opened the door, and walked out into the rain.
Jeremy and I watched Father walk down the pathway toward the dock (码头),the wind whipping (打) at his hair,the rain wetting his clothes. Jeremy shook his head. “He's crazy if he thinks I’m going with him,” he said. “Maybe I would have when I was a little kid, but not now,” he said.
I waited for a while, unsure of what to do, looking out the open door at Father, who was walking onto the dock, facing against the storm. Jeremy couldn’t believe I picked up my rod and walked out into the storm after Father. I couldn’t quite hear what Jeremy said because of the wind in my ears, but I heard his footsteps behind me as he began to follow me out to the boat.
1.What does the underlined phrase “let up” in Paragraph 2 mean?A.Stop. | B.Continue. | C.Hit. | D.Arrive. |
A.He had never fished in the rain. |
B.It’s his son Jeremy’s first fishing trip. |
C.He and his own father usually went fishing there. |
D.He wanted to have a better relationship with his sons. |
A.He doesn’t enjoy fishing. |
B.He dislikes outdoor activities. |
C.He is addicted to playing the guitar. |
D.He showed no interest in the fishing trip. |
A.To express the fondness for a particular day. |
B.To describe a fishing experience in the rain. |
C.To reflect on the old family tradition of fishing. |
D.To recall the generation gap between father and brother. |
Friendship is one of the most important
Knowing how valuable friendship is, we should be very
A true friend can always be trusted, loved and
My favourite sport