D. Because it‘s mysterious.
23. Which of the following best describe the writer? A. Creative and saving. B. Hard-working and generous. C. Intelligent and critical. D. Thoughtful and conservative. 24. What‘s the best title for the passage? A. An amusing guessing game B. The Last Meal of the Month C. Traditional family food recipes D. How to be a good housewife
B
What is an idiom? An idiom is a group of words which, when used together, has a different meaning from the one which the individual words have. For example, ―---How do you know that Sid and Nancy have separated ?”“---I heard it on the grapevine(葡萄藤)”.
Of course, the second speaker does not mean he heard the news about John by putting his ear to a grapevine! He is conveying the idea visually of information spreading around a widespread network, similar to a grapevine. We use idioms to express something that other words do not express as clearly or as cleverly. We often use an image or symbol to describe something as clearly as possible and thus make our point as effectively as possible. For example, \suggests the idea of having all the information contained within very few words. Idioms tend to be informal and are best used in spoken rather than written English.
One of the best ways to learn an idiom is by looking at the context in which it is used. This can be done by concentrating on the rest of the sentence and try to guess the meaning. Many idioms are not that difficult to understand when considered in their context. For example: We are going to have a surprise party for Tom tomorrow. It's a secret so please don't let the cat out of the bag. 'Let the cat out of the bag' is an idiom. Imagine you don't know what this idiom means; by looking at the words preceding, it should be easy to guess that the speaker does not want you to tell Tom about the surprise party. Therefore, 'let the cat out of the bag' must mean something like' reveal a secret' or 'tell a secret'.
Your friend told you ―I was feeling under the weather so I went to see a doctor.‖. Can you guess the real meaning?
25. Which of the following sentences is NOT similar to ―I heard it on the grapevine. ‖ in the usage?
A. The exam was a piece of cake. B. You eat with that mouth? C. You will be paid under the table. D. It rained cats and dogs yesterday. 26. The underlined idiom means____.
A. ill B. homesick C. unhappy D. blue 27. It is most probable that idioms will be seen______.
A. in a paper B. in an instruction C. in a notice D. in online chatting 28. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage? A. Other words can express something as vividly as idioms. B. Written English with spoken English does not use idioms at all. C. There are plant, food, animal idioms used to express something. D. Contexts play not a bit important part in guessing the meaning of idioms.
C
There have been big changes in the attitudes of most parents over the last few years. Physical punishment is banned in schools in most countries, and in many countries, there are moves to ban all physical punishment of children even at home. However, many parents still believe that they have the right to use some physical punishments to deal with certain misbehavior at certain ages.
It's easy to find reasons to allow some physical punishments. One issue is that many parents find it very difficult to abandon physical punishment completely. Parents argue that this was the way they were brought up and that it didn't do any harm to them. They believe that for the child's sake they have the right to discipline the child in any way they consider fit, including using some physical punishments. The other one is that physical punishment can be quick and effective. There is not much point reasoning with a screaming child in the supermarket.
However, there are several reasons why we should stop using physical punishment. One point is that most parents are not trained to deal with misbehaving children. They don't have enough resources or choices to handle the situation. As a result, they immediately react by hitting the child even if there are other solutions to the problem. Another point is that unless people are challenged
or forced to change their belief, they may keep following negative habits. An example is seat belt use — now most people wear seat belts without thinking, while years ago the idea of using seat belts was strange to most people. In the same way, banning physical punishment will force people to change their habits.
In conclusion, parents have to change some of their belief and ideas about how children should be raised. It is possible to avoid the use of physical force, and doing so will help us move closer to the dream of removing violence from our society.
29. According to the first paragraph, many parents think that ________. A. they are free to use physical punishment on their children B. most of the children behave badly in their daily life C. they have changed their attitudes towards their children D. physical punishment is effective to educate their children
30. Many parents won't give up physical punishment because ________. A. they are disappointed with their children B. they were brought up just in the same way C. they don't want to hurt their children badly D. they don't know what to do with their children
31. The author gives the example of using seat belts in order to show ________. A. most people are used to wearing seat belts B. it's not difficult to change some negative habits C. seat belts are really very necessary and useful D. people won't change their old habits unless forced
32. The main purpose of the author in writing this passage is to ________. A. talk about a ban on using physical punishment B. tell us we should educate our children in other ways C. advise parents to give up using physical punishment D. suggest physical punishment should be used at home
D
Handwriting has existed for about 6,000 years. It‘s one of our most important inventions. Without it, we wouldn‘t be able to record knowledge or pass ideas from one generation to the
next.
Most of us know, but often forget, that handwriting is not natural. It‘s not like seeing or talking, which are what we are born with. In early America, only wealthy men and businessmen learned to write. A ―good hand‖ became a sign of class and intelligence as well as morality. Most, meanwhile, signed legal documents with a mere ?X‘ and the presence of a witness. Writing only spread to the masses in the 19th century, after schools began teaching handwriting.
Writing has always been serious business — left-handed students often had their arm tied tightly to their bodies, so they‘d learn to write with the ―correct‖ hand. In more modern times, you may remember spending hours learning the correct stroke(笔画), formation and spacing of upper- and lower-case letters.
But today, schools are shifting the focus to coursework in STEM – short for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. With limited hours and an increased pressure to meet higher standards, teachers are emphasizing technology and tablets and less of the written word.
Technology has threatened writing long before every man, woman and child carried a phone. It came with the invention of the typewriter, which standardized written communication, and that same argument will reappear as technology advances.
I don‘t know if handwriting will ever die. But today, the growing emphasis on typing is having far-reaching effects. To get a glimpse of the future, just look at the youth. Instead of curly Qs or crazy Ls, kids are using emoticons such as
or
to give a personal touch.
Typing is more democratic, too — it isn‘t a complicated skill to master. Keyboards are changing the physical connection between writers and text, and people who can‘t write by hand, like the blind, can now use tools to communicate only by touch.
I suppose it‘ s easy to grieve over the passing of one era (年代) into another. Sure, I‘ll miss the writing of letters, and the beautiful and well-practiced signature written with a pen. And while some pathways in our brains will weaken with the decline of handwriting, we‘ ll develop new ones as we swipe (滑动) and double-click our way into the future. 33. Before the 19th century in America, _____________. A. only intelligent people could learn handwriting in schools B. legal documents were signed with the presence of a witness
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