20．Legs are the base of the body．They provide support and balance．And，of course，we use them to walk．
Besides being a part of the body，legs have quite different meanings in many English expressions．
If something has legs，it means people have interest in it．This expression often describes a story，issue or scandal（丑聞）．If you are involved in a scandal that has legs，you will hear about it for a long time，which is unlucky．
If I add"up"to the expression"has legs，"you have a whole new expression with a whole new meaning．To have a leg up means that you are ahead of others in some competition．For example，if you are studying rocket science in college and your mother is a rocket scientist，you have a leg up on other students．Your mother can help you understand difficult problems about rockets．You would have another a leg up if your father owned the local rocket factory．
Now，let's move our legs to the sea．Imagine you are on a boat that is rocking back and forth in rough ocean waters．You are unable to walk steadily and you feel a little sick．This is because you haven't found your sea legs．Sea legs are the ability to move about and not feel sick while traveling on a boat or ship．
To pull someone's leg is to tell a lie but in a friendly way．You can tell someone to not pull your leg．Or you can ask them if they are，as in this example：
A：I just won two free tickets to the big rock concert tonight and a free dinner on a night-time boat cruise!Do you want to join me？
B：Are you pulling my leg？!That sounds too good to be true．
A：It's true!I'll pick you up at 6o'clock．
Besides pulling a leg，you can also tell someone to shake a leg．This means to hurry．You often hear parents telling children to"shake a leg"when they are getting ready for school in the morning．
If you find yourself on your last legs，you had better sit down for a while and rest．Being on your last legs can mean that you are so tired that you cannot continue．And the personal pronoun here can change．She can be on her last legs．And he can be on his last legs．However，this expression does not have to be used just for a person．If something you own is old and not working，you can say it is on its last legs．For example，I have owned my car for 15years，and it is on its last legs．Everything is breaking．A company that is losing money and soon to be out-of-business can be said to be on its last legs．
36．How many English expressions with legs are introduced in this passage？D
A．Three．
B．Four．
C．Five．
D．Six．
37．Which of the following expressions means to tell a lie in a friendly way？B
A．To have legs．
B．To pull one's legs．
C．To shake a leg．
D．To be on one's last legs．
38．What does the underlined word"steadily"in the fifth paragraph probably mean？A
A．穩(wěn)定地
B．固執(zhí)地
C．筆直地
D．搖晃地
39．Why do people say John has a leg up on Mike？C
A．John is involved in a scandal while Mike isn't．
B．John can move about while Mike feels sick when travelling on a boat．
C．John and Mike are learning drawing．John's mother is an artist while Mike's is a doctor．
D．Mike has owned his car for 15years while John has just bought a new one．
40．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage？B
A．If people are interested in the story，we can say the story has a leg up．
B．When we are on our last legs，we had better sit down for a while and rest．
C．A company that can make a lot of money can be said to be on its last legs．
D．If someone tells you to shake a leg，he means to ask you not to hurry．
分析 本文介紹了關于leg在許多英語表達中有著不同的含義．
解答 36．D 細節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)If something has legs，it means people have interest in it；To have a leg up means that you are ahead of others in some competition；Sea legs are the ability to move about and not feel sick while traveling on a boat or ship．；To pull someone's leg is to tell a lie but in a friendly way；，you can also tell someone to shake a leg．；If you find yourself on your last legs，you had better sit down for a while and rest可知提到了六個和leg有關的句子，故選D．
37．B 細節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第五段To pull someone's leg is to tell a lie but in a friendly way可知拉某人的腿是說謊，故選B．
38．A 詞義猜測題．根據(jù)后半句如果你感覺不舒服，可以推斷出此處應該是：你就不能走得穩(wěn)，故選A．
39．C 細節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第三段To have a leg up means that you are ahead of others in some competition．可知have a leg up 意味著你在一些競爭有別人沒有的條件，故選C．
40．B 細節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)最后一段If you find yourself on your last legs，you had better sit down for a while and rest可知如果太累了，就停下來休息，故選B．
點評 做題時要在理解好文意的基礎上，與題目有機的結合，從文章中找到相關細節(jié)性的句子與選項細細比對，進行選擇或推理判斷，選出符合文章內容的正確選項．做題注意靈活，有時可采用排除法或直選法確定出最終答案．
