When I first began to work with international students, I asked someone at a lunch, “What brings you here today?” Looking at me like I was a bit crazy, he answered, “ The bus.” That was my first realization that no matter how good a speaker is, there are phrases that will always tend to cause confusion to non-native speakers. These idiomatic phrases(慣用語) add color and interest to any language and are worth learning if you want to talk fluently with native speakers.
“By no stretch”----The speaker is referring to something that’s very hard to achieve or realize, even with great effort, as in “It was not a good meal, by any stretch of the imagination.” Which means that ______________.
“Half dead”----An expression of extreme tiredness, having nothing to do with actual health. Commonly used at the end of a long and tiring day.
“By the book”----This means that an action should follow the rules exactly. It also describes the nature of someone who won’t deviate(背離) from a set of rules no matter what the situation is.
“More power to you”----This isn’t a wish for you to have better electricity from the power company----it’s a statement, usually slightly ironic(諷刺的), that the speaker thinks that you are unlikely to do a task, but you should try if you think you can complete it. It generally means the speaker has no intention of helping you achieve your goal neither will they discourage you from attempting to reach it. For example, “I don’t think you can meet that deadline, but more power to you.”
“As easy as pie”----A reference that something is as simple or easy as eating a delicious dessert, or that it requires little effort to successfully achieve. In chatting, this phrase does not refer to the process of cooking or eating.
小題1:The example given by the author in the first paragraph is used to show__________.
A.the importance of learning idiomsB.the beauty of the English language
C.the foolishness of the studentD.the cause of the misunderstanding
小題2:According to the passage, which of the following would be proper to fill in the blank in Paragraph 2?
A.the meal is very deliciousB.it’s very hard to make the meal delicious
C.people make great efforts to make the meal delicious
D.even if people try to believe it, the meal could not be described as good
小題3:If someone says he is half dead, he means____________.
A.he is in poor healthB.he cannot move
C.he has a sound sleepD.he is exhausted
小題4:If a person daren’t do things in a creative way, you may describe him by using “__________”.
A.by no stretchB.by the book
C.a(chǎn)s easy as pieD.the breaker of rules

小題1:A
小題2:D
小題3:D
小題4:B
練習(xí)冊系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

Fish Ears Tell Fish Tales
  Fish have ears. Really. They’re quite small and have no opening to the outside world carrying sound through the body. For the past seven years, Simon Thorrold, a university professor, has been examining fish ears, small round ear bones called otoliths (耳石).
  As fish grow, so do their otoliths. Each day, their otoliths gain a ring of calcium carbonate (碳酸鈣). By looking through a microscope and counting these rings, Thorrold can determine the exact age of a young fish. As a fish gets older, its otoliths no longer get daily rings. Instead, they get yearly rings, which can also be counted, giving information about the fish’s age, just like the growth rings of a tree.
  Ring counting is nothing new to fish scientists. But Thorrold has turned to a new direction. They’re examining the chemical elements (元素) of each otolith ring.
  The daily ring gives us the time, but chemistry tells us about the environment in which the fish swam on any given day. These elements tell us about the chemistry of the water that the fish was in. It also says something about water temperature, which determines how much of these elements will gather within each otolith ring.
  Thorrold can tell, for example, if a fish spent time in the open ocean before entering the less salty water of coastal areas. He can basically tell where fish are spending their time at any given stage of history.
  In the case of the Atlantic croaker, a popular saltwater food fish, Thorrold and his assistant have successfully followed the travelling of young fish from mid-ocean to the coast, a journey of many hundreds of miles.
  This is important to managers in the fish industry, who know nearly nothing about the whereabouts of the young fish for most food fish in the ocean. Eager to learn about his technology, fish scientists are now lending Thorrold their ears.
小題1:What can we learn about fish ears from the text?
A.They are small soft rings.
B.They are not seen from the outside.
C.They are openings only on food fish.
D.They are not used to receive sound.
小題2:Why does the writer compare the fish to trees?
A.Trees gain a growth ring each day.
B.Trees also have otoliths.
C.Their growth rings are very small.
D.They both have growth rings.
小題3:Why is it important to study the chemistry of otolith rings?
A.The elements of the otoliths can tell the history of the sea.
B.Chemical contents of otoliths can tell how fast fish can swim.
C.We can know more about fish and their living environment.
D.Scientists can know exactly how old a fish is.
小題4:How would you understand “fish scientists are now lending their ears”?
A.They are very interested in Thorrold’s research findings.
B.They want to know where they can find fish.
C.They lend their fish for chemical studies.
D.They wonder if Thorrold can find growth rings from their ears.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


Teaching includes more than leadership. Some of the teacher's time and effort is directed toward instruction, some toward evaluation(評價). But it is the teacher as a group leader who creates an effective organizational structure and good working environment so that instruction and evaluation activities can take place. A group that is totally disorganized, unclear about its goals, or constantly fighting among its members will not be a good learning group. The leadership pattern includes helping to form and keep up a positive learning environment so that instruction and evaluation activities can take place.
On the first day of class the teacher faces a room filled with individuals. Perhaps a few closely united groups and friendships already exist. But there is no sense of belonging. If teachers are successful leaders, they will help students develop a system of relationships that encourages cooperation.
Standards and rules must be set up that keep order, ensure justice, and protect individual rights, but are not against school policy. What happens when one student hurts another's individual rights? Without clear guidelines agreeable to students, teachers, and administration(行政管理), the classroom can be in disorder. Students may break rules they did not know existed. If standards are set without opinions from the class, students may spend a great deal of creative energy in ruining the class environment, finding ways to break rules.
No matter how skillful the teacher is in uniting students and setting up a positive atmosphere, the task is never complete. Regular maintenance(保持) is necessary. Conflicts(沖突) arise. The needs of individual members change. A new kind of learning task requires a new organizational structure. Sometimes out pressures such as holidays, upcoming tests or athletic contests, or family troubles cause pressure in the classroom. One task for the teacher is to bring back a positive environment by helping students deal with conflicts, changes and pressure.
68. This article is written mainly for the purpose of ______.
A. providing information for teaching    
B. studying the teacher's behavior in the classroom
C. comparing the teacher's behaviors with students'    
D. teaching and organizing a class
69. The teacher, in some way, is a leader because ______.
A. he must well-organize a class and keep a good learning environment
B. he deals with students in the same way as a leader does
C. he should develop agreement among students
D. he has to keep his class in order and give instruction and evaluation
70. Which of the following is not true?
A. If the teacher well unites his student sand creates a positive atmosphere, he then will complete his task.
B. If guidelines are not acceptable both to students and teachers, the classroom can be a mess.
C. Outside pressure may cause pressure among students.
D. Students need the teacher just as sheep need a shepherd(羊倌).

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

       Many parents who welcome the idea of turning off the TV and spending more time with the family are still worried that without TV they would be too often on call as entertainers(娛樂者) for their children.They remember thinking up all sorts of things to do when they were children.But their own children seem different, less good at finding things to pass the time, somehow.When there’s nothing to do, these parents notice regretfully that their children seem unable to come up with anything to do besides turning on the TV.?
One father, for example, says, “When I was young, we were always thinking up things to do, projects and games.We certainly never complained in an angry way to our parents, ‘I have nothing to do”.He compares this with his own children today: “They are simply lazy.If someone doesn’t play with them, they’ll happily sit there watching TV all day.”
There is one word for this father’s disappointment: unfair.It is as if he were disappointed in them for not reading Greek though they have never studied the language.He feels his children’s lack of inventiveness a great pity, as if the ability to play were something born that his children are missing.In fact, the tendency(傾向) to play is built into the human species, but the actual ability to play—to imagine, to invent in a playful way, and the ability to gain satisfaction after successful effort from it—these are skills that have to be learned and developed.
Such disappointment, however, is not only unjust, it is also destructive(毀滅性的).Sensing their parents’ disappointment, children come to believe that they are, indeed, lacking something, and that this makes them less worthy of admiration and respect.Giving children the chance to develop new things to enjoy themselves, to enrich their knowledge and experience and discover the pleasure of doing things on their own is, on the other hand, a way to help children develop a confident(自信)feeling about themselves as able and interesting people.
小題1:Many people think that, instead of watching a lot of TV, their children should_______.
A.think up things to enjoy themselvesB.find chances to talk with parents
C.enjoy themselves outdoorsD.sit silently studying Greek
小題2:Fathers often blame their children for not being able to play by themselves.This is unfair because________.
A.they do not lack the ability to play
B.they have not been given the opportunities to learn and develop their ability
C.the children are too young to do that
D.the children are not really lazy, but there’s nothing for them to do
小題3:When parents show continuous disappointment in their children, the children will________.
A.be more disappointed
B.refuse to learn new things
C.discover the pleasures of doing things on their own
D.lose their confidence and respectability
小題4:What is the author’s main idea?
A.Parents should give children more help on how to be inventive.
B.Turning off the TV will help us solve a lot of family problems.
C.It’s not right for parents and children to blame(抱怨) each other.
D.Today’s children are becoming less able and independent than before.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


Soaring divorce rates around the globe are affecting the environment, American researchers suggested in a study released Monday.
Michigan State University researcher Jianguo “Jack” Liu and his assistant Eunice Yu said the increasing number of divorces leads to more households with fewer people and greater consumption of water and energy. They said housing units require space, construction materials and fuel to heat and cool, regardless of the number of inhabitants.
For example, in the United States in 2005, divorced households consumed an extra 73 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and 627 billion gallons of water. An additional 38 million extra rooms required heating and lighting that same year due to divorced households.
“A married household actually uses resources more efficiently than a divorced household”, Liu said. He said that in cohabitating households, people will watch the same television, share the air conditioning and heat and use the same refrigerator, all things that use energy at a regularly stable rate regardless of the number of users.
Liu said he was not condemning divorce, “Some people really need to get divorces.” He said that cohabitation was simply a more environmentally friendly option. Additionally, the researchers noted that trends other than divorce are also changing family living structures, such as the end of multiple generations of a family sharing a home and people remaining single longer.
“People’s first reaction to this research is surprise, and then it seems simple.” Liu said in a release, “But a lot of things become simple after research is done. Our challenges were to connect the dots and quantify their relationships. People have been talking about how to protect the environment and refuse climate change, but divorce is an overlooked factor that needs to be considered.”
He said the increasing energy demands caused by divorce should be considered by governments when they are creating environmental policies.
This passage is mainly meant to ____.
A. inform the reader of the increasing divorce in America
B. emphasize the importance of protecting the environment
C. tell people the effect divorce has on the environment
D. appeal to married people to keep their households
According to the passage, what’s the attitude of Mr. Liu towards divorce?
A. Supportive       B. Objective.       C. Indifferent.       D. Unclear.
It can be inferred from the passage that ____.
A. divorced households will promote the sales of products
B. married households are more willing to protect the environment
C. divorced households contribute more to the society’s development
D. divorce is not taken into account when people are protecting the environment
From this passage we can find that ____.
A. divorce rates are quickly rising globally these years
B. cohabiting households will increase consumption of water and energy
C. to divorce is a wise option according to the passage
D. the end of multi-generations of a family will save energy

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication means. Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago; but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. To pollute mean to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.
Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in a place, men moved to another place. But this is no longer true. Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.
Air pollution is still the most serious. It’s bad to all living things in the world, but it is not only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us become angry more easily.
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop the people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from blowing dirty smoke into the air.
The pollution of SO2 is now the most dangerous problem of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. It is sure that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.
The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must keep careful of the rise in pollution at the same time.
小題1:Our world is becoming much smaller ___________.
A.because the earth is being polluted day and night.
B.thanks to science developing.
C.because of the rise in pollution
D.because the earth is blown away by the wind every year.
小題2:Pollution comes in many ways. We can even hear it. Here “it” means ___________.
A.water pollutionB.a(chǎn)ir pollutionC.noise pollutionD.rubbish
小題3: Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution because __________.
A.it’s bad to all living things in the world.
B.it makes us become angry more easily.
C.it has made our rivers and lakes dirty.
D.it makes much noise.
小題4:Which of the following is not true?
A.The problem of pollution is not so serious because there are not so many people.
B.From now on, maybe people try to go to work by bus or bike instead of car or motorbike. It is helpful to fight against the pollution of SO2.
C.The pollution of the earth grows as fast as the world’s pollution does.
D.Many countries are making rules to fight pollution.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


In 1990 Peter Salovey Ph. D and John Mayer Ph. D coined the term Emotional Intelligence. Their research has opened many people’s eyes to the fact that EQ or emotional quotient holds the key to one’s happiness and well being, and helped us to realize that our emotional makeup can be so much more important than our mental, or what we refer to as IQ—intelligent quotient.
IQ is essential for learning and mental development and EQ is much more important for happiness and success. Some time ago a study done in the United States proved that doctors who were impatient and did not exhibit much care towards their patients were more likely to be sued (起訴) for malpractice(瀆職), whereas doctors who were caring and attentive to their patients were less likely to be sued even if they made a critical mistake. A woman wrote to newspaper recently telling about her brother. He was apparently a genius but did not get along with people, quit every job he started, and eventually became a taxi driver. These are just a few examples of people with high IQ but low EQ.
We have all known people who did not complete college, but who have become very successful in business. We call them street smart. We also know people who, on the whole, are positive, communicative, pleasant and supportive—these people enjoy a high level of EQ.
Many people wish to improve their EQ for the purpose of becoming happier, more successful, and at the same time more balanced, individuals. The remarkable thing about EQ is that it can always, at any age, be improved, unlike IQ, which remains more or less fixed in adult life.
Now psychologists start workshops focusing on showing people how to increase their EQ. This enables them to accomplish their dreams and desires, rid themselves of negative patterns and shows them that once they master their inner world, their outer world becomes much better.
47. In the second paragraph, the author gives us two examples to show that _____.
A. doctors in the United States are often involved in cases
B. working as a taxi driver in the United States requires high EQ
C. those with high IQ are often engaged in the low-rank work
D. those with low EQ have a harder time surviving in life
48. Which of the following can’t be used to describe the people with a high level of EQ?
A. They are positive, communicative, pleasant and supportive.
B. They are optimistic and untroubled by difficulties.
C. They are impatient and show little care towards others.
D. They may be very successful in business.
49. It can be inferred that predicting future successes, ______.
A. a person’s brainpower might actually matter less than a person’s character
B. a person’s IQ might be more important than a person’s EQ
C. IQ plays an important role as well as EQ
D. both IQ and EQ are the key points that should be considered
50. Which of following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. People with high IQ are likely to gain knowledge quickly.
B. At work EQ gets you hired easily and IQ gets you promoted.
C. Having a high IQ will help us in some ways but having a high EQ might help us even more.
D. People’s EQ could be raised much more than their IQ.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

Special Bridges Help Animals Cross the Road
— Reported by Sheila Carrick
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.
Most people know this joke. But recently, some people have been much more worried about how the grizzly bear(灰熊)and mountain lion can cross the road.
"Millions of animals die each year on US roads," the Federal Highway Administration reports. In fact,only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the US today. The main reason? Road kill.
"Ecopassages (生態(tài)通道 ) " may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars. They are paths both over and under roads. "These ecopassages can be extremely useful, so that wildlife can avoid road accidents," said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Protection Society.
But do animals actually use the ecopassages? The answer is yes. Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an ecopassage that went under a highway. This showed that the lions used the passage.
Builders of ecopassages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them. Animals seem to be catching on. Animals as different as salamanders(火蜥蜴) and grizzly bears are using the bridges and underpasses.
The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around. You might see an animal overpass!
小題1:The writer uses the example of "ocelots " to show that ________.
A.wild animals have become more dangerous
B.the driving conditions have improved greatly
C.the measure for projecting wildlife fails to work
D.a(chǎn)n increasing number of animals are killed in road accidents
小題2: From the news story, we know an ecopassage is ________.
A.a(chǎn)n underground path for carsB.a(chǎn) fence built for the safety of the area
C.a(chǎn) bridge for animals to get over a riverD.a(chǎn) path for animals to cross the road
小題3: When the writer says that animals seem" to be catching on", he means ________.
A.a(chǎn)nimals begin to realize the dangers on the road
B.a(chǎn)nimals begin to learn to use ecopassages
C.a(chǎn)nimals are crossing the road in groups
D.a(chǎn)nimals are increasing in number
小題4: The writer asks visitors and drivers to look around when traveling because________
A.wild animals may attack carsB.wild animals may jam the road
C.they may see wild animals in the parkD.they may see wild animals on ecopassages

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


  A new study has found that it may be possible to train people to be more intelligent,increasing the brainpower they had at birth.
  Until now,it has been widely assumed that the kind of mental ability that allows us to solve new problems without having any relevant previous experience—what psychologists call fluid intelligence—is innate and cannot be taught(though people can raise their grades on tests of it by practicing).
  But in the new study,researchers describe a method for improving this skill,along with experiments to prove it works.
  The key, researchers found, was carefully structured training in working memory—the kind that allows memorization of a telephone number just long enough to dial it. This type of memory is closely related to fluid intelligence,so the researchers reasoned that improving it might lead to improvements in fluid intelligence.
  First they measured fluid intelligence of volunteers using standard tests. Then they trained each in a complicated memory task—the child’s card game,in which they had to recall a card they saw and heard. During the course, they needed to ignore irrelevant items,monitor ongoing performance,manage two tasks at the same time and connect related items to one another in space and time.
  The four groups experienced a half-hour of training daily for 8,12,17 and 19 days,respectively. To make sure they were not just improving their test-taking skills,the researchers compared them with control groups that took the tests without the training.
  The results, published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,were striking. Improvement in the trained groups was a lot greater. Moreover,the longer they trained, the higher their scores were. All performers,from the weakest to the strongest,showed significant improvement.
  “Our results show you can increase your intelligence with proper training.”said Dr Jaeggi, a co-author of the paper.“No one knows how long the gains will last after training stops,”he added,“and the experiment’s design did not allow the researchers to determine whether more training would continue to produce further gains.”
67.The researchers thought the key to improving the intelligence was ______________.
A.memorizing telephone numbers
B.improving working memory
C.training in concentration
D.recalling a card
68.The following aspects of the training help increase intelligence EXCEPT___________.
A.ignoring irrelevant items
B.monitoring ongoing performance
C.managing two tasks at the same time
D.using previous experience
69.When the experiment was conducted,the researchers______________.
A.trained the four groups for the same period of time
B.only made comparisons between the four groups
C.compared the four groups with control groups
D.trained the four groups together
70.By writing the article,the writer intends to ______________.
A.inform the readers of a new study
B.call on people to be trained to increase intelligence
C.prove one’s born brainpower can be improved
D.tell people the improved intelligence will last forever

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊答案