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, "in a nutshell" 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'.Which of the following sentences is NOT similar to “I heard it on the grapevine. ” in figures of speech(在修辞方面)？
| A．The exam was a piece of cake. |
| B．You will be paid under the table. |
| C．You eat with that mouth? |
| D．It rained cats and dogs yesterday. |
“I was feeling under the weather so I went to see a doctor.” The underlined idiom means____.
| A．blue | B．homesick | C．unhappy | D．ill |
It is most probable that idioms will be seen______.
| A．in a paper | B．in an preface(序言) | C．in a notice | D．in online chatting |
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. |
Chocolate is good for your heart, skin and brain. Usually, people think that chocolate is bad for their health. They describe chocolate as “something to die for” or say “death by chocolate”．Now they should bite their tongues! Evidence(证据) is showing that some kinds 
of chocolate are actually good for you in the following ways:
A happier heart
Scientists at Harvard University recently examined 136 studies on cocoa—the main ingredient in chocolate and found that it does seem to strengthen the heart．Studies have shown heart benefits from increased blood flow．These benefits are the result of cocoa’s chemicals, which seem to prevent both cell damage and inflammation(炎症)．
Better blood pressure
If yours is high, chocolate may help．Jeffrey Blumberg from Tufts University recently found that people with high blood pressure who ate 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate per day for two weeks saw their blood pressure drop quickly．
Muscle magic
Chocolate milk may help you recover after a hard workout(锻炼)．In a small study at Indiana University, people who drank chocolate milk between workouts did better on a tiredness test than those who had some sports drinks．
Better for your skin．German researchers gave 24 women a half-cup of special cocoa every day．After three months, the women’s skin was moister(滑润的)and smoother．The research shows that chocolate helps protect and increase blood flow to the skin, improving its appearance．
Brain gains
It sounds almost too good to be true, but research suggests that chocolate may improve your memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem-solving by increasing blood flow to the brain．Which of the following is wrong?
| A．Coca’s chemicals can prevent both cell damage and inflammation. |
| B．Chocolate may help you lower your blood pressure. |
| C．People early know chocolate is good for their health. |
| D．chocolate may improve your memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem-solving. |
What’s the meaning of the underlined sentence in the fourth paragraph?
| A．Sports drinks are better than chocolate milk． |
| B．Sports drinks can make people easy to be tired． |
| C．Drinking milk can keep you energetic at work． |
| D．We should drink chocolate milk between times when we work hard． |
What’s the main idea of the text?
| A．Chocolate, a Healthy Food | B．More Chocolate, Less Health |
| C．Chocolate and Blood Pressure | D．Advice on Eating Chocolate |
The conclusion that chocolate may help lower blood pressure was brought out by ．
| A．scientists at Harvard University |
| B．Jeffrey Blumberg from Tufts University |
| C．scientists at Indiana University |
| D．German researchers |
What’s the meaning of “bite their tongues” in the first paragraph?
| A．Think of it．． | B．Speak up． | C． Stop talking | D．Listen to it |
He wishes the holiday season would end already. His back aches, his red suit feels like a spacesuit , his cheeks have gone tight from smiling for 12 hours —and still the kids keep coming and coming , like ants at a picnic . As Christmas becomes more commercialized (商业化) across the U. S. and Canada, so must Santas. As the holiday begins earlier each year, so must its spokesmen .
The questions from children these days are harder than ever. Now, with thousands of children expecting a father or mother serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, the questions are as heart-breaking as they are unanswerable. For example, “Can you please bring Daddy home from the war in time for Christmas morning?”
Santas also have a pretty good chance of getting sued (指控). A professional Santa Claus in Canada told a story: A Santa had a girl on his knee, and he commented, “You have nice eyes and nice hair.” The girl later said it was sexual harassment (骚扰) . When a Santa feels anxious, he often shows it in the same ways ordinary people do: The Santas were always seen to hang around at the dinner table when the show ended. Many of them just sleep in bed for several days and don’t see other children again.In the first paragraph, “spokesmen” refers to .
| A．businessmen | B．political leaders |
| C．organizers of the activities | D．Santa Clauses |
The passage implies that the job of Santa Claus is .
| A．well-paid | B．very hard | C．worth doing | D．dangerous |
According to the third paragraph, Santas may sometimes be blamed(责备) for .
| A．doing something against the law | B．hanging around the dinner table |
| C．being lazy and sleeping in bed for days | D．not playing their roles as expected |
What would be the best title for the passage ?
| A．Christmas: Not a Good Festival for Santas | B．Is Santa Claus Really Alive? |
| C．A Christmas Story | D．What Does Santa Claus Do for Children? |
Every year on my birthday, from the time I turned 12, a white gardenia was delivered to my house. No card came with it. Calls to the flower-shop were not helpful at all. After a while I stopped trying to discover the sender’s name and just delighted in the beautiful white flower in soft pink paper.
But I never stopped imagining who the giver might be. Some of my happiest moments were spent daydreaming about the sender. My mother encouraged these imaginings. She’d ask me if there was someone for whom I had done special kindness. Perhaps it was the old man across the street whose mail I’d delivered during the winter. As a girl, though, I had more fun imagining that it might be a boy I had run into.
One month before my graduation, my father died. I felt so sad that I became completely uninterested in my upcoming graduation dance, and I didn’t care if I had a new dress or not. But my mother, in her own sadness, would not let me miss any of those things. She wanted her children to feel loved and lovable. In truth, my mother wanted her children to see themselves much like the gardenia-lovely, strong and perfect with perhaps a bit of mystery(神秘).My mother died ten days after I was married. I was 22. That was the year the gardenia stopped coming.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．A childhood Dream. | B．A Mother’s Love. |
| C．A Graduation Party. | D．A Special Birthday. |
The mother insisted that her daughter go to the graduation dance because _________.
| A．she could take care of things herself | B．she hoped she would find a boyfriend |
| C．she wanted her to be happy and strong | D．she thought education was most important |
Who was the sender of the flower?
| A．A boy the writer had run into. | B．One of the writer’s neighbors. |
| C．One of the writer’s classmates. | D．The writer’s mother. |
Food
British people like good food, and more than half of them go to a restaurant every month. Fast food is also very popular---30% of all adults have a hamburger every three months, but 46% have fish and chips!
Sports
British people don’t do a lot of sports. Only 17% of people go swimming every week, about 9% go cycling and 8% play golf--- and only 6% of people play football (but 32% go to watch it).
Cinema and TV
Films are very popular in Britain, and about 60% of the young people go to the cinema every month. At home, men watch TV for about three hours every day ---30 minutes more than women.
Holidays
British people love going on holiday, and have 56 holidays every year. Most of these holidays aren’t spent in the UK---27% are in Spain. 10% are in the USA, and 9% are in France. Maybe this is because the weather in Britain isn’t very good!
Presents
British people don’t send others expensive presents like other Europeans. They often send chocolates, wine and flowers of good quality(质量). Which food could be more popular among Briti sh adults, a hamburger or fish and chips?
| A．A hamburger. | B．Fish and chips. | C．Both. | D．Neither. |
Those who are interested in movies are _____.
| A．men | B．women | C．young people | D．old people |
How long do British women spend watching TV every day?
| A．Three hours. | B．Three hours and a half. | C．Two hours. | D．Two hours and a half. |
British people’s favorite country for a holiday is _____.
| A．Spain | B．France | C．America | D．Australia |
What present don’t British people often send?
| A．Chocolat es. | B．Wine. | C．Flowers. | D．Money. |
A driver stopped his car on a street side to have a rest. As he lay down in the seat and closed his eyes, a person came up and knocked at the window to ask the time. The driver opened his eyes and looked at his watch. “It’s 8:05,” he said. Then he went to sleep again. But soon he was waken up again because a second person was knocking at the window. “Sir, do you know the time?” he asked. The driver looked at his watch, and told him it was half past eight.
In this way, the driver thought he could not have a good rest, so he wrote a short note and stuck it on the window for all to see. It said, “ I don’t know the time.”
Again, he lay down in the seat for his sleep. A few minutes later, a third person came and began to knock at the window, “Hey, sir,” he said. “It’s 8:45.” Where did the driver sleep?
| A．At the window. | B．In the street road. | C．In his car. | D．In his room. |
How long had the driver been there when the third person called him?
| A．40 minutes. | B．25 minutes. | C．50 minutes. | D．70 minutes. |
Why did the driver write a note and stick it on the window?
| A．Because he didn’t know the time. |
| B．Because he didn’t want anybody to trouble him. |
| C．Because he needed somebody to wake him up. |
| D．Because he wanted somebody to tell him the time. |
The third person knocked at the window to _____.
| A．ask him the time | B．ask him not to sleep |
| C．see if the driver was sleeping | D． tell him what time it was |
What do you think of the third person?
| A．Cold-hearted. | B．Helpful. | C．Thankful. | D．Hopeful. |
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