Question

【题目】“Chicken” idioms（习语）

The word “chicken” is used in so many English idioms. Do you know the following?

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.

The expression“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch”means “Don’t expect that all your eggs, which have been laid, will hatch. “Hatch” is a verb, meaning the baby chicken breaks open the shell of the egg and comes out successfully. So the expression mainly means “Don’t depend on things working out just as you want them to.” this saying appears in the story The Milkmaid and Her Pail in Aesop’s Fables.

A chicken-and-egg situation

In history, philosophers（哲学家）and scientists have met this dilemma（困境）: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Aristotle thought that both the bird and the egg must have always been there. However, more recently, scientists such as Stephen Hawking have argued that the egg came before the chicken. In common speech, the term “a chicken-and-egg situation” means a situation where it is impossible to say which of two things appeared first and which caused the other one.

Don’t be such a chicken

There seems to be an idea in English, somehow, that a chicken is a scared bird. Maybe that’s not fair as most birds will probably fly away from you if you go towards them. But “Don’t be such a chicken” means “Don’t be so scared and get a bit more courage.” So if your friend fear to do something, you can say to him or her, “Don’t be such a chicken. Just have a try!”

【1】The underlined word “hatch” means “_______” in Chinese.

A. 孵化 B. 长大 C. 破碎 D. 出售

【2】While discussing the idiom “A chicken-and-egg situation”, the writer mentions Aristotle and Stephen Harking to show that_________.

A. Aristotle’s opinion was wrong

B. Stephen Hawking’s opinion is wrong

C. it’s impossible to find the right answer to this question

D. philosophers and scientists usually have the same answer to a question

【3】We may use the idiom “Don’t be such a chicken” in the situation when someone_______.

A. is not brave enough B. enjoys counting his chickens

C. has difficulty making a choice D. hopes things will work out just as he wants

【4】The writer probably appears in the __________ part of a magazine.

A. food B. culture C. travel D. sport

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】C

【3】A

【4】B

【解析】文章讲述了英国和小鸡这个词有关的一些俗语。

【1】根据“Hatch” is a verb, meaning the baby chicken breaks open the shell of the egg and comes out successfully.小鸡成功从蛋壳里出来；故选A

【2】根据“a chicken-and-egg situation” means a situation where it is impossible to say which of two things appeared first and which caused the other one.意思是找到正确的答案是不可能的；故选C

【3】根据“Don’t be such a chicken” means “Don’t be so scared and get a bit more courage.”意思要有足够的勇气；故选A

【4】根据文章讲述了英国和小鸡这个词有关的一些俗语。应属于文化方面；故选B