There are hundreds of funny and strange expressions in the English language. A lot of them include country names or nationalities. Take these examples:
The Dutch（丹麦人）are the target of most English expressions about nationalities. Why are there so many jokes about the Dutch in English? And what do these expressions mean? In the 17th and early 18th centuries, there were three wars between the British and the Dutch, and Dutch became a bad word. So double Dutch means something that has no meaning or is impossible to understand. A Dutch uncle is someone who gives much stronger advice than they need to. There are later expressions, which are funnier and kinder, like to go Dutch, which is nowadays a popular expression. It means to pay for your part of a bill. This often happens when a group of friends have a meal together, and each person pays for the food they ate. I’m a Dutchman is another commonly used expression. This means not being able to believe something.
An expression with a similar meaning to double Dutch is it’s all Greek to me, which means I don’t understand. The expression was made famous in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar although the expression is actually hundreds of years older.
If you take French leave, you are not present or leave somewhere without permission. For example, you could take French leave from a classroom or the place where you work. This expression is from the 18th century when French people left parties without saying goodbye to the host or hostess.
There are Chinese whispers, which mean confused（令人困惑的）messages. This describes the fact that a message can often change as it is passed from person to person. This expression comes from the First World War when foreigners were often confused by Chinese language.
Many people find English expressions confusing, but now that you know about some of them, you can easily have fun finding out many more funny English expressions.
【小题1】Are there many jokes about the Dutch in English?
【小题2】When did Dutch become a bad word?
【小题3】What does “French leave” mean?
【小题4】Which three expressions mentioned above have similar meanings?
【小题5】What do the funny and strange expressions in the passage have in common?

There are hundreds of funny and strange expressions in the English language. A lot of them include country names or nationalities. Take these examples:

The Dutch（丹麦人）are the target of most English expressions about nationalities. Why are there so many jokes about the Dutch in English? And what do these expressions mean? In the 17th and early 18th centuries, there were three wars between the British and the Dutch, and Dutch became a bad word. So double Dutch means something that has no meaning or is impossible to understand. A Dutch uncle is someone who gives much stronger advice than they need to. There are later expressions, which are funnier and kinder, like to go Dutch, which is nowadays a popular expression. It means to pay for your part of a bill. This often happens when a group of friends have a meal together, and each person pays for the food they ate. I’m a Dutchman is another commonly used expression. This means not being able to believe something.

An expression with a similar meaning to double Dutch is it’s all Greek to me, which means I don’t understand. The expression was made famous in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar although the expression is actually hundreds of years older.

If you take French leave, you are not present or leave somewhere without permission. For example, you could take French leave from a classroom or the place where you work. This expression is from the 18th century when French people left parties without saying goodbye to the host or hostess.

There are Chinese whispers, which mean confused（令人困惑的）messages. This describes the fact that a message can often change as it is passed from person to person. This expression comes from the First World War when foreigners were often confused by Chinese language.

Many people find English expressions confusing, but now that you know about some of them, you can easily have fun finding out many more funny English expressions.

1.Are there many jokes about the Dutch in English?

2.When did Dutch become a bad word?

3.What does “French leave” mean?

4.Which three expressions mentioned above have similar meanings?

5.What do the funny and strange expressions in the passage have in common?

There are hundreds of funny and strange expressions in the English language. A lot of them include country names or nationalities. Take these examples:
The Dutch（丹麦人）are the target of most English expressions about nationalities. Why are there so many jokes about the Dutch in English? And what do these expressions mean? In the 17th and early 18th centuries, there were three wars between the British and the Dutch, and Dutch became a bad word. So double Dutch means something that has no meaning or is impossible to understand. A Dutch uncle is someone who gives much stronger advice than they need to. There are later expressions, which are funnier and kinder, like to go Dutch, which is nowadays a popular expression. It means to pay for your part of a bill. This often happens when a group of friends have a meal together, and each person pays for the food they ate. I’m a Dutchman is another commonly used expression. This means not being able to believe something.
An expression with a similar meaning to double Dutch is it’s all Greek to me, which means I don’t understand. The expression was made famous in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar although the expression is actually hundreds of years older.
If you take French leave, you are not present or leave somewhere without permission. For example, you could take French leave from a classroom or the place where you work. This expression is from the 18th century when French people left parties without saying goodbye to the host or hostess.
There are Chinese whispers, which mean confused（令人困惑的）messages. This describes the fact that a message can often change as it is passed from person to person. This expression comes from the First World War when foreigners were often confused by Chinese language.
Many people find English expressions confusing, but now that you know about some of them, you can easily have fun finding out many more funny English expressions.

1. 1.

   Are there many jokes about the Dutch in English?

2. 2.

   When did Dutch become a bad word?

3. 3.

   What does “French leave” mean?

4. 4.

   Which three expressions mentioned above have similar meanings?

5. 5.

   What do the funny and strange expressions in the passage have in common?

Children are natural scientists. They are interested in looking into the world around them. Helping them enjoy science can be easy; there’s no need for a lot of expensive lab tools. You only have to share your children’s curiosity(好奇).

Firstly, listen to their questions. I once visited a classroom of seven-year-old students to talk about working as a scientist. The children asked me questions about schooling and whether I liked my job. When I finished answering, we sat facing one another quietly. Finally I said, “Now that we’ve finished, do you have questions of your own about science?”

After a long pause, a boy put up his hand, “Have you ever seen a grasshopper(蚂蚱) eat? When I try eating leaves like that, I get a stomachache. Why?” This began a set of questions that lasted nearly two hours.

Secondly, give them time to think. Studies have shown that, after asking a question, adults usually wait only one second or less for an answer, do not leave time for children to think. When adults increase their “wait time” to three seconds or more, children can give more logical(合逻辑的), complete and creative answers.

Thirdly, watch your language. Once you have a child telling his idea in a science discussion, don’t jump in with “That’s right. ” or “Very good. ”. These words work well when it comes to encouraging good behavior. But in talking about science, quick praise can mean that discussion is over. Instead, you can say “That’s interesting. ” or “I’d never thought of it that way before. ” or come up with more questions or ideas.

Never push a child to “Think”. Children are always thinking, without your telling them to. What’s more, this can turn a conversation into a performance. The child will try to find the answer you want in as few words as possible, so that he will be a smaller target(目标)for your disagreement.

Lastly, show; don’t tell. Real-life feeling of nature is far more exciting than any lesson children learn from a book. Let children look at their fingertips(指尖) through a magnifying lens(放大镜), and they’ll understand why you want them to wash before dinner.

(   )53. When children are in a science discussion, adults should ________.

A. speak highly of the children.

B. praise the children immediately

C. end up their discussion with “That’s interesting”

D. leave time for them to come up with better ideas

(   )54. What does “this” refer to in the 6th paragraph?

A. Pushing children to think.

B. Finding the answer you want.

C. Talking about science.

D. Telling children to discuss.

(   )55. These are the ways for adults to share children’s curiosity EXCEPT ________.

A. telling them encouraging stories instead of boring facts  

B. offering them chances to see things by themselves

C. being patient when the children answer questions     

D. persuading them to ask the questions of their own