People use their mouths for many things. They eat, talk, shout and sing. They smile and they kiss. In the English language, there are many expressions using the word “mouth.”

For example, if you say bad things about a person, the person might protest and say “Do not bad mouth me.”  Sometimes, people say something to a friend or family member that they later regret because it hurts that person’s feelings. Or they tell the person something they were not supposed to tell. The speaker might say: “I really put my foot in my mouth this time.” If this should happen, the speaker might feel down in the mouth. In other words, he might feel sad for saying the wrong thing.

Another situation is when someone falsely claims another person said something. The other person might protest: “I did not say that. Do not put words in my mouth.”

Some people have lots of money because they were born into a very rich family. There is an expression for this, too. You might say such a person, “was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.” This rich person is the opposite of a person who lives from hand to mouth. This person is very poor and only has enough money for the most important things in life, like food.

Parents might sometimes withhold sweet food from a child as a form of punishment for saying bad things. For example, if a child says things she should not say to her parents, she might be described as a mouthy child. The parents might even tell the child to stop mouthing off.

But enough of all this talk. I have been running my mouth long enough.

1.In what kind of situation will a person say “Do not bad mouth me.” ?

    A．When he feels down.                  B．When he feels regretful.

    C．When he is spoken ill of.            D．When he feels innocent.

2.If a person feels sorry for what he has said, he might say “           .”

    A．Do not bad mouth me

    B．I really put my foot in my mouth this time

    C．Do not put words in my mouth

    D．Stop mouthing off

3.If a person lives from hand to mouth, it implies            .

    A．he is badly – off                    B．he is hard – working

    C．he is well – off                     D．he has enough to eat

4.By saying, “I have been running my mouth long enough”, the speaker means “             ”.

    A．I have run a long way                B．I have been a mouthy person

    C．I have learned a lot     D．I have talked too much

That such a great number of families are still so badly off greatly ______ the researchers.

—Jane, Peter has got a well-paid job in a foreign company.

—You mean he is much _____ now.

Shakespeare's life can be divided into three periods: the first 20 years in Stratford, which includes his schooling，early marriage, and fatherhood；the next 25 years as an actor and playwright (剧作家) in London; and the last five in retirement back in Stratford where he enjoyed the wealth gained from his theatrical (戏剧的) successes. The years linking the first two periods are marked by a lack of information about Shakespeare, and are often referred to as the “dark years”.

Shakespeare probably left school at 15, and took some sorts of jobs, especially since this was the period of his father’s financial difficulty. A great number of references in his plays suggest that William may have in fact worked for his father, thus gaining specialized knowledge.

At some point during the “dark years”, Shakespeare began his career with a London theatrical company — perhaps in 1589 — for he was already an actor and playwright in 1592. Shakespeare apparently wrote and acted for Pembroke’s Men, as well as a lot of others, in particular Strange’s Men, which later became the Chamberlain’s Men.

When, in 1592, the theaters were closed for about two years, due to a terrible disease. Shakespeare turned to writing book-length poetry. Most notable were Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both of which have been translated into many languages and even been included in students’ textbooks. During this same period, Shakespeare was writing his sonnets (十四行诗), which are more likely signs of the time’s fashion rather than actual love poems detailing any particular relationship. He returned to play writing when theater reopened in 1594, and published no more poetry. His sonnets were published without his permission in 1609, shortly before his retirement. His final play was Henry VIII, two years before his death in 1616.

Why did Shakespeare take some sorts of jobs at the age of 15 and didn’t go on studying?

A. Because his family was badly off at that time.  

B. Because he liked his job more than studying.    

C. Because he wanted to be an actor in London.   

D. Because he wanted to open his own company.

Which of the following words can take the place of the underlined word “notable” in the last paragraph?

A. long                        B. fashionable                             C. famous                            D. educational

According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A. Shakespeare didn’t write any plays between 1592 and 1594.

B. Shakespeare’s sonnets were written between 1592 and 1594.

C. After writing Henry VIII, Shakespeare wrote nothing.

D. Shakespeare published his sonnets in 1609.

There was once, in a little market-town not far from Upsala (瑞典一城市), a peasant who lived there with his family, digging the earth during the week and singing in the choir on Sundays. This peasant had a little daughter to whom he taught the musical alphabet before she knew how to read. Daae was a great musician, perhaps without knowing it. Not a violinist in Scandinavia played as he did. His reputation was widespread and he was always invited to set the couples dancing at weddings and other festivals. His wife died when Christine was entering upon her sixth year. Then the father, who cared only for his daughter and his music, sold his land and went to Upsala in search of fame and fortune. He found nothing but poverty.

He returned to the country, wandering from fair to fair, playing his Scandinavian music pieces, while his child, who never left his side, listened to him in delight or sang to his playing. One day, at Ljimby Fair, Professor Valerius heard them and took them to Gothenburg. He insisted that the father was the first violinist in the world and that the daughter had the making of a great artist. Her education and instruction were provided for. She made rapid progress and charmed everybody with her prettiness, her grace of manner and her real eagerness to please.

When Valerius and his wife went to settle in France, they took Daae and Christine with them. "Mamma" Valerius treated Christine as her daughter. As for Daae, he became ill with homesickness. He never went out of doors in Paris, but lived in a sort of dream which he kept up with his violin. For hours at a time, he remained locked up in his bedroom with his daughter, playing and singing, very, very softly.

Daae seemed not to recover his strength until the summer, when the whole family went to stay at Perros-Guirec, in a far-away corner of Brittany, where the sea was of the same color as in his own country. Often he would play his saddest tunes on the beach and pretend that the sea stopped its roaring to listen to them. And then he persuaded Mamma Valerius to allow him to leave for a while. At the time of the "pardons," the village festivals and dances, he went off with his violin, as in the old days, and was allowed to take his daughter with him for a week. They gave the smallest villages music to last them for a year and slept at night in a barn, refusing a bed at the inn, lying close together on the straw, as when they were so poor in Sweden. At the same time, they were very neatly dressed, refused the halfpence offered to them; and the people around could not understand the behaviour of this country violinist, who walked heavily on the roads with that pretty child who sang like an angel from Heaven. They followed them from village to village.

1. When he was in the countryside, Daae did NOT __________.

2.The 3rd sentence “He insisted …” in the 2nd paragraph showed Professor Valerius’ ______.

3. While Daae was in Paris, he never went out of doors because he was ________.

4. What made people curious about the father and daughter was that _______.