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(惯用语) 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(背离) 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(讽刺的), 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.

1.The example given by the author in the first paragraph is used to show__________.

A．the importance of learning idioms	B．the beauty of the English language
C．the foolishness of the student	D．the cause of the misunderstanding

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 delicious	B．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

3.If someone says he is half dead, he means____________.

A．he is in poor health	B．he cannot move
C．he has a sound sleep	D．he is exhausted

4.If a person daren’t do things in a creative way, you may describe him by using “__________”.

A．by no stretch	B．by the book
C．as easy as pie	D．the breaker of rules

 

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(惯用语) 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(背离) 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(讽刺的), 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.

The example given by the author in the first paragraph is used to show__________.

A. the importance of learning idioms           B. the beauty of the English language

C. the foolishness of the student              D. the cause of the misunderstanding

According to the passage, which of the following would be proper to fill in the blank in Paragraph 2?

A. the meal is very delicious           B. 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

If someone says he is half dead, he means____________.

A. he is in poor health                       B. he cannot move

C. he has a sound sleep                       D. he is exhausted

If a person daren’t do things in a creative way, you may describe him by using “__________”.

A. by no stretch                            B. by the book

C. as easy as pie                           D. the breaker of rules

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从1-25各题所给的四个选项中，选出一　　 个最佳答案。　　

　　    It 1 around nine o'clock when I drove 2 home from work because it　　 was already dark. As I approached the gates I switched off the　　 headlamps of the car 3 prevent the beam from swinging in through the　　 window and waking Jack, who shared the house with me. But I 4. I　　 noticed that his light was still on, so he was awake anyway-unless　　 he'd 5 asleep while reading. I put the car away and went up the steps.　　 Then I opened the door quietly and went to Jack's room. He was in bed　　 awake but he didn't 6 turn towards me.

　　

　　     "What's up, Jack?" I said.

　　

　　     "For God's 7 , don't make a noise," he said.

　　

　　     The way he spoke reminded me 8 someone 9 who is afraid to talk in　　 case he 10 himself a serious injury.　　 　　"Take your shoes 11, Neville," Jack said.

　　

　　     I thought that he must be ill and that 12 humor him to　　 keep him happy. "There's a snake here ," he explained. "It's asleep　　 13 the sheets. I was 14 on my back reading when I saw it. I know　　 that moving was out of 15. I 16 moved even if I'd wanted to." I　　 realized that he was 17, "I was relying 18 you to call a doctor as　　 soon as you 19 home," Jack went on. "It hasn't bitten me yet　　 but I daren't 20 to upset it. It 21 wake up. I'm sick 22　　 this," he said, " I 23 that you'd be home an hour ago."

　　

　　     There was no time to argue or apologize 　　 24 late. I looked at him 25 I could and went out to telephone the doctor.　　

(1)A. had to be   B.was  to be   C. must have been   D. should have been

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(2)A. at   B.　　 back    C. in  D.　　 to

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(3) A. so as to  B.　　 in order  C. so that  D.　　 for

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(4)A. needn't bother B. didn't need to　　 bother C.　　 needn't have bothered D.　　 mustn't have bothered

[　　　　 ]

(5)A. become  B.　　 fallen  C. gone D.　　 grown

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(6)A. even  B.　　 just  C. only D.　　 rather

[　　　　 ]

(7)A. behalf  B.　　 love  C. reason D.　　 sake

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(8)A. from  B.　　 to  C. of  D.　　 with  

[　　　　 ]

(9)A. with pain  B.　　 in pain  C. having pain  D.　　 having ache

[　　　　 ]

(10)A. would do  B.　　 does  C. would make D.makes

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(11)A. off  B.　　 out  C. away  D.　　 back

[　　　　 ]

(12)A. I had rather  B.　　 I would rather C.　　 I had better  D. I would　　 better

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(13)A. between  B.　　 beside  C. below D.　　 behind

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(14)A. lied  B.　　 laid  C. laying  D.　　 lying

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(15)A. the business  B.　　 the question C. the chance  D.　　 the risk

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(16)A. may not have  B.　　 might not have C.　　 can't have  D.　　 couldn't have

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(17)A. in fact  B.　　 in serious  C. in earnest  D.　　 in truth 

(18)A. on  B.　　 to  C. in  D.　　 for

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(19)A. would come B.　　 have come C. were coming D.　　 came

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(20)A. to do a thing B. do anything  C.　　 to do something D. do nothing

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(21)A. might  B.　　 can  C. should  D.　　 shall

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(22)A. with  B.　　 from  C. of  D.　　 for

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(23)A. made it certain  B. have been sure of  C. counted on  D. took it for granted 　　

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(24)A. for being  B. to be  C. on being  D. to have been

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(25)A. as fiercely as  B. as encouragingly as  C.　　 so bravely as  D. so hopefully　　 as

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