Some expressions in English can be really puzzling. Have a look at the following to see how it challenges your brainpower.
Homeric laughter
The "Homer" in this expression is the Greek poet. People laugh differently. Some laugh silently, while others tend to laugh loudly. "Homeric laughter" refers to laughter of the latter kind. It is at times uncontrollable, and the entire body shakes during the process. This kind of laughter is called Homeric laughter because this is how the gods laughed in Homer's classics.
A three-ring circus
When you refer to a situation as being a three-ring circus, you are saying that it is a situation of complete confusion. There are so many activities taking place all together that they leave you confused or annoyed. The expression comes from the world of entertainment — the circus. The area where the artists perform their acts is called the "ring". In the past, some of the circuses were so grand that they had three acts taking place simultaneously in three different "rings". The audience had to decide which "ring" they wanted to focus on.
In the swim (of things)
When someone is in the swim of things, the individual is actively participating in the things happening around him, as in "I've been ill, but soon I’ll be back in the swim of thing." In the world of fishing, fishermen use the word "swim" to refer to the section of the lake/river where fish can be found in plenty. So, if you are a fisherman and wish to catch a lot offish, where would you be? You would be "in the swim".
Chickens have come home to roost
The word "roost" refers to the place where birds rest. It could be anything — the branch of a tree, a henhouse, etc. The expression is normally used to mean that the bad things that someone did in the past have come back to bite or upset the individual. In other words, one has to face the consequences of the deeds done in the past. The original form of this 700-year-old expression was "curses are like chickens; they always come home to roost".
小題1:Which of the following can best describe the picture?
A．Homeric laughterB．A three-ring circus
C．In the swim (of things)D．Chickens have come home to roost
小題2:What does the underlined word "simultaneously'(Paragraph 3) mean?
A．At the same time.B．Step by step.
C．All of a sudden.D．One after another.
小題3:lf you want to know more about such expressions, which website will you probably visit?
A．www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/China.html
B．www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/university.html
C．www.chinadaily.com.cn/culuture/language.html
D．www.chinadaily.com.cn/entertainment/fashion.html
小題4:The passage is written to       .
A．tell readers some old and interesting stories
B．indicate the development of English phrases
C．correct some misunderstandings about words
D．explain the meanings and origins of some phrases

小題1:D
小題2:A
小題3:C
小題4:D
本文告訴我們一些令人迷惑的英語表達(dá)的意思及來歷。
小題1:D 推斷題。從本圖中可知，那些送給他的錢一步步地把他送進(jìn)了監(jiān)獄，所以符合最后一個成語的意思：善有善報(bào)，惡有惡報(bào)；害人終害己。
小題2:A 詞義猜測題。In the past, some of the circuses were so grand that they had three acts taking place simultaneously in three different "rings".意思是：在過去，馬戲團(tuán)是如此的宏偉，可以共三套節(jié)目同時(shí)進(jìn)行。
小題3:C推斷題。本文跟語言有關(guān)，故選C。
小題4:D 主旨大意題。本文要解釋一些短語的意義及來源。故D項(xiàng)正確。
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Who owns the large American companies that produce cars, washing machines, and television sets? They are owned by a large group of people called stockholders.
　　A company must have money to build factories and to buy machinery. To get this money, it sells shares of stock（股份）. Each share of stock is a share in the ownership of the company. The person who buys a share of stock becomes a part owner of the company. He is called a stockholder. A company can have thousands of stockholders. Sometimes a very large company is owned by millions of stockholders.
　　Few persons can afford to buy a whole company, but the average individual can become part owner of a business. He can save his dollars and buy a share of stock in a large company. A person does not have to be wealthy to be a stockholder.
　　When a company makes money, each stockholder may receive a dividend(股息) check, which is his share of the profits（利潤）. Parts of a company’s profits are not paid out to the stockholders. This money is used by the company so it can grow larger. If the company does well, its shares of stock become more valuable.
　　More than 20 million people own shares of stock in America’s companies. By owning stock, they are helping America’s businesses grow. They are also putting their money to work to earn more money.
小題1:The story makes you think that _____.
A．a(chǎn) farmer is not allowed to buy the shares of stock
B．if a company does well, its shares of stock have no value
C．a(chǎn) person may own a part of the company that makes TV sets
D．the only people who can buy stocks are those who are wealthy
小題2:A dividend is the stockholder’s share of the _____.
A．company’s profits
B．company’s savings
C．company’s income
D．products made by the company
小題3:Why do companies keep part of their profits?
A．They want to buy the shares of stock, too.
B．They cannot find all the names of their stockholders.
C．They use the money to help the company grow larger.
D．They think they have sent their stockholders enough money.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


When I decided to get married, my father decided to share some wisdom. “Lori, it is just as easy to love a rich man as it is to love a poor man, “ he said. My boyfriend didn’t have much money, but I loved him. “What?” I cried. “ How can you say that? I want to marry for love, NOT for money.” “ But why not marry someone you love who has money?” he asked. “Rich men are materialistic（物質(zhì)主義的）. I’d rather marry a poor man who loves me,” I said and he gave in.
And as we went on, with my family growing, I learned why my father put such importance on money. We had to cover the rent, car, electricity, food, and medical bills. We were under lot of pressure. The worries over whether we would be asked to move out or if we had the money to wash our clothes at the Laundromat this week made me question if I did the right thing by marrying a “poor” man.
I realized that I had entered the ranks of the poor. Not that I’d ever been rich. Most of my life, I considered us in the lower middle-class rank. We had a house of our own, food on the table, cars, clothes, and money for college. But now, as I listened to an apartment neighbour talk about her monthly “Mother’s Day” gift, I realized she was talking about her welfare check（政府發(fā)放的救濟(jì)金）. And another young mother tried to “help” me out by connecting me with a friend who stole baby clothes from a department store. “ For a small cut,” she said, “ I could return my ‘purchase’(購買的東西）for cash.” It made me sick. How poor was I?
I had a college education but wasn’t using it. I insisted on not missing a minute of our children’s childhood and it came at a price. My husband was working as hard as he could and it wasn’t enough. But somehow we made it.
The kids grew. Today, we look back and see the great values gained by going through those hard years. My children are not materialistic. They never thought they were poor growing up because we always managed to give a little bit of food, money, or clothes to the “poor”. They were satisfied with the simple things in life that come free such as a beach day or a horse back ride from their dad.
We had our worries, but we still treasured our very favorite part of the day when we’d nest (棲息地）under the covers and talked about our future, the kids and how much we loved each other. Sure our financial(財(cái)政的) troubles caused a lot of fights, but we didn’t leave each other. We began to live a better life. We moved to a better community(社區(qū)）with good schools for the kids. And soon, we’ll face a new challenge with wealth. But we’ll never give up.
My father died three years ago. Before he died, he knew I made the right choice. I’m proud of my decision.
小題1:.The writer argued with her father because _________________.
A．she thought her father didn’t love her at all
B．her father thought her boyfriend was too materialistic
C．her father wanted her to marry a rich man while she didn’t
D．she thought her father loved her boyfriend’s money more than him.
小題2:.After getting married, the writer questioned if she had done the right thing to marry her husband because___________.
A．she was often scolded(責(zé)罵)by her father
B．she found her husband was irresponsible(不負(fù)責(zé)任的）
C．he didn’t think her husband loved her deeply
D．they lived a poor life with children to support
小題3:.After their children were born, the writer_______________.
A．often regretted not using her college education
B．worked very hard in order to make more money
C．had to steal baby clothes from a department store
D．looked after her children as a professional (職業(yè)的,專業(yè)的）housewife
小題4:. Why didn’t the writer’s children think they were poor growing up?
A．Because the writer always gave them whatever they wanted
B．Because the writer and her children often helped other people.
C．Because the writer didn’t let her children play with their rich neighbours
D．Because the writer let her children have a good life through receiving help from others.
小題5:.What do you think is the theme(主題）of the story?
A．Women should always make a decision by themselves
B．Listening to the old is important when people get married
C．Money doesn’t matter as much as love in marriage
D．Children don’t mind whether they have a poor family or not

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Most recently, it's very common in students who need a parent present for job interviews. Naturally, it's easy to blame the students in these situations, but the bigger problem is us. We—as parents—are so eager to shelter our kids that we fail to realize that this in itself is harming them. As the mother of two young sons, I have to remind myself constantly that the biggest responsibility I have as a parent is to help them develop the skills needed to live in, to live without me. So, I'll let them fail．
I'll let them fail because as long as they are safe and warm inside their comfort zones, they will never grow. And failure along with loss, heartbreak, disappointment, etc.—will be part of growth for them. Call me the anti-tiger mom, but leaving them alone is, my way of helping them become equipped to fit in this world as we know it today. From terrorism and seemingly endless natural disasters, to our national debt and beyond, if we expect the next generation to stand up to the very real problems of our time, we need to stop feeding them and start teaching them how to fish.
My children now are becoming little masters of compromise, but they try to negotiate everything now. It's a small price to help them learn a skill they'll use for the rest of their lives, including when I don't accompany them on job interviews.
小題1:Why do parents accompany their kids on job interviews?
A．Because they want to protect their kids from difficulties．
B．Because they think they can help them on the questions．
C．Because their kids are too shy to attend interviews．
D．Because their kids strongly request them to do so．
小題2:According to the author, what is beneficial to kids' development?
A．Sheltering them．B．Keeping them safe．
C．Leaving them alone．D．Blaming them．
小題3:Why does the author stress failure in kids' life?
A．To make them stronger than other kids．
B．To help them grow in this tough world．
C．To help them develop all social skills．
D．To make them learn to compromise．
小題4:Which of the following might be the best title for the text?
A．Never Shelter Your Kids
B．Let Your Kids Fail
C．Be Eager to Grow Up
D．Live Without Parents

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Everyone needs recognition(賞識) for his achievements,but few people make the need known quite as clearly as the little boy who said to his father,“Let’s play darts(飛鏢).I’ll throw and you should say ‘Wonderful!’”
Fran Tarkenton,former Minnesota Vikings quarterback,once called a play that required him to block onrushing tacklers.
FEL quarterbacks almost never block.They’re usually vastly outweighed by defenders,so blocking exposes them to the risk of severe injury.
But the team was behind,and a surprising play was needed.Tarkenton went into block,and the runner scored a touchdown.The Vikings won the game.
Watching the game films with the team the next day,Tarkenton expected a big pat on the back for what he’d done.    It never came.
After the meeting,Tarkenton approached coach Bud Grant and asked,“You saw my block,didn’t you,Coach?How come you didn’t say anything about it?”
Grant replied,“Sure,I saw the block.It was great,but you’re always working hard out there,Fran.I figured I didn’t have to tell you.”
“Well,”Tarkenton replied,“if you ever want me to block again,you do!”
小題1:What does the author intend to tell us in the passage?
A．Praise can have people take risky actions.
B．Encouragement can make people achieve greater progress.
C．No recognition,no progress.
D．People will be discouraged without praise.
小題2:The author gave the little boy as an example in order to            .
A．show the importance of encouragement
B．show father’s deep love to the son
C．show the boy was complete understanding of his father
D．prove the boy was cleverer than the coach
小題3:Which of the following can describe the Fran Tarkenton’s action of blocking onrushing tacklers?
A．Quick,brave,exciting.B．Brave,risky,successful.
C．Brave,successful,kind.D．Fast,clever,strong.
小題4:What did Fran Tarkenton expect while watching the game films?
A．Recognition.B．Pride.C．Cheers.D．Reward.
小題5:It can be inferred from the passage that    .
A．Fran Tarkenton was angry with the coach
B．the coach learned a lesson from Fran Tarkenton
C．Fran Tarkenton might not take a risk in blocking again
D．the coach will highly praise Fran Tarkenton next time he blocks

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Americans love dogs, all types of dogs: small dogs, big dogs, lapdogs (供玩賞的小狗). Each year, people spend billions of dollars on their four-legged pals, making sure the lovable dogs have enough food to eat and lots of toys to play with.
Dogs love people, too. They lick their faces, protect their homes. Where did these four-legged companions come from? Some scientists believe that they have found the answer.
Scientists have long known that dogs evolved from（演化） wolves. Exactly when the transformation from wolf to dog actually took place, however, remains a mystery.
Some said dogs evolved as a separate species 135,000 years ago in two parts of the world. One group of dogs developed in Europe and Asia from Asian wolves. The other group evolved in North, Central, and South America from American wolves.
Now researchers say those theories are wrong. New studies suggest that domesticated dogs first appeared 15,000 years ago in eastern Asia. Scientists also say that every modern dog descended from approximately five female Asian wolves, the mother of all modern dogs.
Scientists suspect dogs first set paws in North America by following settlers across a land bridge that once linked northern Asia and North America.
小題1:According to recent studies, all modern dogs came from female wolves in ______.
A．AsiaB．Africa
C．EuropeD．South America
小題2:From this story, we can conclude that _______.
A．dogs are scientists’ best friends
B．dogs are more like wolves than they are like any other animal
C．most dogs are from Africa
D．scientists have no idea how dogs evolved
小題3:The underlined word “domesticated” means “_______”.
A．tamedB．indoorC．intelligentD．friendly
小題4:The best title for this story might be ______.
A．Why Cats Don’t Like Dogs
B．Barking up the Wrong Tree
C．Love Me, Love My Dog
D．Going from Wolf to Dog

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Last week, I bought an alarm system for about $ 450. It consisted of a control unit with three small units. I put the control unit in the sitting-room and fastened the other units by the front door, back door and living-room windows. The instructions told us to choose three numbers, so we chose 4, 9 and 1, the last three numbers of our telephone number.
Now I must explain how the alarm works:
l There is a power siren(警報(bào)器) in the control unit. It makes a very loud noise.
2 Each of the small units sends out beams or rays in different directions. If anything moves, it breaks a beam. This sends a signal to the control unit. The siren makes a noise which you can hear 50 meters away.
3. When we go to bed, I press the three buttons numbered 4, 9 and 1. Then we have 30 seconds to get out of the room before the alarm starts to work.
That night I slept soundly because I was sure that no burglar(夜賊) could get into our house. However, at about 2:10 a. m., I woke up and heard the siren. “There must be a burglar in the house,” Mary said. “What shall we do?”“I’ll go and see who’s there,” I said. “Stay here. Don’t make a noise.”I went downstairs quietly. When I reached the living-room, I switched on my torch and looked round the room. Then I turned the light on. I switched the siren off and searched the rooms downstairs. There was nothing wrong except that the back door was unlocked. I locked it, reset the alarm and went back to bed. About an hour later, the alarm started again. I jumped out of bed, fell over a chair in the dark and bumped into the bedroom door. Mary woke up and started hitting me with a torch. “Hey! Wait a minute!” I whispered. “It’s only me. I’m going downstairs to see what’s wrong.”I went down into the living-room and listened for a moment. The only sound I could hear was the siren. I turned on the light and then switched the siren off. As I did so, I glanced across at the curtains in front of the windows. I saw a house lizard (a kind of small animal) disappear behind the curtains.“Oh!” I said to myself. “That’s our burglar. ”When the lizard moved, it started the siren. I guessed that the alarm had been made in Europe, where there are no house lizards. Well. I won’t finish this story but if you want an alarm system free of charge, let me know. I’ll send you ours. We bought a dog this morning. It knows the difference between a lizard and a burglar.
小題1:The writer bought an alarm system to ________.
A．make sure that he got up early every day
B．warn him when there were lizards in his house
C．frighten burglars and tell him that somebody had got into the house
D．make Mary feel safe to live in the large room
小題2:The purpose of the three units was to________.
A．send a message to the control unit and start the siren
B．sound their own sirens when the control unit told them so
C．check that the control unit worked properly all the time
D．give them enough light
小題3:If the writer set the alarm and remained in the room for more than half a minute, _______.
A．nothing would happen
B．the control unit would not work
C．the siren would make a noise
D．the dog would bark
小題4:The purpose of the writer in writing the passage is to ________.
A．tell us that the alarm system doesn’t work
B．tell us an interesting experience
C．show us how the alarm system works
D．make it clear that he wants to give away his alarm system

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Combining families with kids can be tough and offers even more unexpected problems. You just don’t know how things will shake out until everyone is under one roof, trying on new roles with name that start with “step”. This is what happened to Sheila and Will, and Sheila’s 8-year-old daughter Ashley. After the couple got married, and Will became the member of the new family, things got worse than expected. How did they make it work? Read the full version of the story here.
Shelia’s Turn: When Shelia and Will were dating, he seemed like kids, especially Ashley. He’d bring her presents, play games with her. But after the wedding, things took a turn. Will suddenly became a super strict stepfather, scolding Ashley for watching too much cartoons, constantly picking fights and punishing her for offenses as small as spilling milk. Shelia’s thought about leaving Will, but soon after they married, they had a son, Billy. Will adores his well-behaved boy, but Ashley hates him. Shelia doesn’t know what to do--- her daughter is miserable, but leaving her husband might mean losing her son.
Will’s turn: Will was so excited to be a male role model in Ashley’s life. He didn’t just want to be a guy living in her house; he wanted to treat her like his own daughter, which, to Will, meant giving Ashley more rules and help her learn responsibility. He’d always felt that Shelia let Ashley loose on everything. But after the wedding, Will was surprised that Shelia didn’t want him to do that. If Will takes away Ashley’s TV privileges or tells her to clean up her room, Shelia just lets Ashley do what she likes and does it herself. Will was tired of this and he’d rather take his son and go.
The advisor’s turn: The counselor(顧問) quickly recognized their conflict as a classic case of unspoken, hidden expectations. Before the wedding, when it was just Shelia and Will, everything was easy. But now, everyone in their big family is competing for attention, and the couple never sat down and discussed the biggest issue---their child-upbringing philosophies(育兒經(jīng)). The counselor suggested Shelia allow Will to give some rules on Ashley but Will’s punishments couldn’t be extreme. Once Ashley saw that her mom and stepdad had become a united front, she cooperated more.
小題1:The text is most likely to be found in a book about______.
A．popular scienceB．historical events
C．social problemsD．political systems
小題2:The reasons for Ashley’s dislike of Will are as follows except_____?
A．Will often picked fights with Ashley.
B．Ashley often spilled milk on the floor.
C．Will always punished her for bad behaviors.
D．Ashley was stopped watching too many cartoons.
小題3:What can we know about Will?
A．Will has a good intention.
B．Will does not love children
C．Will does not love Shelia any more
D．Will’s way of parenting is very perfect.
小題4:It can be inferred from the passage that the advisor’s attitude to their problem?
A．NegativeB．ObjectiveC．CriticalD．. Subjective

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

If cars had wings, they could fly and that just might happen, beginning in 2012. The company Terrafugia, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, says it plans to deliver its car-plane, the Transition, to customers by the end of 2012.
“It’s next ‘wow’ vehicle,” said Terrafugia vice president Richard Gersh. “Anybody can buy a Ferrari, but as we say, Ferraris don’t fly.”
The car-plane has wings that unfold for flying-a process the company says takes one minute-and fold back up for driving. A runway is still required to take off and land.
The Transition is being marketed more as a plane that drives than a car that flies, although it is both. The company has been working with FAA to meet aircraft regulations, and with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to meet vehicle safety regulations.
The company is aiming to sell the Transition to private pilots as a more convenient and cheaper way to fly. They say it saves you the trouble from trying to find another mode of transportation to get to and from airports: You drive the car to the airport and then you’re good to go. When you land, you hold up the wings and hit the road. There are no expensive parking fees because you don’t have to store it at an airport-you park it in the garage at home.
The car-plane is designed to fly primarily under 10,000 feet. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,430 pounds, including fuel and passengers. Thrrafugia says the Transition reduces the potential for an accident by allowing pilots to drive under the bad weather instead of flying into marginal(臨界的) conditions.
The Transition’s price tag: $194,000. But there may be additional charges for options like a radio, , a transponder or a GPS. Another option is a full-plane parachute.
“If you get into a very awful situation, it is the necessary safety option.” Gersh said.
So far, the company has more than 70 orders with deposits. “We’re working very closely with them, but there are still some remaining steps,” Brown said.
小題1:We can learn from the first two paragraphs that _________.
A．car-planes will be popular in 2012-4-6
B．people might drive a car-plane in 2012
C．both the Transition and Ferrari can take off and land
D．Richard Gersh is the vice president of Massachusetts
小題2:It takes the car-plane one minute to _________.
A．fold and unfold its wingsB．unfold wings for flying
C．land in the airportD．meet flying safety regulations
小題3:According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. The car-plane needs a runway to take off and land.
B. To meet aircraft regulations, the company has been working with FAA.
C. The car-plane may fly as high as normal planes.
D. People can park the car-plane in the garage at their home.

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