A
There are many idioms in English. An idiom is a phrase that we can’t understand from the meaning of each word. The following are some of them.
As the crow flies
When a bird flies from place to place, it takes the most direct route. But when people drive, they have to follow roads and often go farther. When people give a distance “as the crow flies”, they mean the shortest distance between the two points, not the distance you would have to travel by following roads.
As Dan and his mum drove along the river, they could see the beach on the opposite side, Dan asked “How far is it to the beach? ”
“It’s only about a quarter of a mile as the crow flies, ” his mother said.
Blow hot and cold
In one of Aesop’s Fables, a man blows on his fingers to warm them up and then blows on his soup to cool it down. In both cases, the man is opening his mouth, but what comes out is different. If a person says one thing and later says the opposite, we say that the person is blowing hot and cold.
“Is Felicia going to try out for the soccer team this year? ” Stacy asked.
“I don’t know, ” Tricia replied. “Last week she was saying yes, but this week she’s saying no. She’s really blowing hot and cold. ”
Break the ice
Nowadays people use the phrase to refer to ending an awkward silence by beginning a conversation.
It was the first day of summer camp. The four girls began to make their beds in silence. None of the girls knew each other, and no one knew what to say. Finally, one of them broke the ice by saying “Hey, where’s everybody from? ”
Bury the hatchet
In native American culture, when two nations agreed to end their war, they buried the hatchet. So to bury the hatchet is to make peace with someone else.
Colin could not excuse his sister for breaking his tennis racket. Finally, his sister said, “Colin, can’t we bury the hatchet? ”
【语篇概述】本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了四个英语习语的意思与用法实例。
21. What does “as the crow flies” mean?
A. In the smoothest way. B. By plane.
C. In a straight line. D. At top speed.
【解析】选C。词义猜测题。根据第二段可知“像乌鸦那样飞”指的是两点之间的最短距离, 也就是说是直线飞行。
22. “Blow hot and cold” can be used to talk about someone’s ______.
A. poor health B. bad manner
C. communication skills D. changing attitudes
【解析】选D。细节理解题。根据第五段中If a person says one thing and later says the opposite, we say that the person is blowing hot and cold. 可知, 如果一个人说一件事, 并且稍后又说相反的事, 我们说这个人在吹热风和凉风。言外之意就是说这个人的态度摇摆不定。
23. When the four girls were making their beds in silence, they probably felt ______.
A. shy B. disappointed
C. excited D. curious
【解析】选A。细节理解题。根据“Break the ice”这一部分中的None of the girls knew each other, and no one knew what to say. 可知, 这些女孩们彼此不认识且不知道说什么。这说明她们可能感到害羞。
24. It can be inferred that Colin’s sister hoped that Colin would ______.
A. buy a new tennis racket
B. forgive her mistake
C. stay away from her
D. make an apology to her
【解析】选B。推理判断题。根据最后一部分中So to bury the hatchet is to make peace with someone else. 可知, 把斧子埋起来就是和某人和解。故可推测Colin的姐姐的话的意思是原谅她的错误。
