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?

One Saturday afternoon, Kate went to buy something for her sister and herself.

  ? As Kate was coming out of a____, a young lady walked towards her. She said she was Miss Green --- a good friend of Kate’s sister. Kate believe her. Then she called a taxi to send Kate home. She told the driver where she should go. Kate was _____ that it was not in the direction of her home.

   “ Why?” Kate asked. The lady smiled.

  ? When they came to a quiet road, a big rough man appeared on the road. He stopped the taxi driver, knocked him down, and threw him out of the taxi . At the same time, Miss Green took out of a knife and pointed it at Kate. She asked Kate to keep______. The man then started the taxi.

   “ Oh, my God! I’m being kidnapped(绑架),” Kate said to herself.

   She tried to escape , but not succeeded. Suddenly an idea came to her. She took out a lipstick(口红) from her pocket, wrote ‘_____’ on the window, and covered the word with her back.

  ? A few minutes later, a police car ____and the policemen saw the sign. When the kidnappers saw the policemen, they stopped the taxi, jumped into the grass, and ran away.

   The policemen then picked Kate up and sent her home. When her parents knew what had happened, they were greatly surprised. But they were also happy because their daughter had finally come back safely.

1.A. school     ? ? B. taxi       ? ?? C. shop       ?  ?? D. friend’s

2.A. sure        ??? B. excited     ? C. surprised    ?? D. pleased

3.A. healthy       ? B. alive      ? ? C. relaxed       ?? D. quiet

4.A. THANKS      B. SORRY       C. SOS       ? ??? D. OK

5.A. stopped       B. left         ?? C. passed        ?? D. turned

Look! Here’s a pencil box, it’s orange, it’s my pencil box, it’s on the desk. Look! This is a pen, it’s black. And this is an eraser, it’s blue and white. They’re both（都）in the pencil box. This is a ruler, it’s red, it’s on the pencil box. That is a ruler, too. It’s yellow. It’s in the drawer. Where’s my math book? Ah, it’s there, under the sofa.

1.The pencil box is____________.

A. yellow B. white C. blue D. orange

2.The yellow ruler is____________.

A. in the school bag B. in the drawer

C. on the pencil box D. on the sofa

3.______in the pencil box.

A. A pen is B. An eraser is

C. A ruler and a pen are D. A pen and an eraser are

4.The math book is______.

A. under the sofa B. in the pencil box

C. on the pencil box D. under the pencil box

5.Where is my English book?

A. Under the sofa. B. On the desk.

C. Sorry, I don’t know. D. On the sofa.

阅读下面短文，在表格内的空白处填入合适的答案(每空格限填一词)
It seems that a family just isn’t complete (完整的) without a pet. But if pets aren’t suitable to a family’s lifestyle or environment, they can quickly lead to problems such as stress or arguments (争执). To save yourself and your family such problems, treat this decision seriously.

When choosing a pet, people must consider the family’s health. Many people are allergic (过敏的) to cats and dogs. Perhaps a dog or cat with short hair will be fine. And a dog might not be the best choice for a child who is naughty (顽皮的) because the dog might bite him or her. Some people can also have problems with certain pets. It’s a good idea to spend a little time with the pet around each member of the family before making your decision.
Consider the quality of life of the pet, too. If a pet is used to having space to run around, it can quickly develop psychological (心理的) problems when it is kept in a small flat all day. If pets are allowed to run about in areas with lots of traffic, they can meet an early end. Cats shouldn’t be brought into homes that already have large dogs because they won’t be able to get along well with each other.
The decision as to what kind of pet to choose is very important. If you find the right one to suit (适合) everyone in the family and their lifestyle, then it’s time to choose one. Remember that your decision is important because it can have effects that last for many years.

It's very common to meet different people in public places.

    When I was  12 years old,I got a small job in a    16  ,On my first day at work,I didn't come home for lunch. When I came home at night, Mum asked, “How did you    17  your lunch, dear?”I answered,“I made some new friends in the supermarket, twin brothers, their mom and dad. They were my customers. They invited me   18   lunch."

Mum was happy that I had made new friends but she wanted to know what kinds of    19  they might be.

Several days later,I asked my friends to come to the supermarket where l worked   20  let Mum meet them. Mum was very    21    to find out that the twin brothers were joined at the chest（胸部）.She felt very strange because I didn't tell her about that before.

    When Mum asked me about this,I said,“I know that too. But do you know that their mom has to make all clothes because it's    22    difficult to find anything to fit them? They're also good    23    .That day, Joe, the one on the right, made me noodles for lunch."

    When Mum saw the twins, she must have thought how strange they    24    .But to me,what I cared about was that they had difficulty——25    clothes and they were good cooks.

1.A.supermarket  B.post office    C.factory       D.bank

2.A.find         B.make           C.manage        D.eat

3.A.at           B.for            C.after         D.before

4.A.men           B.women           C.boys          D.people

5.A.and           B.but             C.or            D.so

6.A.surprised     B.excited         C.interested    D.disappointed

7.A.so            B.very            C.too           D.really

8.A.friends       B.singers         C.workers       D.cooks

9.A.smelled       B,looked          C.felt          D.sounded

10.A.selling       B.making          C. wearing       D.buying