Learning English grammar and English vocabulary can be hard enough, but trying to understand English sayings can be more difficult. Some are just hard to figure out and others don’t make any sense at all. Here are four funny English sayings that you can use every day.

I’m happy as a clam(蛤).

Think of a clam. It doesn’t have to do anything. It just sits on a beach or on the bottom of the ocean all day doing nothing. It never has to work. That sounds like happiness, doesn’t it? If someone asks, “How are you today?” you can answer “I am happy as a clam” to let him or her know what a great mood you are in.

I wouldn’t touch that (or him/her) with a ten-foot pole.

Maybe there is a person who you don’t want to be friends with or even talk to. Well, this saying means that you dislike him or her so much that you don’t want to touch or go near him or her, even within ten feet!

You don’t have a leg to stand on.

?? This saying doesn’t mean that the person you’re talking to has no legs. It means that his or her argument is incorrect. He or she doesn’t have a leg to stand on because he or she has no facts to support what he or she is saying. This saying is a good way to tell people that you think they’re wrong.

??? Break a leg!

??? This saying actually means the opposite of what it sounds like. If you tell this to a person, you’re wishing him or her good luck！The saying comes from a superstition(迷信) that whatever you say aloud, the opposite will come true.

1.The first paragraph mainly tells us____________________.

A.learning English grammar is hard

B.learning English vocabulary is hard

C.we should use English sayings every day

D.it can be harder to understand English sayings

2.Which of the following is TRUE about a clam?

A.It can be used to show happiness.????? B.It needs to do many things.

C.It needs to eat a lot.???????????????? D.It can only live on the beach.

3.The saying “I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole” means___________.

A.I hate him.????????????????????? B.I want him to be my friend.

C.I like him.?????????????????????? D.I want to argue with him.

4.We can learn from the passage that______________________.

A.the saying “You don’t have a leg to stand on” means someone loses his legs

B.the saying “Break a leg” means someone hurts his or her leg

C.if we say “Break a leg” to someone, we give him or her a good wish

D.if we say “I am ill” aloud, we will become healthy

When something goes wrong，it can be very satisfying to say，“Well, it’s so-and-so’s mistake.”or “I know I’m late，but it’s not my mistake；the car broke down.”It is probably not your mistake，but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation，you are a loser You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation. This is the winner’s key to success.
　Winners are good at dealing with problems. For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you need to have your car checked more regularly. Or, you might start to carry the useful phone numbers with you, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague(同事) causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don’t depend on the person. You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.
　　This is what being a winner is all about-creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don’t have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on “whose mistake it is.” Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stop on for success.
【小题1】According to the passage, winners___________ .
A. have responsible and able colleagues
B. meet with fewer difficulties in their lives
C deal with problems instead of blaming others.
D. blame themselves instead of others
【小题2】The underlined word remedy in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to__________ .

Body language shows all kinds of feelings and is sometimes more important than spoken language.A smile is a usual facial expression----it shows that you are friendly to others. However, it does not always mean that you are happy. A smile can hide other feelings, like anger, fear, or worry.
In most countries, nodding the head up and down shows agreement, while shaking the head means that you do not agree, or that you would not like to do something. If you stand holding your arms across your chest, you may be protecting yourself---just from a conversation you do not want! If you sit looking at the person you are talking to and then turn toward to him, it shows that you are interested. If you roll your eyes and turn your head away, most likely you do not believe what you are hearing, or you do not like what you hear.
【小题1】Body language shows__________.

Body language shows all kinds of feelings and is sometimes more important than spoken language.A smile is a usual facial expression----it shows that you are friendly to others. However, it does not always mean that you are happy. A smile can hide other feelings, like anger, fear, or worry.

In most countries, nodding the head up and down shows agreement, while shaking the head means that you do not agree, or that you would not like to do something. If you stand holding your arms across your chest, you may be protecting yourself---just from a conversation you do not want! If you sit looking at the person you are talking to and then turn toward to him, it shows that you are interested. If you roll your eyes and turn your head away, most likely you do not believe what you are hearing, or you do not like what you hear.

1.Body language shows__________.

A．all kinds of feelings                      B．some special feelings

C．nothing                               D．only happy feelings

2.When a person smiles, ______________.

A．it always shows he is very happy

B．it always means he hides some feelings

C．there may be some other feelings behind the smile.

D．it shows he is angry, worried or frightened.

3.______________, nodding heads up and down shows he agrees with you.

A．In most countries                       B．In all countries

C．In some countries                       D．In Western Countries

4.If a man stands holding his arms across his chest, it means __________.

A．he wants to protect himself from a conversation he doesn’t want

B．he is very interested in the conversation

C．he is pleased with the man he is talking to

D．he wants to know more about the man he is talking to

Wonder why you can get angry so easily while your friend smiles all the time? It’s probably because you both have different personalities(个性).
Personality is also about how people think, behave, and react (反应) to everything around them from day to day.
So what makes people think and behave in certain ways?
Part of the reason is that people are born like this. A baby gets its blood type, genes (基因) and other physical things when it’s still inside its mother. These things may help decide what the baby will be like.
But one’s personality doesn’t stop here. Family life, school learning and life experiences can also make you the person you are. This doesn’t mean it’s impossible to change your personality. You can always try to make yourself better. Don’t get too worried about your shortcomings (缺点). Just accept them. This is a good way to start making changes.
If you don’t know how to make friends, find out why. Is it because you’re too shy? Tell yourself to smile at people. Start talking to people using warm greetings.
Don’t give yourself a hard time about it all. It’s not easy to change lifelong habits in one night. Keep working at it. One day you’ll see that you can turn over a new leaf and be a new you!
【小题1】Personality is about the following except        .