Many everyday American expressions are based on colors.

    Red is a hot color. Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are red hot about something unfair. When they are red hot they are very angry about something. The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery taste.

    Pink is a lighter kind of color. People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health. It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health.

    Blue is a cool color. The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music. Blues is slow, sad and soulful. Someone who is blue is very sad.

    The color green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural color for humans. A person who has a sick stomach may say he feels a little green. A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green. If a person is green at his job, he may be a newcomer and inexperienced. Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a new sports car. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because their friend has more dollars.

    The color black is used often in expressions. People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day. The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day.

1.If a person feels blue, he is _____.

A. annoyed  B. depressed  C. stressed   D. encouraged

2.If someone says “you are still green”, he probably means that _______.

A. you are very young   B. you are in a bad mood C. you are inexperienced D. you are in good health

3.Which of the following statements is CORRECT according to the passage?

A. After two days’ rest, the soldiers were all in the pink.

B. They had a fierce quarrel so they all felt black about it.

C. David got hurt by a bike so his face looked blue.

D. When we meet something unfair, we feel very green.

4.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Different colors have different meanings. 

B. What different colors stand for.

C. The story about different colors.        

D. Colors used in American expressions.

 

阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。

One dark evening, Oliver was going home, when suddenly Toby and Sikes stopped him. They came to a nice and great house surrounded by a wall. Toby climbed very quickly to the top of the house. Before Oliver had time to look round, Sikes had caught him under the arms; and in no time Oliver and Toby were lying on the grass on the other side. Sikes followed them directly. And they stole cautiously towards the house.

　　When Oliver realized that the other two boys wanted to rob the house, he was full of fear. Cold sweat came upon his face, and he sank upon his knees. On seeing this Sikes drew his pistol(手枪) from his pocket and said angrily, "Get up, or I'll shoot you."

　　"Oh! For god's sake, let me go!" cried Oliver, "Do not make me steal." Toby placed his hand upon Oliver's mouth, and dragged him to the house.

“Take this lantern,” said Sikes, looking into the house. “You see the stairs before you?” Oliver, more dead than alive, answered, "Yes." Sikes briefly warned him to take notice that he was within shot all the way. If he hesitated, he would fall dead at once. "It's done in a minute," whispered Sikes, "Do your work and I’ll let you go."

[写作内容]

1. 以约30个词概括发生在Oliver身上的事和他的心理感受。

2. 以约120个词续写故事，并包括以下要点：

(1) Oliver在被逼的情况下作出了什么决定？

(2) Oliver和其他二人的结果如何？

[写作要求]

不得直接引用原文中的句子。

[评分标准]

概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，篇章连贯。

 

There is much more to growing up in a bilingual(双语的) family than learning two languages, and the cultural influences from both cultures are just as important.

In July we had a curious incident that shows the slight differences between cultures. My son has already changed a few of his baby teeth and since we lived in Italy we decided to go with the Italian version(版本) of the Tooth Fairy, which is not a fairy(仙女) but a little mouse. So last year when he lost his first tooth we had a visit from the little mouse who took the tooth away and left a rather good amount of coins --- when he lost the second tooth a few days later, however, the amount was significantly less! That in itself caused quite a few questions, but the real questions started when in July during a visit to the UK another tooth left my son’s mouth in Tooth Fairy land! The grandparents made a real problem out of it --- it was their first grandson’s tooth they got to say Goodbye to, so it was Tooth Fairy and rather generous, too!

The Qs & As

Son: Mum, how is the little mouse going to smell my tooth all this way? (as the story goes the little mouse smells a milk tooth and comes to collect it)

Me: No dear, it won’t! We are in England now so the Tooth Fairy will come.

Son: Oh, is she stronger than the little mouse? (I knew where this was going)

Me: She is very strong, and she is magic.

Son: What does the Tooth Fairy bring? (straight to the point)

Me: I am not sure. We’ll find out maybe a nice message.

Son: So is the little mouse coming too?

Me: No, it won’t make it all the way from Italy.

Son: But why don’t they have little mice in England?

Me: Because here the Tooth Fairy collects all baby teeth and she’s too fast, so the little mouse would always get there late.

Son: Oh!?

1.Italian kids are supposed to believe ________ will come and collect the milk teeth.

A. a little mouse

B. Tooth Fairy

C. their parents

D. the grandparents

2.The author thought Tooth Fairy would be rather generous because ________.

A. Italian parents often give much money for their kids’ lost baby teeth[

B. she knew Tooth Fairy was more generous than the little mouse 

C. she knew the grandparents would give her son a big gift

D. English people are usually more generous than Italians

3.Hearing “Oh, is she stronger than the little mouse?”, the author knew her son was actually worried about ________.

A. the tooth fairy’s health       

B. the little mouse’s coming

C. the amount of coins he could get

D. the story his grandparents know

4.By telling this story, the author intends to say it’s important to _________ in a bilingual family.

A. make kids know the folk stories

B. help kids choose one of the cultures

C. teach kids two languages

D. keep the balance of both cultures

 

If you are planning to study in the United States, you need to consider several factors. Everyone has different opinions about where is the best place to live in. Also, the best places to live are not always home to the best schools. Finally, many schools specialize in different areas of study. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, is a great school for computer science and technology-related fields of study. However, if you want to study oceanography（海洋学）, your interests may be better served by attending school in a place that is on a coastline or near the ocean.

Now I am sure that you know which schools are considered the best in the country. So I will tell you about which states I believe are the best to live in.

California is a nice state. Northern California specifically has very good weather. Los Angeles in Southern California is another story though. Life in Los Angeles is full of excitement and fast, and sometimes dangerous. As for me, I enjoy the time I spent in Massachusetts, Virginia and Maryland and these states have a lot of history and culture. The weather is not as perfect as California, but it is still quite nice. My favorite area of America is the Mid-west. Middle America, I think, is home to the true American sense of values. In addition, there are many good universities there.

Also, you need to think about your likes and dislikes and then research the various states. You like sunshine and hate snow? Then you probably won't like the Midwest or even the Northeast. Open space, nature and peace and quiet? Then you probably should stay away from America's large cities. Are you interested in government? Then Washington D.C. is the only place for you. Whatever you decide, put some thought into it. The place you live could be the difference between a great study-abroad experience and a state of great suffering on earth.

1.From the first paragraph we can conclude （得出结论）that in the USA _______.

A．all colleges and universities lie in big cities

B．all colleges and universities lie in beautiful places

C．famous colleges and universities lie in nice places

D．famous colleges and universities may not lie in nice places

2.What should be considered first if you want to study in the USA?

A．The climate.

B．The scenery.

C．The study condition.

D．The living condition.

3.From the third paragraph we can find that _______.

A．California is the best place to live in

B．California is the worst place to live in

C．California is a state with different climates

D．California is a small state in the USA

4.If you study in Middle America, you can probably _______.

A．find the best universities	B．feel the real character of the nation
C．meet the most famous professors there	D．face more difficulties

5. From the last paragraph of this passage we can get to know that _______.

A．Washington is the largest city in the USA

B．Washington is the political centre of the USA

C．you can't find sunshine in the Midwest

D．you can't find any universities out of big cities in the USA

 

—What is your plan for the holiday, Paul?

—I’ll go on a trip to Yunnan Province with my family.   

—_____.

A．Have a nice time	B．Good luck
C．Come back soon	D．Congratulations