Cats are the most popular pets among Americans. So it is not surprising that there are a lot of expressions about cats. Some cats like to catch small birds, like canaries (金丝雀). If someone looks very proud and satisfied with himself, we say “he looks like the cat that ate the canary.”
Sometimes, a cat likes to play with a small animal it catches. So if you “play cat and mouse” with someone, it means that you change between different kinds of behavior when dealing with another person. For example, a girl might offer something sweet to her little brother and then take it away when he reaches for it.
Americans might say that something is “the cat’s miaow” or “the cat’s pajamas(睡衣)” to describe something that is the best or finest. “A copycat” is someone who acts just like someone else or copies another person’s work. “A fat cat” is a person with a lot of money.
If you tell about something that is supposed to be a secret, we say you “let the cat out of the bag”. If you are not able to speak or answer a question, someone might ask you if “the cat has got your tongue(舌头)”
Have you ever watched children in a classroom when their teacher leaves for a few minutes? “When the cat’s away, the mice will play” means people sometimes act badly when there is no supervision (监管).
You may have heard the expression “curiosity killed the cat”. This means caring too much about things that are not your business might cause problems.
If you have ever had cats as pets, you know it is difficult to train them or to get them to do something. Cats are not like Sheep or cows that can be moved in a group. So we say a difficult or impossible job is like “herding (放牧) cats “
【小题1】What can we learn from the passage?
A.The expression “a fat cat” is used to describe someone who is very fat.
B.The expression “play cat and mouse” usually means “play tricks on others”.
C.It is more difficult to keep sheep or cows than cats.
D.There are more expressions about cats than those about dogs.
【小题2】 In which of the following situations do we most probably use the expression “curiosity killed the cat”?
A.Someone always asked a lady her age or weight and it made her angry.
B.Someone promised to keep a secret but he failed to do so.
C.Someone won the first prize in an English singing competition and he felt very excited.
D.Someone tried to swim across the Yangtze River with his newly broken legs.
【小题3】Where can you most probably find the passage?
A.In a scientific research paper about cats.
B.On a website telling people how to keep cats.
C.In a magazine telling various jokes and funny stories.
D.In a language book that teaches students how to use American slang.

For Sparky, school was all but impossible. He failed every subject in the eighth grade. He didn’t do much better in sports. Although he played for the school’s golf team, he lost the only important match of the season.
Sparky was a loser. He, his classmates…everyone knew it. Sparky never asked a classmate to go out in high school. He was too afraid of being refused.
However, one thing was important to Sparky – drawing. He was proud of his artwork. Of course, no one else appreciated it. In his senior year of high school, he sent some cartoons to the editors of the Yearbook. Although the cartoons were turned down, Sparky was so confident about his ability that he decided to become an artist.
After completing high school, he wrote a letter to Walt Disney Studios. He was told to send some samples of his artwork, and the subject for a cartoon was suggested. Sparky spent a great deal of time on it. Finally, the reply came from Disney Studios. He had been rejected(拒绝)once again. Another loss for the loser.
So Sparky decided to write his own autobiography(自传)in cartoons. He described his childhood – a little boy loser and underachiever. The cartoon character would soon become famous worldwide. For Sparky, the boy who had little success in school and whose work was rejected again and again was Charles Schulz. He created the Peanuts comic strip(连环漫画)and little cartoon character – Charlie Brown.
【小题1】We can know that Sparky was ________ from the first paragraph.

A.a top studentB.an artistC.a good playerD.a failure
【小题2】Sparky never asked a classmate to go out because he ______.
A.had never been invited
B.didn’t like making friends
C.didn’t want to be refused
D.was afraid of making mistakes
【小题3】What’s Sparky’s success according to the passage?
A.He was good at golf playing.
B.He wrote a letter to Walt Disney Studios.
C.He drew some cartoons for the Yearbook.
D.His Peanuts comic strip became world famous.

Paul and I live in the same building. His room is on the sixth floor but mine is on the fifth. He’s very careless and sometimes he gets into trouble.

 Last Friday afternoon the young man and his friends went to spend the weekend on a wild island. They could swim, fish, play the guitar and sleep in the quiet place at night. They enjoyed themselves there. On the third morning they decided to get back to the land. But their boat hit a rock and soon went down. With the villager’s help, they swam to the bank. Luckily none of them was hurt. They took a taxi and half an hour later they arrived at our town, but it was two in the night. The young man was hungry and thirsty. He wished to get home as soon as possible. Something was wrong with the lift, so he had to go up the stairs. He stopped by my door and brought out a key. Of course he could not open the door. Half an hour passed but he failed. He became angry and shouted, “I’ll cut you down with a knife!”

The noise woke me up and I opened the door. I understood at once what was happening and said, “You’re trying to open a wrong door, Paul!”

“Sorry, I can’t agree with you, Charlie!” said the young man, “It’s my room. You’ve entered it by mistake!”

1.Paul and his friends enjoyed themselves on the island because ______.

A. It was very quiet there

B. there were many fish there

C. they could forget all the trouble?????????????

D. they could do what they wanted

2.Paul couldn’t open the door because ______.

A. it wasn’t his room????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ??? B. he couldn’t find the right key

C. he didn’t find the keyhole????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. he was too hungry to do it

3.Charlie opened the doorto ______.

A. help Paul ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ?????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. stop Paul making the noise

C. see what happened outside????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. call the police station

4.Which of the following is WRONG?

A. Paul thought he did right.

B. Paul didn’t know where he lived.

C. Paul stopped by a door on the fifth floor.

D. Paul thought he had reached the sixth

 

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