A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms（习语）, though my teacher told us the importance again and
again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in an amusing experience.
One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road,
and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English,
the foreigner seemed to be surprised. Gently shaking his head，shrugging his shoulders, he said，“You don’t say!” “You don’t say!” I was puzzled. I
thought, perhaps this is not a right topic. “Well, I’d better change the
topic.” So I said to him. “Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall? By the
way, have you ever been there?” “Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me
if I leave China without seeing it. It was wonderful.” He was deep in thought
when I began to talk like a tourist guide. “The Great Wall is one of the
wonders in the world. We are very proud of it.” Soon I was interrupted（打断）again by his words: “You don’t say!” I couldn’t help
asking, “Why do you ask me not to talk about it?” “Well, I didn’t ask you to do
so,” he answered, greatly surprised. I said, “Didn’t you say ‘you don’t say’?”
Hearing this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to explain, “ ‘You
don’t say’ actually means ‘really!’ It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps
you don’t pay attention to English idioms.” I realized I had made a fool of
myself. Since then I have been more careful with idiomatic expressions.
Remember: what the English teachers said is always right to us students.
1.A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms
because .
A．I had no
interest in them
B．English
idioms were very difficult
C．I did not
realize the importance of them
D．my teacher
didn’t tell us the importance of them
2.At first, on hearing “You don’t say,” I thought the
foreigner meant .
A．I had talked
too much B．I had to stop
talking
C．he was not
interested in the topic D．he was only
interested in the Great Wall
3.“…was shown in an amusing experience.” The word
“amusing” probably means .
A．interesting B．important C．terrible D．unlucky
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the
passage?
A．The
Englishman wanted me to act as his guide.
B．The
Englishman left China without seeing the Great Wall.
C．The
Englishman wanted to see the Great Wall after I talked about it.
D．The
Englishman visited the Great Wall and thought it worth visiting.
5.After the Englishman explained the idiom,
___________.
A．I felt very
silly B．the
Englishman became a real fool
C．I became more
careful in everything D．I thought the
Englishman had made me a fool
