题目内容
Expressions about water are mostly as common as water itself.
The expression “to be in hot water” is one of them. It is a very old expression. Hot water was used five hundred years ago to mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle. That no longer happens. But we still get “in hot water”. When we are in hot water, we are in trouble. It can be any kind of trouble, serious or not so serious. A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police. A young boy can be in hot water with his mother if he walks in the house with dirty shoes.
“Being in deep water” is almost the same as being in hot water. When you are in deep water, you are in a difficult position. Imagine a person who can not swim being thrown in water over his head. You are in deep water when you are facing a problem that you don’t have the ability to solve. You can be in deep water, for example, if you invest in stocks without knowing anything about the stock market.
“To keep your head above water” is a colorful expression that means staying out of debt. A company seeks to keep its head above water during economic hard times. A man who loses his job tries to keep his head above water until he finds a new job.
“Water over the dam” is another expression about past events. It is something that is finished, and cannot be changed. The expression comes from the idea that water has floated over a dam and cannot be brought back again. When a friend is troubled by a mistake she has made, you might tell her to forget about it. You say it is water over the dam.
Another common expression “to hold water” is about the strength or weakness of an idea or opinion that you may be arguing about. It probably comes from a way of testing the condition of a container. If it can hold water, it is strong and has no holes in it. If your argument can hold water, it is strong and does not have any holes; if it does not hold water, then, it is weak and not worth debating.
“Throwing cold water” also is an expression that deals with ideas or proposals.
For example, you want to buy a new car because the old one has some problems, but your wife throws cold water on the idea because she says a new car costs too much.
57. Don’t cheat in this exam! Or you’ll _____if you’re caught cheating by the teacher.
A. be in hot water B. have to hold water
C. be in deep water D. keep your head above water
58. The expression using water in Paragraph ______ has almost the same meaning as “Things done cannot be undone.”
A. 3 B. 4 C. 5 D. 6
59. We can see from this passage that many of the expressions using water have ______ meanings.
A. funny B. unpleasant C. close D. moral
60. The best title for this passage should be _________.
A. The history of water B. Cold water or hot water?
C. Water and its culture D. Expressions and their stories
ACBD
You can find language pollution whenever you open a newspaper or turn on your TV set, listen to a popular song at various advertisements. Language pollution exists almost everywhere and can be seen in the following places:
1. Chinese characters are written in the complex (复杂的 ) form. Although simplified Chinese characters were accepted for use many years ago, it seems that more and more people like Chinese characters written in the complex form.
2. Many goods are produced in China but carry foreign names, which sound strange and have no meaning at all.
3. Words and expressions being used have a bad meaning. "Ba"(霸), which means bully in Chinese, is one example. Now there are a lot of goods, restaurants, even factories or firms, with "Ba" in their names.
4. There are too many incorrect grammatical expressions. Some films have strange names and incorrect grammatical structures. "Ai ni mei shang liang', which means "I love you without consulting", is grammatically incorrect and this kind of expression is now becoming popular.
Some language experts point out that language pollution must be done away with, which is an idea shared by myself and many others.
FanYongqin
【小题1】The writer of the letter suggests that ______.
A.something be done to make our language pure (纯正) |
B.the Chinese language not have the word "ba" |
C.everything have a good name and a good meaning |
D.everybody try their best to stop pollution |
A.great difference exists between the Chinese characters written in the complex form and simplified form |
B.many people agree with the experts on language pollution in China |
C.our newspapers, TV programs, pop songs and advertisements are getting polluted |
D.some film writers haven't studied Chinese grammar |
A.a reader | B.a singer of pop songs |
C.a language expert | D.an expert of grammar |