A year ago I paid no attention to English idioms,  21  my teacher said again and again that it was important．
One day, I happened to __ 22 _ an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to  __23  ．As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner shook his head, saying, “You don’t say! You don’t say!”  I was  24 ___ , I thought, perhaps this is not a __ 25 __ topic．Well, I’d __ 26 change the topic．So I said to him, “Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall?  _27 _ the way, have you ever __28__ there?” “Certainly, everyone back home will __29 __ me if I leave China without seeing __30 ．It was great．” I said, “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world． It is a place of  31 ．” Soon I was interrupted again by his words, “ __ 32  !” I couldn’t  _33 __ asking, “Why do you ask me not to talk about it?” “Well, I didn’t ask you to do __34__ ”, he answered, gently surprised．
I said, “Didn’t you say ‘You don’t say’?”
Hearing this, the Englishman _ 35__  to tears．He began to __ 36___ ,“‘You don’t say actually means ‘really?’．It is an  _37__  of surprise．Perhaps you don’t pay attention __38___ English idioms．”
Then I knew I had made a fool of __39__ ．Since then I have been more  ___50__  with idioms．

A year ago I paid no attention to English idioms,   21  my teacher said again and again that it was important．

    One day, I happened to __ 22 _ an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to  __23   ．As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner shook his head, saying, “You don’t say! You don’t say!”  I was   24 ___ , I thought, perhaps this is not a __ 25 __ topic．Well, I’d __ 26  change the topic．So I said to him, “Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall?  _27 _ the way, have you ever __28__ there?” “Certainly, everyone back home will  __29 __ me if I leave China without seeing  __30 ．It was great．” I said, “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world． It is a place of   31  ．” Soon I was interrupted again by his words, “ __ 32  !” I couldn’t  _33 __ asking, “Why do you ask me not to talk about it?” “Well, I didn’t ask you to do  __34__  ”, he answered, gently surprised．

   I said, “Didn’t you say ‘You don’t say’?”

   Hearing this, the Englishman _ 35__  to tears．He began to __ 36___ ,“‘You don’t say actually means ‘really?’．It is an   _37__  of surprise．Perhaps you don’t pay attention __38___ English idioms．”

   Then I knew I had made a fool of __39__ ．Since then I have been more  ___50__  with idioms．

21. A. though                       B. when                       C. if                      D. as

22. A. look                      B. meet                   C. pick up                  D. find out
23. A. walk                     B. talk                      C. play                    D. go
24. A. pleased                   B. angry                   C. afraid                  D. surprised
25. A. proper                    B. strange                    C. safe                     D. polite
26. A. to                            B. better                      C. not                        D. like
27. A. On                           B. In                         C. All                        D. By
28. A. gone                       B. visited                     C. seen                 D. been
29. A. look at                   B. think of                 C. send for                 D. laugh at
30. A. it                             B. them                   C. anything                  D. something
31.A. interesting           B. interest                C. interests                   D. interested
32. A. Really                    B. Good                      C. You don’ t say             D. You are right

33. A. be                            B. help                       C. think                 D. do
34. A. this                       B. so                         C. anything                 D. me a favor
35. A. laughed                  B. cried                       C. moved                 D. came
36. A. explain                     B. shout                  C. prove                  D. say
37. A. experience               B. expression             C. explanation              D. example
38. A. for                           B. to                         C. at                          D. in
39. A. me                         B. myself                 C. him                       D. himself
40. A. helpful                      B. popular                  C .careful                 D. satisfied

    Habiba keeps a record of new words and expressions in English．She usually writes them in a notebook．Then, later in the day, she asks her teacher about them．“Mrs．Thomas, these expressions are completely new to me．She is blue today．What’s the matter ? You’re yellow ? A little white lie．She has a green thumb （拇指）．Blue and yellow people with green thumbs ? White lie ? ”After looking at the notebook, Mrs．Thomas says, “In everyday English, Habiba, blue sometimes means sad．Yellow means afraid．A person with green thumb grows plants successfully, but a green hand means a new worker without much experience．And a white lie is not a bad lie．Understand now ?” “I still don’t understand．Would you please give me an example ?” “For example, ” said Mrs．Thomas patiently, “I offer you some cake．The truth is, you don’t like my cake．You don’t say that．Instead, you say, ‘No, thanks, I’m not hungry．’ That’s a white lie．” “I see．Thanks for the explanation．”

1．“You’re yellow to cross the river” means ______

[　　]

A．“You dare not cross the river”．

B．“you are eager to cross the river”．

C．“you are ready to cross the river”．

D．“you can surely cross the river”．

2．“He is a green hand” means ______

[　　]

A．“His hand is green”

B．“He is a young man without much knowledge”．

C．“He is a new but an experienced worker”．

D．“He is an unskilled worker”．

3．Habiba keeps a record of new words and expressions in English because ______

[　　]

A．She is a foreign student．

B．She knows how to use them．

C．She is interested in them．

D．She is going to ask the teacher．

4．Which statement is NOT TRUE according to this passage?

[　　]

A．A person with a green thumb is a good gardener．

B．If you say ‘It is a white lie．’, it means that someone doesn’t want to tell the truth in a polite way．

C．Blue sometimes sad in everyday English．

D．The weather is bad and I’m white today．

5．Which topic of the following is best fit for this passage?

[　　]

A．Everyday English

B．Colorful Language

C．Different Colors

D．Habiba Learns Language

It was a party. I was 18 and it was fresher(大一新生) week. I was at the beginning of a course in English Literature and full of enthusiasm for my subject. She was also 18 and enrolled in a course in physics.

“Your major is of no use to society. What will you do with it when you graduate, other than teach? Plus, you’re going to be poor your whole life,” she said. “You have no soul and your degree is boring. I don’t care how much money you’re going to earn. I’d rather be poor and don’t mind being a teacher. If I love my work I’ll have something far more meaningful than a big bank account!” came the reply.

And so it went, back and forth, neither of us giving the other an inch, each of us stubbornly committed to our prejudice. We were both ignorant, but our ignorance was also society’s ignorance. It had always been that way. Scientists mocked(嘲笑) humanists; humanists laughed at scientists. Back in the 1960s, the physicist-turned novelist C. P. Snow labeled the sciences-humanities divide “a problem of ‘the two cultures’” . He said it was bad for society. The modern world needed well-rounded people.

I think I know better now, but it would have helped if we had been encouraged to think a little more outside our science and arts “boxes”.

That’s why I believe it is healthy that China is beginning a debate on whether it’s wise for young people to have to choose which direction their careers – and lives – will take at such an early age. At the moment, in their second year of high school, students must choose either the sciences or the humanities. After making the choice, they focus their energies on passing the appropriate college entrance exam.

But now, people in China are asking: Is this forced, early decision good for young people or society? Young people need time to explore, to discover where their real talents and interests lie. There are more than just a few middle-aged people out there, stuck in jobs they hate because they made the wrong choice at the wrong time.

And from the point of view of society, isn’t it better for students to delay a while before they decide what to study? Scientists can benefit from learning to develop the critical skills associated with the humanities; students in the humanities, surely, only stand to gain by finding out a little more about science and technology, which are so important to the future of a developing country like China.

With any luck, in the future young people fresh to college will be better informed about the possibilities of education than people of my generation.

The author describes what happened at a fresher party to ________.

A. show that he was ready to defend the subject he enjoyed

B. lead up his argument that the sciences-humanities divide is harmful

C. prove that doing something meaningful is better than having a lot of money

D. describe how fierce students of different majors can be when arguing with each other

What was C. P. Snow’s attitude towards the sciences-humanities divide?

A. Indifferent.         B. Uncertain.         C. Positive.          D. Negative.

In the sixth paragraph, an example mentioning middle-aged people is used to show that ________.

A. students should not make decisions too early

B. not all people have a talent for or are interested in the sciences

C. these people did not have the chance to make a choice earlier in life

D. the earlier young people make a decision, the better it will be for them

According to the text, it is safe to say that ________.

A. sciences are more practical in the modern world

B. C. P. Snow was a novelist who became a physicist

C. future generations will be able to get more out of education

D. a command of both the sciences and humanities is important to society

What’s the best title for the article?

A. The sciences or the humanities, which to choose?

B. High school education in China

C. Isn’t it better to delay the choice of the career direction?

D. A better time to decide what to study