Have you ever read stories of Sherlock Holmes---a famous detective? Here is one of his cases.

Stapleton, Charles’ younger brother, found that he would inherit (继承) the Baskerville lands if Charles and his nephew(侄子) ---Henry both died.

Charles who had a weak heart believed super natural stories. After knowing this, Stapleton had the idea of buying a huge hound, and of using the phosphorus(磷) to make it shine like the hound in one story.

Then Stapleton asked his friend Laura to write a letter to bring Charles to the moor gate on that sad night. The hound, which was shining with phosphorus, chased Charles down the Yew Alley. Charles’ fear was so great that his weak heart stopped, and he died but the animal did not touch the dead body. There was no sign of murder. It was difficult for Holmes to find the murderer.

Two weeks later, Stapleton learned that Henry had reached England. He took his wife and the hound with him. He wore a false beard and followed Henry in London. He wanted to use the same way to murder Henry there. He needed something to give the hound Henry’s smell, so he paid a woman at Henry’s hotel to steal one of his shoes. The first one was a new one, which was no use for the hound, so it was put back. And then another older shoe was stolen. Before he was ready to murder Henry, he wasn’t sure if his wife would keep his secret, so he did not tell her the truth. He locked her up in their hotel. She knew that he must have some evil plans. She sent Henry a letter which was made of words cut from a newspaper.

After receiving the letter, Henry realized he was in great danger and it must have something to do with his uncle Charles’ death. So he asked Holmes for help.

1.What does the underlined word “hound” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A. 魔兽 B. 猎犬 C. 匕首 D. 猎枪

2.Paragraph 4 is mainly about _______.

A. how Stapleton bought the hound B. how Stapleton made the hound shine

C. how the hound killed Charles D. how the hound chased Charles

3.The first new shoe was not useful for the hound because ___________.

A. it didn’t have Henry’s smell B. it belonged to Henry’s wife

C. the hound saw nothing about Henry D. the hound didn’t like the smell

4.What may happen if Stapleton’s wife didn’t send the letter to Henry?

A. It may be easy for Henry to find that he was in danger.

B. It may be easy for Stapleton’s wife to know the truth.

C. Henry may be murdered easily with no sign like Charles.

D. Henry may get to know the truth much more easily.

“Chicken” idioms(习语)

The word “chicken” is used in so many English idioms. Do you know the following?

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.

The expression“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch”means “Don’t expect that all your eggs, which have been laid, will hatch. “Hatch” is a verb, meaning the baby chicken breaks open the shell of the egg and comes out successfully. So the expression mainly means “Don’t depend on things working out just as you want them to.” this saying appears in the story The Milkmaid and Her Pail in Aesop’s Fables.

A chicken-and-egg situation

In history, philosophers(哲学家)and scientists have met this dilemma(困境): Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Aristotle thought that both the bird and the egg must have always been there. However, more recently, scientists such as Stephen Hawking have argued that the egg came before the chicken. In common speech, the term “a chicken-and-egg situation” means a situation where it is impossible to say which of two things appeared first and which caused the other one.

Don’t be such a chicken

There seems to be an idea in English, somehow, that a chicken is a scared bird. Maybe that’s not fair as most birds will probably fly away from you if you go towards them. But “Don’t be such a chicken” means “Don’t be so scared and get a bit more courage.” So if your friend fear to do something, you can say to him or her, “Don’t be such a chicken. Just have a try!”

1.The underlined word “hatch” means “_______” in Chinese.

A. 孵化 B. 长大 C. 破碎 D. 出售

2.While discussing the idiom “A chicken-and-egg situation”, the writer mentions Aristotle and Stephen Harking to show that_________.

A. Aristotle’s opinion was wrong

B. Stephen Hawking’s opinion is wrong

C. it’s impossible to find the right answer to this question

D. philosophers and scientists usually have the same answer to a question

3.We may use the idiom “Don’t be such a chicken” in the situation when someone_______.

A. is not brave enough B. enjoys counting his chickens

C. has difficulty making a choice D. hopes things will work out just as he wants

4.The writer probably appears in the __________ part of a magazine.

A. food B. culture C. travel D. sport

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