Consult the page adapted from an English dictionary and do Questions 53-56.
Important words to learn: E Essential I Improver A Advanced
shoot [?u:t]
▲verb (shot, shot) WEAPON→1 E to fire a bullet or an arrow, or to hit, injure or kill a person or animal by firing a bullet or arrow at them: If he’s not armed, don’t shoot. ⊙The kids were shooting arrows at a target.⊙She was shot three times in the head.⊙He has a license to shoot pheasants on the farmer’s land. ⊙A policeman was shot dead in the city centre last night. ⊙ The troops were told to shoot to kill. SPORT→2 A to try to score points for yourself or your team, in sports involving a ball, by kicking, hitting or throwing the ball towards the goal: He shot from the middle of the field and still managed to score. MOVE QUICKLY→3 A to move in a particular direction very quickly and directly: She shot past me several meters before the finishing line. ⊙ He shot out of the office a minute ago ─ I think he was late for a meeting.⊙They were just shooting off to town so we didn’t stop to speak.
shooter ['?u:t?] noun[C]He’s thought to be the best shooter in the league.
▲idioms have shot your bolt UK INFORMAL to have already achieved all that you have the power, ability or strength to do and to be unable to do more: He started off the game well but seemed to have shot his bolt by half-time.
? shoot yourself in the foot to do something without intending to which spoils a situation for yourself
? shoot your mouth off INFORMAL to talk too much in a loud and uncontrolled way: It’s just like Richard to go shooting his mouth off about other people’s affairs.
? shoot for the moon US to ask for the best or the most you could hope for: You might as well shoot for the moon and ask for a promotion as well as a raise.
? shoot questions at sb to ask someone a lot of questions very quickly, one after the other: He shot questions at me so quickly that I didn’t even have time to answer.
? shoot the breeze US INFORMAL to talk with someone or a group of people about things which are not important: We sat out on the porch, just shooting the breeze.
▲ phrasal verbs shoot sth down to destroy an aircraft or make an aircraft, bird, etc. fall to the ground by shooting at it: He was killed during the war when his plane was shot down.
shoot sb down to shoot and usually kill someone, showing no sympathy: I saw Tom shoot him down like a dog in the street.
shoot for/at sth US to try to do something: It’s worth taking chances when you’re shooting at a chance of fame and wealth.
shoot out If opposing groups or people armed with guns shoot it out, they shoot at each other until one of the groups or people is dead or defeated.
shoot through AUSTRALIAN INFORMAL to leave a place very quickly, especially in order to avoid having to do something
shoot up INCREASE→INFORMAL to grow in size, or increase in number or level, very quickly: David has really shot up since I saw him last. ⊙Prices shot up by 25%.
▲ noun PLANT→1[C]the first part of a plant to appear above the ground as it develops from a seed, or any new growth on an already existing plant: Two weeks after we’d planted the seeds, little green shoots started to appear. ⊙FIGURATIVE The first green shoots (="hopeful" signs) of economic recovery have started to appear.
FILM→2[C USUALLY SINGULAR] when photographer take a series of photographs, usually of the same person or people in the same place: We did a fashion shoot on the beach, with the girls modeling swimwear. WEAPON→3[C]an occasion on which a group of people go to an area of the countryside to shoot animals
shooting ['?u:ti?] noun 1 A [U]when bullets are shot from guns or other weapons: We heard some shooting in the night. 2 A [C]when someone is injured or killed by a bullet shot from a gun: There have been a number of shootings in the capital this week. 3[U]the sport of shooting animals or birds: pleasant/grouse shooting ⊙ He goes shooting most weekends.
【小题1】What does the phrase “green shoots” mean in “You will be bound to see that the green shoots of your English level start to grow.”?
| A.Great efforts. | B.Signs of improving. |
| C.Learning ability. | D.Change in method. |
| A.shoot at | B.shoot up | C.shoot down | D.shoot through |
| A.shooting the breeze | B.shooting your mouth off |
| C.shooting yourself in the foot | D.shooting questions at somebody |
| A.Shooter | B.Shoot | C.Shot | D.Shooting |
I was being interviewed by a senior manager for a big company. I told him honestly that the principal reason that I was interviewing with them was my need to keep my family in Boston. My wife had recently died of a heart attack. A job in Boston would help me reduce some pain for my 16-year-old daughter and me. It was important to me to keep her present high school.
Bruce, the interviewer, was politely kind, but he didn't search any further. He acknowledged(承认) my loss and, with great respect, moved on to another subject. After the next round of interviews, Bruce took me to lunch with another manager. Then he asked me to take a walk with him. He told me that he had lost his wife. And, like me, he had also been married 20 years and had 3 children. I realized that he had experienced the same pain as I had and it was almost impossible to explain to someone who had not lost a loved one. He offered his business card and home phone number and suggested that, should I need help or just want someone to talk to, I should feel free to give him a call. Whether I got the job or not, he wanted me to know that he was there if I ever needed help.
From that one act of kindness, when he had no idea if we could ever see each other again, he helped our family deal with one of life's greatest losses. He turned the normally cold business interview process into an act of earing and supporting for another person in a time of extreme need.
【小题1】According to the passage, the interviewer, Bruce, was very .
| A.generous | B.kind | C.happy | D.mean |
| A.main | B.unimportant | C.necessary | D.possible |
| A.the writer didn't get the job in the company |
| B.Bruce made the writer pass the interview |
| C.another manager also lost his wife |
| D.the business interview was cold |
| A.The writer's daughter was studying in Boston at that time. |
| B.Both the writer and the interviewer experienced the same pain. |
| C.Bruce was a senior manager of a big firm. |
| D.Bruce wanted to make Mends with him because he gave him his business card and home phone number. |
There is an endless supply of stories about sleepwalkers (梦游者). People have been said to climb on roofs, solve mathematical problems, write music, walk through windows, and do murder in their sleep.
In Revere, Massachusetts, a hundred policemen searched for a lost boy who left his home in his sleep and woke up five hours later on a strange sofa in a strange living room, with no idea how he had got there.
At the University of Lowa, WWW.K**S*858$$U.COMa student was reported to have the habit of getting up in the middle of the night and walking three-quarters of a mile to the Lowa River. He would take a swim and then go back to his room to bed.
An American expert on sleep claims (声称) that he has never seen a sleepwalker. He is said to know more about sleep than any other living man, and during the last thirty-five years he has lost a lot of sleep watching people sleep. He says, “Of course, I know that there are sleepwalkers because I have read about them in the newspapers. But none of my sleepers ever walked, and if I were to advertise for sleepwalkers for an experiment, I doubt whether I would get many takers (应征者).”
Sleepwalking, however, is a scientific reality. It is one of those strange things that sometimes look quite fantastic (怪诞的). Doctors say that sleepwalking is much more common than is generally supposed. Many sleepwalkers do not try to find help and their sleepwalking is never recorded.
【小题1】Generally speaking, sleepwalkers are people who ________.
| A.climb on roofs | B.walk through windows |
| C.do fantastic things during their sleep | D.walk in a half-awake state |
| A.was found on a strange sofa, telling how he had got there |
| B.slept in his own room but woke up in a strange room |
| C.lost his way five hours after he left home |
| D.was searched for by policemen when he lost his way |
| A.getting up in the middle of the night and walking down to the river |
| B.walking three-quarters of a mile every day |
| C.swimming in the Lowa River before going to bed |
| D.walking about before he went to bed |
| A.It is so common that it needn’t be recorded. |
| B.Scientists take no interest in it. |
| C.Most sleepwalkers do not seek help for their problem. |
| D.No records about it have been made. |
People who are outdoors in cold weather should avoid actions like suddenly lifting a heavy basket full of snow. Even walking through heavy, wet snow can strain a person’s heart.
Many people aren’t conditioned to the physical stress of outdoor activities and don’t know the dangers of being outdoors in cold weather. Those who like winter sports can suffer accidental hypothermia if they don’t make certain preparations.
Hypothermia means the body temperature has fallen below normal. It occurs when your body can’t produce enough energy to keep the internal (内部的) body temperature warm enough. It can kill you. Heart failure causes most deaths in hypothermia.
Children, the elderly and those with heart disease are at special risk. As people age, their ability to keep a normal internal body temperature often decreases. Elderly people can suffer hypothermia without knowing they’re in danger because they can’t notice the cold conditions as quickly as the young.
Besides cold temperatures, high winds, snow and rain can also steal body heat. Wind is especially dangerous because it removes the layer of heated air from around your body. At 30 degrees Fahrenheit in a 20-mile-per-hour wind, the cooling effect is equal to calm air at four degrees. Similarly dampness (湿气) causes the body to lose heat faster than it would at the same temperature in drier conditions.
To keep warm, wear more clothes. This traps air between layers. Also, wear a hat or head scarf. Much of your body’s heat can be lost through your head. Keep your hands and feet warm, too, as they tend to lose heat rapidly.
Don’t drink alcohol before going outdoors or when outside. Alcohol makes you feel warm at first because blood vessels in the skin expand. But heat is then drawn away from the body’s important organs.
1. The underlined word “strain” in Paragraph 1 means ________.
A. injure B. warm C. control D. burn
2. What is implied in the passage about hypothermia?
| A. | It means the body temperature falls rapidly. |
| B. | Most heart attacks are caused by it. |
| C. | It is not as scary as people think. |
| D. | It can threaten a person’s life. |
| A. | they like exercising outside in cold mornings |
| B. | they can’t notice cold conditions if they are not told |
| C. | their body temperature is generally lower than young people’s |
| D. | their ability to keep a normal internal body temperature is not so good |
| A. | What causes the body to lose heat faster. |
| B. | The advantages of drier conditions. |
| C. | What else can steal body heat. |
| D. | Dangers of high winds. |
| A. | Feeling warm at first |
| B. | The body’s heat is taken away |
| C. | Blood vessels in the skin expand |
| D. | The risk of hypothermia is reduced |