Some expressions in English can be really puzzling. Have a look at the following to see how it challenges your brainpower.
Homeric laughter
The "Homer" in this expression is the Greek poet. People laugh differently. Some laugh silently, while others tend to laugh loudly. "Homeric laughter" refers to laughter of the latter kind. It is at times uncontrollable, and the entire body shakes during the process. This kind of laughter is called Homeric laughter because this is how the gods laughed in Homer's classics.
A three-ring circus
When you refer to a situation as being a three-ring circus, you are saying that it is a situation of complete confusion. There are so many activities taking place all together that they leave you confused or annoyed. The expression comes from the world of entertainment — the circus. The area where the artists perform their acts is called the "ring". In the past, some of the circuses were so grand that they had three acts taking place simultaneously in three different "rings". The audience had to decide which "ring" they wanted to focus on.
In the swim (of things)
When someone is in the swim of things, the individual is actively participating in the things happening around him, as in "I've been ill, but soon I’ll be back in the swim of thing." In the world of fishing, fishermen use the word "swim" to refer to the section of the lake/river where fish can be found in plenty. So, if you are a fisherman and wish to catch a lot offish, where would you be? You would be "in the swim".
Chickens have come home to roost
The word "roost" refers to the place where birds rest. It could be anything — the branch of a tree, a henhouse, etc. The expression is normally used to mean that the bad things that someone did in the past have come back to bite or upset the individual. In other words, one has to face the consequences of the deeds done in the past. The original form of this 700-year-old expression was "curses are like chickens; they always come home to roost".
小題1:Which of the following can best describe the picture?
A．Homeric laughterB．A three-ring circus
C．In the swim (of things)D．Chickens have come home to roost
小題2:What does the underlined word "simultaneously'(Paragraph 3) mean?
A．At the same time.B．Step by step.
C．All of a sudden.D．One after another.
小題3:lf you want to know more about such expressions, which website will you probably visit?
A．www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/China.html
B．www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/university.html
C．www.chinadaily.com.cn/culuture/language.html
D．www.chinadaily.com.cn/entertainment/fashion.html
小題4:The passage is written to       .
A．tell readers some old and interesting stories
B．indicate the development of English phrases
C．correct some misunderstandings about words
D．explain the meanings and origins of some phrases

小題1:D
小題2:A
小題3:C
小題4:D
本文告訴我們一些令人迷惑的英語表達的意思及來歷。
小題1:D 推斷題。從本圖中可知，那些送給他的錢一步步地把他送進了監(jiān)獄，所以符合最后一個成語的意思：善有善報，惡有惡報；害人終害己。
小題2:A 詞義猜測題。In the past, some of the circuses were so grand that they had three acts taking place simultaneously in three different "rings".意思是：在過去，馬戲團是如此的宏偉，可以共三套節(jié)目同時進行。
小題3:C推斷題。本文跟語言有關，故選C。
小題4:D 主旨大意題。本文要解釋一些短語的意義及來源。故D項正確。
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Who owns the large American companies that produce cars, washing machines, and television sets? They are owned by a large group of people called stockholders.
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　　More than 20 million people own shares of stock in America’s companies. By owning stock, they are helping America’s businesses grow. They are also putting their money to work to earn more money.
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A．a(chǎn) farmer is not allowed to buy the shares of stock
B．if a company does well, its shares of stock have no value
C．a(chǎn) person may own a part of the company that makes TV sets
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A．company’s profits
B．company’s savings
C．company’s income
D．products made by the company
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A．They want to buy the shares of stock, too.
B．They cannot find all the names of their stockholders.
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


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A．she was often scolded(責罵)by her father
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C．he didn’t think her husband loved her deeply
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B．worked very hard in order to make more money
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B．Because they think they can help them on the questions．
C．Because their kids are too shy to attend interviews．
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C．Brave,successful,kind.D．Fast,clever,strong.
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Last week, I bought an alarm system for about $ 450. It consisted of a control unit with three small units. I put the control unit in the sitting-room and fastened the other units by the front door, back door and living-room windows. The instructions told us to choose three numbers, so we chose 4, 9 and 1, the last three numbers of our telephone number.
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2 Each of the small units sends out beams or rays in different directions. If anything moves, it breaks a beam. This sends a signal to the control unit. The siren makes a noise which you can hear 50 meters away.
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A．make sure that he got up early every day
B．warn him when there were lizards in his house
C．frighten burglars and tell him that somebody had got into the house
D．make Mary feel safe to live in the large room
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A．send a message to the control unit and start the siren
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C．check that the control unit worked properly all the time
D．give them enough light
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A．nothing would happen
B．the control unit would not work
C．the siren would make a noise
D．the dog would bark
小題4:The purpose of the writer in writing the passage is to ________.
A．tell us that the alarm system doesn’t work
B．tell us an interesting experience
C．show us how the alarm system works
D．make it clear that he wants to give away his alarm system

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Combining families with kids can be tough and offers even more unexpected problems. You just don’t know how things will shake out until everyone is under one roof, trying on new roles with name that start with “step”. This is what happened to Sheila and Will, and Sheila’s 8-year-old daughter Ashley. After the couple got married, and Will became the member of the new family, things got worse than expected. How did they make it work? Read the full version of the story here.
Shelia’s Turn: When Shelia and Will were dating, he seemed like kids, especially Ashley. He’d bring her presents, play games with her. But after the wedding, things took a turn. Will suddenly became a super strict stepfather, scolding Ashley for watching too much cartoons, constantly picking fights and punishing her for offenses as small as spilling milk. Shelia’s thought about leaving Will, but soon after they married, they had a son, Billy. Will adores his well-behaved boy, but Ashley hates him. Shelia doesn’t know what to do--- her daughter is miserable, but leaving her husband might mean losing her son.
Will’s turn: Will was so excited to be a male role model in Ashley’s life. He didn’t just want to be a guy living in her house; he wanted to treat her like his own daughter, which, to Will, meant giving Ashley more rules and help her learn responsibility. He’d always felt that Shelia let Ashley loose on everything. But after the wedding, Will was surprised that Shelia didn’t want him to do that. If Will takes away Ashley’s TV privileges or tells her to clean up her room, Shelia just lets Ashley do what she likes and does it herself. Will was tired of this and he’d rather take his son and go.
The advisor’s turn: The counselor(顧問) quickly recognized their conflict as a classic case of unspoken, hidden expectations. Before the wedding, when it was just Shelia and Will, everything was easy. But now, everyone in their big family is competing for attention, and the couple never sat down and discussed the biggest issue---their child-upbringing philosophies(育兒經(jīng)). The counselor suggested Shelia allow Will to give some rules on Ashley but Will’s punishments couldn’t be extreme. Once Ashley saw that her mom and stepdad had become a united front, she cooperated more.
小題1:The text is most likely to be found in a book about______.
A．popular scienceB．historical events
C．social problemsD．political systems
小題2:The reasons for Ashley’s dislike of Will are as follows except_____?
A．Will often picked fights with Ashley.
B．Ashley often spilled milk on the floor.
C．Will always punished her for bad behaviors.
D．Ashley was stopped watching too many cartoons.
小題3:What can we know about Will?
A．Will has a good intention.
B．Will does not love children
C．Will does not love Shelia any more
D．Will’s way of parenting is very perfect.
小題4:It can be inferred from the passage that the advisor’s attitude to their problem?
A．NegativeB．ObjectiveC．CriticalD．. Subjective

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

If cars had wings, they could fly and that just might happen, beginning in 2012. The company Terrafugia, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, says it plans to deliver its car-plane, the Transition, to customers by the end of 2012.
“It’s next ‘wow’ vehicle,” said Terrafugia vice president Richard Gersh. “Anybody can buy a Ferrari, but as we say, Ferraris don’t fly.”
The car-plane has wings that unfold for flying-a process the company says takes one minute-and fold back up for driving. A runway is still required to take off and land.
The Transition is being marketed more as a plane that drives than a car that flies, although it is both. The company has been working with FAA to meet aircraft regulations, and with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to meet vehicle safety regulations.
The company is aiming to sell the Transition to private pilots as a more convenient and cheaper way to fly. They say it saves you the trouble from trying to find another mode of transportation to get to and from airports: You drive the car to the airport and then you’re good to go. When you land, you hold up the wings and hit the road. There are no expensive parking fees because you don’t have to store it at an airport-you park it in the garage at home.
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The Transition’s price tag: $194,000. But there may be additional charges for options like a radio, , a transponder or a GPS. Another option is a full-plane parachute.
“If you get into a very awful situation, it is the necessary safety option.” Gersh said.
So far, the company has more than 70 orders with deposits. “We’re working very closely with them, but there are still some remaining steps,” Brown said.
小題1:We can learn from the first two paragraphs that _________.
A．car-planes will be popular in 2012-4-6
B．people might drive a car-plane in 2012
C．both the Transition and Ferrari can take off and land
D．Richard Gersh is the vice president of Massachusetts
小題2:It takes the car-plane one minute to _________.
A．fold and unfold its wingsB．unfold wings for flying
C．land in the airportD．meet flying safety regulations
小題3:According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. The car-plane needs a runway to take off and land.
B. To meet aircraft regulations, the company has been working with FAA.
C. The car-plane may fly as high as normal planes.
D. People can park the car-plane in the garage at their home.

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