Many expressions that we use in American English come from novels. Today we will look at some of them from Lewis Carroll’s famous novel Alice in Wonderland in detail.
The story is about a young girl falling down a rabbit hole. When she finally lands, she finds herself in a strange world and meets some strange characters.
The first character Alice meets is the White Rabbit, who runs past her and says some strange words. Alice chases him, and that is where her adventures begin. As she runs after the rabbit, she falls down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. The expression1. can mean to enter an unexpected situation. However, usually we use this expression to mean we get interested in something to the point of distraction (分神). It often happens by accident and is about something not that meaningful.
Later in the story, Alice meets the March Hare and the Hatter at a crazy tea party. Hares have long been thought to behave excitedly in March, which is their mating (交配) season. Scientifically, this may not be true. But 2. means that someone is totally mad, or crazy. The expression 3. also means to be completely crazy and is more common. But don’t tell the March Hare. He must be green with envy!
25-27: Please choose the best expression for each blank.
A.to chase a white rabbit
B.to be mad as a March hare
C.to be mad as a hatter
D.to fall down the rabbit hole
I stood in my grandmother’s garden with my son. He had a bottle of bubbles. You know the _______: it’s mainly soapy water with a plastic loop on one end. You dip ( 浸 ) the loop in the bottle, pull it out, and blow it to make bubbles. My son dipped and dipped and blew and blew but _______ to blow bubbles. He handed me the bottle and loop and asked me, “Daddy, can you make bubbles?”
I hadn’t blown bubbles in years. But I am a chemist by education. I have developed several shampoos, so I _______ the science of bubbles.
But all that knowledge was _______ useless when trying to blow bubbles from a loop with soapy water. I had no more success than my son.
I would dip and blow, but there were no bubbles; the soapy film on the loop would just _______ without forming any bubbles.
After several attempts (尝试), I tried a _______ method. Instead of blowing on the loop of soapy water, I gently breathed on it. My son cried with pleasure as a big beautiful bubble formed and _______ away.
I _______ to him, “Son, you shouldn’t blow hard. Instead, you should breathe gently on the loop to make bubbles.”
He gave up trying to make big bubbles by blowing hard and _______ my advice. Big bubbles.
There are some things that you can get with force, but there are other things like love and respect that only come with the gentleness of a soft breath. The _______ something is to higher spirit, the more it is like bubbles; it can’t be forced. Blow beautiful bubbles; breathe easy.
1.A.type B.colour C.size D.standard
2.A.tried B.failed C.learned D.managed
3.A.believe B.realize C.discover D.understand
4.A.hardly B.nearly C.completely D.partly
5.A.fly B.change C.break D.rise
6.A.simple B.traditional C.popular D.different
7.A.floated B.dropped C.jumped D.pushed
8.A.explained B.shouted C.announced D.complained
9.A.offered B.refused C.followed D.needed
10.A.farther B.smaller C.closer D.more
— I’m afraid Mr Friend can’t see you until 4 o’clock.
— Oh, _______, I won’t wait.
A.no doubt B.in that case C.after all D.in this way
— Mum, after this two-week tennis training, I managed to improve my backhand.
— Honey, like your dad always says, _______.
A.practice makes perfect B.the early bird catches the worm
C.all roads lead to Rome D.actions speak louder than words
— Are you going to take part in the speech competition?
— That’s for sure. It’s _______ a chance to miss.
A.small enough B.good enough C.too small D.too good
I don’t care _______, a fool or a good man. For me, it is meaningful to help the poor.
A.what do they call me B.how do they call me
C.what they call me D.how they call me
