People use their mouths for many things. They eat, talk, shout and sing. They smile and they kiss. In the English language, there are many expressions using the word“mouth”.
For example, if you say bad things about a person, the person might protest and say“Do not bad mouth me. ”Sometimes, people say something to a friend or family member that they later regret because it hurts that person’s feelings. Or they tell the person something they were not supposed to tell. The speaker might say:“I really put my foot in my mouth this time. ”If this should happen, the speaker might feel down in the mouth. In other words, he might feel sad for saying the wrong thing.
Another situation is when someone falsely claims another person said something, the other person might protest,“I did not say that . Do not put words in my mouth. ”
Some people have lots of money because they were born into a very rich family. There is an expression for this, too. You might say such a person“Born with a silver spoon in his mouth. ”This rich person is the opposite of a person who lives from hand to mouth. This person is very poor and only has enough money for the most important things in life, like food.
Parents might sometimes withhold（拒给）sweet food from a child as a form of punishment for saying bad things. For example, if a child says things she should not say to her parents, she might be described as a mouthy child. The parents might even tell the child to stop mouthing off.
But enough of all this talk, I have been running my mouth long enough.
1.In what kind of situation will a person say“Do not bad mouth me. ”?
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A．When he feels down. |
B．When he feels regretful. |
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C．When he is spoken ill of. |
D．When he feels proud. |
2.If a person feels sorry for what he has said, he might say “_____”
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A．Do not bad mouth me. |
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B．I really put my foot in my mouth this time. |
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C．Do not put words in my mouth. |
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D．Stop mouthing off. |
3.If a person lives from hand to mouth, it implies _____ .
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A．he is badly-off |
B．he is hard-working |
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C．he is well-off |
D．he has enough to eat |
4.By saying“I have been running my mouth long enough.”, the speaker means “_____”
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A．I have run a long way. |
B．I have been a mouthy person. |
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C．I have learned a lot. |
D．I have talked too much. |
The other day, my friend Jane was invited to a 40th birthday party. The time printed on the invitation was 7:30 pm．Jane went off with her husband, expecting a merry evening of wine, food, and song．
By 9:45, everybody was having great fun, but no food had appeared. Jane and David were restless. Other guests began whispering that they, too, were starving．But no one wanted to leave, just in case some food was about to appear. By 11:00, there was still no food, and everyone was completely off their heads. Jane and David left hungry and angry．
Their experience suggests that the words on the printed invitations need to be made clearer. Everyone reads and understands the invitations differently. Most of us would agree that 6:30 - 8:30 pm means drinks only, go out to dinner afterwards; 8:00 pm or 8:30 pm means possible dinner, but 9:30 pm and any time thereafter means no food, eat beforehand, arrive late．
But this is not always the case．If asked to a students’ party at 6:30 pm, it is unaccepted for guests to appear on time. Being the first to arrive — looking eager — is social death. When my mother is asked to a party at 6:30, she likes to be there, if not on time, then no later than seven．My age group (late thirties) falls somewhere between the two, but because we still think we’re young, we’re probably closer to student-time than grown-up time．
The accepted custom at present is confusing, sometimes annoying, and it often means you may go home hungry, but it does lend every party that precious element of surprise．
1.The underlined words “off their heads” probably mean _______．
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A．tired |
B．crazy |
C．happy |
D．encouraging |
2.Jane and David’s story is used to show that _______．
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A．party invitations can be confusing |
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B．party-goers usually get hungry at parties |
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C．people should ask for food at parties |
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D．birthday parties for middle-aged people are dull |
3.For some young people, arriving on time for a students’ party will probably be considered _______．
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A．very difficult |
B．particularly thoughtful |
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C．friendly and polite |
D．socially unacceptable |
4.What is the general idea of the text?
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A．It’s safe to arrive late just when food is served． |
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B．It’s wise to eat something before going to a party． |
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C．It’s important to follow social rules of party-going． |
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D．There’s no need to read invitations carefully． |
The first time I saw Carlos I would never have believed he was going to change my life．I had my arms full of books and I was rushing into the classroom when 1 ran into something solid. It was Carlos.
"My... you're tall," he said. The whole class burst out laughing .
“Take that seat,” Mr. McCarthy told the cocky(骄傲自大的) newcomer Carlos，pointing to the only empty one , in the back of the room.
Carlos laughed widely. "But I need a couple of dictionaries."
The bell rang for classes. As I stood up to go, I saw Carlos coming toward me. "I'm sorry I embarrassed you," he said . I looked straight ahead over the top of his black hair. "That's all right."
"I ought to know better." He was still blocking my way. "What's your name?" "Karen Forbes." He held out his hand. Unwillingly, I shook hands with him. He looked up at me seriously with his brown eyes. " I am Carlos . I don't see why you're so touchy."
It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again. Carlos was voted vice-president．“How come ?”I kept asking myself, "How come this shrimp（虾）who’s only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular?"
So on that morning，I stopped Carlos and said，“It doesn't seem to bother you — being short.” He looked up at me, "Of course I mind being short．But there isn’t anything I can do about it. When I realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin, I just decided to make the best of it and concentrate on being myself." "You seem to get along great,” I admitted, "But what about me? The trouble with you is you’re afraid to be yourself. You’re smart. And you could be pretty. In fact, you might be more than pretty.” I felt myself turning red…
1.It is a story about a short boy who .
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A．won the school election |
B．is ashamed of his height |
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C．has learned to accept his size |
D．is embarrassed by his class |
2.From the text, we can see Carlos is .
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A．handsome and proud |
B．humorous and confident |
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C．diligent but shy |
D．honest but sensitive |
3.The underlined word "touchy" in paragraph 8 probably means .
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A．moved |
B．cheerful |
C．curious |
D．annoyed |
4.According to the text, which is the most likely ending?
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A．The author didn’t want to make friends with Carlos |
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B．Carlos and the author argued with each other. |
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C．The author changed her attitude towards Carlos. |
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D．Carlos was elected president of the student committee. |
One morning I wasted nearly an hour watching a tiny ant carry a huge feather．Several times, it 36 obstacles（障碍物in its path．And after a pause it made the necessary detour. At one point, the ant had to 37 a crack(裂缝) about 10 mm wide．After some brief thoughts, the ant laid the 38 over the crack, walked across it and 39 up the feather on the other side, then continued on its way．I was 40 by the cleverness of this ant．It was only a small insect, lacking in 41 yet equipped with a brain to reason, explore, discover and overcome. 42 this ant, like the other two-legged creatures 43 on the earth, also shares human feelings．
After some time the ant finally reached its 44 – a flower bed and a small hole that was the entrance to its 45 home．It was there that the ant met its 46 . How could that large feather possibly 47 such a small hole? Of course, it couldn’t．So the ant, after all this trouble and using great brightness, overcoming problems all along the way, just 48 the feather and went home. The ant had not thought the problem through 49 it began its journey and in the end the feather was 50 more than a burden. Isn’t our 51 like this?
We worry about our families; we worry about our money or the 52 of it; and we worry about all kinds of things．These are all 53 —the things we pick up all the life, and drag them around the obstacles and over the cracks that life will bring, only to 54 that at the destination they are 55 and we can’t take them with us．
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——Whose advice do you think I should take?
——_________________________.
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A．I agree absolutely |
B．I go wild about it |
C．It’s up to you |
D．You got it. |
It is not until January ,2013 the Presidential election of the United States comes to an end we’ll know who is the new president.
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A．before; that |
B．that; that |
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C．that ;when |
D．when ; that |
