Question

Have you ever considered all the English expressions that include words about clothes? Let’s see if I can name a few proverbs “off the cuff” since I haven’t prepared for it.

English expressions with “pants”

People wear pants to cover the lower part of their bodies. We sometimes say that people who are restless or nervous have “ants in their pants.” They might also “fly by the seat of their pants” -- they use their natural sense to do something instead of their learned knowledge. Sometimes, people may “get caught with their pants down” -- they are found doing something they should not be doing. And, in every family, one person takes control. Sometimes a wife tells her husband what to do. Then we say “she wears the pants in the family.”

When people want to say something about money

Pants usually have pockets to hold things. Money that is likely to be spent quickly can “burn a hole in your pocket.” Sometimes you need a belt to hold up your pants. If you have less money than usual, you may have to “tighten your belt” -- you may have to live on less money and spend your money carefully. But once you have succeeded in budgeting your money, you will have that skill “under your belt.”     I always praise people who can save their money and not spend too much. I really “take my hat off to them.” Yet, when it comes to my own money, I spend it “at the drop of a hat” — immediately, without waiting. And sadly, you cannot “pull money out of a hat” —you cannot get money by inventing or imagining it.

English expressions with “shoes”

Boots are a heavy or strong kind of shoes. People who are “too big for their boots” think they are more important than they really are. I dislike such people. I really do. You can bet your boots on that!     Yet, truly important people are hard to replace. Rarely can you “fill their shoes” -- or replace them with someone equally effective.

English expressions with “shirt”

My father is an important person. He runs a big company. He wears a suit and tie and a shirt with sleeves that cover his arms. Some people who do not know him well think he is too firm and severe. They think he is a real “stuffed shirt.” But I know that my father “wears his heart on his sleeve” —he shows his feelings openly. And, he knows how to “keep his shirt on”—he stays calm and never gets angry or too excited.

1.What is this passage mainly about? 

A. Which words can be used to describe my father.

B. Why English expressions include words about clothes.

C. What people mean when they use some proverbs.

D. How to say English correctly and properly.

2.Which of the following proverbs are not related to money?

A. tighten one’s belt                    B. take one’s hat off to them

C. burn a hole in one’s pocket            D. get caught with their pants down

3.Tim often considers himself the most important person in the world, which is far from the truth .We may say ______.

A. he “wears his heart on his sleeve ”.      B. he “bet his boots on that ”.

C. he is “too big for their boots”.          D. he “ fill their shoes”.

4.If you want to praise somebody for his calmness when facing danger, you may say______.

A. “Amazing! How can you keep your shirt on at that time!”

B. “You really fill your shoes”

C. “Awesome ! You wear your heart on your sleeve!”

D. “Cool! You are truly a stuffed shirt”.

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.C

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：文章对“关于衣服的俗语”进行了解释。因为文章的理解有一定的难度，所以我们的解析要多说几句。

1.C主旨大意题。全文都是在讲“人们在使用某些俗语时，他们究竟说的是什么意思”。故C项正确。

2.D推理判断题或细节理解题。根据文章对各个俗语的阐述查找就可以得到答案。 “People wear pants to cover the lower part of their bodies....Sometimes, people may get caught with their pants down...”意思是说“人们穿着短裤以遮掩身体下部。我们有时形容紧张不安的人裤裆里有蚂蚁（ants in their pants）。他们也可能是fly by the seat of their pants，也就是说他们凭直觉而不是他们所学的知识来做一些事情。有时，人们可能会caught with their pants down，意思是他们被发现正在做一些不应该做的事。”；“... Money that is likely to be spent quickly can burn a hole in your pocket. ...If you have less money than usual, you may have to tighten your belt.” 意思是说“裤子通常都有装东西的口袋。花钱如流水就像口袋上烧了个洞（burn a hole in your pocket）。有时你需要用皮带系住裤子。如果较之平常钱少，你可能不得不勒紧腰带（tighten your belt）。”；“I always praise people who can save their money and not spend too much. I really take my hat off to them. ...” 意思是说“我总是赞扬那些节省、不大手大脚的人。我真的take my hat off to them（佩服他们）。然而，当涉及到自己的钱，我总是立马（at the drop of a hat）花个精光。”根据以上分析显然D项与钱无关。B项只能说勉强与钱有关。这个选项换成“at the drop of a hat”就好啦！

3.C推理判断题或细节理解题。“Boots are a heavy or strong kind of shoes. People who are “too big for their boots” think they are more important than they really are.”意思是说“靴子是一种沉重结实的鞋。自负的人（People who are too big for their boots）把自己想得比实际重要。”正好与题干意义相符。wear one's heart on one's sleeve “把某人的心戴在领口上”，是指那些不掩饰自己情感，十分坦率自己情感和意见的人；bet his boots on that赌上你的靴子，即深信不疑；fill their shoes适合他们的靴子，即取代他们。

4.A推理判断题或细节理解题。“And, he knows how to keep his shirt on. He stays calm and never gets angry or too excited.” 意思是说“而且，他知道如何keep his shirt on，意思是说“他能保持冷静，从不生气或兴奋过头。”正好与题干意义相符。wear one's heart on one's sleeve “把某人的心戴在领口上”，是指那些不掩饰自己情感，十分坦率自己情感和意见的人。a stuffed shirt是指那些爱摆架子，表现得神气十足的人。

考点：说明文英语文化类阅读理解