Cold weather has a great effect, on how our minds and our bodies work. Maybe that is why there are so many expressions that use the word “cold”. For centuries, the body’s blood has been linked closely with the emotions. People who show no human emotions or feelings, for example, are said to be cold-blooded. Cold-blood people act in a merciless way. They may do brutal things to others, and not by accident. For example, a newspaper says the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer. The killer murdered someone, not in self-defense. He seemed to kill with no emotion.
Cold can affect other parts of the body, the feet, for example. Heavy socks can warm your feet, if your feet are really cold. But there is an expression ---- to get cold feet--- that has nothing to do with cold or your feet. The expression means being afraid to do something you decided to do. For example, you agree to be president of an organization. But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned. All the work of the organization will be your responsibility. You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation.
Cold can also affect your shoulder. You “give someone the cold shoulder” when you refuse to speak to them. You treat them in a distant, cold way. The expression probably come from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face-to- face. You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you or to someone who has lied about you to others.
“A cold fish” is not a fish. It is a person. But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and show no love or warmth. A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone.
“Out in the cold” is and expression often heard. It means not getting something that everybody else got. A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise. He was left our in the cold. And it is not a pleasant place to be.
1. The text is intended to tell us that ______.
A. cold weather has a great effect on human bodies
B. “cold” is a word closely linked with human emotions
C. many English expressions contain the word “cold”
D. the word “cold” has many different meanings in English
2.The underline word “brutal” in paragraph 1 most probably means ______.
A. merciless B. illegal C. impolite D. extreme
3.Which phrase can best describe a person who is unwilling to offer anything to others?
A. Cold-blooded. B. To get cold shoulder.
C. A cold fish. D. A cold shoulder.
4.If the teacher gives all the boys except Tom a pen as a prize, you can say he ______.
A. is given the cold shoulder B. is punished by a cold fish
C. has got cold feet D. is left out in the cold
Most kinds of rose plants come from Asia. But roses are also native to other areas including northwest Africa, Europe and the United States. In 1986, Congress chose the rose as America’s national flower. Technically, Congress and President Ronald Reagan declared it the “national floral emblem.” Whatever the name, the decision did not smell sweet to supporters of others popular flowers.
Some people say roses are difficult to grow. But you have a good chance of success if you start with a few suggestions from experts. You should plant your roses where they can get sunshine for about six hours on bright days. You can buy roses form a garden center or by mail order. You can buy potted roses, also known as container roses, or bare-root plants. Each kind has its fans.
Some gardeners say potted roses are easier to plant. They say the roots develop better. But Jeffrey Dinslage, an expert, pint out that bare-root roses come without soil. So they weigh less to transport.
Another expert advises getting bare-foot roses as close to planting time as you can. If they arrive before you are ready to plant them, make sure the packing material is moist. Keep the plants in a cool, dark place. The resting plants have no leaves but still need water. When growing roses, the soil should feel moist deep down. Watering should be done in the morning.
But do not water too much. People often ask Jeffrey Dinslage about unhealthy discoloration on rose leaves. He says the spots are usually caused by too much water. After heavy rains or too much watering, he advises pulling away mulch, the substance used to protect the roots, temporarily from around the roots. This will help dry the soil.
1.From the first paragraph, we know that in the United States _______.
A. all the people like roses B. there are a lot of national flowers
C. some roses don’t smell sweet D. there are some other popular flowers
2.Why does Jeffrey Dinslage suggest planting bare-root roses?
A. They are easier to plant. B. Their roots develop better.
C. They are cheap to transport D. Their leaves need no water
3.Which of following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “moist”?
A. Slightly wet. B. Pretty dry. C. Too hard. D. Lightly soft.
4.According to Jeffrey Dinslage, people should ______ to avoid the spots on the rose leaves.
A. not water roses in the morning B. protect the roots of roses
C. improve the quality of the soil D. not water roses very much
You may have heard some respectable elders say, “It’s not what you want in this world, but what you get.”
Psychology teaches that you do get what you want if you know what you want and want the right things.
You can make a mental blueprint of a desire as you would make a blueprint of a house, and each of us is continually making these blueprints in the general routine of everyday living. If we intend to give a dinner for friends, we plan the menu, make a shopping list, and decide which food to cook first, and such planning is essential and necessary for any type of meal to be served.
Similarly, you can make a blueprint for your could-be-job, take a sheet of paper, and write a brief account of yourself. In making a blueprint for a job, begin with yourself, for when you know exactly what you have to offer, you can intelligently plan where to sell your service.
This account of yourself is actually a description of your working life and should include education, experience and references. Such an account is valuable. It can be referred to filling out standard application blanks and it is extremely helpful in personal interviews. While talking to you, your could-be employer is deciding whether your education, your experience and other qualifications will pay him to employ you, and your abilities must be displayed on an orderly and reasonably connected manner. When you have carefully prepared a blueprint of your abilities and desires, you have something exact to sell. Then you are ready to hunt for a job.
Get all the possible information about your could-be job. Make your eyes and ears open, and use your own judgment. Spend a certain amount of time each day seeking in the employment you wish for, and keep in mind: Obtaining a job is your job now!
1.When the elders say, “It’s not what you want in the world, but what you get”, they mean ______.
A. you will certainly get what you want
B. it’s no use dreaming but be practical
C. you should never be satisfied with what you have
D. it’s essential to be ambitious
2.The blueprint made before inviting a friend to dinner is used as______.
A. a set rule for job hunters
B. a suggestion on how to get a good job
C. an example of how to plan important things ahead
D. a guideline for a job description
3.In the passage, the author mainly intends to point out the importance of ____.
A. writing up a detailed plan for a job interview
B. keeping a blueprint of what you want to do
C. drawing a description of your working life
D. seeking the employment you want
The sun was just coming up when I headed out to work last May at 6 a.m. Not quite dark but dark enough to need my headlights. I turned onto one of the lonely rural country roads.
Maybe it was because I was listening to the radio, maybe it was because I was already thinking about some projects at work, that I didn’t spot the dark object on the road until I was too late. I ran over it and felt the back left tire pull, and then sink. I stopped and got out of the car.
No mystery here---- my back left tyre was cut like a loaf of bread. Back 50 yards was a piece of sharp iron I had run over. I had never changed a tyre. I looked up the road. Not a car in either direction. The nearest service station was miles away. I threw up my hands. Then I remembered---- my cell phone! I powered it up before realizing, I didn’t know who to call.
Wouldn’t you know it, I spotted a car coming from the opposite direction. The driver slowed as he approached. I guessed he could see I was in trouble. He stopped his car, got out and immediately saw the trouble. “Madam, would you like me to change that tyre for you?” he asked. The man couldn’t have been more friendly. I was frightened out there and he put me completely at ease. “There,” he said, after putting on the spare, “you are all set to go.”
“Good thing for me that you were driving this way,” I told him, as I climbed back into my car.
“Funny you should say that,” he said. “Just like you, I was heading to work, but my job is in the opposite direction. I made a wrong turn at some point. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
1.The writer didn’t notice the object on the road because ______.
A. it was rather dark then B. she didn’t use her headlights
C. there was much traffic D. she was careless when driving
2.From Paragraph 4 we learn that______.
A. the writer felt quite anxious
B. no one would like to help the writer
C. the writer was a new driver
D. the cell phone should be powered up
3.What did the man do when he saw the writer?
A. He stopped and laughed at her.
B. He walked over to frighten her.
C. He helped her without hesitation.
D. He drove away in the opposite direction.
4.The end of the story tells us that the man ______.
A. went a wrong way B. felt the writer funny
C. didn’t know what he was doing D. come specially to help the writer
Recently, we went on a vacation for a week that involved visiting four different ports in the sunny and warm climate of the Caribbean. There were of laughter, fun and great food. It’s a thing when you go away that each day of the vacation also to the end and a return to work.
It was twelve years since we went on a vacation, so this vacation was viewed with of a great break away from my daily routine. And we weren’t .
But there was something very different about this vacation compared to those when we worked in a corporative environment. The main was that when we returned, when the vacation was rapidly drawing to a close, we didn’t have the same feeling of stress, anxiety and fear.
In this recent vacation, it wasn’t that we enjoyed the various fun and new activities, the break away from routine, the pleasure of touring different countries and cultures, the to do what we wanted when we wanted or the leisurely of each day that was significant. What was significant was that we didn’t fear the last day of vacation. You see, we know that we were what we love to do not what we had to do.
The feelings experienced in the last couple of days of vacation were viewed with the same joy as the very first days. In the previous times, the last days of vacation were terrible. We experience an increasing of stress we knew that a return to our field of employment was “work” and not that we loved and thoroughly enjoyed.
The is this: If you do what you love, it doesn’t matter that a vacation has to end. If you love what you do you will not yourself wishing for even a few more days of vacation, or wishing that you could enjoying this vacation for much, much longer. A love of what you do you back like a magnet.
1.A. moments B. possibilities C. situations D. ways
2.A. discouraging B. bitter C. wonderful D. funny
3.A. come up B. count down C. give out D. die away
4.A. expectation B. attempt C. opinion D. demand
5.A. satisfied B. tired C. disappointed D. optimistic
6.A. advantage B. problem C. difference D. drawback
7.A. approaching B. relieving C. bearing D. overcoming
8.A. necessarily B. thoroughly C. relaxingly D. smoothly
9.A. opportunity B. desire C. possibility D. right
10.A. pattern B. pace C. lifestyle D. atmosphere
11.A. yet B. still C. also D. even
12.A. returning to B. submitting to C. turning to D. heading for
13.A. number B. knowledge C. sense D. awareness
14.A. although B. and C. because D. if
15.A. anything B. everything C. nothing D. something
16.A. lesson B. idea C. point D. solution
17.A. in the least B. for a moment C. after all D. at the moment
18.A. let B. find C. make D. catch
19.A. maintain B. risk C. keep D. stop
20.A. draws B. holds C. pushes D. welcomes
When ______, the new railway will run for 250 miles.
A. to complete B. completed
C. being completed D. to be completed
