Idioms(成语) are phrases and sentences that do not mean exactly what they say. Even if you know the meaning of each word you see or hear, you may not understand the idiom because you donˈt understand the culture behind it.

For example, if an American boy asks his mother whatˈs for dinner tomorrow, she may say “Iˈll play it by ear”, that means she doesnˈt have plans for dinner and she will decide later. “Play by ear”used to mean playing music using the sheet music(活页乐谱), but now people often use it when theyˈre not talking about music.

There are many idioms in English. If you learn to use them, your English will be more vivid and colorful. English idioms are more common in spoken English. They can be difficult to remember sometimes. Next time when you hear somebody saying to you, “Give me a hand”, you donˈt necessarily reach out your hand to him/her, but you do need to be helpful. And when the situation is out of hand, you usually can do very little to manage all that. What about a green hand? Itˈs not about the color of your hand! Youˈre a green hand when you are very new at your work and donˈt have much experience. If you and your partner always work together hand in glove, you two certainly work together very well.

Can you guess the meanings of some common English idioms to do with parts of your body?

The customs in different countries are rather different. If I have dinner with a Chinese host, he always puts more food onto my plate as soon as I have emptied it. That often discomforts me greatly. I have to eat the food even if I don’t want to, because it is considered bad manners in the West to leave one’s food on the plate. I have already noticed that when a Chinese sits at an American’s dinner party, he very often refuses the offer of food or drink though he is in fact still hungry or thirsty. This might be good manners in China, but it is not in the West at all.

    In the United States, it is impolite to keep asking someone again and again or insist(坚持) on his accepting something. Americans have a direct way of speaking. If they want something, they will ask for it. If not, they will say, “No, thanks.” When an American is served with beer by the host, for example, he might say, “No, thanks. I’ll take some Diet Pepsi-Cola(百事可乐) if you have it.” That is what an American will do. So when you go to the United States, you had better remember the famous saying: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

根据短文内容，选择正确答案，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

 Robots seem to be getting more and more helpful, as these four examples clearly show:

Do you know the movieI, Robot? It tells us a story about the future.

   The year is 2035 and robots are just as common as mobile phones. Peopledepend ontheir robots to do lots of things, for example, babysitting, cooking, doing chores and taking their dogs for a walk. Robots have to obey (听从) human's orders, because their designers make them do so. A police officer called Spooner hates robots. He doesn't think humans can get on well with their robots at all! But the scientist Susan has different opinions. Susan works on robots' mind and she thinks one day robots will become more powerful (强大的) than humans and help humans to make progress (进步).

   When Spooner and Susan work together, they find that something is wrong with the world's robots. A few robots have their own thoughts and they're trying to get out of humans' control (控制)! Of course these robots' dream doesn't come true. Humans work hard to control their robots again and they succeed at last.

It's hard to imagine that just 25 years ago, Berlin was a city split (分开) into two by the Berlin Wall. I'll never forget how people were excited as the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. Since then, Berlin has become one of the coolest cities in Europe. Here are the main reasons why I think Berlin is cool.

   It's affordable. Berlin has cheap hotels and everyday objects. You don't have to worry about spending too much money when visiting Berlin.

   It has fantastic, festivals. Berlin knows how to give parties, and there is a festival here every month of the year. Perhaps the most famous is the Berlin International Film Festival.

   It has great architecture (建筑设计). Berlin has beautiful architecture of its own. The Brandenburg Gate, built in the 18th century, is one of the city's moat famous buildings, symbolizing more than 200 years of history. The TV Tower is as good. as the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the London Eye.

   The art scene is flourishing (繁荣). Berlin is a city of living art. Artiste are allowed to create works of art on the sides of buildings.

   If you want to visit an affordable European city with culture and lots of colors, Berlin is the place to be. What are you waiting for? Get to Europe's coolest city before everyone else discovers it.

根据材料内容选择最佳答案。

It’s hard to imagine that just 25 years ago, Berlin was a city split (分开) into two by the Berlin Wall. I’ll never forget how people were excited as the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. Since then, Berlin has become one of the coolest cities in Europe. Here are the main reasons why I think Berlin is cool.

It’s affordable.Berlin has cheap hotels and everyday objects. You don’t have to worry about spending too much money when visiting Berlin.

It has fantastic festivals.Berlin knows how to give parties, and there is a festival here every month of the year. Perhaps the most famous is the Berlin International Film Festival.

It has great architecture(建筑设计).Berlin has beautiful architecture of its own. The Brandenburg Gate, built in the 18th century, is one of the city’s most famous buildings, symbolizing more than 200 years of history. The TV Tower is as good as the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the London Eye.

The art scene is flourishing(繁荣).Berlin is a city of living art. Artists are allowed to create works of art on the sides of buildings. 

If you want to visit an affordable European city with culture and lots of colors, Berlin is the place to be. What are you waiting for? Get to Europe’s coolest city before everyone else discovers it. 

根据材料内容选择最佳答案。

Pity the farmer

by Li Shen (772–846)

The farmer hoes grain in the noonday sun,

With sweatdrippingonto the field.

Who realizes that the food on their plate—

Every grain—comes from bittersuffering?

The rice farmer

by Saoirse McCann

The Sun is setting low, the red sky a welcoming sight;

The farmer stands silentlyin the fading light.

The fields are watered and planted, thebuffaloesare fed;

The only thing he thinks of now is finding home and bed.

A gentle wind is whispering of hope and dreams of life;

Every grain of rice requires sucheffortand suchstrife.

Remember, when you sit and eat with family or friends,

All the many hours he works, as his fields hetends.

  C

Have you ever been tired of your teachers when the bell rang, but they didn't stop their classes? Today，there is a great change. Shanghai No. 8 Middle School begins to use a new bell this term. It helps teachers remember it is break time. The new bell has 3 parts. The first part lasts 15 seconds, and it's made up of lovely folk music. Next, there are 20 seconds of silence. The final 25-second bell is a fast-paced march(快节奏进行曲)that seems to tell each teacher, " You have to end your class now."

All the students welcome the bell. Chen Hong，a student，said， " We tried many ways to stop teachers before, but nothing worked. It's better now.”

Shen Huimin, a teacher at No. 8 Middle School，agrees that the new bell is creative(有创意的)."In the past, we usually wanted to add a few words after class. But we often forgot the time," she said. "The new bell reminds us twice. It's a small change, but it's really solving a big problem.”

阅读短文，选择最佳选项。

Charlotte was 21 years old. She was a student in the United Kingdom. And she had very little money. She had grown up without a family. She was trying to get an education. So she attended school during the day, and she worked at night. But now, she lost her job. Charlotte sold everything she owned. For days, she ate very little food. She was becoming sick.

One day, someone told Charlotte about food banks. She learned that at a food bank, she could get food for free! Food banks collect food for people who need it. All of the food at a food bank is donated(捐赠). People give food or money to support the food bank. Farms may also give food that they cannot sell. And food companies may do the same thing. At the food bank, workers sort(把……分类) the food and check it to make sure that it is safe to eat. Then, the food bank gives the food to people who need it.

    At first, Charlotte was not sure that she wanted to go to a food bank. She felt shame. But finally she decided to go. She found that it was much better than she had expected. The workers at the local food bank did not tell anyone that she had visited the food bank. And they put her food in normal food bags—so people would not know Charlotte had received her food from the food bank. Charlotte                                                                                                                                                                                              was thankful. So she decided to help too. She began working there, as a volunteer. Now, she did not feel shame about her experience. Instead, she was happy to tell other people about this important part of her community.

    There is an English expression, “There is no such thing as a free lunch”. But with food banks, this is not true. Food banks offer food to people who really need it. And with that food, food banks offer a chance for a person’s life to change.

  If there is one person who has left a deep impression on me, it's my teacher, Mrs. Pathak .who

was my class teacher for three years. In my childhood, how I wished I had a mother or a sister like

her. One moment she could be hard-working and strict, another moment kind and patient.

    She always encouraged us to tell the truth. For example, if one had not done the homework.

he need not lie. She allowed us to make mistakes, saying we couldn't be perfect all the time. but we

should try.

    Another thing she taught me was punctuality She set a good example with her own actions.

She was always on time, so we students tried our best to be on time.

    She surprised us with her sense of humour. Her classroom teaching was always humorous.

After class .she talked to us and told us jokes

    We reallv felt free to ask questions and Mrs. Pathak would give the answers. If she did not

 know-there had been some occasions—she would say so. We all then tried to find out the

 answers. Whoever came up with the answers was praised and given the prize. Now I sometimes

 wonder whether Mrs. Pathak just wanted to encourage us to explore and find answers by ourselves