Question

【題目】The word “chicken” is used in so many English idioms. Do you know the following? Don't count your chickens before they hatch．

The expression “Don't count your chickens before they hatch” means “Don't expect that all your eggs, which have been laid, will hatch.” “Hatch” is a verb, meaning the baby chicken breaks open the shell of the egg and comes out successfully. So the expression mainly means “Don't depend on things working out just as you want them to”. This saying appears in the story The Milkmaid and Her Pail in Aesop's Fables.

A chickenandegg situation

In history, philosophers(哲學(xué)家) and scientists have met this dilemma(困境): Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Aristotle thought that both the bird and the egg must have always been there. However, more recently, scientists such as Stephen Hawking have argued that the egg came before the chicken. In common speech, the term “a chickenandegg situation” means a situation where it is impossible to say which of two things appeared first and which caused the other one.

Don't be such a chicken

There seems to be an idea in English, somehow, that a chicken is a scared bird. Maybe that's not fair as most birds will probably fly away from you if you go towards them. But “Don't be such a chicken” means “Don't be so scared and get a bit more courage.” So if your friend fear to do something, you can say to him or her, “Don't be such a chicken. Just have a try！”

【1】The underlined word “hatch” means “ ” in Chinese.

A. 孵化 B. 長(zhǎng)大 C. 破碎

【2】We may say “don't be such a chicken” to someone when he .

A. is good at math

B. has difficulty making a choice

C. is not brave enough to do something

【3】What does someone get when he is given “chicken feed” for his work?

A. A high pay.

B. A little money.

C. A lot of food.

【4】Which idiom can be used when we can't make a causeandeffect relationship clear?

A. Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

B. Chicken feed.

C. A chickenandegg situation.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】 A

【2】 C

【3】 B

【4】 C

【解析】

本文講述了英國(guó)和“小雞”這個(gè)詞有關(guān)的一些俗語(yǔ)。

【1】詞義猜測(cè)題。題干句意：The underlined word “hatch” means “ ” in Chinese.帶下劃線的“hatch”在中文里是什么意思？結(jié)合原文信息，根據(jù)文中第二段Hatch is a verb, meaning the baby chicken breaks open the shell of the egg and comes out successfully.翻譯為：Hatch是個(gè)動(dòng)詞，意思是小雞破殼而出，成功孵化出來(lái)。可知正確答案為：A

【2】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。題干句意：We may say “don't be such a chicken” to someone when he .我們可能會(huì)說(shuō) ，當(dāng)某人膽小如鼠的時(shí)候。選項(xiàng)A. is good at math擅長(zhǎng)數(shù)學(xué)。B. has difficulty making a choice很難做出選擇。C. is not brave enough to do something沒(méi)有足夠的勇氣去做某事。結(jié)合原文信息，根據(jù)文章最后 But “Don't be such a chicken” means “Don't be so scared and get a bit more courage.” 不過(guò)，Don't be a chicken的意思是別那么害怕，再勇敢一點(diǎn)�？芍�正確答案為：C

【3】推理判斷題。題干句意：What does someone get when he is given “chicken feed” for his work?當(dāng)一個(gè)人的工作沒(méi)有什么回報(bào)時(shí)，他會(huì)得到什么？選項(xiàng)A. A high pay.一份高收入。B. A little money.一點(diǎn)錢(qián)。C. A lot of food.很多食物。結(jié)合原文信息，可知A表達(dá)錯(cuò)誤，與題干意思相反，C在文中沒(méi)有提到。故正確答案為：B

【4】推理判斷題。題干句意：Which idiom can be used when we can't make a cause and effect relationship clear？當(dāng)我們不能弄清楚因果關(guān)系時(shí)，可以用哪個(gè)成語(yǔ)呢？選項(xiàng)A. Don't count your chickens before they hatch.別高興太早。B. Chicken feed.極小額的款項(xiàng)。C. A chickenandegg situation.先有雞還是先有蛋。結(jié)合原文信息，文章倒數(shù)第二段he term a chicken and egg situation means a situation where it is impossible to say which of two things appeared first and which caused the other one.他所說(shuō)的“先有雞還是先有蛋”的情況，指的是兩件事中哪一件先出現(xiàn)，哪一件又引起另一件的情況�？芍�正確答案為：C