①People use sayings(谚语) every day. You may ask an unhappy friend why she's “feeling blue”. If you've done only a small part of a big job, you might call it “a drop in the bucket”.
②These sayings don't mean exactly what the words say. But it’s easy to tell why we use them. Blue is a cool, quiet color. So it's a good word for "sad". A bucket holds too many water drops to count. So just one drop is very little.
③Some sayings are difficult to understand. When you go to bed, you “hit the hay(干草)”. If you want to know the meaning of the saying, you must know where it came from. It was first used in the 1930s. At that time, many Americans were out of work. Some went from place to place, looking for jobs. At night they were very tired. They often made a bed of hay in a field or barn. As soon as their heads "hit the hay", they fell asleep.
④Here is another saying. When you are not feeling well, you might say you are “under the weather”. But why? This saying is more than 200 years old. It began in the days when many people went from place to place by boat. When the strong winds rocked the boat, people often felt uncomfortable. The boat was sailing(航行) “under the weather”.
⑤Old sayings can be hard for children to understand. But new sayings come along every day. Children often understand new sayings better than older people do, That's why your grandmother might not know what you mean when you say “chill out” or “give me five”. She might think you’re “off your rocker”.
1. The saying “hit the hay” means “________”.| A．go to sleep | B．look for jobs | C．go to work | D．make a bed of hay |
| A．“Feel blue”. | B．“Give me five”. |
| C．“Under the weather”. | D．“A drop in the bucket”. |
| A．old people know more about sayings | B．people used sayings a lot in the past |
| C．sayings are difficult to understand | D．some sayings have a long history |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
