1 . English is full of funny expressions that don’t always make sense. Idioms are phrases and sentences that do not mean exactly what they say. Even if you know the meaning of each word, you may not understand the idiom because you don’t understand the culture behind it. Here are some English idioms based on animals.

When children jump around and act silly, their parents may tell them to stop “monkeying around”.To “monkey around” means to do things that are not useful or serious, or to simply waste time.

Many American families have and love pet dogs. But for some unknown reason, Americans use “dog” in a phrase that means to feel unwell. If you are “as sick as a dog”, you’re really, really sick.

Sometimes you may also hear cats mentioned in conversations, “I told you to keep that secret, but you have just ‘let the cat out of the bag’!” You probably guessed it — that idiom means to reveal a secret or tell facts that were previously unknown.

Dogs and cats don’t always get along, but they appear side by side in a commonly used idiom. When it rains heavily, people might say it’s “raining cats and dogs”．

Heavy rain often ruins people’s plans for outdoor activities. But on a lovely day, you can have a picnic. If a swarm (一群) of tiny bugs love your food and start to hover (盘旋) around you, it would be really annoying. That experience perfectly explains why people often tell someone who keeps bothering them to “stop bugging me”．

Idioms are very common in both spoken and written English. If you want to have a better understanding of English, you have to learn idioms.

Exercise is good for us. It reduce the risks of dying from all causes, including cancer and heart disease. And many people who work all week have little time for exercise. So, they might try to do exercise to increasing their heart rates over the weekend. But is it health to try to do exercise during the weekend? Australian researchers conducted a study, which took the place over a nine-year period. The research found that people who exercised only one or two day a week improved their chances of living longer than people did not exercise at all. Even those who are very overweight could extend his lives by exercising a couple of days per week. When comparing to those who did not exercise at all, they had low risk of dying from cancer.

Beijing, together with Zhangjiakou, succeeded in getting the chance to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games,     1     speeds up the development of Zhangjiakou City. Word came that the Beijing- Zhangjiakou high-speed railway,     2     (locate) in North China, is now     3     construction, and is expected to be completed by 2020 in preparation for the cities to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

Starting from Beijing North Railway Station and heading west through the Great Wall, the project is     4     (probable) the biggest challenge ever. Its designers say that the explosions needed to dig the tunnels will not have     5     negative effect on the structure.

The railway line has a     6     (long) of 174 km as a double-track passage line, with ten stations along its route. Enjoying a total investment of 31.17 billion yuan, the train will travel at an average of 250 km/h，     7     the trip between the two cities will only take 40 minutes.

According to the plan, the high-speed railway will have two branch     8     (line) —   one is to Yanqing Station, the other is to Taizicheng of Chongli, where the Olyimpic village lies. The full railway,     9     (include) a 70-kilometer section through Beijing,     10     (complete) in four and a half years.

7 . Last week, we talked about Massive Open Online Courses, also called MOOCs. Tens of thousands, or even more, people can take these classes all at once. You can be anywhere in the world to take a MOOC. All you need is a computer and a network connection.

MOOCs add to a tradition of what is known as distance learning. For years, many colleges have offered classes that are taught partly or mostly online. MOOCs are available in subjects like computer science, engineering or mechanics. Can MOOCs in subjects like arts or the humanities be as effective?

Scott Anderson teaches philosophy at the University of British Columbia in Canada. He sees both good and bad sides to MOOCs. “There are parts that will be fine, in so far as mostly when students listen to a lecture, there is no special reason why they need to be physically present to hear and get it. There is certainly no reason why they need to be physically present to get the readings and to think about these things.” Mr. Anderson says increased numbers of students in MOOCs can mean less communication between them and teachers. He says two ways to deal with this are by adding more teachers and setting up online discussion groups.

Lisa Jadwin teaches English and American literature and writing at St. John Fisher College in New York. She says online education has some weaknesses for her subjects. “What’s lost in online education is face-to-face interaction. And the teaching of literature is an interactive face-to-face discipline. And that old-fashioned approach is not going to be unseated very quickly by computer-aided instruction.” Professor Jadwin says some students could learn very well from talks and reading assignments, blogs and discussion groups. But she believes that hybrid courses work best. She describes hybrids as mixing face-to-face course elements with computer-aided teaching and writing projects.

8 . Apple, a 34-year-old doctor, had been on call at Atlanta Medical Center for more than two days, with only a few hours’ sleep. And now tiredness was clouding her eyes as she drove to a meeting in Kentucky, nearly seven hours away. She tried turning on her CB radio, which enthusiasts used to warn one another about road conditions, but the airwaves (广播频道) were silent. Soon Apple’s car started to weave (迂回前进).

A 41-year-old trucker named Woody Key found a car ahead, drifting (漂移) off the road. Key shouted into his CB microphone, “Four-wheeler, are you all right?”  

Apple woke up. She talked on her CB radio. “I’m tired, and I’m lucky I’m still alive driving this tired. Thanks!”

“Call me Woodpecker, my CB nickname,” the trucker said. “I’m going to Kentucky. And you?”

“Kentucky.”

“I’ll travel behind and help keep you awake. What’s your CB nickname?”

“Dr. Froot Loops,” she told him.

As they drove, they shared stories, and the time passed quickly. They parted near the Kentucky state line. She thanked him for keeping her awake and safe on the long, dark road.

Years later, Apple found several doctors checking a person brought in from an accident. His head was badly hurt. She put both hands on his head, hoping to calm him. “It’s not your time to die!” she said.

Then, he asked for her name.

“Dr. Sherry Apple,” she replied.

“No ... your CB nickname.”

“How did you guess I have a CB?”

“... I know your voice ...”

“My nickname is Dr. Froot Loops.”

“Oh ... It’s me ... Woodpecker!”

It was her truck driver! She said, “It’s not your time, Woodpecker!” Then Key was rushed into the operating room.  

The first days out of the operating room were very painful for Key. Often Apple would get home and find her phone ringing. Nurses, unable to calm Key, asked her to return. She always did.

About two months after his accident, Key was ready to leave the hospital. As he was leaving, he told Apple, “I don’t think I could have made it without you.” Apple’s eyes welled up. “And I wouldn’t have made it without you.”

I happen to meet some American tourists at the gate of the Summer Palace last week. I greeted them with English and then we began to chat. I got to know that they were college student traveling in China. Most of us were fond of Chinese medicine. They were busy taking pictures and were surprising at the changes that had taken place in the past few years. After that, we went boat but had a good time. We were exchanged our e-mail addresses so that we could write to each other in the future. They thanked me again and again. I was gladly to have a chance to practice my oral English. What wonderful experience it was!

Chinese proverbs are rich and they are still     1    (wide) used in Chinese people's daily life. Behind the proverbs there are often interesting stories. For example, the proverb, "plucking up a crop    2    (help) it grow" is based on the following story.

It is said that a short-tempered man in the Song Dynasty (960－1279) was very anxious to help his rice crop grow up quickly. He was thinking about it day and night. But the crop was growing much slower than he expected.

One day, he came up with an idea     3     he would pluck up all of his crop a few inches. He did so the next day.

He was very tired     4    doing this for a whole day,    5    he felt very happy since the   crop did "grow"    6    (high).

His son heard about this and went to see the crop.     7     (fortune), the leaves of the crop began to wither(枯萎).

This proverb is saying we have to let things go in their     8     (nature) course. Being too anxious to help an event develop often     9    (result) in the contrary to our    10    (intend).