Question

Have you ever considered all the English expressions that include words about clothes? Let’s see if I can name a few proverbs “off the cuff” since I haven’t prepared for it.

English expressions with “pants”

People wear pants to cover the lower part of their bodies. We sometimes say that people who are restless or nervous have “ants in their pants.” They might also “fly by the seat of their pants” -- they use their natural sense to do something instead of their learned knowledge. Sometimes, people may “get caught with their pants down” -- they are found doing something they should not be doing. And, in every family, one person takes control. Sometimes a wife tells her husband what to do. Then we say “she wears the pants in the family.”

When people want to say something about money

Pants usually have pockets to hold things. Money that is likely to be spent quickly can “burn a hole in your pocket.” Sometimes you need a belt to hold up your pants. If you have less money than usual, you may have to “tighten your belt” -- you may have to live on less money and spend your money carefully. But once you have succeeded in budgeting your money, you will have that skill “under your belt.” I always praise people who can save their money and not spend too much. I really “take my hat off to them.” Yet, when it comes to my own money, I spend it “at the drop of a hat” — immediately, without waiting. And sadly, you cannot “pull money out of a hat” —you cannot get money by inventing or imagining it.

English expressions with “shoes”

Boots are a heavy or strong kind of shoes. People who are “too big for their boots” think they are more important than they really are. I dislike such people. I really do. You can bet your boots on that! Yet, truly important people are hard to replace. Rarely can you “fill their shoes” -- or replace them with someone equally effective.

English expressions with “shirt”

My father is an important person. He runs a big company. He wears a suit and tie and a shirt with sleeves that cover his arms. Some people who do not know him well think he is too firm and severe. They think he is a real “stuffed shirt.” But I know that my father “wears his heart on his sleeve” —he shows his feelings openly. And, he knows how to “keep his shirt on”—he stays calm and never gets angry or too excited.

【小題1】What is this passage mainly about? 

A．Which words can be used to describe my father.

B．Why English expressions include words about clothes.

C．What people mean when they use some proverbs.

D．How to say English correctly and properly.

【小題2】Which of the following proverbs are not related to money?

A．tighten one’s belt	B．take one’s hat off to them
C．burn a hole in one’s pocket	D．get caught with their pants down

【小題3】Tim often considers himself the most important person in the world, which is far from the truth .We may say ______.

A．he “wears his heart on his sleeve ”.	B．he “bet his boots on that ”.
C．he is “too big for their boots”.	D．he “ fill their shoes”.

【小題4】If you want to praise somebody for his calmness when facing danger, you may say______.

A．“Amazing! How can you keep your shirt on at that time!”

B．“You really fill your shoes”

C．“Awesome ! You wear your heart on your sleeve!”

D．“Cool! You are truly a stuffed shirt”.

Answer 1

【小題1】C
【小題2】D
【小題3】C
【小題4】A

解析試題分析：文章對“關于衣服的俗語”進行了解釋。因為文章的理解有一定的難度，所以我們的解析要多說幾句。
【小題1】C主旨大意題。全文都是在講“人們在使用某些俗語時，他們究竟說的是什么意思”。故C項正確。
【小題2】D推理判斷題或細節理解題。根據文章對各個俗語的闡述查找就可以得到答案。 “People wear pants to cover the lower part of their bodies....Sometimes, people may get caught with their pants down...”意思是說“人們穿著短褲以遮掩身體下部。我們有時形容緊張不安的人褲襠里有螞蟻（ants in their pants）。他們也可能是fly by the seat of their pants，也就是說他們憑直覺而不是他們所學的知識來做一些事情。有時，人們可能會caught with their pants down，意思是他們被發現正在做一些不應該做的事。”；“... Money that is likely to be spent quickly can burn a hole in your pocket. ...If you have less money than usual, you may have to tighten your belt.” 意思是說“褲子通常都有裝東西的口袋。花錢如流水就像口袋上燒了個洞（burn a hole in your pocket）。有時你需要用皮帶系住褲子。如果較之平常錢少，你可能不得不勒緊腰帶（tighten your belt）。”；“I always praise people who can save their money and not spend too much. I really take my hat off to them. ...” 意思是說“我總是贊揚那些節省、不大手大腳的人。我真的take my hat off to them（佩服他們）。然而，當涉及到自己的錢，我總是立馬（at the drop of a hat）花個精光。”根據以上分析顯然D項與錢無關。B項只能說勉強與錢有關。這個選項換成“at the drop of a hat”就好啦！
【小題3】C推理判斷題或細節理解題。“Boots are a heavy or strong kind of shoes. People who are “too big for their boots” think they are more important than they really are.”意思是說“靴子是一種沉重結實的鞋。自負的人（People who are too big for their boots）把自己想得比實際重要。”正好與題干意義相符。wear one's heart on one's sleeve “把某人的心戴在領口上”，是指那些不掩飾自己情感，十分坦率自己情感和意見的人；bet his boots on that賭上你的靴子，即深信不疑；fill their shoes適合他們的靴子，即取代他們。
【小題4】A推理判斷題或細節理解題。“And, he knows how to keep his shirt on. He stays calm and never gets angry or too excited.” 意思是說“而且，他知道如何keep his shirt on，意思是說“他能保持冷靜，從不生氣或興奮過頭。”正好與題干意義相符。wear one's heart on one's sleeve “把某人的心戴在領口上”，是指那些不掩飾自己情感，十分坦率自己情感和意見的人。a stuffed shirt是指那些愛擺架子，表現得神氣十足的人。
考點：說明文英語文化類閱讀理解