Question

【題目】閱讀理解。

The saying “a penny for your thoughts” is an English idiom simply asking people to volunteer their opinions on an issue being discussed. In modern usage, it is often stated as an indirect way of asking what someone is thinking about.

This phrase is basically a proposal (提議), and the speaker is offering to pay to hear the listener's thoughts. It is an idiom, of course, and not meant literally (字面上地) so no real payment generally takes place.

When the saying originated, a penny was worth a lot more than it is in the 21st century.Therefore, “a penny for your thoughts” likely indicated the thoughts were more valuable to those asking the listener for them than they are by today's standards. This loss of value can be used ironically (諷刺地), however, through tone (語(yǔ)氣) of voice; it can be used to indicate that someone's idea is bad or worth a penny in modern value.

The phrase is generally credited to a man by the name of John Heywood, who was born sometime just before the 16th century. During his life, he was a writer who penned many plays and a book in 1546, later known as The Proverbs of John Heywood. It is likely that Heywood did not actually come up with the phrase “a penny for your thoughts”. Rather, he was simply the first person to have set the phrase down in written form. The actual origins of the term are unknown, and since his book was simply a collection of common idioms and expressions, it was probably familiar to people in the mid 1500s.

Another phrase similar to “a penny for your thoughts”is offering “your two cents” after making a statement. Someone might give his or her opinion and then say, “that's my two cents，” to indicate the value of his or her idea. While, much like a penny, “two cents” is relatively low in value now, it would have been more valuable at one time and the expression is used in much the same way.

【1】When someone says “a penny for your thoughts”， he or she________.

A．wants to ask you for advice

B．considers your thoughts unique

C．is curious about what's on your mind

D．will pay for what you're thinking about

【2】The modern meaning of “a penny for your thoughts” ________.

A．is more closely connected to the value of the penny

B．can differ greatly according to a speaker's tone of voice

C．can confuse the listener easily

D．is more popularly accepted

【3】In what way is Heywood related to the phrase “a penny for your thoughts”？

A．He came up with it while he was writing.

B．He helped to explain the origins of it.

C．He contributed to the wide use of it.

D．He was the first person to use it.

【4】What do we know about the phrase “your two cents”？

A．It is usually used at the end of a statement.

B．It comes from “a penny for your thoughts”．

C．It has witnessed some changes since the 16th century.

D．It is more familiar to people than “a penny for your thoughts”．

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】B

【3】C

【4】A

【解析】

試題解析：

【1】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第一段中的“asking people to volunteer their opinions on an issue being discussed”和“asking what someone is thinking about”可知答案。

【2】推理判斷題。根據(jù)第三段內(nèi)容可知，由于便士的價(jià)值在古代和現(xiàn)在相差甚遠(yuǎn)，因此現(xiàn)在也可以用“a penny for your thoughts”來(lái)表達(dá)對(duì)方的主意一文不值，也就是說(shuō)，根據(jù)說(shuō)話人的語(yǔ)氣，這個(gè)習(xí)語(yǔ)的意思大相徑庭。

【3】推理判斷題。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第二段中的“he was simply the first person to have set the phrase down in written form”和“his book was simply a collection of common idioms ...the mid 1500s”可推測(cè)，Heywood 由于將“a penny for your thoughts”這個(gè)習(xí)語(yǔ)編寫到自己關(guān)于常用習(xí)語(yǔ)和表達(dá)的書籍中，從而使得這個(gè)習(xí)語(yǔ)被人們所熟知。因此，他間接推廣了這個(gè)習(xí)語(yǔ)的應(yīng)用。

【4】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)最后一段中的“offering ‘your two cents’ after making a statement”可知答案。