阅读理解。
Cold weather has a great effect, on how our minds and our bodies work. Maybe that is why there are
so many expressions that use the word "cold". For centuries, the body's blood has been linked closely with
the emotions. People who show no human emotions or feelings, for example, are said to be cold-blooded.
Cold-blooded people act in a merciless way. They may do brutal things to others, and not by accident. For
example, a newspaper says the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer. The killer murdered someone,
not in self-defense. He seemed to kill with no emotion.
Cold can affect other parts of the body, the feet, for example. Heavy socks can warm your feet, if your
feet are really cold. But there is an expression-to get cold feet-that has nothing to do with cold or your feet.
The expression means being afraid to do something you had decided to do. For example, you agree to be
president of an organization. But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned. All the work of the
organization will be your responsibility. You are likely to gel cold feet about being president when you
understand the situation.
Cold can also affect your shoulder. You "give someone the cold shoulder" when you refuse to speak to
them. You treat them in a distant, cold way. The expression probably comes from the physical act of turning
your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face-to-face. You may give a cold shoulder to a friend
who has not kept a promise: he made to you. Or, to someone who has lied about you to others.
"A cold fish" is not a fish. It if a person. But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and show no
love or warmth. A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone.
"Out in the cold" is an expression often heard. It means not getting something that everybody else got.
A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise. He was left out in the cold. And it is not a
pleasant place to be.
1. The text is intended to tell us that _____.
A. cold weather has a great effect on human bodies
B. "cold" is a word closely linked with human emotions
C. many English expressions contain the word "cold"
D. the word "cold" has many different meanings in English
2. The underlined word "brutal" in paragraph 1 most probably means _____.
A. Cold-blooded
B. illegal
C. impolite
D. extreme
3. Which phrase can best describe a person who is unwilling to offer anything to others?
A. Cruel.
B. To get cold feet.
C. A cold fish.
D. A cold shoulder.
4. If the teacher gives all the boys except Tom a pen as a prize, you can say he _____.
A. is given the cold shoulder
B. is punished by a cold fish
C. has got cold feet
D. is left out in the cold
