Question

Expressions about water are almost as common as water.    小题1:        
The expression “to be in hot water” is one of them. It is a very old expression. “Hot water” was used five hundred years ago to mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from the custom of extremely throwing hot water down on enemies attacking a castle. When we are in “hot water”, we are in trouble.    小题2:    A young boy can be in hot water with his mother if he comes into the house with dirty shoes.
  小题3:    A company seeks to keep its head above water during economic hard times. A man who loses his job tries to keep his head above water until he finds a new job.
Another common expression, “to hold water”, is about the strength or weakness of an idea or opinion that you may be arguing about. If it can hold water, it is strong and has no holes in it. If your argument can hold water, it is strong and does not have any holes.  小题4:   
“Throwing cold water” also is an expression that deals with ideas or proposals. 小题5:    For example, you want to buy a new car because the old one has some problems. But your wife “throws cold water” on the idea, because she says a new car costs too much.

A．It means disliking an idea.

B．You are in a difficult situation.

C．A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police.

D．If it does not hold water, then it is weak and not worth debating.

E. But many of the expressions using water have unpleasant meanings.
F. A man who has long been jobless will find it hard to make both ends meet.
G. “To keep your head above water” is a colorful expression that means staying out of debt.

Answer 1

小题1:E
小题2:C
小题3:G
小题4:D
小题5:A

试题分析：
小题1:从后面的句子：The expression “to be in hot water” is one of them. 可知和水有关的很多的短语是不好的意思。选E
小题2:从前面的句子：When we are in “hot water”, we are in trouble. 可知违法的人可能会惹上警察的麻烦。选C
小题3:从后面的句子：A company seeks to keep its head above water during economic hard times. 可“To keep your head above water”意思是：不欠债。选G
小题4:从前面的句子：If your argument can hold water, it is strong and does not have any holes.可知如果不能hold water ，就是不值得讨论。选D
小题5:从后面的句子：But your wife “throws cold water” on the idea, because she says a new car costs too much.可知这个词组是“不喜欢这个想法”选A。
点评：此类文章要求我们要能整体理解文章，特别是承上启下的句子，首先通读文章，再浏览选项，找出上下文暗示之处，不过这类试题上一般来说，较易。如果有不能确定的选项可以等到最后再做，做完后，别忘了再通读全文，看文章是否通顺。