Expressions about water are almost as mon as water itself. But many of the expressions using water have unpleasant meanings.
The expression “to be in hot water is one of them. It is a very old expression. “Hot water” was used 500 years ago to mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle.
That no longer happens. But we still get in “hot water”．When we are in “hot water”, we are in trouble. It can be any kind of trouble—serious or not so serious. A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police. A young boy can be in hot water with his mother. if he walks in the house with dirty shoes.
Being in “deep water” is almost the same as being in hot water. When you are in deep water, you are in a difficult position. Imagine a person who cannot swim being thrown in water over his head.
You are in deep water when you are facing a problem that you do not have the ability to solve. The problem is too deep. You can be in deep water, for example, if you invest in stocks without knowing anything about the stock market.
“To keep your head above water” is a colorful expression that means staying out of debt. A pany 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.
“Water over the dam” is another expression about a past event. It is something that is finished. It cannot be changed. The expression es from the idea that water that has flowed over a dam cannot be brought back again.
【小题1】Which of the following two expressions have almost the same meaning?A．To be in hot water；To be in deep water.B．To be in hot water；To keep your head above water.C．To be in deep water；Water over the dam.D．Water over the dam；To be in hot water.【小题2】If a person tries to keep his head out of water，we can say that .A．he is in danger of losing his lifeB．he is trying to pay off his debtC．he is trying to keep his promiseD．he is trying not to get into debt【小题3】What can you infer from the passage?A．“To be in hot water” can only be used to mention serious trouble.B．“Water over the dam” is an expression about a future event.C．Water could be used in the war in the past.D．All of the expressions using water have unpleasant meanings.【小题4】This passage is written mainly to tell us .A．the use of waterB．how to use some expressions about waterC．expressions about water and their meaningsD．expressions with negative meaningA
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(答案→)A
解析：本文主要讲述了几个与water有关的习语，如hot water, deep water等。
【小题1】A 细节题。根据文章第三段第一句Being in “deep water” is almost the same as being in hot water. 可知In deep water和in hot water是一样的意思。说明A正确。
【小题2】D 细节题。根据倒数第二段最后一行“To keep your head above water” is a colorful expression that means staying out of debt.说明D正确。
【小题3】C 推断题。根据第二段最后一句One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle.说明在古代战争中水可以用来作为武器。故C正确。
【小题4】C 主旨大意题。本文主要讲述了几个与water有关的习语，如hot water, deep water等。故C正确。