题文
From birth to death, the word kick has been given an important part in expressing human experience. The proud and happy mother feels the first signs of life kicking inside her body. And that same life------many years later------ comes to its end in a widely-used expression, to kick the bucket( 吊桶) . The expression to kick the bucket is almost 200 years old. One belief is that it started when an English stableman(马夫) killed himself by hanging while standing on a bucket. He put a rope around his neck and tied it to a beam(梁柱) in the ceiling, and then kicked the bucket away from under him.Another old expression that comes from England is to kick over the traces. Traces were the chains（链子） that held at horse or mule to a wagon(货运马车)or plow. Sometimes, an animal refused to obey and kicked over the traces.
Kick around is an expression that is heard often in American English. A person who is kicked around is someone who is treated badly. Usually he is not really being kicked by somebody's foot. He is just not being treated with the respect that all of us want. A person who has kicked around for most of his life is someone who has spent his life moving from place to place. In this case, kicking around means moving often from one place to another. Kick around has another meaning when you use it with the word idea. When you kick around an idea, you are giving that idea some thought.
There is no physical action when you kick a person upstairs, although the pain can be as strong .You kick a person upstairs by removing him from an important job and giving him a job that sounds more important, but really is not.
Still another meaning of the word kick is to free oneself of a bad habit, such as smoking cigarettes. Health campaigns urge smokers to kick the habit.
小题1:It is clear that the author wants to help readers _____________.A．know English has a long history B．understand the development of EnglishC．enjoy the interest of English idioms（习语）D．learn English expressions with Kick小题2:What does the idiom "kick over the traces" in "All kids seem to want to kick over the traces and do what they like to" means ____________. A．disobey the commandsB．obey the traditionsC． ride a horse or muleD．punish animals strictly小题3:Mr. Smith always kicked his sons around with no excuse, in other words, his sons___________A．expressed their ideas freelyB．were looked after wellC．moved their family oftenD．were treated badly小题4:How many different kinds of meanings are talked about on;'kick around' in the text?A．One.B．Two.C．Three.D．Four.小题5:Though Tom got raised to a better position by his boss, he had no power, we can say __________A．the boss kicked Tom upstairsB．Tom kicked the bucketC．Tom kicked the bad habitD．Tom kicked around an idea 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:D
小题2:A
小题3:D
小题4:C
小题5:A
解析
可知本文主要讲述的就是英语中与kick有关的多个短语，以及这些短语的多种意思。
小题1:D 主旨大意题，根据文章第一段From birth to death, the word kick has been given an important part in expressing human experience.可知本文主要讲述的就是英语中与kick有关的多个短语，故D项正确。
小题2:A 推理题。根据第二段最后一句Sometimes, an animal refused to obey and kicked over the traces.说明该词是指不守规矩，故该句子是指A项的语义。
小题3:D 细节题。根据第三段第二句A person who is kicked around is someone who is treated badly说明该词是指不公平对待某人，故D项正确。
小题4:C 细节题。根据第三段In this case, kicking around means moving often from one place to another. Kick around has another meaning when you use it with the word idea.
和 person who is kicked around is someone who is treated badly说明在该段中该短语有3种意思，故C正确。
小题4:A 推理题。根据文章倒数第二段.You kick a person upstairs by removing him from an important job and giving him a job that sounds more important, but really is not.
说明A项的内容与之相符。故A正确。
点评：可知本文主要讲述的就是英语中与kick有关的多个短语，本文细节题居多，答题时在文章找到对应的地方，用笔进行标记，这有利于后期有时间检查时可以立刻找到答案的位置。仔细理解作者所讲的意思，再结合选项，通过排除法和自己对全文的把握，选出正确答案。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“From birth to death,.....”主要考查你对 [政治经济类阅读 ]考点的理解。政治经济类阅读
政治经济类文章的概念：
要做好这类阅读，平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事，掌握一定背景知识，对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解，还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章，要抓住文章的核心，即文章整体和各段主要在说什么，也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题：
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁，语言鲜活，但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多，长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容，读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉，经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花，文章看完，一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨，同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章，我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式，我们可采取“顺读法”，以便抓关键语句，领会文章主旨；而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式，我们则可以采取“逆读法”，先读试题，再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急，因为你觉得难，其他人也一定是同感。在高考前，我们就要有这种心理准备，高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过，我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读，以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干：
根据英语中五种基本句型结构，把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来，其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干，句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句：
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句，在理解时，如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解，然后把大意拼凑起来，整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句：
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成，句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词，只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系，再把各层分句的意思加以连贯，整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词：
如果一个句子看完，一点句意的感觉也没有，下下策就是抓住句中的关键词，通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
