题文
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 merciless ways. 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 for no reason, and with no emotion, as if taking someone’s life meant nothing.Cold can affect other parts of the body, the feet, for example. Heavy socks can you’re 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 have 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 get cold feet about being the 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 and 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 is a person. But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows 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, and that he was left out in the cold. And it is not a pleasant place to be.
小题1:The passage is intended to tell us that ______ . A．cold weather has a great effect on human bodiesB．many English expressions contain the word “cold”C．cold is a word closely linked with human emotionsD．the word “cold” has many different meanings in English小题2:The underlined word “brutal” in Paragraph 1 most probably means “______”. A．impoliteB．illegalC．cruel D．extreme小题3:Which of the following expressions can best describe a person who is unwilling to offer anything to others? A．Cold-blooded.B．To get cold feet.C．A cold shoulder.D．A cold fish.小题4:You can say Tom ______ if the teacher gives all the boys except him a pen as a prize. A．is given the cold shoulder B．is left out in the coldC．has got cold feetD．is murdered by a cold-blooded killer小题5:We can draw a conclusion from the passage that ______ . A．all the expressions containing the word “cold” have a negative meaningB．all the expressions containing the word “cold” have something to do with coldC．people who show no human emotions or feelings have cold bloodD．many parts of the human body can be badly affected by cold 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:B
小题2:C
小题3:D
小题4:B
小题5:A
解析
本文选自VOA Special English，介绍了英语中一些含有cold这个单词的习惯用语。
小题1:主旨大意题。本题考查考生对文章主旨大意地把握，文章重点解释了很多含有cold的习语，故选B。A、C选项都很片面。
小题2:猜测词义题。根据前文Cold-blooded people act in merciless ways可知brutal意为“残忍的，野蛮的”。选C。
小题3:词义理解题。仔细阅读文章中与所给四个词组相关的地方，特别是文章倒数第二段的A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone，即可选出正确答案D。
小题4:本题同样是考查考生对文中所介绍的含有cold的几个短语的理解，从文章最后一段可知。be left out in the cold：被冷落；被排斥。选B。
小题5:归纳判断题。文中所介绍的含有cold的几个短语均为负面或贬义词。B项不对，因为并非所有含cold短语都与cold（寒冷）有关，从第一段的最后一句可知选A。
点评：这篇文章因为涉及到词义理解，所以推理猜测题较多，注重考查学生的能力方面，也可以通过阅读增加这方面的词汇量。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“Cold weather has a g.....”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。
