Do you remember the useful sentences like “It’s a piece of cake” or “It serves you right” in English learning? They carry more ___1___ than the words themselves. In Chinese culture, we also have lots of similar useful expressions like “drinking ink (墨水)” and “An inch (寸) of time is worth an inch of gold”.

“Drinking ink” is a common expression to show that a person is ___2___. Is there anyone who really drinks ink? It could be true in Chinese history. During the Northern Qi Dynasty, those who ___3___ very badly in the exam would be punished by drinking one liter (升) of ink. Even if they were found to have poor handwriting or make up something terrible, they would be taken into a special room to drink ink. The rule was accepted by the following dynasties. Nowadays, this expression is ___4___ used to describe people’s ways of receiving education or their level of education. For example, “drinking foreign ink” means one has studied overseas. “Drinking little ink” means a ___5___ level of education.

“An inch of time is worth an inch of gold” means that an inch of time has the same ___6___ as an inch of gold. It is also the first half of a saying “An inch of time is worth an inch of gold, but an inch of time cannot be bought ___7___ an inch of gold”. In ancient times, time was measured (测量) by inch because people used the sundial as a time-keeping tool. It is made of a flat and ___8___ plate on which length of gnomon’s shadow changes from long to short and short to long. This is ___9___ the sundial tells time.

Language cannot be separated from culture. Language learning can help us ___10___ understand the cultures behind the countries and communicate more with the people from different countries.

1.1.

A suggestions

B chances

C meanings

D promises

解析：选C。词义辨析题。前文列举英语习语，强调其 “含义” 超越字面，选项 A（建议）、B（机会）、D（承诺）均不符合语境，C（含义）契合 “习语的深层意义”，故选 C。

2.2.

A expected

B educated

C remembered

D missed

解析：选B。逻辑推理题。后文围绕 “喝墨水” 的文化内涵展开，结合 “海外留学叫喝洋墨水”“喝墨水少指教育水平低”，可推断该表达形容人 “受过教育的”，A（期待的）、C（被记住的）、D（错过的）均无此意，故选 B。

3.3.

A performed

B planned

C guessed

D prepared

解析：选A。固定搭配题。与 “exam（考试）” 搭配，“perform badly in the exam” 为固定表达，意为 “考试表现差”，B（计划）、C（猜测）、D（准备）均无法与 “exam” 构成合理搭配，故选 A。

4.4.

A quietly

B quickly

C widely

D suddenly

解析：选C。副词辨析题。结合 “如今”“例如” 可知，“喝墨水” 的表达被 “广泛” 使用，A（安静地）、B（快速地）、D（突然地）均不符合 “普遍应用” 的语境，故选 C。

5.5.

A low

B basic

C normal

D perfect

解析：选A。逻辑推理题。前文 “喝洋墨水” 对应 “海外留学（高教育水平）”，形成对比，“喝墨水少” 应指 “低教育水平”，B（基础的）、C（正常的）、D（完美的）均与对比逻辑不符，故选 A。

6.6.

A size

B value

C standard

D shape

解析：选B。词义辨析题。谚语 “一寸光阴一寸金” 核心是 “时间与黄金价值相当”，A（尺寸）、C（标准）、D（形状）均无 “价值” 含义，故选 B。

7.7.

A for

B from

C in

D with

解析：选D。介词辨析题。表示 “用某物购买” 用介词 “with”，“be bought with an inch of gold” 意为 “用一寸黄金买到”，A（为了）、B（来自）、C（在…… 里）均不符合固定搭配，故选 D。

8.8.

A long

B round

C square

D deep

解析：选C。常识推理题。结合日晷的实物特征，古代日晷多为方形石板，A（长的）、B（圆形的）、D（深的）均不符合常识，故选 C。

9.9.

A where

B when

C why

D how

解析：选D。连词辨析题。前文解释日晷的构造，后文说明 “计时的方式”，用 “how（如何）” 引导表语从句，A（哪里）、B（何时）、C（为什么）均不契合 “方式” 的逻辑，故选 D。

10.10.

A harder

B less

C better

D worse

解析：选C。副词比较级辨析题。前文强调 “语言与文化密不可分”，故语言学习能 “更好地” 帮助理解文化，A（更难地）、B（更少地）、D（更差地）均与积极语义不符，故选 C。