⑴ Every language has its own special words and expressions. And a story can be told about each of them. Hot is a simple, easily understood word. So are most of the expressions made with the word hot. But not always, as we shall see.
⑵ The words hot potato, for example, give you no idea at all to the meaning of the expression, hot potato. The potato is popular and many Americans like baked potatoes. Imagine trying to carry a hot potato in your hand. It would be difficult, even painful, to do so. Some publicly argued problems are highly emotional. The problems must be treated carefully, or they will be difficult and painful if an elected official has to deal with them. One such hot potato is taxes. Calling for higher taxes can mean defeat for a politician. And yet, if taxes are not raised, some very popular government programs could be cut. And that also can make a politician very unpopular. The questions must be dealt with carefully, the same way you would handle any other hot potato.
⑶ Another expression is not so hot. If you ask someone how she feels, she may answer “not so hot”. What she means is she does not feel well. Not so hot also is a way of saying you do not really like something. You may tell a friend that the new play you saw last night is not so hot. That means ____________________________.
⑷ A hot shot is a person, often a young person, who thinks he can do anything. He is very sure he can succeed. But often he fails. The expression was born in the military forces. A hot shot was a soldier who fired without aiming carefully.
⑸ Hot is a word that is often used to talk about anger. A person who becomes angry easily is called a hothead. An angry person’s neck often becomes red. We say he is hot under the collar.
小题1:What is the text mainly about? (no more than 8 words)
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小题2:Fill in the blank in Paragraph 3 with a proper sentence. ( no more than 8 words)
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小题3:Which sentence in the text is the closest in meaning to the following one?
As you would deal with other difficult problems, you must be careful with these ones.
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小题4:List three situations where “hot” expressions can be used according to the text. (no more than 30 words)
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小题5:Translate the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 into Chinese.
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76. The expressions of hot.
77. you don’t consider it a success/you don’t like(enjoy) it
78. The questions must be dealt with carefully, the same way you would handle any other hot potato.
79. ① when you mean something difficult and painful to deal with
② when you don’t really like something
③ when you mean a person who becomes angry easily
80. 这些问题必须认真对待，否则，当选官员处理起来会很棘手。
题目分析：
小题1:The expressions of hot.
主旨大意题。本文主要讲述了几个和hot有关的短语，并举例说明了这些短语的用法。
小题1:you don’t consider it a success/you don’t like(enjoy) it
推理题。根据上一行Not so hot also is a way of saying you do not really like something.说明该短语是指不很喜欢某个东西，如果对方说昨天晚上的戏剧Not so hot说明他不喜欢这个戏剧。
小题1:The questions must be dealt with carefully, the same way you would handle any other hot potato.
细节题。根据第二段最后一句The questions must be dealt with carefully, the same way you would handle any other hot potato.说明这浪叫意思相近。
小题1: ① when you mean something difficult and painful to deal with
② when you don’t really like something
③ when you mean a person who becomes angry easily
细节题。根据文章they will be difficult and painful if an elected official has to deal with them.和Not so hot also is a way of saying you do not really like something
以及A person who becomes angry easily is called a hothead.
小题1:这些问题必须认真对待，否则，当选官员处理起来会很棘手。
翻译题。本题的根据在于句子的deal with处理，以及句子结构要理清楚。
点评：本文考查考生的总结归纳能力，要求能抓住各段的主题句也就是第一句或者最后一句，也得注意文本的细节问题。