Question

Today, we talk about a common object that appears in many expressions — buttons! Buttons, which are usually small and round and made of metal or plastic, are found on all sorts of clothing. They fasten or connect one piece of clothing to another in order to make sure your clothes don’t fall off.

To be cute as a button is an old saying, which means to be attractive or sweet, but in a small way. Babies are often described as cute as a button. Language experts don’t know why. But they do say this expression dates back to the late 1860s.

Here is another expression related to button: button-down. People often wear button-down shirts to the office. Button-down as an adjective means to be conservative or traditional. People described as button-down stay as close as possible to the normal way of dressing and behaving.

When buttoning a button you slip it into a buttonhole. A buttonhole traps the button. So, to buttonhole someone means you have trapped them in a spoken conversation. Now, let’s say you find yourself buttonholed in a conversation at a party. Someone just keeps talking and talking and talking! Finally, you can’t take it any longer. You tell the person to button it! This is a direct, but unacceptable way of saying “Stop talking!” Button your lip is another equally rude but effective way to stop a person who talks too much.

Another kind of difficult person is someone who pushes one’s buttons. To push one’s buttons means to know exactly how to get that person angry or upset. People who like to push other people’s buttons usually do it for selfish reasons. They find a person’s weak point and then they use it to upset them.

1.What do you think of someone who wears a button-down shirt to the office?

A. Funny.    B. Traditional.

C. Crazy.    D. Fashionable.

2.What will you probably say to get rid of a long and boring talk?

A. Button your lip.    B. Be cute as a button.

C. Push your buttons.    D. Be button-down.

3.How does the fourth paragraph mainly develop?

A. By giving examples.    B. By making contrasts.

C. By listing figures.    D. By analyzing cause and effect.

4.What does the underlined phrase “pushes one’s buttons” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A. Learns of one’s secret.    B. Shouts loudly.

C. Gets someone to lose his temper.    D. Argues with someone.

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.A

4.C

【解析】这是一篇介绍说明类文章。文章介绍了一些和button有关的表达。

1.细节理解题。由第三段中的“People often wear button-down shirts to the office. Button-down as an adjective means to be conservative or traditional”可知，穿着button-down衬衫来上班的人被认为是比较保守或传统的，故B选项正确。

2.细节理解题。由倒数第二段中的“Button your lip is another equally rude but effective way to stop a person who talks too much”可知，当你想阻止一个滔滔不绝的人说话时，你可以说“Button your lip”，故A选项正确。

3.推理判断题。第四段分别介绍了“to buttonhole someone，to button it，button your lip”这三种表达，很显然，这是用举例子的办法介绍一些和button有关的表达。故A选项正确。

4.词义猜测题。由第五段中的“To push one’s buttons means to know exactly how to get that person angry or upset”可知，to push one’s buttons的意思是知道如何使一个人生气，即使对方发脾气。故C选项正确。

【名师点睛】依据下定义，作解释、打比喻等猜测词义

运用下定义或解释概念的方法来定义或诠释某一名词或概念是文章写作的一大特点。常用的定义信号词有： be defined as/be termed( 被定义为 ) ，   be called ( 被称为 ) ， mean/ refer to/be( 意指，是 )。在该题中，划线短语后面的一句就是对它的解释。所以，很容易得出答案C选项。