“Show a leg” means either “make an appearance”, or it means “hurry up”. The second meaning isn’t commonly used, nor is it old. Whatever the source, it isn’t the original meaning of “show a leg”. Most commentators report that the phrase derives from the Royal Navy and that this was the order given to sailors to put a foot from their hammocks(吊床)and get up.

The use of “show a leg” as a wake-up call is well documented. John Masefield (Poet Laureate from 1930 to 1967) was a trainee mariner on HMS Conway until 1891. He reported the full version of the morning call as: “Heave out, heave out, heave out, heave out! Away!Come all yosleepers, Hey!Show a leg.”That’s the earliest quotation of the naval call I can find, although it may have been used well before 1891.

An alternative version comes from the fact that women were allowed on board Royal Navy ships in the 19th century and that they were allowed to stay asleep after the sailors had been woken. In the morning the bosun’s mates(水手长助手) had to check whoever was still asleep and did so by requiring them to show a leg over the side of the hammock. If a leg was hairy, it was probably male and its owner was ordered to get up and begin work. Believe that if yowill; personally, I don’t.

All in all, although both of the two English slangs are sometimes used to mean “hurry up”, they are two independent phrases that were coined with different meanings.

28. How many ways does the slang “show a leg” come from?

A.1. B.2. C.3. D.4.

29. In which sentence does “shake a leg” have a different meaning?

A. I will shake a leg with him at the next ball with great pleasure.

B. Nearly every man in town able to shake a leg has purchased a ticket.

C. They wanted to shake a leg on a TV show.

D. Yomust shake a leg to catch the last bus.

30. What is the author’s attitude to the version mentioned in Paragraph 5?

A. Doubtful. B. Supportive.

C. Indifferent.D. Neutral.

31. The author’s purpose of writing the text is most likely to __________.

A. to persuade readers to learn slangs seriously

B. to describe“shake a leg” and “show a leg”

C. to distinguish “shake a leg” and “show a leg”

D. to remark on “shake a leg” and “show a leg”

D

Chinese authorities will launch a campaign to regulate Internet finance, which is growing rapidly but threatens social stability due to illegal activities.Departments of political and legal work at all levels will work with banking regulatory authorities to establish a monitoring and warning system against financial risks and enhance information sharing among different regions and departments, according to a statement released at the central conference on political and legal work held in Beijing in January 2016.

Internet finance refers to loans, investments and other financial services through online channels rather than banks and other traditional financial institutions.Growing Internet finance industry has helped reduce trade costs and made investments easier. But Internet finance has also brought about danger, and risks have surged as more people have been discovered to be raising funds illegally. These crimes, involving many people and a large amount in assets, may cause social risks.

Authorities will crack down on (put down) illegal activities while protecting the legitimate (legal) rights of citizens and enterprises and lessening investors’ losses. They will also educate the public on risks, according to the statement.Police are investigating the Beijing-based E-Zubao, a large online financial platform, and associated companies for suspected illegal activities.

China has seen rising online cheating, particularly in peer-to-peer lending, in the past year, according to a report published by online security company Liewang, whose name is translatedinto WEB HUNT.

The company handled 24,886 reports of online cheating in 2015, up 7.96 percent from last year. The claims were worth a total of 127 million yuan (19 million U.S. dollars). Each claim was 5,106 yuan, about 1.5 times the number in 2014.

32. From the passage we know that__________.

A. Regulations in Internet finance will be made in China.

B. It is impossible to avoid Internet financial risks.

C. Chinese authorities will ban Internet finance.

D. Traditional financial institutions are safer.

33. What does the underlined word “surged” in the second paragraph mean?

A. poured. B. appeared.

C. increased. D. faded.

34. Why authorities will crack down on illegal activities in Internet finance?

A. Because Internet finance develops too quickly.

B. Because Internet finance reduces trade costs.

C. Because Internet finance makes investments easier.

D. Because there are many crimes in Internet finance.

35. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. There are many cheating phenomena in Internet finance in China.