[1]Hocus-pocus sounds magical, doesn't it? And the word comes from the world of magic playing in Medieval (中世紀) Europe. In the dictionary Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, hocus-pocus is explained this way: a method or belief that you think is based on false ideas, e.g. He thinks psychology is a lot of hocus-pocus.
[2]I'm afraid this explanation isn't as interesting as the sounding of the word itself. But then again, the dictionary I mentioned is a dictionary for beginners. One can't expect much from it when it comes to such an interesting word as hocus-pocus. The Merriam-Webster dictionary online, on the other hand, gives a more detailed explanation: (1) sleight of hand; (2) nonsense or sham used especially to cloak deception. And it gives the origin of the word: probably from hocus pocus, imitation of a Latin phrase used by magicians.
[3]This explanation gets to the basic nature of hocus-pocus―exotic (外來的) but meaningless talk by the magician to fool the audience. Watch any magician at work and we'll notice that he sometimes talks constantly while performing tricks, using hocus-pocus, such as ear-catching words, eye-catching hand or body movements, to distract(分散) our attention while he gets a trick done.
[4]Hocus pocus reveals the nonsensical nature of the magician's talk on stage. And it was introduced into the English language probably just on the strength of the rhyming sound of it. Hocus-pocus, lovely.
[5]Well, knowing its origin which is from performing magicians in Europe, I'm sure you will find hocus pocus easier to remember. You'll also learn where to put it into use.
76. What is the passage mainly about? (Please answer within 10 words.)
77. Please list some examples of using “hocus pocus” mentioned in the passage. (Please answer within 10 words.)
① __________________ ② _______________ ③ _______________
78. Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?
Hocus pocus shows magicians’ completely ridiculous and pointless words while performing.
79. Translate the underlined sentence in the passage into Chinese.
80. In what situations do you think we can use hocus-pocus? (Please answer within 30 words.)
76. It is mainly about the origination of Hocus pocus / Hocus-pocus/The origin of Hocus pocus.
77. ① ear-catching words ② eye-catching hand movement’s ③ eye-catching body movements
78. Hocus pocus reveals the nonsensical nature of the magician's talk on stage.
79. 它之所以被英語吸收，大概是因為其發音押韻的緣故吧。
80. The students’ answers may vary. (In my opinion, we can use it in certain performances, making people laugh or enjoy what you are doing. However, we can’t use it to deceive others.)
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―I had a good holiday at my uncle’s.
―________ .
A. Oh, that’s very nice of you
B. Congratulations
C. Oh, I’m glad to hear that
D. It’s a pleasure
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Puerto Rico may be part of the USA but its music and dance is a mixture of both Spanish and American rhythms（節奏）. The country, as a result, is a mixture of the new and the old. It exhibits the open American way of life yet remains the more formal Spanish influences（影響）. This is showed in the buildings, not just the difference between the old and the modern in urban areas but also in the countryside, where older buildings sit side by side with schools and houses. It is found in the cooking, too many fast food restaurants together with local cooking which has its roots in the mixture of culture of all the Caribbean and in the music --- rock music is played in beach holiday centers but in the hilly center, Puerto Rican music can be heard. Old volcanic mountains, long motionless, take up a large part of the center, with the highest peak, Cerro de Punta, at 1,338 metre in the Cordillera Central. The mountains are surrounded by a coastal plain with the Atlantic shore beaches cooled all the year round by trade winds.
The population is 3.8 million, of which about 1.5 million live in San Juan, although about another two million Puerto Ricans live in the
65. It can be learned from the passage that _____.
A. Puerto Rico belongs to the
B. Puerto Rico is part of
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D. Puerto Rico has the highest peak in Latin America
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C. tired of visitors D. impatient to a patient
67. What's the character of Puerto Rico?
A. Either new or old. B. A mixture of different peoples.
C. Too many fast food restaurants. D. Either Spanish or American.
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A. in the center of the country B. on a coastal plain
C. near the Cordillera Central D. in the north of the country
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I watched the man 39 off the blocks and knew immediately that something was wrong. Now I'm not an expert 40 but I do know a good dive 41 a poor one, and this was not exactly medal 42 . I listened to the crowd begin to 43 this poor man that was clearly having a 44 time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was 45 . He made a few desperate strokes (劃水) and you could tell he was exhausted.
But in those few 46 strokes, the crowd had changed. No longer were they laughing, but beginning to 47 . Some even began to 48 things like, “Come on, you can do it!” and he 49 finished his race. The crowd went 50 . Even though he recorded one of the 51 times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other 52 .
In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals, feeling they have 53 been cheated out of gold, or when they act so 54 in front of their competitors, it is nice to watch an underdog(敗者), a man that gave his all―knowing that he had no chance, but competed because of his 55 and the spirit of the games.
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37. A. false | B. nervous | C. strange | D. violent |
38. A. fight | B. struggle | C. defend | D. race |
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41. A. from | B. in | C. beyond | D. between |
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55. A. advantage | B. independence | C. determination | D. principle |
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My teacher a paper on how to protect the students’ eyesight last week，but I don’t know whether she has finished it or not.
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