Q: There are many idioms in English. An idiom is a phrase that we can't understand from the meaning of each word. The following are some of them.

As the crow flies

When a bird flies from place to place, it takes the most direct route. But when people drive, they have to follow roads and often go farther. When people give a distance "as the crow flies", they mean the shortest distance between the two points, not the distance you would have to travel by following roads.

As Dan and his mum drove along the river, they could see the beach on the opposite side. Dan asked "How far is it to the beach?"

"It's only about a quarter of a mile as the crow flies" his mother said.

Blow hot and cold

In one of Aesop's Fables, a man blows on his fingers to warm them up and then blows on his soup to cool it down. In both cases, the man is opening his mouth, but what comes out is different. If a person says one thing and later says the opposite, we say that the person is blowing hot and cold.

"Is Felicia going to try out for the soccer team this year?" Stacy asked.

"I don't know," Tricia replied." Last week she was saying yes, but this week she's saying no. She's really blowing hot and cold."

Break the ice

Nowadays people use the phrase to refer to ending an awkward silence by beginning a conversation.

It was the first day of summer camp. The four girls began to make their beds in silence. None of the girls knew each other, and no one knew what to say. Finally, one of them broke the ice by saying" Hey, where's everybody from?"

Bury the hatchet

In native American culture, when two nations agreed to end their war, they buried the hatchet. So to bury the hatchet is to make peace with someone else.

Colin could not excuse his sister for breaking his tennis racket. Finally, his sister said, "Colin, can't we bury the hatchet?"

1. idioms
2. a phrase that we can't understand from the meaning of each word
3. As the crow flies
4. the most direct route
5. Blow hot and cold
6. Blowing can cool or warm.
7. Contradictions are like hot and cold coming from the same breath.
8. Break the ice
9. refers to ending an awkward silence
10. Bury the hatchet
11. to make peace with someone else.
12. Yes.
13. native American culture

Numbered questions:
1. What is the article about?
2. What are they?
3. What is an example?
4. What does that insinuate?
5. Another example?
6. Can you explain?
7. What is the significance?
8. Any other examples?
9. What does that indicate?
10. Any other examples?
11. What does that indicate?
12. Is there history behind it?
13. A certain group?

Q: Corky walked to the store to buy some milk, like he does every Tuesday. On his way, he passed the red house where John lives, the green house where June lives, the white house where Barack lives, the blue hat store, and the orange house where Jessie lives. He finally reached the store at 5 o'clock.

Corky thought about buying some other things too. He looked at the potato chips, but didn't like the flavors they had left. All of the normal flavored ones were gone. He never liked hard candy, so he ignored those. He saw the apples, but didn't need one because he had apples at home. So he picked out some cookies instead. Corky thought he'd eat them on his way home. He waited in line until it was his turn, and then paid Abe the cashier. Abe gave him his change and wished him a good day.

On his way home, Corky ate his cookies. He had hoped to buy peanut butter cookies, but the store never has those. Instead, he bought sugar cookies. He liked them very much too, so he wasn't at all upset. When he got home, he poured a glass of milk and finished his cookies.

1. Corky
2. Tuesday
3. milk
4. red, green, white, orange
5. 5 o'clock.
6. potato chips
7. cookies
8. Abe
9. yes
10. ate his cookies
11. sugar cookies
12. peanut butter cookies
13. no
14. poured a glass of milk and finished his cookies

Numbered questions:
1. Who walked to the store?
2. What day was it?
3. and what was being bought?
4. what color houses did he pass?
5. What time did he reach the store?
6. What other things did Corky consider buying?
7. and what extra thing did he buy?
8. What was the cashiers name?
9. Did he give corky any change?
10. What did Cory do on his way home?
11. what kind were they?
12. and what kind did he wish he had?
13. was he upset about getting sugar cookies?
14. What did corky do when he got home?

Q: CHAPTER SEVEN.

A LEARNED SQUABBLE.

Bartolommeo Scala, secretary of the Florentine Republic, on whom Tito Melema had been thus led to anchor his hopes, lived in a handsome palace close to the Porta Pinti, now known as the Casa Gherardesca. His arms-- an azure ladder transverse on a golden field, with the motto _Gradatim_ placed over the entrance--told all comers that the miller's son held his ascent to honours by his own efforts a fact to be proclaimed without wincing. The secretary was a vain and pompous man, but he was also an honest one: he was sincerely convinced of his own merit, and could see no reason for feigning. The topmost round of his azure ladder had been reached by this time: he had held his secretaryship these twenty years-- had long since made his orations on the _ringhiera_, or platform of the Old Palace, as the custom was, in the presence of princely visitors, while Marzocco, the republican lion, wore his gold crown on the occasion, and all the people cried, "Viva Messer Bartolommeo!"--had been on an embassy to Rome, and had there been made titular Senator, Apostolical Secretary, Knight of the Golden Spur; and had, eight years ago, been Gonfaloniere--last goal of the Florentine citizen's ambition. Meantime he had got richer and richer, and more and more gouty, after the manner of successful mortality; and the Knight of the Golden Spur had often to sit with helpless cushioned heel under the handsome loggia he had built for himself, overlooking the spacious gardens and lawn at the back of his palace.

1. no
2. a vain and pompous man
3. no
4. the Casa Gherardesca
5. a miller
6. his own merit
7. yes
8. gout
9. his heel
10. azure
11. Gradatim
12. no
13. twenty years

Numbered questions:
1. Was the secretary a humble man?
2. What kind of man was he?
3. Was his palace ugly?
4. What was the name of it?
5. What did his parent do for a living?
6. How did he make it to where is is now?
7. Was he proud of this achievement?
8. What type of medical problem did he have?
9. What part of him did the gout affect?
10. What color was the ladder at the palace entrance?
11. What did it say on the ladder?
12. Did he hold backing bragging about his success?
13. How long had he been the secretary?