In the past， many people depended on horses for transportation， farming and other kinds of work． A lot of people still like to ride horses for sport． Horse racing and betting on horse racing are also popular． So， it is not surprising that Americans use a lot of expressions about horses．
Long ago， people who were rich or important rode horses that were very tall．Today， if someone acts better than everyone else， you might tell him to "get off your high horse．"
And if someone is pushing you to do something， you can say， "Hold your horses!" This is a very informal way to tell someone to calm down and wait． You would not use it with your boss but you could use it with children．
Something else you could say to children if they are playing too rough or hitting each other is to stop horsing around! When kids horse around， they could get hurt． However， kids who live in a one-horse town might have nothing to do but horse around． A one-horse town is a small town with not too much going on．
So， if you live in a one-horse town， you might like to watch a lot of television． Imagine that you are watching your favorite show when your phone rings． You do not answer it． Wild horses could not drag you away from the television． Nothing could stop you from doing what you want to do．
When you get news directly from the best source， you get it straight from the horse's mouth． If your teacher， for example， tells you there is going to be a test tomorrow， you got that information straight from the horse's mouth．
Sometimes a person keeps arguing a question that has already been settled． They are beating a dead horse． A dead horse is quite different from a dark horse． A dark horse is a person who surprises others by doing better than unexpected． In politics， a dark-horse candidate is someone who is not likely to win …but then does．



What is the passage meant to tell us？ ______

A. Reasons why expressions about horsesare used
B. Some expressions about horses used by Americans．
C. The popularity of horse riding in American society．
D. Different situations where horses are made use of．

What will a mother probably say when tired of her boy hurrying her to buy a toy car？ ______

A. Get off you high horse．
B. Stop horsing around．
C. Hold your horses．
D. Beat a dead horse．

Your classmate unexpectedly wins the championship in a competition； he is a ______ ．

A. dark horse
B. dead horse
C. wild horse
D. high horse