“Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton（骨骼）in the closet（衣橱）?” Jessica asked. “A skeleton in the closet?” her mother paused thoughtfully. “Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about. For example, if in the past, someone in Dad’s family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be ‘a skeleton in his family’s closet. He really wouldn’t want any neighbor to know about it.”
“Why pick on my family?” Jessica’s father said with anger. “Your family history isn’t so good, you know. Wasn’t your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?” “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners.” “Gosh, sorry I asked. I think I understand now,” Jessica cut in before things grew worse.
After dinner, the house was very quiet. Jessica’s parent
s were still quite angry with each other. Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read. When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Jessica’s closet. Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor. Jessica’s mother sank in a faint（晕倒）, waking only when Jessica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.
“What happened? Where am I?” she asked. “You just destroyed the school’s skeleton, Mum,” explained Jessica. “I brought it home to help me with my health project. I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad.” Jessica looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. “They’re both crazy,” she thought.
According to Jessica’s mother, “a skeleton in the closet” means ______.
| A． a family honor | B． a family secret |
| C． a family story | D． a family treasure |
What can we learn about some Australians’ ancestors from Paragraph 2?
| A． They were brought to Australia as prisoners. |
| B． They were the earliest people living in Australia. |
| C． They were involved in some crimes in Australia. |
| D． They were not regarded as criminals in their days. |
Why did Jessica bring a skeleton home?
| A． She was curious about it. | B． She planned to keep it for fun. |
| C． She needed it for her school task. | D． She intended to scare her parents. |
. Jessica’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because ______.
| A． they were crazy |
| B． they were over excited |
| C． they realized their misunderstanding |
| D． they both thought they had won the quarrel |
The whole world was talking about Octopus(章鱼)Paul Allen since it had a 100％correct prediction record of the matches，including Germany in the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2010.The question was whether there be a prediction of the grand final, since it did not include Germany.
The answer to that much awaited question is yes. Celebrity Octopus Paul Allen does have a winner. It has picked Spain over Holland to lift the wishful prize. In a live television show all over Europe, Paul picked out a mussel(蚌)from the tank with the Spanish flag, ignoring the tank that had the Dutch flag. This means the prediction is that Spain will be FIFA World Cup 2010 champion．Regarding the place 3 and 4 playoff, Octopus Paul A11en has predicted that Germany will beat Uruguay to take the 3 rd place, which was right.
Octopus Paul Allen has become a worldwide celebrity after it has predicted with 100％ accuracy all of Germany’s World Cup games’ outcomes. It even stopped critics and experts when it correctly predicted a Serbia win over the strong Germans. Much to the sorrow of German fans，it also rightly predicted Spain having an advantage over Germany in the semifinals. And when this came true，there were many calls from angry and sad Germans fans to kill and eat it．Now let’s wait and see if this f
inal prediction by Octopus Paul Allen comes true and its 100％accuracy record stays the same．It goes without saying. Spain will be smiling, at least right now! Octopus Paul Allen became a hot topic because__________.
| A．it predicted records of FIFA World Cup 2010 matches correctly |
| B．it was the mascot of FIFA World Cup 2010 |
| C．it took part in the game with Germany and other teams |
| D．it lent a helping hand to Germany to win the game |
From the second paragraph we know that the third place in FIFA World Cup 2010 was______.
| A．Spain | B．Holland | C．Germany | D．Uruguay |
. According to the passage, when this news is released,_______.
| A．FIFA World Cup 2010 has come to an end |
| B．Spain has already beaten Germany in the semifinals |
| C．Spain has already won the World Cup 2010 champion |
| D．the sad German fans have killed Octopus Paul Allen |
. By saying “It goes without saying”, the writer means_______.
| A．Spain will be FIFA World Cup 2010 champion |
| B．Octopus Paul Allen won’t predict anything in the future |
| C．Octopus Paul Allen will surely leave |
| D．everything goes on well |
The Japanese government has launched(发起)a campaign encouraging people to go to bed and get up extra early in order to reduce household carbon dioxide emissions(二氧化碳排放).
The Morning Challenge campaign，put forward by the Environment Ministry, is based on the idea that swapping late night electricity for an extra hour of morning sunlight could greatly cut the nation’s carbon footprint．
A typical family can reduce its carbon dioxide footprint by 85 kg a year if everyone goes to bed and gets up one hour earlier，according to the campaign．The amount of carbon dioxide emissions potentially saved from going to bed an hour early was equal to 20 percent of annual emissions from household lights，“Many Japanese people waste electric power at night time，for example by watching TV until very late,”a ministry spokesman told The Daily Telegraph.“But going to bed early and getting up e
arly can avoid wasting electrical power which causes carbon dioxide emissions.” The campaign also proposes that people take advantage of an extra hour of morning sunlight by improving their lifestyles in general by running, doing yoga and eating a nutritious breakfast.
It is the latest action dealing with climate change by the Japanese environment ministry，which is faced with the challenge of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels within the next decade．
It was the same government department that launched the Cool Business cam
paign five years ago, which encouraged workers to wear short—sleeved shirts and offices not to turn air conditioning lower than 28 degrees during the summer..Why are Japanese encouraged to go to bed and get up early?
| A．Because it is of great benefit to their health． | |
| B．Because Japan is a country without enough electricity. | |
| C．Because it can give off less carbon dioxide． | D．Because it is a good habit． |
.. The underlined word“swapping” means___________.
| A．comparing | B．exchanging | C．turning | D．competing |
.. In general，a Japanese family gives off _________of carbon dioxide every year.
| A．85 kg | B．170 kg | C．425 kg | D．850 kg |
.We can draw a conclusion that_________.
| A．People can save energy and reduce emissions by changing their lifestyle |
| B．Japanese often don’t have nutritious breakfast |
| C．Japanese prefer to wear short—sleeved shirts in summer |
| D．Yoga is very popular with the old Japanese |
.. What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The Japanese government has launched the Cool Business campaign． |
| B．What can we do to cut carbon emissions? |
| C．Change your lifestyle and you can become healthy． |
| D．Japanese are encouraged to go to bed an hour early to cut carbon emissions． |
There is one language that is used in every country in the world. The people who use it are young and old, short and tall, thin and fat. It is everybody’s second language. It is easy to understand, although you can’t hear it. It is sign language.
When you wave to a friend who is across the street, you are using sign language. When you smile at someone, you are saying, “I w
ant to be friendly”, but you are not using speech. You are using sign language. When you raise your hand in class, you are saying, “Please ask me. I think I know the correct answer.”
Babies who can’t talk can point at things. They are using sign language. A policeman who wants to stop traffic holds up his hands. He is using sign language.
Many years ago, a French priest（神父）, Charles Michel de Epee, became interested in education for deaf people. He invented a finger alphabet (字母表). It is still in use. People can make the sign for letters and spell words with their hands, and deaf people can read and understand them. Soon there were schools for the deaf in many countries. The only university for the deaf is Gallaudet College in Washington, D.C.
Today, in the United States, there are special TV news programs for deaf people. The newsreader tells the news in sign language. At the same time, the words appear on the TV screen.
The actors in the Theatre of Deaf don’t spell every word. Sometimes they use hand signs. When they put two hands together, it means sandwich. They can make a roof with their hands when they want to show a house. One finger in front of an actor’s mouth can mean quiet. You can talk to people who are behind windows that are closed. And when you go swimming with your friends, you can have conversations und
er water.
How many hand signs do you use every day?. Which of the following about sign language is TRUE?
| A．It is a special language used in a few countries in the world. |
| B．It is a way to express one’s ideas without words. |
| C．It is only used by the deaf. |
| D．It can be heard. |
. If you want to express the idea that “I am very friendly” to someone, you will ______.
| A．raise your hand | B．put one hand onto the other |
| C．smile to the person | D．make a roof with your hands |
. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Hand signs instead of finger signs are used everyday.
B. There are schools, colleges and universities for the deaf in the USA.
C. The French priest Charles invented sign language.
D. Even babies are using sign language. .The passage is mainly about ______.
| A．an introduction to sign language | B．the importance of sign language |
| C．a famous priest in France | D．how to use sign language |
Mark Twain was a great writer. He was from the USA. He was born in 1835. He was also a famous speaker. He was famous for his sense of humour（幽默感）. Many people liked to listen to him talk because he liked to tell some interesting stories to make people laugh all the time.
One day Mark Twain was going to a small town because of his writing. Before he was going to leave, one of his friends said to him that there were always a lot of mosquitoes in the town and told him that he’d better not go there. Mark Twain waved (摇动) his hand and said, “It doesn’t matter. The mosquitoes are no relatives of mine. I don’t think they will come to visit me.”
After he arrived at the town, Mark Twain stayed in a small hotel near the station. He went into his room, but when he was just about to have a rest, quite a few（许多） mosquitoes flew about him. The waiters felt very sorry about that. “I’m very sorry, Mr. Mark Twain. There are too many mosquitoes in our town.” One of them said to him.
Mark Twain, however, made a joke, saying to the waiter, “The mosquitoes a
re very clever. They know my room number. They didn’t come into the wrong room.” What he said made all the people present laugh heartily.
But that night Mark Twain slept well. Do you know why? That was because all the waiters in the hotel were driving the mosquitoes away for him during the whole night. .That day Mark Twain went to the town _____.
| A．to see one of his friends |
| B．because he wanted to do something there for his writing |
| C．because he was told there were a lot of mosquitoes there |
| D．to see one of his relatives |
. The waiters felt sorry because _____.
| A．they did something wrong to Mark Twain |
| B．their hotel was too small |
| C．the room was not very clean |
| D．there were quite a few mosquitoes in Mark Twain’s room |
. All the people present laughed heartily because _____.
| A．the mosquitoes were very clever and they didn’t come into the wrong room |
| B．the mosquitoes knew Mark Twain’s room number |
| C．Mark Twain gave the waiters some nice presents |
| D．Mark Twain made a joke |
. From the story we know _____.
| A．no mosquitoes troubled Mark Twain in the night |
| B．the owner of the hotel told the waiters to look after Mark Twain well at night |
| C．Mark Twain didn’t have a good rest that night |
| D．there were not mosquitoes in the hotel any longer |
Hobbs was an orphan（孤儿）. He worked in a factory and every day he got a little money. Hard work made him thin and weak. He wanted to borrow a lot of money to learn to paint pictures, but he did not think he could pay off the debts.
One day a lawyer said to him, “One thousand dollars, and here is the money.” As Hobbs took the package of notes, he was very dumbfounded. He didn’t know where the money came from and how to spend it. He said to himself, “I could go to find a hotel and live like a rich man for a few days; or I give up my work in the factory and do what I’d like to do: painting pictures. I could do that for a few weeks, but what would I do after that? I should have lost my place in the factory and have no money
to live on. If it were a little less money, I would buy a new coat, or a radio, or give a dinner to my friends. If it were more, I could give up the work and pay for painting pictures. But it’s too much for one and too little for the other.”
“Here is the reading of your uncle’s will（遗嘱）,” said the lawyer, “telling what is to be done with this money after his death. I must ask you to remember one point. Your uncle has said you must bring me a paper showing exactly what you did with his money, as soon as you have spent it.”
“Yes, I see. I’ll do that,” said the young man... Hobbs wanted to borrow money to _______.
| A．study abroad | B．work abroad |
| C．pay off the debts | D．learn to paint pictures |
. What does the underlined word “dumbfounded” （in Paragraph 2） probably mean?
A．Surpri sed. |
B．Frightened. |
| C．Satisfied. | D．Excited. |
. With the money he got, at first Hobbs _______.
| A．planned to have a happy life for a few days |
| B．decided to give up his work in the factory |
| C．was to give a dinner to his friends |
| D．had no idea what to do |
.. Hobbs was asked to _______.
| A．tell the lawyer what he did with the money after spending it |
| B．read his uncle’s will |
| C．tell the lawyer what was to be done with the money |
| D．buy some pictures |