“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 parents 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 into 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 Australian’s 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. |
Jessica’s mother fell down into a faint because she was .
| A．knocked | B．frightened | C．injured | D．surprised |
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 overexcited |
| C．they realized their misunderstanding |
| D．they both thought they had won the quarrel |
South Asia heatwave kills nearly 100.
DHAKA - A heat wave sweeping India, Bangladesh(孟加拉国) and Nepal has killed nearly 100 people over the past two weeks, officials said on June 3, 2005.
A third of the people died in northern Bangladesh, mostly women and children from dehydration(脱水), heat stroke and diarrhoea(腹泻).
"We are getting reports of several deaths due to heat wave and related diseases almost every day," an official said, as temperatures touched 43degC .
The weather office in Dhaka said the hot weather will persist for another week until the monsoon(季风) rains which are normally due by the middle of June.
Severe heat conditions in the southern Indian have killed at least 55 people, officials in the two states said.
While temperatures have fallen from a high of 45degC in Andhra Pradesh to around 40degC, giving a respite to people, they are still on the rise in Orissa with Talcher town registering 48.5deg C, a weather official said.
At least five people have died in Nepal from extreme heat, the government said. We can infer that the heatwave can cause ______.
| A．heat stoke | B．dehydration | C．diarrhoea | D．all above |
When the monsoon rains come, the temperature will _______.
| A．remain the same |
| B．go on to rise sharply |
| C．begin to drop obviously |
| D．rise a little |
Which place is the hottest in the early June, 2005?
| A．Dhaka | B．Talcher | C．Andhra Pradesh | D．Nepal |
It gives me great pleasure today to say a few words in praise of a man we will all miss very much. To be honest, I can't imagine we will do without him when he's gone.
Bill Masters almost single-handed built up our sales force in the Houston area and developed the market position that we enjoy today. In only six years, he has brought the firm from a very low fifth position in the area sales to the point where we now outsell all but one of our competitors. Not only have we got 37 per cent of the market under Bill's leadership; we are increasing our share with each passing month.
As you know, the company has moved Bill to northern California to work his sales magic in one of this company's most competitive(竞争的) areas. But we know that if anyone can do it, Bill Masters can, and I know you all join me in wishing him the best of luck in his new work.The speech was made _______.
| A．at a welcome meeting |
| B．at the opening of a new school term |
| C．when somebody was leaving |
| D．when they had a new manager |
How long did Masters worked there?
| A．37 years | B．less than 5 years |
| C．about six years | D．since he began to work |
When Bill started to work in Houston area, he had _______to help him.
| A．many people | B．nobody |
| C．about 37 people | D．very few people |
Bill increased the company's sale _______.
| A．by 37 per cent every month |
| B．to the second largest in the area |
| C．to be the fifth largest in the area |
| D．five times as much as before |
Cara Lang is 13. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts, in me U. S. Last Thursday, she didn't go to school. She went to work with her father instead. Every year, on the fourth Thursday in April, millions of young girls go work. This is Take Our Daughters to Work Day. The girls are between me ages of 9 and 15. They spend the day at work with an adult, usually a mother, father, aunt, or uncle. They go to offices, police stations, laboratories, and other places where their parents or other family members work. Next year, the day will include sons, too.
The Ms. Foundation, an organization for women, started the program about ten years ago. In the U.S., many women work outside the home. The Ms. Foundation wanted girls to find out about many different kinds of jobs. Then, when the girls grow up, they can choose a job they like.
Cara's father is a film director. Cara says, “It was very exciting for me to go to the studio with my dad. I saw a lot of people doing different jobs.” Many businesses have special activities for girls on this day. Last year, Cara went to work with her aunt at the University of Massachusetts. In the engineering department, the girls learned to build a bridge with toothpicks and Candy. In the chemistry department, they learned to use scales. They learned about many other kinds of jobs, too.
Right now, Cara does not know what job she will have when she grows up. But because of Take Our Daughters to Work Day, she knows she h2Ls many choices.What is Cara's father?
| A．An engineer. | B．An official. | C．A moviemaker. | D．A professor. |
According to the passage, Take our Daughters to work Day is ______.
| A．on every Thursday in April |
| B．a holiday for girls of all ages |
| C．a day for girls to know about jobs |
| D．a day for girls to get a job easily |
On this special day, Cara has done all the following EXCEPT that ____.
| A．she learned to use scales |
| B．she worked as an actress |
| C．she went to work with her aunt |
| D．she used toothpicks and Candy to build a bridge |
What is probably the best title for the passage?
| A．Cara Lang, a Fortunate Girl |
| B．Take Our Daughters to Work Day |
| C．Children's Day and Work Day |
| D．Ms. Foundation, an Organization for Women |
Hundreds of years ago, a Roman army came north from England to make war on Scotland. The Scots, a brave people, love their country. They fought hard to drive the enemy out of Scotland. But there were too many of the Romans. It looked as if the Romans would win.
One night, the leader of the Scots marched his soldiers to the top of a hill. “We will rest here tonight, my men,” he said, “Tomorrow we will fight one more battle. We must win, or we will die.”
They were all very tired. So they ate their supper quickly and fell asleep. There were four guards on duty, but they were very tired, too, and one by one, they fell asleep.
The Romans were not asleep. Quickly they gathered at the foot of the hill. Slowly they went up the hill. Closer they came to the sleeping Scots. They were almost at the top. A few minutes more the war would be over. Suddenly, one of them put his foot on a thistle (蓟). He cried out and his sudden cry woke the Scots. In a minute they were on their feet and ready for a battle. The fighting was hard, but it did not last long. The Scots wiped out the Romans and saved Scotland.
The thistle is not a beautiful plant. It has sharp needles all over it. Few people liked it. But the people of Scotland liked it so much that they made it their national flower.Hundreds of years ago, the Romans ____ .
| A．came from the north through England to make war on Scotland |
| B．came to the north Scotland from England to make war on Scotland |
| C．came from the north of England to fight the Scots |
| D．came to the north from the south of Britain to fight the Scots |
At the shout of a Roman soldier, all the Scots who were asleep at the hill ____ .
| A．began to fight the Romans hard |
| B．stood up without putting on their shoes and began to fight |
| C．woke and rose immediately, ready to fight |
| D．put their feet into their shoes at once and were ready to fight |
The result of the war is that ____ .
| A．the Romans killed all the Scots |
| B．the Scots were defeated |
| C．the Scots were driven out of Scotland |
| D．the Scots defeated the Romans |
The Scots made thistle their national flower because thistle ____ .
| A．is lovely, though not beautiful |
| B．gave them happiness |
| C．is a kind of useful plant |
| D．helped the Scots in wiping out the Romans |
“It was all his own idea, ” says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto, California high school . Bob had just drawn up a “motherhood contract” ----- a document (文件) stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple’s four children, plus all household chores (杂务). Although he didn’t even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident.(He thought the experience would make a nice book.) After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up. “I was beaten down, completely humbled, ” admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press (also part of the bargain), stating, “Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.” Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto’s Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids. Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley. “I had been around children so much,” she sighs (叹气), “I couldn’t talk to a grown-up.” She continued to run the household, however----- until Bob signed the contract, whereupon she decided to relax and enjoy it. Although Peters had consulted (咨询) with his school’s home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria (食堂), his meals were sometimes a disaster.
“I tried to slip the butter I’d forgotten under the eggs after they were frying, ” he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot—sometimes having Macdonald’s hamburgers for lunch and dinner. As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made. “I found an easier way-----I shut the doors, ” he says. Soon the kids were wearing the same clothes for a week. “I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”
Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely(日常地) sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative (暂定的) title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.The couple signed the contract because _______.
| A．Pat complained a lot about her doing the housework all by herself |
| B．Bob loved taking care of children and wanted his wife to have a good rest |
| C．they agreed that husband and wife should share household tasks |
| D．Bob thought it easy to take care of the family and wanted the experience for a book |
It was agreed that if Bob failed to keep to the contract, he would have to _______.
| A．pay a certain amount of money |
| B．do all the housework for years |
| C．say sorry to his wife |
| D．admit publicly he was wrong about motherhood |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Bob managed to keep the kids’ clothes clean. |
| B．Bob tried to cook good meals for his children. |
| C．Bob frequently took the kids out to eat because he was too busy at work. |
| D．Bob taught the kids to make their beds every day. |
Which of the following can best end the news story?
| A．“My experience of being a mother.” |
| B．“I’m proud of you all, my dear!” |
| C．“Wait till your mother gets home!” |
| D．“Motherhood: an impossible job for anyone.” |