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 thought for a while. “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 brought to Australia for his crimes?” “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors（祖先） 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 from time to time she looked angrily 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 wanted to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I said something about 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 |
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 wanted to scare her parents. |
Jessica’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because ________.
| A．they realized their misunderstanding |
| B．they were crazy |
| C．they were over excited |
| D．they both thought they had won the quarrel |
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
“It is never too late and you are never too old to start something new!” says Englishtown student Ellen Rema．Ellen began to learn English at the age of fifty, and in just a few years, she has made great progress!
Ellen chose to study on Englishtown because no evening classes were offered in the German countryside where she lives．On Englishtown, she has conversation classes online and speaks with native English-speaking teachers．
“Englishtown is a wonderful place for study,” she says．Ellen began with the first level of Englishtown and quickly progressed．“I spent hours and hours studying,” she said．“Maybe I wanted too much in a short time．I finished all my courses after 2 years, but I still had grammar difficulties．”
Instead of giving up, she chose to continue．After another 2 years on Englishtown, she’s still studying in the online classroom．“Studying online is never boring, but you need practice, practice, practice!”
Ellen says studying English isn’t all about hard work．It should also be fun．“I really like the online conversation classrooms,” she says．“I have learned so much about other cultures and traditions．”
Ellen has been able to put her English to use by visiting England five times! “I’m very thankful to Englishtown because my life has improved because of it,” Ellen says．Ellen started to learn English ．
| A．50 years ago |
| B．in a city of Germany |
| C．when she was a high school student |
| D．when she was 50 years old |
Why did Ellen study English on Englishtown?
| A．She had no free time during the day． |
| B．She lived far away from school． |
| C．There were no evening classes near her home． |
| D．Englishtown was a famous website to learn English． |
Ellen had trouble learning ．
| A．pronunciation |
| B．grammar |
| C．writing |
| D．listening |
How long has Ellen learned English?
| A．For 2 years． |
| B．For 4 years． |
| C．For 6 years． |
| D．For 15 years． |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．You are never too old to learn something new． |
| B．Englishtown is a good place to visit． |
| C．The courses are good on Englishtown． |
| D．Studying English is not boring at all |
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
For Chinese, it's a time for dragon boat racing and Zongzi (粽子)． But across the Yellow Sea, South Korea, wrestling (摔跤) and swing play are the highlights．However, both events go by the same name-the Dragon Boat Festival-which falls on May 5 of the lunar calendar．
One festival, two cultures: does one nation have the right to call its own? It has been reported that South Korea will apply to the UNESCO (联合国教科文组织) to make the celebration its cultural heritage (文化遗产)．If successful, people from other countries may see the Dragon Festival as a Korean creation．
As the birthplace of the yearly event more than 2,000 years ago, China is not happy with the situation．"It would be a shame if another country successfully made a traditional Chinese festival part of its own cultural heritage ahead of China," said Zhou Heping, deputy culture minister．The Ministry of Culture is even thinking of making its own application to UNESCO, covering all traditional Chinese festivals, including the Dragon Boat event．
Over the years, the Dragon Boat Festival has spread throughout the world．In Japan and Viet Nam, as well as South Korea, the festival has mixed with and become part of local culture．
With this in mind, some experts say that it is meaningless to argue about which country the festival belongs to．"No one can deny that it came from China," said Long Haiqing, an expert from Hunan Province．"But if all the countries involved can protect culture heritage together, they will all benefit．"The underlined word "highlights" can be probably replaced by "____"．
| A．most exciting events |
| B．highest lights on the building |
| C．brightest lights at night |
| D．most famous festivals |
It can be inferred that South Korea ____．
| A．has proclaimed (宣布) the Dragon Boat Festival as a part of its cultural heritage |
| B．has the exactly same Dragon Boat Festival as China |
| C．has no idea that China has such a festival |
| D．is paying more attention to its cultural heritage than China |
China is not happy with the situation because ____．
| A．it created the festival |
| B．it is also making an application |
| C．South Korea has no right to call the festival its own |
| D．UNESCO may approve (批准) South Korea's application |
If South Korea's application to UNESCO is successful, ____．
| A．China will also make its own application to UNESCO |
| B．it will be meaningless to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival |
| C．people from other parts of the world will think South Korea created the festival |
| D．the Dragon Boat Festival will become part of local culture |
The author would probably support(支持) ____．
| A．a move by South Korea to cancel its application |
| B．China getting UNESCO's approval of the festival first |
| C．the opinion of Zhou Heping |
| D．China paying more attention to its cultural heritage |
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Home Alone is a very funny 1990 American film．It tells us a story about a boy who is accidentally left alone at home．
One night before Christmas, the McAlister family meet at their house．They are planning to fly to Paris for the holiday and are busy getting ready．Eight-year-old Kevin is the youngest child and is fighting with his brothers, sisters and cousins．When he goes to bed, he is so angry that he wishes all his family would go away．In the morning, everyone wakes up very late．They are all in a hurry to get to the airport, so they forget Kevin and he is left alone at home by accident．Although Kevin is alone, he is very happy at first．His terrible family have gone-his wish has come true．He watches TV, eats lots of fast food and plays games．He has a good time．But later on, he goes out and hears two bad men called Harry and Marv planning to steal from his house．He goes home and plans some very funny ways to catch Harry and Marv．Many things in the houses get broken as Kevin tries to stop them．Finally, the police come and the men are taken away．
The house is now in a mess, so Kevin tidies it up and waits for his parents．They get back from Paris and are very happy to find that Kevin is safe．According to the passage, Home Alone is _____．
| A．a look |
| B．a film |
| C．a play |
| D．a song |
Why does Kevin think his family are “terrible” at first?
| A．Because his family are busy preparing for the holiday． |
| B．Because he is angry with his brothers, sisters and cousins． |
| C．Because his family wake up late． |
| D．Because he is left alone at home． |
What doesn’t Kevin do when he is alone at home?
| A．Going to the police station． |
| B．Eating fast food． |
| C．Playing games． |
| D．Stopping the thieves stealing． |
When Kevin’s family come home, they find ______．
| A．the house is in a mess |
| B．two bad men are at their home |
| C．Kevin is safe |
| D．Kevin is gone |
From the passage, we can infer(推断)that ______．
| A．Kevin is not clever or brave |
| B．Kevin can’t do housework |
| C．Kevin loves his family |
| D．Kevin doesn’t want to go for the holiday |
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
“If you want to see a thing well, reach out and touch it！”
That may seem a strange thing to say．But touching things can help you to see them better．Your eyes can tell you that a glass ball is round．But by holding it in your hands, you can feel how smooth and cool the ball is．You can feel how heavy the glass is．When you feel all these about the ball, you really see it．With your skin, you can feel better．For example, your fingers can tell the difference between two coins in your pocket．You can feel a little drop of water on the back of your hand, too．
All children soon learn what “Don't touch！” means．They hear it often．Yet most of us keep on touching things as we grow up．In shops, we touch things as we might buy food, clothes and so on．To see something well, we have to touch it．
There are ways of learning to see well by feeling．One way is to close your eyes and try to feel everything that is touching your skin．Feel the shoes on your feet, the clothes on your body, the air on your skin．At first, it is not easy to feel these things．You are too used to them!
Most museums are just for looking．But today some museums have some things to touch．Their signs say, “Do touch！” There you can feel everything on show．If we want to see better, reach out and touch．Then you will really see!By touching things, ______．
| A．you will have a strange feeling |
| B．you will learn how to use your hand |
| C．you can learn more about them |
| D．you can tell what colours they are |
When people buy things in shops, they often ______．
| A．try them on first |
| B．keep their right hands on them |
| C．ask about them |
| D．feel and touch them |
Why does the writer say “At first, it is not easy to feel these things”？Because______．
| A．the things are used by people, too |
| B．people feel the things too often |
| C．people know how to use the things |
| D．the things are easy to feel |
______ museums today have things for you to touch．
| A．No |
| B．Some |
| C．Most |
| D．All |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Touching is more important than seeing． |
| B．Our feet, fingers, hands, and skin can help us buy food． |
| C．People have to learn to see by feeling as they grow up． |
| D．Visitors can feel the things on show in some museums． |
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Do you know why different animals or pests（害虫）have their special colours? Colours in them seem to be used mainly to protect themselves．
Some birds like eating locusts, but birds cannot easily catch them．Why? It is because locusts change their colours together with the change of the colours of crops．When crops are green, locusts look green．But as the harvest time comes, locusts change to the same brown colour as crops have．Some other pests with different colours from plants are easily found and eaten by others．So they have to hide themselves for lives and appear only at night．
If you study the animal life, you’ll find the main use of colouring is protecting themselves．Bears, lions and other animals move quietly through forests．They cannot be seen by hunters．This is because they have the colours much like the tree．
Have you ever noticed an even more strange act? A kind of fish in the sea can send out a kind of very black liquid when it faces danger．While the liquid spreads over, the enemies cannot find it．And it immediately swims away．So it has lived up to now though it isn’t strong at all．From the passage we can learn that locusts _______．
| A．are small animals |
| B．are easily found by birds |
| C．are dangerous to their enemies |
| D．change their colours to protect themselves |
Bears and lions can keep safe because they_______．
| A．have the colours much like the trees |
| B．move quickly |
| C．like brown and grey colours |
| D．live in forests |
Why can the fish mentioned in the last paragraph live up to now?
| A．Because it is very strong． |
| B．Because the liquid it sends out can help it get away from its enemies． |
| C．Because the liquid it sends out can kill its enemies． |
| D．Because it swims faster than any other fish． |
Which is the best title for this passage?
| A．The Change of Colours for Animals and Pests |
| B．Colours of Different Animals and Pests |
| C．The Main Use of Colours for Animals and Pests |
| D．Some Animals and Pests |