One day, Mary asked her mother, “Mum, what do people mean by saying they have a skeleton(骨架）in the closet(衣櫥)?” Her mother paused thoughtfully and said, “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 my family?” Mary’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.” Mary cut in before things grew worse.

After dinner, the house was quiet. Mary’s parents were 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 Mary’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. Mary’s mother sank into a faint(暈倒), waking only when Mary 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 Mary. “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.” Mary looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. “They’re crazy,” she thought. 

1.According to Mary’s mother, “a skeleton in a closet” means _______.

A. a family honor                    B. a family wealth

C. a family story                     D. a family secret

2.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.

3.Mary’s mother fell down into a faint because she was_________.

A. knocked           B. terrified     C. injured      D. surprised

4.Why did Mary 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.

5.Mary’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because________.

A. They were mentally ill.

B. They were over happy.

C. They understood what had really happened.

D. They both thought they had won the quarrel.

 

An old woman walked into a clothes shop. She asked the salesgirl to let her have a look at a new dress, but the girl stood still behind the counter(柜臺(tái)),taking no notice of the request. The old woman spoke to the girl again, raising her voice a bit, but still received no answer. The old woman looked at the girl and nodded to herself, “ I am too old to see well. I can’t even tell a plastic model from a real girl!”   On hearing this, the salesgirl shouted to the old woman, “What? Did you call me a plastic model? ”The old woman was greatly surprised. “Oh, dear me, ” she said. “The model can speak!”
【小題1】What did the old woman go to the shop to do?

A．To choose a dress.	B．To buy a dress for herself.
C．To show off her dress.	D．To pick a quarrel with the salesgirl.

【小題2】The salesgirl did not make a reply __________.

A．because she didn't see the old woman

B．because she didn't think the old woman had enough money for a new dress

C．because she was too busy to notice the old woman

D．for some reason unknown in this story

【小題3】It was not until that woman spoke for the _____ time that the salesgirl said something.

A．first

B．second

C．third

D．fourth

【小題4】When the old woman said, “I am too old to see well,” she _______.

A．meant to say that she really had poor eyesight

B．wanted the salesgirl to excuse her

C．was simply telling a lie

D．was, in fact, trying to make the salesgirl open her mouth

【小題5】What do you think the salesgirl would do on hearing this?  She would_____.

A．be too angry to say a word for a moment

B．run and tell the shop owner about it

C．a(chǎn)pologize to the old woman and do what she had been asked to do

D．turn back and cry

That woman will quarrel ________ everybody ________ anything.

A. about; about      B. about; with     C. with; about     D. with; with

After the earthquake, the rescuers arrived at the disaster area as soon as possible. In a(n)  36  house, they found a woman. She was dead when the rescuers found her. Through the ruins, they could see her last   37 . Being on her knees, the upper part of her body was   38  , with her hands on the ground to  39 her body. It looked strange because she was bent out of   40 .

The leader came to the body, reached outhis hands under the woman, feeling and touching, and then he shouted loudly, “There is someone, a   41  , still living.”

Through some effort, rescuers  42 up the bricks covering her body. Under her body was her baby, who was   43  in a small red quiltwith yellow flowers. He was about 3 or 4 months old. Because he was well protected by the mother’s body, he was   44  safe. He was sleeping when the rescuers carried him out, and his lovely and peaceful face   45  everyone around him. The doctor, along with the rescue team, opened the   46  to check if the baby was all right, and he found there was a mobile phone in the quilt. The doctor looked at the screen. A written message was there, “My dear baby, if you live, don’t  47 how much I love you.” The mobile phone was passed on to the other people; every person who saw this message was close to tears.

1.                A．destroyed       B．old            C．nice D．new

 

2.                A．debate         B．a(chǎn)ction          C．guide    D．quarrel

 

3.                A．forward        B．western        C．up   D．straight

 

4.                A．lower          B．rise            C．support   D．carry

 

5.                A．sight           B．question        C．job  D．shape

 

6.                A．teenager       B．citizen          C．baby D．fellow

 

7.                A．cleaned        B．a(chǎn)dded          C．looked   D．called

 

8.                A．gathered       B．packed         C．locked   D．dressed

 

9.                A．totally          B．differently       C．widely    D．narrowly

 

10.               A．encouraged     B．delighted       C．warned   D．warmed

 

11.               A．blanket         B．brick           C．overcoat  D．quilt

 

12.               A．remember      B．know          C．forget D．keep

 

 

The couple __________.I really don’t know why.?

A.always quarrel

B.are always quarreling?

C.have always quarreled

D.have always been quarreled