Lucky is the man who has no “skeleton in his closet.” When a man has done something in his life that he is ashamed of, that he wants to hide, he is said to have a “skeleton in his closet.” Some people may have more than one skeleton.

As we have noted many times, it is hard to find out how these expressions begin. Sometimes, we get some hard facts. But more often we have to depend on guesswork. And that is true of this phrase, which came from England.

Before 1832,English law did not permit a doctor to cut open a dead human body for scientific examination, unless it was the corpse（尸体） of an executed（处决） criminal.

But when it became legal, more and more doctors demanded skeletons for a more scientific study of medicine. It was helping in the advance of modern medicine. The demand had become so strong that men began to rob tombs and sell skeletons to doctors at high prices.

We are told that a doctor would usually buy just one skeleton for scientific study. It became very important in his work. But he had to keep it hidden because most people objected to keeping such a thing. As a rule, the doctor kept his skeleton in some dark corner where it could not be seen, or hide it in a closet.

After a time, people began to suspect（怀疑） every doctor of hiding a skeleton in the closet. From this suspicion, the phrase“ a skeleton in the closet” took on a broader, more general meaning. To describe anything that a man wanted to keep others from discovering. It could be proof of a criminal act, or something much less serious. Well, that is one theory.

One writer, however, believes that the phrase might have come from something that really happened. It is his guess that a hidden closet in some old English country home may have turned up a real skeleton, clear proof of some old family shame or crime. Well, one man's guess is as good as another. But this sounds like a story by the great French novelist, Balzac.

Balzac tells us of a man who suspected his wife of having a lover. The husband comes home by surprise. But she hears him and quickly hides her lover in the closet of her bedroom. He enters her room and asks her if she is hiding her lover. He says he will not open the door to the closet if she promises him there is no one there; He will believe her. She answers firmly that she is not hiding anyone in the closet. The husband then begins to build a solid brick wall against the closet. His wife watches, knowing that her lover will never come out alive. But she will not change her story and admit her guilt.

1. Which of the following situations is suitable for using the phrase “skeleton in the closet”?

A．You have stolen something precious and don't want it discovered.

B．You are a doctor and have to keep a skeleton for research.

C．If you have cut open a dead human body for scientific examination you should keep the skeleton secret.

D．You have done a crime or done something foolish, but you want to keep others from discovering it.

2. From the text we know that there are ______ theories about how the phrase “skeleton in the closet” came into being.

A．one               B．two              C．three            D．four

3. Which of the following is right according to the text?

A．In the 19th century, doctors realized the importance of anatomy（解剖） in the development of medicine.

B．The doctors of the ancient times liked to collect as many skeletons as possible

C．The thieves stole skeletons from tombs in order to help the doctors.

D．It is legal that corpses of anybody are cut open for scientific examination in history.

4. From the story Balzac told we know that the wife's lover must have become ______.

A．a corpse           B．a phrase            C．a skeleton        D．a secret

Most parents do not like their children's music. For example, today's parents do not like rap music. But what the parents do not understand is that people who make rap music have important abilities.  

Think about the words in a rap song. Many of the words in the songs sound, the same. For example, each word at the end of a line in the song usually has the same sound. Say that a singer used the word" eat". He might also want to use the words "feet" and "meat" in the song. This is because these words end in the same sounds as " eat". So the person who writes the song has to know many words to find words that have the same sound and make sense in the song. Many people who do not like rap music do not think about rap singers' abilities and the clever way that they use words.  

Another thing that rappers do well is putting songs together. Rap singers mix songs from older records with their own music. A good rap song has many different songs in it. So, a rapper has to know a lot about older music. In fact, rappers can mix different kinds of music into their songs, not just rap music. Many times, rappers will put famous parts of old rock and roll, old pop, or old disco songs into a rap song. As long as the rap singer tells people who made the older song, the rock, pop, or disco singers do not mind. If a rap singer does not say where he or she got the music from, then the other singers get mad.  

Some parents think that rap is not really music. But that does not mean that the people making rap music do not have any special abilities.  

56．This passage is mainly about _____.  

A．making rap music                                   B．words in rap music  

C．old songs used in rap music                     D．mixing songs in rap music  

57．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the writer?  

A．Making rap songs is not very difficult.  

B．Rappers have to know lots of different words.  

C．Rap music has nothing to do with old rock and roll.  

D．Parents usually enjoy the same music as their children.  

58．From this passage we know that _____.  

A．rap singers often borrow music from older songs  

B．rappers do not need to make sense for their songs  

C．putting older songs together to make rap music is quite easy  

D．rappers do not usually know much about other kinds of music  

59．The writer tells us that the rap singers ______.  

A．always get other people to write their songs  

B．often use words that have the same end sound  

C．do not need important abilities for their profession  

D．do not need to ask others if they want to use their songs