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 1932, 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 would keep 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.

Baizac 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 other 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. In Chinese the world “skeleton” means _______.

A. 尸体   B. 标本  C. 收藏  D. 骷髅

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

A. In the 20th 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 skeleton as possible.

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

D. It was legal that corpses of anybody were cut open for scientific examination in history.

5. 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

阅读理解

　　Your mind like your body, is a thing, the powers of which are developed by effort. That is major use, as I see it, of hard work in studies. Unless you train your body you can't be an athlete, and unless you train your mind you can't be much of a scholar. The four miles a runner covers at top speed is in itself nothing to the good, but the physical capacity (耐力) to hold out over the course is thought to be of some worth. So a good part of what you learn by hard study may not be kept forever in your mind, and may not seem to be of much final value, but your mind is a better and more powerful instrument because you have learned it. “Knowledge is power”, but still more, the faculty (能力) of using knowledge is power. If you have a trained and powerful mind, you are sure to have stored it with something, but its value is more in what it can do, what it can grasp and use, than in what it contains and if it were possible, as it is not, to come out of college with a trained mind and nothing useful in it, you would still be ahead, and still, in a manner, educated.

1．The writer tells us in the passage that many of the facts you get by hard study ________.

[　　]

A．will be forgotten

B．deal with rules of health

C．will be very useful to you in later life

D．will help you to understand the meaning of life

2．The man leaving college with a trained mind ________.

[　　]

A．is certain to succeed

B．can grasp any problem

C．has finished his education

D．is educated

3．The best title for this passage is ________.

[　　]

A．Knowledge Is Power

B．How to Get and Use Facts

C．The Trained Mind

D．Physical and Mental Efforts

I live in the land of Disney, Hollywood and year - round sun.You may think People , such an attractive, fun - filled place are happier than others.If so you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness.
Many intelligent people still think fun equals happiness.The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common.Fun is what we experience during an act.Happiness is what we experience after an act.It is a deep, long-lasting emotion.
Going to an amusement park or a ball game, watching a movie or television are fun activities that help us relax, temporally forget our problems and maybe even laugh.But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends.
I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun.They have constant access to exciting parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells "happiness" But in memoir（回忆录） after memoir, they expose Ac unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages and loneliness.
Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying.If he is honest, he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment.For commitment is in fact quite painful.The single life is filled with fun, adventure and excitement.Man-iage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
Similarly, couples that choose not to have children are deciding in favor of painless fun over painful happiness.They can dine out whenever they want and sleep as late as they want.Couples with babies are lucky to get a whole night' s sleep.I don't know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations we can ever come to.It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can truly increase our happiness.It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless.And it frees us from envy: we now understand that all those rich and famous people we were so sure are happy because they are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.

1. 1.

   What is the passage mainly about?

   1. A.
      Fun and happiness.
   2. B.
      Success and satisfaction.
   3. C.
      Marriage and commitment.
   4. D.
      Entertainment and responsibility.
2. 2.

   The author probably agrees that ____.

   1. A.
      fun creates long - lasting satisfaction
   2. B.
      long - standing fun may lead to happiness
   3. C.
      fun is short-lived while happiness is long-lasting
   4. D.
      fun provides enjoyment while pain leads to happiness
3. 3.

   What does the author think of marriage?

   1. A.
      It ends in pain.
   2. B.
      It means commitment.
   3. C.
      It affords greater fun.
   4. D.
      It leads to raising children.
4. 4.

   If one gets the real meaning of happiness, he ____.
   

   1. A.
      will start a business          B  won' t place too much value on money
      C.will seek for freedom           D.won't devote himself to his family

Famous centenarians（百岁老人）still active in arts, science are in no mood to retire．"Those who stand still, die," is one of Oliveira's favorite phrases．He knows from experience what it means, as the Portuguese film director has reached the age of 102 and is still active in his profession．Every year, Oliveira shoots a film and is currently working on his next project．"You have to work, work, work in order to forget that death is not far away," he said．When asked about his age, Oliveira said with some humility: "It's down to mother nature．It gave to me what it took from others．"

Being both mentally and physically fit in old age is partly a matter of luck, but it also has something to do with character．Not every white-haired person is wise and social skills, openness and the ability to train the brain are essential for senior citizens．

Along with the architect Oscar Niemeyer （103）, Nobel laureate Montalcini （101） and director Kurt Maetzig （100）, Oliveira is one of those people of whom it would be very wrong to think as members of a listless elderly generation．

Another master in his profession is the architect Oscar Niemeyer．The 103-year-old Brazilian is best known for his futuristic-looking buildings in Brasilia, but he also speaks out on behalf of the poor．"The role of the architect is to struggle for a better world where we can develop a form of architecture that serves everyone and not just a privileged few," said Niemeyer recently．He spends almost every day working in his office in Copacabana, and even when he falls ill he keeps working on ideas: After a gallbladder （胆囊） operation he composed a samba tune （桑巴舞曲） in the clinic．

Another man who could sing a song about age is 107-year-old Heesters．The Dutch-born opera singer spent most of his life performing in Germany, where he still works．Recently Heesters said: "I want to be at least 108-years-old．" He also plans to keep performing．"Should I just sit at home and wait until they come and pick me up?" Heesters has not given up trying to add to his tally of awards and is looking for a "good stage role"．

Italian scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini, who is 101-year-old and is still active in medical science, has described the force that keeps driving her on: "Progress is created through imperfection．" In 1986 she and her lab colleague were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work on nerve growth factor．She's convinced that humans grow on challenges．

With so many brilliant examples given, we can see clearly that age is no barrier to some high achievers．

67．From the first two paragraphs, we can see ______．

　 A．being active at 102 is achievable for everybody　

　 B．Oliveira owes his long life to his mother’s help

　 C．social skills and wisdom are difficult for the senior

D．being fit in old age is a matter of luck and character

68．By saying "Should I just sit at home and wait until they come and pick me up?” in Paragraph 5, Heesters shows us he ________．

　 A．wants to sit or lie in comfort　　　　　　　　　　　

B．is willing to work till he dies

　 C．is waiting for people to pick him up　　　　　　

D．prefers to give performance at home

69．In the passage so many examples were given to show ________．

A．old age is a big problem if you want to succeed

B．as a senior citizen, you have to be open-minded and optimistic

C．old age can not prevent a great person from achieving a lot

D．old people should never think of themselves as old

70．In the writer’s opinion, the architect Oscar Niemeyer is not ________．

A．pessimistic　　　 B．optimistic　 　　　　　 C．positive　　 D．delighted