“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 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 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.
【小题1】According to Jessica’s mother, “a skeleton in the closet” means ______.

阅读理解

阅读下面短文，从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。

　　It was fifteen past nine as Marie hurried into the office building where she was going to work. Her bus had inched along through heavy morning traffic, making her a few minutes late for her very first Job. She decided to start out half an hour earlier the next day.

　　Once inside the lobby, she had to stand at the elevators and wait several minutes before she could get on one going to the sixth floor. When she finally reached the office marked “Smith Enterprises”, she knocked at the door nervously and waited. There was no reply. She tapped on the door again, but still there was no answer. From inside the next office, she could hear the sound of voices, so she opened the door and went in.

　　Although she was sure it was the same office she had been in two weeks before when she had the interview with Mr. Smith, it looked quite different now. In fart, it hardly looked like an office at all.

　　The employees were just standing around chatting and smoking. In the front of the room, somebody must have just told a good joke, she thought, because there was a loud burst of laughter as she came in. For a moment she had thought they were laughing at her.

　　Then one of the men looked at his watch, clapped his hands and said something to the others. Quickly they all went to their desks and, in a matter of seconds, everyone was hard at work. No one paid any attention to Marie. Finally she went up to the man who was sitting at the desk nearest to the door and explained that this was her first day in the office. Hardly looking up from his work, he told her to have a seat and wait for Mr. Smith, who would arrive at any moment. Then Marie realized that the day's work in the office began just before Mr. Smith arrived. Later she found out that he lived in Connecticut and came into Manhattan on the same train every morning, arriving in the office at 9:35, so that his staff knew exactly when to start working.

1．Marie felt nervous when she knocked at the door became

[　　]

A．it was her first day in a new job

B．she was a little bit late for work

C．she was afraid that she had gone to the wrong place

D．there was no answer from inside the office

2．Marie could hardly recognize the office she went into as ________.

[　　]

A．she had been there only once

B．Mr. Smith was not in the office

C．nobody was doing any work

D．the office had a new appearance

3．The people in the office suddenly started working because

[　　]

A．they saw a stranger in the office

B．their morning break was ended

C．no one wanted to talk to Marie

D．the boss was about to arrive

4．We can infer from the text that the employees of the enterprise ________.

[　　]

A．would start their work by listening to a joke

B．were cold to newcomers

C．were always punctual for work

D．lacked devotion to the company

5．The best title for this text would be ________.

[　　]

A．Punctual Like A Clock

B．A Cold Welcome

C．An unpunctual Manager

D．Better Late Than Never

My friends, Emma Daniels, spent the summer of 1974 traveling in Israel. During her monthlong stay in Jerusalem she often went to a café called Chocolate Soup. It was run by two men, one of whom – Alex – used to live in Montreal. One morning when Emma went in for coffee, while chatting with her new friend Alex, she mentioned that she had just finished the book she was reading and had nothing else to read. Alex said he had a wonderful book she might like, and that he’d be happy to lend it to her. As he lived just above the café, he quickly ran up to get it. The book he handed to Emma just minutes later was Markings, a book by a former Secrcetary-General of the United Nations (UN).
Emma had never read it, nor had she ever bought a copy. But, when she opened it up, she was floored to see her own name and address inside the cover in her own handwriting.It turned out that the summer before, at a concert back in Montreal, Emma had met a Californian who was in town visiting friends. They decided to exchange addresses, but neither of them had any paper. The man opened up a book he was carrying in his backpack and asked Emma to write her name and address inside. When he returned to California, he left the book behind in Montreal, and his friend Alex kept it. When Alex later moved to Jerusalcm, he took the book along.
【小题1】Alex lent Emma the book, Markings,__________.

Joanne was stuck in a traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5：30 and at 6：30 she was expected to be chairing a meeting of the tennis club. At last, the traffic was moving. She swung quickly racing to her house. As she opened the door, she nearly tripped over (被绊倒)Sheba.
“Hey, Sheba,” she said, “I've got no time for you now, but I'll take you out as soon as I get back from tennis club.” Then she noticed Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking. Obviously, she could hardly breathe. Immediately, Joanne realized she would have to take her to the vet (兽医).
When she got there, the vet was just about to close for the day. Seeing the state of Sheba, Dr. Sterne brought her quickly into his office.
“Listen, doctor, I'm really in a rush to get to a meeting, can I leave her with you, and go and get changed? I'll be back in ten minutes to pick her up, and then I'll take her on to the meeting with me. Is that OK?”
“Sure.” said the doctor.
Joanne made the quick trip back to her house in a couple of minutes. As she was once more entering the hallway, the phone by the door began to ring.
“This is Dr. Sterne,” said an anxious voice. “I want you to get out of that house immediately, ”said the doctor's voice. “I'm coming round right away, and the police will be there any time now. Wait outside!”
At that moment, a police car screeched (发出尖锐的声音)to a stop outside the house. Two policemen got out and ran into the house. Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened. Then the doctor arrived.
“Where’s Sheba? Is she OK?” shouted Joanne.
“She’s fine, Joanne. I took out the thing which was choking her, and she’s OK now. ”
Just then, the two policemen reappeared from the house, half-carrying a white—faced man, who could hardly walk. There was blood all over him.
“My God, ” said Joanne,  “how did he get in there? And how did you know he was there?”
“I think he must be a burglar.” said the doctor. “I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was stuck in Sheba’s throat：it turned out to be three human fingers.”
【小题1】. What was Joanne supposed to do at 6：30？

One sunny afternoon，a seven?year?old girl went for a walk.She crossed a large area of grassland into the woods ____ she realised that she was lost.

Sitting on a rock and ____ what to do，she began crying.After a while，she ___ to walk along a wide path lined with tall trees and thick bushes. ____ it was getting dark，she saw a small，dark wooden house.She opened the door and ____ stepped in.Suddenly，she heard a strange noise，and she ran out the door and back to the ____.Cold and tired，she fell asleep near a ____.

The girl's parents were out and her dog，Laddy, was at home.Laddy ____ that his mistress(女主人) was in danger.He jumped ____ a window，breaking the glass.He looked in the fields，but he couldn't find his mistress anywhere.However，from the ground came a ___ scent(气味)as he lowered his head.He ____ the scent and walked across the grassland.Barking ____ into the air，the dog ____ through the woods until he found the ___.But the girl was not there，so he headed back to the woods.Much to his ____，he saw his mistress'blue shirt in the distance.He ____ over some bushes and saw the little stream，where the girl was ____.

When she opened her eyes and ____ her dog standing beside her，the girl said，“You ____ me, Laddy.”and she kissed him several times.Seeing their daughter and dog coming back，the parents burst into tears of ____.That night Laddy had a hero's supper：a huge meal of steak.

1.A.before?? B．since?? C．while?? D．as

2.A.wondering?? ????????????? B．forgetting

C．remembering?? ????????????? D．regretting

3.A.preferred?? ????????????? B．expected

C．failed?? ????????????? D．decided

4.A.When?? B．Until? C．If?? D．Because

5.A.carelessly?? ????????????? B．cautiously

C．hopelessly?? ????????????? D．unwillingly

6.A.trees?? B．bushes?? C．woods?? D．grasses

7.A.stream?? B．rock?? C．tree?? D．house

8.A.found?? B．sensed?? C．heard?? D．smelt

9.A.at?? B．through?? C．in?? D．onto

10.A.terrible?? B．strange?? C．pleasant?? D．familiar

11.A.missed?? B．discovered?? C．followed?? D．ignored

12.A.calmly?? B．loudly?? C．merrily?? D．gently

13.A.searched?? B．wandered? C．looked?? D．travelled

14.A.window?? B．girl?? C．house?? D．hero

15.A.satisfaction?? ????????????? B．disappointment

C．embarrassment?? ????????????? D．delight

16.A.jumped?? B．climbed?? C．walked?? D．flew

17.A.awake?? ????????????? B．abandoned

C．available?? ????????????? D．asleep

18.A.spotted? B．watched?? C．observed?? D．saw

19.A.disturbed?? ????????????? B．comforted

C．rescued?? ????????????? D．scared

20.A.pain?? B．shock?? C．sorrow?? D．relief