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

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

After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletes have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletes and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin. These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability. But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics athletes did not take part.

She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson. Born with spine hifida (脊椎裂) which left her paralysed from the waist. Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7. at first, she did not like sports, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom. But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously. She tried swimming, basketball and tennis. Eventually she found she began to love athletics, and never looked back.

Indeed, Tanni’s athletic career took off . In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games.

In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul. She won bronze in the 400 metres. Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelonn. Paralympics. Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process. In the same year she achieved the first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories.

Tanni’s success had been part motivation(动机), part preparation, “The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员) enables me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to see…. I am still competing at a very high level, but as I get older, things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart.”

Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

In spite of ups and downs, she never takes her fate lying down. In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics- a top level athletic career covering two decades. She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records.

What advice does she have for young athletes? “Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again.”

1.Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?

A．Basketball         B．Swimming.         C．Tennis.            D．Horse-riding.

2.When did Tanni win her first Olympic gold medal?

A．In 1984.          B．In 1988.           C．In 1992.           D．In 2007.

3.The underlined word “that” in the 5th paragraph refers to _______.

A．fifty weeks’ training

B．being a good sprinter

C．training almost every day

D．part motivation and part preparation

4.What can we learn from Tanni’s success?

A．Union is strength.                       B．Never too late to learn.

C．Well begun is half done.                  D．No pains, no gains.

When Li Jinyu went back from Brazil after years of hard training, he seemed to see a new starting point in front of him. Li, a key player of Jian Li Bao Football Team, has a round and lovely face. When talking to people, he often says, “I’ve got a lot of dreams, and the biggest one is to help to develop our national football.”
Li began to play football 17 years ago. In 1985 a football coach was looking for little players in a school. Li tried to win the coach’s favor. His father, a football fan, asked the coach to give his son another chance to have a test. This time, the coach agreed to take Li as a player. Every day, his father would take him to the training school, and carry him back when the training was over, whether it was raining or shining. With the help of his coach, Li quickly grew into a good young player. He is said to have the sharpest mind on the playground among all Chinese football players.
The only child of the family as he is, Li loves his parents as much as they love him. During the spare time of the training course or after a game, he has often called home to ask after his parents.
Li also enjoys good relations with his fans. He has received many letters from across the country, but he said he felt sorry because he could not answer every letter. “However, I have taken good care of every letter from my fans. This is perhaps the best way to show my thanks,” he said.
Now at the age of 24, Li likes to go shopping after days of hard training on the playground. He is also interested in bowling and tennis. Dreaming of becoming a first-class player, he is now working very hard on the road to success.
60. When did Li begin to play football?

C
Any introduction to Peking Opera would not be complete without telling of Mei Lanfang. Traditionally only men performed in Peking Opera, including the female roles. And Mei Lanfang was the very best master of the miss. During his stage life, he combined the traditions of the past with his own creations, shaping a style of his own and giving birth to “The Mei Lanfang School”. He was also the first artist to introduce Peking Opera to an overseas audience, making it popular to the world. For half a century, Mei Lanfang was a household name in China.
Mei Lanfang began his stage life at the age of 8. His teacher said he showed little hope because of his boring eyes. To improve this, he exercised them day after day. He would fly kites and look at them moving slowly in a blue sky. He also kept pigeons in order to look at them soaring higher and higher until they disappeared into the clouds. Thanks to his efforts, he managed to transform his dull eyes into a pair of bright and expressive eyes and win national fame before the age of 20.
In over 50 years on the stage, Mei Lanfang played no less than 100 different characters in the traditional Peking Opera performance. He completely changed both stage make-up and costumes, and enriched characters' gestures, expressions and poses. He also wrote many new plays, designing the dances himself. The many dances he created form part of the great legacy that he left to Peking Opera.
In 1930, Mei Lanfang started on a successful US tour. There his brilliant performances fascinated the audience, making them realize that Peking Opera was a theatrical form of great literary and artistic value.
44. Mei Lanfang was the first artist to introduce Peking Opera to ______.
A. China                B. Beijing                    C. the world                 D. schools
45. When did Mei Lanfang begin his stage life?
A. At the age of 8.   B. At the age of 20.      C. In 1930.                  D. In 1950.
46. What is the meaning of the underlined word “legacy” in paragraph 3?
A. Someone well known all over the world.
B. Someone considered to be an art treasure.
C. Something traditional combined with modern dances.
D. Something valuable passed down from generation to generation.
47. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. The history of Peking Opera.
B. Mei Lanfang’s early stage life.
C. The creations of Peking Opera by Mei Lanfang.
D. Mei Lanfang’s great contributions to Peking Opera.