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

　A university graduate described as a “respectable and intelligent” woman is seeking professional(专业的) help after being convicted of （证明有……罪）shoplifting for the second time in six months.

Ana Luz, recently studying for her PhD, has been told she could end up behind bars unless she can control the desire to steal from shops .

Luz ,who lives with her partner in Fitzwilliam Road ,Cambridge ,admitted stealing clothes worth ￡9.95 from John Lewis in Oxford Street ,London ,on March 9.

Phillip Lemoyne ,prosecuting（起诉）,said Luz selected some clothes from a display and took them to the ladies’ toilet in the store .When she came out again she was wearing one of the skirts she had selected ,having taken off the anti-theft security alarms（防盗警报装置）.

She was stopped and caught after leaving the store without paying, Mr Lemoyne said.

He added that she was upset on her arrest and apologized for her actions.

Luz,28, was said to have been convicted of shoplifting by Cambridge judges last October ,but Morag Duff, defending ,said she had never been in trouble with the police before that .

“She is ashamed and embarrassed（尴尬） but doesn’t really have any explanation why she did this ,” Miss Duff said . “She didn’t intend to steal when she went into the store .She is at a loss to explain it. She is otherwise a very respectable and intelligent young lady .She went to her doctor and asked for advice because she wants to know if there is anything in particular that caused her to do this.”

Judge David Azan fined Luz ￡ 50,  and warned : “You’ve got a criminal record .If you carry on like this ,you will end up in prison ,which will ruin your bright future you may have.”

Luz achieved a degree in design at university in her native Spain, went on to a famous university in Berlin , Germany for her master’s degree and is now studying for a PhD at Cambridge University ,UK.

1.What does the underlined sentence “She is at a loss to explain it” mean?

2.Which of the following best explains the meaning of the word “shoplifting” used in the passage?

3.From the passage we can learn that           .

4.What would be the best title for the passage ?

　　It is difficult for parents of nearly every family to teach their children to be responsible （有责任的）for housework, but with one of the following suggestions, you really can get your children to help at home.

　　If you give your children the impression that they can never do anything quite right, then they will regard themselves as unfit or unable persons. Unless children believe they can succeed, they will never become totally independent.

　　My daughter Carla’s fifth - grade teacher made every child in her class feel special. When students received less than a prefect test score, she would point out what they had mastered and declared firmly they could learn what they had missed.

　　You can use the same technique when you evaluate （评价）your child’s work at home. Don’t always scold and give lots of praise instead. Talk about what he has done right, not about what he hasn’t done. If your child completes a difficult task, promise him a Sunday trip or a ball game with Dad.

　　Learning is a process（过程）of trying and failing and trying and succeeding. If you teach your children not to fear a mistake of failure, they will learn faster and achieve success at last.

　　The whole passage deals with ________.

　　A. social education　　　　　　　　B. school education

　　C. family education　　　　　　　　D. pre - school education

　　The author thinks that________.

　　A. there is no way to get children to help at home

　　B. the more encouragement and praise you give, the more responsible and helpful children will become

　　C. it is very difficult to make children responsible for housework

　　D. children can be forced to help with housework

　The article gives us a good suggestion about how to evaluate（评价）your child’s work at home. That is to ________.

　　A. praise his success　　　　　　　 B. promise him a trip

　　C. give him a punishment　　　　　 D. promise him a ball game

　　The author advises readers to________.

　　A. learn from himself, for he has a good way of teaching

　　B. take pride in Carla’s fifth - grade teacher

　　C. do as what Carla’s teacher did in educating children

　　D. follow Carla’s example because she never fails in the test

At the age of 13，I visited a doctor with my parents. As I sat in the examining chair，the doctor looked into my 　31　.“She did inherit (继承) it，”he said with coldness.“You need to be prepared. There is no 　32　 for this disease.”

My father 　33　 a gene which，in most cases，results in blindness. I’d inherited the gene. He gradually 　34　 his eyesight and so did I. At last we were both 　35　 blind—he was fifty-seven years old，　36　 I was only twenty-eight.

My world 　37　 as the darkness fell，　38　 the dreams my husband and I had for us and for our three little boys. But 　39　 I tried to find some hope and 　40　，my eyes were opened to a new realization.

My father had 　41　 me not just failing eyesight，but an example of 　42　 in the face of hardships as well. We were all living in Bolivia in 1964 when he decided to 　43　 the family to America. He worked tirelessly to 　44 the right of living in the US.

Alone in the States，he 　45　 his helplessness and lack of fluency in English. He managed to rent a small apartment，and nine months later，sent airline tickets for my mom，my brother and me.

Decades later，　46 an American citizen，I look back at what he'd shown me. He set an example proving that determination is important to success. His 　47　 taught me valuable lessons for my own path in the darkness.

I did the same as I stepped into a 　48　 world. I fulfilled (完成) my own 　49　 as a wife，mom，Sunday school teacher and Spanish interpreter. What I inherited from my father helped me to 50　 my life in a whole new light.

1.A.mouth           B.eyes          C.ears          D.throat

2.A.solution         B.reason         C.excuse          D.cure

3..A.carried            B.spread            C.infected      D.raised

4.A.damaged         B.lost         C.recovered     D.gained

5.A.rapidly         B.nearly         C.completely       D.terribly

6.A.though              B.but               C.so                D.since

7.A.broke down      B.broke off     C.broke away        D.broke out

8.A.realizing           B.sharing      C.disturbing        D.destroying

9.A.when            B.before         C.unless           D.until

10.A.honour         B.beauty            C.strength      D.failure

11.A.handed         B.rewarded      C.given         D.taught

12.A.contribution       B.determination C.challenge     D.honesty

13.A.move           B.settle            C.arrange           D.send

14.A.enjoy           B.declare          C.apply         D.win

15.A.accepted       B.admitted      C.overcame      D.met

16.A.as                 B.like          C.for            D.to

17.A.knowledge      B.journey           C.situation          D.event

18.A.cruel          B.inner             C.modern         D. dark

19.A.promises       B. hopes            C. roles            D. changes

20.A.touch          B. end          C. save           D. see

The young couple had another quarrel. They were sitting silently when the landlady(女房东) came in and asked, “You don’t   36  the house any more?” He kept silent and she   37  shook her head.

The landlady began   38  the house. After looking around, the landlady screamed, “See how you have   39  my house? The walls are full of nails(铁钉)! How could I rent it to others?”

She began looking around her   40  room. Four years ago on the wedding night, he felt deeply   41  to her, saying, “I feel so sorry to you for   42  you live in this small room. In the future I will buy our own big house.”

This tiny room has two nails on the wall next to the door, one for her bag and the other   43  . At that time, she threw all her stuff(填充物)such as her bag and umbrella on the   44  once she entered the room, staring at the whole   45  and feeling terribly upset. Then he began   46  more nails into the wall. There were three nails on the left, on which   47  his clothes yesterday and four on the right used to   48  their wedding photo frame.

The landlady started to pull the nails out with a tool. After the nails were   49 , the walls were left with countless holes. Suddenly, she felt heartbroken as if she were   50  nonstop through these holes.

　　She   51  to her feet and exclaimed, “Stop removing the nails! We will rent the house   52  we buy our own!” He gazed at her surprised, and then turned round, tears over his cheek.

She   53  realized that marriage was like a wall and that all   54  and “cold wars” were like the nails on the wall.  55  , when they were removed, only a wall with holes would remain. But if all the nails were still in their own places, the wall was still complete and reliable.

1.                A．like            B．clean           C．rent D．keep

2.                A．simply          B．barely          C．coldly    D．proudly

3.                A．observing       B．examining       C．watching  D．spotting

4.                A．shared         B．ruined          C．kept D．decorated

5.                A．familiar         B．dirty           C．empty    D．bright

6.                A．devoted        B．attached        C．optimistic D．guilty

7.                A．leaving         B．having          C．asking    D．getting

8.                A．clothes         B．pictures        C．umbrellas D．hats

9.                A．floor           B．wall            C．ceiling    D．door

10.               A．trouble         B．mess           C．confusion  D．order

11.               A．putting         B．striking         C．driving    D．beating

12.               A．hung          B．fastened        C．dropped   D．swung

13.               A．connect        B．fix             C．hang  D．put

14.               A．replaced       B．separated       C．unfastened D．removed

15.               A．crying          B．aching         C．bleeding   D．disturbing

16.               A．jumped        B．held           C．stuck D．got

17.               A．if             B．unless          C．as    D．until

18.               A．especially       B．eventually      C．fortunately D．sadly

19.               A．chaos(混乱)     B．troubles        C．quarrels   D．challenges

20.               A．Therefore      B．Besides         C．Thus  D．However