Question

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 thought for a while. “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 brought to Australia for his crimes?” “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors（祖先） 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 from time to time she looked angrily 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 wanted to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I said something about 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.

1.According to Jessica’s mother, “a skeleton in the closet” means ________.

A. a family honor             B. a family secret

C. a family story             D. a family treasure

2. Why did Jessica bring a skeleton home?

A. She was curious about it.

B. She planned to keep it for fun.

C. She needed it for her school task.

D. She wanted to scare her parents.

3. Jessica’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because ________.

A. they realized their misunderstanding

B. they were crazy

C. they were over excited

D. they both thought they had won the quarrel

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.A

【解析】

试题分析：短文大意：杰西卡拿回家一个骨骼，放在了衣橱里。还没来的及告诉妈妈，一说起衣橱里的骨骼，就引起了妈妈和爸爸的误会。妈妈说衣橱里的骨骼指的是不想让别人知道的秘密，比如过去爸爸家的某人因为偷马被捕了，就是他家衣橱里的骨骼。他真的不想邻居们知道。爸爸生气地说为什么拿他家举例子。说妈妈家的历史也不光彩，她的曾曾曾祖父是个因为犯罪带到澳大利亚的犯人。妈妈反击说，过去人们说直到爸爸的祖先做为犯人到了澳大利亚他才成为真正的澳大利亚人。晚会后妈妈熨完衣服把衣服放进衣橱里时，被一堆白骨吓晕了。等醒过来后，杰西卡向他们解释把骨骼带回家是为了自己的健康项目，但她刚一说就引起了他们的误会。杰西卡的爸妈听后大笑不止。

1.B语义猜测题。根据第一段母亲所说的话“it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else to know about”可知指的是不想让别人知道的秘密，，所以选B。

2.C细节理解题。根据最后一段“I brought it home to help me with my health project.”可知我把骨骼带回家是为了自己的健康项目，所以选C。

3.判断题。结合全文理解，开头讲述了Jessica的一个提问“Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton（骨骼）in the closet（衣橱）?”引出了父母之间的争论，之后妈妈被孩子藏在衣橱中的用来完成学校课题的骷髅吓晕过去，最后Jessica解释时说，“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.”即本想告诉妈妈衣橱里的骷髅的情况，可是每当提到骷髅和衣橱的问题后却总会让父母之间有摩擦，然而最后真相大白，Jessica的父母都意识到了这是一个误会，所以选择A。

考点：故事类阅读。