“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 you 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 into 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         .

第二节：完形填空(共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分)

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

When my son was 11 years old, he got a small job helping out with a traveling carnival in our town. He didn't come home at lunch time, phoning  36  to tell me he was fine and had found a few days' work  37  out at an exhibit. However, after he finished work he  38  for supper as usual.

I asked him how he had  39  at lunch and he told me he had made some new  40  at the carnival, some young men who were twin brothers, and their mom and dad. They had  41  him a few dollars and invited him for lunch  42  for helping them set up their exhibit and wanted him to  43   the next day to help with other chores (杂务).

I was glad he had found new friends but a little  44  about the type of people who might be traveling in a carnival. "Oh, Mum, these are just  45  everyday people like anyone else. They  46   work at a carnival instead of in a store or something". "Come down tomorrow and  47  them yourself," he said.

So the next day I went to the carnival and to the exhibit he had  48  me to. The twin brothers   _49  out to be Siamese (连体的) twins, joined at the chest. He hadn't thought this  50  was noteworthy enough to mention. When I brought it to him, he said, "yes, I  51  that too. Do you know that their mum has to make all their clothes  52  it's so difficult to find anything to fit them? They're also really good  53  . Today, Joe, one on the fight, made me spaghetti (意大利面条) for lunch. "

What others see first in a person is not what a child considers  54  . Where I saw Siamese twins, he saw people having difficulty buying clothes that fit, and young men who were good cooks. It was a   _55  I have thought about many times over the years.

36. A. instead                B. even              C. also              D. besides

37. A. helping             B. helping                    C. taking             D. showing

38. A. did up                       B. gave up                    C. took up                    D. turned up

39. A. sought                       B. managed                  C. worked                    D. acted

40. A. clothes                       B. friends                            C. choices                     D. differences

41. A. paid                          B. charged                    C. lent                          D. owed

42. A. by chance                  B. in return                   C. by turns                   D. in advance

43. A. return                        B. promise                    C. consider                   D. decide

44. A. excited                      B. regretful                   C. worried                    D. optimistic

45. A. humorous                  B. obvious                    C. particular                 D. normal

46. A. just                           B. never                       C. hardly                      D. always

47. A. teach                         B. meet                        C. affect                       D. join

48. A. ordered                      B. directed                    C. forced                      D. persuaded

49. A. worked                      B. left                          C. came                        D. turned

50. A. expression                  B. change                            C. fact                          D. idea

51. A understood                  B. made                       C. noticed                     D. formed

52. A. before                       B. if                             C. after                        D. because

53. A. cooks                        B. doctors                     C. artists                       D. singers

54. A. necessary                   B. important                 C. impossible                D. unlucky

55. A. lesson                        B. festival                     C. task                         D. match

第二节完型填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Mum keeps telling me “Turn the radio down!” or “Can’t you listen to anything else” or “I don’t know how you can  36  with all noises.” Even my friends at school don’t appreciate the  37  I love, and my best friend told me I am a ‘radio junkie.’
I thought about the music that  38  me each day. It represented a wide range of music  39  ——I certainly wasn’t narrow—minded. I don’t only listen to hard roc, but also to music from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, and it isn’t really that  40  . Perhaps my mum and dad aren’t as square as I thought they were, if that’s the sort of music they  41  .
While music is the most important  42  I listen to my radio, it’s not the only one. my favorite station has many  43  presenters, from the wake—up show to the latest night ‘stop—outs’, and with all sorts of up —beat variations in between. My ‘must—listen—to’  44  is the top 40 countdown where I get to   45  all the latest and very best music selections.
Do I learn anything form the  46  I listen to? Of course I do! If you listen   47  to the lyrics of most songs, they have something to  48  about every aspect of life. People who are sad, mad, glad or bad, all  49  their feelings in the songs they sing or in the music they play. You see, I’m learning  50  other people cope with these feelings, and in some small way, it’s helping me too.
Competitions, talk—back programs and the dreaded ‘ads’, are all  51  of radio, but it’s the music that attracts me most. I’ve   52  learned to do all sorts of things while listening to the music on the radio. I can do my homework, play sport, have a shower, get dressed,   53  while listening to the radio!
I’d rather not be  54  radio junkie, but if that’s the word that describes my radio listening  55  most exactly, then I guess I’ll have to live with it. my music suits me and I suit my music.
36．A．talk          B．think     C．listen         D．deal
37．A．noise         B．radio     C．music          D．thing
38．A．surrounds     B．encouragesC．educates      D．touches
39．A．lovers          B．boxes       C．lessons         D．styles
40．A．new         B．bad      C．perfect         D．particular
41．A．repeated      B．played      C．enjoyed       D．wrote
42．A．reason         B．thing     C．excuse         D．subject
43．A．experienced     B．different   C．popular        D．excellent
44．A．performance    B．record      C．edition         D．favorite
45．A．collect         B．see       C．hear         D．buy
46．A． songs         B．concerts    C．bands          D．programs
47．A．exactly        B．carefully   C．immediately     D．constantly
48．A．worry          B．argue     C．care          D．say
49．A．express        B．understandC．share         D．describe
50．A．whether       B．that      C．how         D．why
51．A．topics          B．sorts     C．value         D．part
52．A．even         B．ever     C．already        D．just
53．A．those         B．all        C．ones         D．everything
54．A．regarded      B．elected      C．called          D．named
55．A．stations        B．hobbies     C．selections      D．habits

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从第36至第55小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

“It’s no use, Mum,” said Johnny. “I’m just no good at dancing.”

“You’ve got to keep trying. Tonight will be     36    , dear. Try a turn with that pretty Lisette.”

Johnny     37    . Every Saturday night used to be the best of the week. He and his parents went to the     38     at the Club, where his hero, Alcide, played the accordion （手风琴） with the band. But lately everything had changed. Now that Johnny was older, he was     39     to dance with a girl!

40     Johnny and his parents arrived at the Club, music had already started. Johnny got up his     41     to approach Lisette. “May I have this dance?” Johnny asked. “That’s all right,” said Lisette. Johnny struggled to keep up with Lisette’s     42     steps, but he was always one beat behind her. Then Johnny heard his friend Pierre say, “Look! Johnny has two left feet!”     43

burst from the crowd. Johnny     44     and ran outside, determined never to go to another dance.

The next Saturday, Alcide     45     to Johnny’s house for some potatoes. He happened to hear Johnny playing the accordion. Alcide’s eyes     46    . “Bring that accordion and play some songs tonight,” Alcide said. Then he drove off, leaving Johnny staring open- mouthed     47     him.

At the Club, Johnny scanned the crowd for Lisette and     48     her. The band played for a long time before Alcide said, “Dear friends, I got a     49     for you tonight. Young Johnny is going to join us!”     50    , Johnny stepped up on the platform, his eyes on the floor. He began to play, and the band     51     behind him. When the song ended, he heard cheers. Johnny kept playing until the dance was     52    . “You did a fine job tonight. Play with us again next Saturday night,” Alcide said. “Yes, sir!” said Johnny.   53  he went outside, Johnny saw Lisette and her friends near the door. Lisette stepped     54    , smiling. “You played really good tonight!” she said.

“Thank you,” Johnny blushed （脸红）. As he walked on, Pierre     55     moved out of the way for him to pass.

Johnny patted his accordion. Come to think of it, in his whole life, he had never once seen Alcide out on the dance floor.

2.    

3.    

4.    

5.    

6.    

7.    

11.  

12.  

16.  

17.  

18.  

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

As sixth graders, kids were separating into groups, but I wasn't sure where I belonged．

Our teacher gave us a task called "secret friends" for the coming week．We were supposed to do nice things   1  our friends without letting them know who was doing it．We could leave   2  notes or cards either on their desks or in their backpacks．Before doing the task, with our eyes closed, from a basket, we   3  a name of a classmate who we were to secretly befriend over the next five days．

Soon, the task was turned into a competition of giving    4  instead of notes．Everyone was getting cool presents except me．My friend    5   what the teacher had told us without a fault．I received nothing but hand-made cards with nice words about me．

On the last morning, I finally got a package．When I   6  it, the girls around all   7 ．It was perfumed powder, an "old lady" gift．My face went red．

I tried to forget about the   8  gift, but when the same girls   9  it again during the break in the bathroom, I joined in, "How stupid! My grandmother wouldn't  10  want it．" The girls laughed at my   11  and filed （排着队走）out of the bathroom．Washing my hands, I let the water run through my fingers _12_  I thought about my words．It wasn't   13  like me to say things like that．

"I'm your secret friend．" It was Rochelle．" I' m sorry about the gift," she __14 to me, tears streaming down her face．

From a poor family, she was a   15  at school for those with rich parents．Yet she just took all the16  and the horrible treatment silently．

I was sick to my stomach as my   17  words ran through my mind．She had heard everything．How could I have been so cruel?

Later I learned she had felt bad all week about not being able to leave me any cool present and her mum had given up her only luxury（奢侈品）．

And I had   18 everything for her．

I told her that I had only said those things to try to   19  .

"We aren't that different from each other, are we?" She smiled   20 ．Her simple words, spoken from her heart, found their way straight into mine．