On Thursday afternoon Mrs. Clarke, dressed for going out, took her handbag with her money and her key in it, pulled the door behind her to lock it and went to the over 60s Club. She always went there on Thursdays. It was a nice outing for an old woman who lived alone.
At six o’clock she came home, let herself in and at once smelt cigarette smoke. Cigarette smoke in her house? How? How? Had someone got in? She checked the back door and the windows. All were locked or fastened, as usual. There was no sign of forced entry.
Over a cup of tea she wondered whether someone might have a key that fitted her front door — “a master key” perhaps. So she stayed at home the following Thursday. Nothing happened. Was anyone watching her movements? On the Thursday after that she went out at her usual time, dressed as usual, but she didn’t go to the club. Instead she took a short cut home again, letting herself in through her garden and the back door. She settled down to wait.
It was just after four o’clock when the front door bell rang. Mrs. Clarke was making a cup of tea at the time. The bell rang again, and then she heard her letter-box being pushed open. With the kettle of boiling water in her hand, she moved quietly towards the front door. A long piece of wire appeared through the letter-box, and then a hand. The wire turned and caught around the handle on the door-lock. Mrs. Clarke raised the kettle and poured the water over the hand. There was a shout outside, and the skin seemed to drop off the fingers like a glove. The wire fell to the floor, the hand was pulled back, and Mrs. Clarke heard the sound of running feet.
小题1:Mrs. Clarke looked forward to Thursday because .
A．she worked at a club on the day
B．she had visitors on Thursday
C．she visited a club on Thursday
D．a special visitor came on Thursday小题2:What does the expression “a master key” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?
A．A key to all the doors.
B．A key only to the woman’s door.
C．A key only its master can use.
D．A key not everyone can use.小题3:On the third Thursday Mrs. Clarke went out .
A．because she didn’t want to miss the club again
B．to see if the thief was wandering outside
C．to the club but then changed her mind
D．in an attempt to trick the thief小题4:The lock on the front door was one which .
A．needed a piece of wire to open it
B．could be opened from inside without a key
C．couldn’t be opened without a key
D．used a handle instead of a key
小题1:C
小题2:A
小题3:D
小题4:B
题目分析：本文叙述了Mrs. Clarke每到周四都去俱乐部去，有一天她照常去那里，等到回到家中，她发现家里好像有人来过，于是她想出来一个办法来看个究竟，那天，她装着去俱乐部，但是一会就回来了，躲在一个地方看着是否有人来，结果贼真的来了，她用准备好的热水浇了贼的手，贼吓得跑开了。
小题1:这是细节理解题。根据…went to the over 60s Club. She always went there on Thursdays. 故选C。
小题2:这是词义猜测题。根据Over a cup of tea she wondered whether someone might have a key that fitted her front door — “a master key” perhaps.不是这家的主人而能打开门的人，他有的这个钥匙可能就是万能钥匙，故选A。
小题3:这是细节理解题。根据but she didn’t go to the club. Instead she took a short cut home again, letting herself in through her garden and the back door. She settled down to wait.她故意让贼看见她出去，但是她又回来了，想看个究竟，故选D
小题4:这是细节理解题。根据The wire turned and caught around the handle on the door-lock.从里面不用钥匙来打开门，故选B。
点评：词义猜测题旨在考查学生根据上下文对生词做出理解判断的能力。近几年来，阅读理解中的词义猜测题呈上升趋势。在阅读过程中根据选材、背景、及上下文等线索推测出生词词义是真实语言活动中的重要技巧。这一能力可以说是体现阅读理解能力的一项重要指标。
