“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 for my asking. 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 ______.
A．a family honor
B．a family secret
C．a family story
D．a family treasure小题2: What can we learn about some Australian’s ancestors from Paragraph 2?
A．They were brought to Australia as prisoners.
B．They were the earliest people living in Australia.
C．They were involved in some crimes in Australia.
D．They were not regarded as criminals in their days.小题3: Jessica’s mother fell down into a faint because she was ______.
A．knocked
B．frightened
C．injured
D．surprised小题4: Why did Jessica bring a skeleton home?
A．She was very curious about it.
B．She planned to keep it for fun.
C．She needed it for her school task.
D．She intended to scare her parents.小题5: Jessica’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because ______.
A．they were quite crazy
B．they realized their misunderstanding
C．they were overexcited
D．they both thought they had won the quarrel
小题1:B
小题2:A
小题3:B
小题4:C
小题5:B
题目分析：
小题1:B 推理题。根据第一段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.”说明该词指一个家族不愿意告诉别人的秘密。故B正确。
小题2:A 推理题。根据第二段第3行people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners.说明一切如果你的祖先不是被带到澳大利亚的囚犯，你就不能被称为澳大利亚人。故A正确。
小题3:.B 推理题。根据第三段第五行a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor说明当她打开柜子的时候，很多白骨滑了下来。她是因为害怕而晕倒的，故B正确。
小题4:C 细节题。根据最后一段第二行I brought it home to help me with my health project.说明她把这些骨架带回来是为了学习的研究，故C正确。
小题5:.B 推理题。通读全文说明父母误解了她的意思，故B正确。
点评：本文讲述了父母误解了Jessica所说的A skeleton in the closet的真正的含义。要求考生抓住故事梗概和发展的线索，合理地推测剖析定位。根据上下文的线索串联来推理答案。