Question

“Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton(骨骼) in the closet?” 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 your 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.

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

A. a family honor    B. a family treasure

C. a family story    D. a family secret

2.What can we learn about some Australians’ 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 day.

3.Jessica’s mother fell down into a faint because she was ________.

A. frightened    B. surprised

C. injured    D. knocked

4.Jessica’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because_________.

A. they were crazy

B. they realized their misunderstanding

C. they were overexcited

D. they both thought they bad won the quarrel

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.A

4.B

【解析】试题分析：本文讲述了一个有趣的故事。杰西卡拿回家一个骨骼，放在了衣橱里。可是一想要告诉妈妈这件事，就会引起了妈妈和爸爸的误会。晚饭后妈妈熨完衣服把衣服放进衣橱里时，被衣橱里的骨骼吓晕了。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，但是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.细节理解题。根据第一段妈妈说的“Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about.”可知，妈妈说“a skeleton in the closet” 指的是不想让别人知道的秘密，故选D。

2.推理判断题。根据第二段的句子Wasn’t your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?可推断，一些澳大利亚人的祖先是作为囚犯被带到澳大利亚的。故选A。

3.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段倒数两句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)…可知，Jessica的妈妈晕倒是被衣橱里的骨骼吓的。故选A。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段的句子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.可知，Jessica想告诉父母这件事，但似乎她一说关于骨骼和衣橱的事情，就引起了父母之间的争吵，因此推断父母大笑起来是因为他们意识到他们的误解。故选B。

【名师点睛】

细节理解题的解题方法：搜查信息在阅读中非常重要，它包括理解作者在叙述某事时使用的具体事实、数据、图表等细节信息。在一篇短文里大部分篇幅都属于这类围绕主体展开的细节。做这类题一般采用寻读法，即先读题，然后带着问题快速阅读短文，找出与问题有关的词语或句子，再对相关部分进行分析对比，找出答案。细节题是针对文中某个细节、某句话或某部分具体内容设置问题，正确答案的根据一定可以在原文中找到，即原文的改写往往成为正确选项。

对此类题型，考生可以首先从问题中找到关键词，然后以此为线索，运用略读及查阅的技巧在文中迅速寻找这一细节，找到后再把这一部分内容仔细阅读一遍，仔细比较所给选项与文中细节的细微区别，在准确理解细节的前提下，最后确定最佳答案。小题1询问Jessica的妈妈认为“a skeleton in the closet”是什么意思。通读文章定位答案在第一段妈妈说的话“Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about.”，因此可知，妈妈认为这个短语的意思是指不想让人知道的秘密。故选D。