题文
“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 honorB．a family secretC．a family storyD．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．knockedB．frightenedC．injuredD．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 crazyB．they realized their misunderstandingC．they were overexcitedD．they both thought they had won the quarrel 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:B
小题2:A
小题3:B
小题4:C
小题5:B
解析
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。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题““Mum, what does it m.....”主要考查你对 [政治经济类阅读 ]考点的理解。政治经济类阅读
政治经济类文章的概念：
要做好这类阅读，平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事，掌握一定背景知识，对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解，还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章，要抓住文章的核心，即文章整体和各段主要在说什么，也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题：
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁，语言鲜活，但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多，长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容，读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉，经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花，文章看完，一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨，同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章，我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式，我们可采取“顺读法”，以便抓关键语句，领会文章主旨；而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式，我们则可以采取“逆读法”，先读试题，再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急，因为你觉得难，其他人也一定是同感。在高考前，我们就要有这种心理准备，高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过，我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读，以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干：
根据英语中五种基本句型结构，把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来，其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干，句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句：
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句，在理解时，如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解，然后把大意拼凑起来，整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句：
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成，句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词，只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系，再把各层分句的意思加以连贯，整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词：
如果一个句子看完，一点句意的感觉也没有，下下策就是抓住句中的关键词，通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
