The family intended to visit the new museum ______ the weather got worse.

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 angry each other.Her mother was

ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband who hid behind 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's 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 secret

C.a family story

D.a family treasure

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 days

3.Jessica's mother fell down into a faint because she was _____.

A.knocked

B.frightened

C.injured

D.surprised

4.Why did Jessica bring a skeleton home？

A.She was 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

5.Jessica's parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because_______.

A.they were crazy

B.they were overexcited

C.they realized their misunderstanding

D.they both thought they had won the quarrel

A prescription is as personal as your name. It is designed for you alone. It is based on such factors as your age, weight, general health, allergies (过敏症), and other factors, as well as your illness.

Never take a prescription drug meant for another person, even if you think you have the same illness. Prescriptions aren't supposed to be traded around the family or neighborhood. Each prescription is intended for an individual. It is a violation of federal law to sell a prescription drug without a prescription.

Doctors and dentists are licensed by each state to prescribe drugs for human use. Doctors for veterinary (兽医的) medicine are licensed to prescribe drugs for animal use.

A licensed medical doctor must pass all examination m practice medicine in a certain state. Before doing this, he or she has probably completed at least two years of a premedical course, a four-year medical course, two years of internship (实习) or residency in a hospital, and perhaps an extra year or more of training in a specialty -- altogether at least eight years of medical training, possibly nine.

Don't take prescriptions written for you during a previous illness without first checking with your doctor. Your illness may not be the same as the previous one, even though you think it is. Also the drug may have lost strength. Only a doctor is qualified to advise you about continuing to take a medicine.

Why does the law require that some drugs be used under a doctor's prescription？

A．Because they are not safe.

B．Because they need further special tests.

C．Because they are meant to cure serious diseases.

D．Because the prescription can ensure the safe use of the drugs.

The Europe Union is now considering legislation to compel corporate boards to maintain a certain proportion of women-up to 60 percent.This proposed mandate was born of frustration. Last year, Europe Commission Vice President Viviane Reding issued a call to voluntary action. Reading invited corporations to sign up for gender balance goal of 40 percent female board membership. But her appeal was considered a failure: only 24 companies took it up.

Do we need quotas to ensure that women can continue to climb the corporate Ladder fairy as they balance work and family？

“Personally, I don’t like quotas,” Reading said recently. “But i like what the quotas do.” Quotas get action: they “open the way to equality and they break through the glass ceiling,” according to Reading, a result seen in France and other countries with legally binding provisions on placing women in top business positions.

I understand Reading’s reluctance-and her frustration. I don’t like quotas either; they run counter to my belief in meritocracy, government by the capable. Bur, when one considers the obstacles to achieving the meritocratic ideal, it does look as if a fairer world must be temporarily ordered.

After all, four decades of evidence has now shown that corporations in Europe as the US are evading the meritocratic hiring and promotion of women to top position— no matter how much “soft pressure ” is put upon them. When women do break through to the summit of corporate power--as, for example, Sheryl Sandberg recently did at Facebook—they attract massive attention precisely because they remain the exception to the rule.

If appropriate pubic policies were in place to help all women---whether CEOs or their children’s caregivers--and all families, Sandberg would be no more newsworthy than any other highly capable person living in a more just society.

In the European corporate workplace, generally_____ .

A.women take the lead

B.men have the final say

C.corporate governance is overwhelmed

D.senior management is family-friendly

The European Union’s intended legislation is ________ .A.a reflection of gender balance

B.a reluctant choice

C.a response to Reading’s call

D.a voluntary action

According ti Reading, quotas may help women ______ .A.get top business positions

B.see through the glass ceiling

C.balance work and family

D.anticipate legal results

Women entering top management become headlines due to the lack of ______ .A.more social justice

B.massive media attention

C.suitable public policies

D.greater “soft pressure”

The author’s attitude toward Reading’s appeal is one of ________ .A.skepticism

B.objectiveness

C.indifference

D.approval

请帮忙给出每个问题的正确答案和分析，谢谢！

Because the United States is a highly active society, full of movement and change, people always seem to be on the go. In this highly charged atmosphere, Americans can sometimes seem brusque (无礼的) or impatient. They want to get to know you as quickly as possible and then move on to something else. Sometimes, early on, they will ask you questions that you may feel are very personal. No insult is intended; the questions usually grow out of their genuine interest or curiosity, and their impatience to get to the heart of the matter. And the same goes for you. If you do not understand certain American behavior. or you want to know more about them, do not hesitate to ask them questions about themselves. Americans are usually eager to explain all about their country or anything "American" in which you may be interested. So much so in fact that you may become tired of listening. It doesn't matter because Americans tend to be uncomfortable with silence during a conversation. They would rather talk about the weather or the latest sports scores, for example, than deal with silence.

On the other hand, don't expect Americans to be knowledgeable about international geography or world affairs, unless those subjects directly involve the United States. Because the United States is not surrounded by many other nations, some Americans tend to ignore the rest of the world.

The general topic of the passage is______.

A．American culture

B．American society

C．Americans' activities

D．Americans' personality

_1_ about it afterward. We say we want only the best, but we strangely enjoy junk food. We're _2_ with health and weight loss but face an unprecedented epidemic of obesity（肥胖）. Perhaps the _3_ to this ambivalence（矛盾情结）lies in our history. The first Europeans came to this continent searching for new spices but went in vain. The first cash crop（经济作物）wasn't eaten but smoked. Then there was Prohibition, intended to prohibit drinking but actually encouraging more _4_ ways of doing it.

The immigrant experience, too, has been one of inharmony. Do as Romans do means eating what “real Americans” eat, but our nation's food has come to be _5_ by imports—pizza, say, or hot dogs. And some of the country's most treasured cooking comes from people who arrived here in shackles.

Perhaps it should come as no surprise then that food has been a medium for the nation's defining struggles, whether at the Boston Tea Party or the sitins at southern lunch counters. It is integral to our concepts of health and even morality whether one refrains from alcohol for religious reasons or evades meat for political.

But strong opinions have not brought _7_ . Americans are ambivalent about what they put in their mouths. We have become _8_ of our foods, especially as we learn more about what they contain.

The _9_ in food is still prosperous in the American consciousness. It's no coincidence, then, that the first Thanksgiving holds the American imagination in such bondage（束缚）. It's what we eat—and how we _10_ it with friends, family, and strangers—that help define America as a community today.

A. answer

I. creative

B. result

J. belief

C. share

K. suspicious

D. guilty

L. certainty

E. constant

M. obsessed

F. defined

N. identify

G. vanish

O. ideals

H. adapted

That does not mean it hasn't generated discussion. Several members of the Parliament opposed the measure as un-Asian. Others who acknowledged the problem of the elderly poor believed it a disproportionate response. Still others believe it will subvert relations within the family: cynics dubbed it the "Sue Your Son" law.

Those who say that the bill does not promote filial responsibility, of course, are right. It has nothing to do with filial responsibility. It kicks in where filial responsibility fails. The law cannot legislate filial responsibility any more than it can legislate love. All that the law can do is to provide a safety net where this morality proves insufficient. Singapore needs this bill not to replace morality, but to provide incentives to shore it up.

Like many other developed nations, Singapore faces the problems of an increasing proportion of people over 60 years of age. Demography is inexorable. In 1980, 7.2% of the population was in this bracket. By the end of the century that figure will grow to 11%. By 2030, the proportion is projected to be 26%. The problem is not old age per se. It is that the ratio of economically active people to economically inactive people will decline.

But no amount of government exhortation or paternalism will completely eliminate the problem of old people who have insufficient means to make ends meet. Some people will fall through the holes in any safety net.

Traditionally, a person's insurance against poverty in his old age was his family. This is not a revolutionary concept. Nor is it uniquely Asian. Care and support for one's parents is a universal value shared by all civilized societies.

The problem in Singapore is that the moral obligation to look after one's parents is unenforceable. A father can be compelled by law to maintain his children. A husband can be forced to support his wife. But, until now, a son or daughter had no legal obligation to support his or her parents.

In 1989, an Advisory Council was set up to look into the problems of the aged. Its report stated with a tinge of complacency that 950% of those who did not have their own income were receiving cash contributions from relations. But what about the 5% who aren't getting relatives' support？ They have several options: (a) get a job and work until they die; (b) apply for public assistance (you have to be destitute to apply); (c) starve quietly. None of these options is socially acceptable. And what if this 5% figure grows, as it is likely to do, as society ages？

The Maintenance of Parents Bill was put forth to encourage the traditional virtues that have so far kept Asian nations from some of the breakdowns encountered in other affluent societies. This legislation will allow a person to apply to the court for maintenance from any or all of his children. The court would have the discretion to refuse to make an order if it is unjust.

Those who deride the proposal for opening up the courts to family lawsuits miss the point. Only in extreme cases would any parent take his child to court. If it does indeed become law, the bill's effect would be far more subtle.

First, it will reaffirm the notion that it is each individual's—not society's—responsibility to look after his parents. Singapore is still conservative enough that most people will not object to this idea. It reinforces the traditional values and it doesn't hurt a society now and then to remind itself of its core values.

Second, and more important, it will make those who are inclined to shirk their responsibilities think twice. Until now, if a person asked family elders, clergymen or t

A．received unanimous support in the Singapore Parliament

B．was believed to solve all the problems of the elderly poor

C．was intended to substitute for traditional values in Singapore

D．was passed to make the young more responsible to the old

A.intended

B.waved

C.expressed

D.ebt

A.Peoples personal information is easily accessed without their knowledge.

B.In the 21 st century people try every means to look into others secrets.

C.People tend to be more frank with each other in the information age.

D.Criminals are easily caught on the spot with advanced technology.

Project X is a program that uses drama, dance, poetry and other creative outlets to help students discuss the tough and sometimes painful problems they face as pre-teen immigrants with significant language barriers. A final unveiling of their creation will be performed for friends and family at the end of the year at Imagination Stage.

Wanjiru Kamau, coordinator of White Oak's African Club said it's important to give troubles to group members to help them find their place at the school. "It comforts those who are uncomfortable, and it discomforts those who are comfortable," Kaman said of Project X.

Kamau teamed up with Imagination Stage after she noticed that many African students seemed uncomfortable talking about problems, such as being laughed at by their fellow students about how they look and talk. When most of the kids join the club, they speak little or no English, Kamau said. Each week, the club typically draws five to 10 students who are originally from Africa for discussion sessions and the Project X program.

"We're going to express ourselves through our words and our actions, and that's powerful," said teaching artist Meg Green as she introduced fill-in-the-blank poems the students wrote about their identities.

One student, Franck Ketchouang, 13, wrote, "I am from the world; I am love," which drew oohs and aahs from the group. Ketchouang has been in the United States less than a year, said Program Coordinator Chad Dike. When Ketchouang started attending Project X, he had been in the United States for two months and spoke no English. Now he's one of the group's most outgoing members and helps translate instructions from English to Creole for the group's newest member, who is from Haiti.

Many people will give up when there's a language barrier, "but these students prove them wrong," Kamau said. "You do have something to give. You are important. When TV, media, etc. are bringing them down, this program is bringing them up."

Project X is intended for helping the young African immigrants to______.

A．get over language barriers

B．overcome tough problems

C．enrich after-school life

D．become more creative