The Man of Many Secrets
Harry Houdini was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century．He was a man famous for his escapes—from prison cells，from wooden boxes floating in rivers，from locked tanks full of water．He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America．Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his “magic”tricks．
0f course，his secret was not magic，or supernatural powers．It was simply strength．He had ability to move his toes as well as to move his fingers．He could move his body into almost any position he wanted．
Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17，in 1891．He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in a New York club．They called themselves the Houdini brothers．When Harry married in 1894，he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant，but for a long time they were not successful．Then Harty performed his first prison escape，in Chicago in 1898．Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison，and he invited the local newspaperman to watch．It was the publicity(名声)that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success．
Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs(手铐)and toes trained to escape from ankle chains，but his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors．Every time he went into the prison cell，Bess gave him a kiss for good luck—and a small skeleton key，which is a key that fits many locks passed quickly from her mouth to his．
Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame．He arranged to escape from the local jail of every town he visited．In the afternoon the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers．and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full．What was the result? Worldwide fame，and a name remembered today．
1.According to the passage，Houdini’s success in prison escapes depends on ．
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A．his magic tricks and inhuman powers |
B．his special tricks and a skeleton key |
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C．his unusual ability and skeleton key |
D．his inhuman talents and magic tricks |
2.According to the passage，how did Houdini get the key which helped him unlock prison door?
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A．He took the key from his wife’s mouth． |
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B．His wife passed it to his hand while kissing him． |
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C．His wife gave it to him by a magic trick． |
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D．He got it in his mouth through a kiss by his wife． |
3.It can be inferred from the passage that Houdini became famous ．
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A．when he was about 24 |
B．when he was about 17 |
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C．after the year 1894 |
D．before the year 1898 |
Although there are no state controlled survival courses in Britain or the United States，there are various independent organizations offering similar activities．Students can participate(take part)in outdoor training courses through university clubs and societies．Anyone can register with such groups，which then organize courses，training and trips for all members．
One of the most popular outdoor training programmes in both the US and Britain is Outward Bound(户外训练)．It was founded in 1941 in Wales and attracts hundreds of thousands of adventurous types every year. The courses are intended to broaden minds through experiences that build confidence, self-esteem(自尊)and character．As well as specialist courses such as canoeing，leadership skills and sailing，participants can take part in week long adventure training camps which include a host of sports and survival training education skills．
Michael Williams，an American student，took part in an Outward Bound course last year．He said：“We learned lots of first aid skills，lots of natural history ,lots of environmental facts, and participated in a wildlife preservation programme．Beyond that，my favorite skills learned were sailing and rock climbing.”Courses can last up to 40 days and are open to anyone over the age of 14．Students must be in general good health，but do not need to be experienced in outdoor-sports．There is no selection process；everyone is welcome，although new participants are advised to pick a course matching their physical capacity．Most of the British courses take place in the Brecon Beacons in Wales．Another similar organization is the UK Survival School，which includes courses on learning to 1ive with the environment， sailing and winter survival．On a basic survival weekend students will learn how to get water and food, how to make fire and cook with it，to find and build a shelter，control survival life support，how to cross rivers．Send off a distress signal，and to use compasses(指南针)by day and night．
According to the leaders，such adventures are “an awakening, an exploration into the unknown.”Outward Bound believes that participants will “use mind and body traveling some of the Earth’s roughest wilderness areas．”
1.In Britain and the United States，survival courses are popular with ．
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A．old people |
B．young people |
C．dangerous people |
D．weak people |
2.The advantage of the training courses is that .
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A．participants can make friends with others |
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B．participants can visit some places of interest |
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C．participants can experience different adventures |
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D．participants can learn how wonderful nature is |
3.In an Outward Bound course last year，the most exciting experience Michael Williams had was .
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A．learning first aid skills |
B．collecting facts of environment |
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C．rock climbing and sailing |
D．preserving wildlife |
The simplest way to say it is this: I believe in my mother. My 36 began when I was just a kid. I 37 becoming a doctor.
My mother was a domestic. Through her work, she observed that 38 people spent a lot more time reading than they 39 watching television. She announced that my brother and I 40 watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and 41 her written book reports. She would mark them up with check marks and highlights. Years later, we realized her marks were a 42 . My mother was Illiterate(不识字的，文盲的)。
When I entered high school I was a(n) 43 , but not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to 44 the guys. I went from being an A-student to a B-student to a C-student. One night my mother came home from 45 her various jobs and I complained about not having enough Italian knit shirts. She said, “Okay, I’ll give you all the money I make this week scrubbing floors and cleaning bathrooms, and you can buy 46 food and pay the bills. With everything 47 , you can have all the Italian knit shirts you want.” I was very 48 with that arrangement but once I got through distributing money, there was 49 left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to 50 our heads and any kind of food on the table, 51 buy clothes. I also realized that immediate satisfaction wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual preparation. I went back to my 52 and became an A-student again, and eventually I 53 my dream and I became a doctor.
My story is really my mother’s story—a woman with 54 formal education or property who used her position as a parent to change the lives of many people around the globe. There is no job 55 than parenting.（养育） This I believe.
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15.A knock into |
B.gave an impression on |
C. keep a roof over |
D. have eyes in the back of |
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_______ the class teacher’s repeated warnings, the boy was late for school again.
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He _______ himself as a police officer.
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Having compared with the other design, I found this one was _______ that one.
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