Question

【题目】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.

Of course, his secret was not magic, or supernatural powers. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved 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 club in New York. 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 very successful. Then Harry 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 newspapermen to watch.

It was the publicity(宣传) that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape ankle chins. 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, pass quickly from her mouth to his.

Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison 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? World-wild fame, and a name remembered today.

【1】According to the passage, Houdini’s success in prison escapes depends on _______.

A. his special tricks and supernatural powers

B. his unusual ability and a skeleton key

C. his magic tricks and unhuman powers

D. his wisdom and magic tricks

【2】In the fourth paragraph, the underlined word “this” refers to _______.

A. his first prison escape B. the year 1898

C. the publicity D. Harry Houdini’s success

【3】It can be inferred from the passage that Houdini became famous _______.

A. in 1894 B. before he married

C. at the age of 17 D. when he was about 24

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】A

【3】D

【解析】

试题分析：文章主要介绍了一个名叫胡迪尼的人。胡迪尼是本世纪美国最著名的剧院艺人之一。他以逃脱著名，他在欧美的各大剧院演出，吸引大量观众一睹他的高超技艺。

【1】B细节理解题。根据第一段“It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted.”和第四段“a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks”可知，Houdini的手指和脚趾都很灵活，再加上一把万能的钥匙，他几乎能从任何地方逃脱，根据第二段第一句可排除A、C、D，故选B。

【2】A细节理解题。this指代上文的“Then Harry performed his first prison escape, in Chicago in 1898...”，this所在句子是一个强调句，其意思是“正是来自这次表演的宣传，使他开始迈向成功”，说明this指的是越狱首秀，故选A。

【3】D推理判断题。根据第三段“when he was 17, in 1891...Then Harry performed his first prison escape, in Chicago in 1898.”和第四段“It was the publicity(宣传) that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success.”可知，1898年首次表演监狱逃脱的Houdini24岁了，而那也是他成功的开始，故选D。