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    Harry Houdini(1874―1926) was a world-famous magician and a performer of death-defying stunts(逃生绝技). His world fame was based on a series of astonishing escapology tricks. He was able to free himself from obviously escape―proof devices, including leg irons, handcuffs(手铐)(as many as ten pairs at the same time), locked prison cells and crates(板条箱) which had been nailed shut. His most striking skill was when he escaped from an airtight tank that was filled with water.

    Houdini was born in Budapapest, Hungary, and his family moved to the USA when he was a child. For a time, they lived in a cheap boarding house in New York and they struggled to make a living. One of Harry’s first jobs was an apprentice(学徒)to a locksmith(锁匠), which is where he mastered the art of opening locks without using a key.

    In 1891, Houdini became a professional magician, but at first he met with little success. When he began experimenting with escapology, however, he so impressed a theatre manager who saw him that he was strongly advised to concentrate on that part of his act.

    Within months, he was a huge success, performing at top theatres, not only in the USA but also in Europe. He created a sensation in London, when he made an elephant disappear from the stage of the Hippodrome Theatre. What the audience didn’t know was that below the stage was a swimming pool filled with water, where the somewhat terrified elephant finished up!

    Back in the USA, he produced the most dangerous act of his career―the Water Torture. He was suspended(挂，悬) upside down in a water tank which was full to overflowing. He had to hold his breath for more than three minutes to escape. In a fictionalised film of his life, he “died” doing this trick. This is not true. He actually died of peritonitis(腹膜炎) in a Detroit hospital.

     

    41．Who was Harry Houdini?

           A．A famoust American magician

           B．A New York locksmith born in Hungary.

           C．An Hungarian escapologist born in New York.

           D．An elephant trainer in London.

    42．Which is the right order of the events about Houdini?

        a．He worked as an apprentice to locksmith.

        b．His family moved to America.

        c．He went to Europe to give performances.

        d．He produced the most dangerous magic.

        e．He became a professional magician.

           A．a b c e d B．a c b d e C．b a e c d D．b c e a d

    43．Which of the following statements is TRUE?

           A．It was his parents who advised him to fix his attention on performing magic.

           B．Houdini was successful at the very beginning of his career.

           C．Houdini was famous for his astonishing magic.

           D．Houdini died of an accident while giving an performance.

    44．It is not mentioned but can be inferred from the passage that

           A．Houdini was once a locksmith.

           B．Houdini’s family was poor and life was hard when he was a young boy.

           C．Houdini’s father began his own business in the U.S.A.

           D．Houdini could open any lock in the world without using a key.

     ACCB
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    科目：高中英语 来源：江西省高安中学2012届高三第二次综合考试英语试题 题型：050

    阅读理解

    　　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 wasn't 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 when he was 17, in 1891．He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in a 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 that came from this that started Harry Houdin’s success．Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape ankle chins．But his biggest secret was 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 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 super human powers

    D．

    his wisdom and magic powers

    (2)

    In the fourth paragraph, the underlined word “this” refers to．

    [　　]

    A．

    his first prison escape

    B．

    the newspaper’s presentation

    C．

    the publicity

    D．

    the participation of a detective

    (3)

    It can be inferred from passage that Houdini became famous．

    [　　]

    A．

    in 1894

    B．

    before he married

    C．

    at the age of 17

    D．

    when he was 24

    (4)

    Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

    [　　]

    A．

    Houdini is famous for the Great escape．

    B．

    Houdini once worked with his brother．

    C．

    Houdini became famous with the help of the newspapers．

    D．

    The skeleton key was passed from his wife’s hand to his．

    (5)

    Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

    [　　]

    A．

    A skeleton key

    B．

    Great escape

    C．

    World-wild fame

    D．

    A man of many secrets

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    科目：高中英语 来源：山东省济宁市鱼台二中2012届高三11月月考英语试题 题型：050

    阅读理解

    　　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 wasn't 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 when he was 17, in 1891．He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in a 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 that came from this that started Harry Houdin's success．Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape ankle chins．But his biggest secret was 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 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 super human powers

    D．

    his wisdom and magic powers

    (2)

    In the fourth paragraph, the underlined word “this” refers to．

    [　　]

    A．

    his first prison escape

    B．

    the newspaper's presentation

    C．

    the publicity

    D．

    the participation of a detective

    (3)

    It can be inferred from passage that Houdini became famous _______．

    [　　]

    A．

    in 1894

    B．

    before he married

    C．

    at the age of 17

    D．

    when he was 24

    (4)

    Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

    [　　]

    A．

    Houdini is famous for the Great escape．

    B．

    Houdini once worked with his brother．

    C．

    Houdini became famous with the help of the newspapers．

    D．

    The skeleton key was passed from his wife's hand to his．

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    Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

    [　　]

    A．

    A skeleton key

    B．

    Great escape

    C．

    World-wild fame

    D．

    A man of many secrets

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    科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解

    Harry Houdini was a man who astonished and attracted many people during his life. Whether he was escaping from a locked box or making things disappear and reappear, he surely was entertaining. People thought that he must truly have some supernatural powers, but in fact, what Harry really had was drive.

    Harry was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1874. His real name was Ehrich Weiss, the third of five children. His family moved to Wisconsin not long after his birth and when he was nine, he was tying ropes all over his backyard and learning amazing tricks to show his friends and neighbors. He visited the local locksmith, and when he had reached his teens he could pick almost any lock that was made. He also learned how to do card tricks. He and his brother, Theo, would often entertain at local parties and clubs for extra money.

    When Ehrich was 16, he came across a book that would actually change his life: the biography of France’s greatest magician, Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin. It showed Ehrich that his hobby of magic and tricks could also be a career. Immediately, he changed his name to Harry Houdini. He and Theo headed out to make a living as magicians.

    In 1893, they performed at the Chicago World’s Fair, and after that they traveled around giving magic shows for anyone willing to listen and pay. Theo grew restless, however, as the jobs became scarce, so he left. His timing was perfect since Harry had just fallen in love with a lovely woman named Bess who was just the right size for slipping in and out of the trunk they used in their magic tricks. They married immediately and then off they went, traveling with circuses and other road shows. Harry learned more and more tricks and spent much of his time reading and studying all kinds of locks, especially handcuffs. However, no matter what tricks they did or how hard they tried, Bess and Harry were not doing well. They tried to sell their shows for seven years and finally, in desperation, they went to Europe.

    　　　 It was the right move. Harry’s persistence and constant practice were about to pay off. To get people’s attention, he walked into police stations and offered to be handcuffed by all the policemen. They were shocked when he was loose only seconds later. Soon, everyone in Europe was talking about Houdini’s astounding skills. He was in high demand and found himself doing more and more dangerous acts. He escaped from a straitjacket hanging upside down over the street; he escaped from locked boxes of all kinds; and, of course, he got out of any kind of handcuffs put on him.

    　　　 After several years in Europe, Bess and Harry returned to the United States in victory. Harry was doing such amazing tricks that people felt he must have special powers. However, few realized how much time he spent practicing and studying. He would do special exercises to keep his body strong, and he would do tricks with his fingers to keep them flexible. He would spend large amounts of time tying and untying knots — with his toes! For his underwater tricks, he would get in the bathtub and practice holding his breath for longer and longer times. Since many of his tricks involved being deep in icy water, he would pour buckets of ice in the tub to get accustomed to working in the cold.

    The reason that Harry Houdini was such a success was that he practiced and prepared for whatever might happen. When a college student punched him in the abdomen in 1926, however, he wasn’t prepared. The punch did internal damage that not even this magician could get out of. Harry died in 1926 at 52 years of age — a master of his trade and a true legend.

    56. Houdini decided to become a magician after ______.

    A. he read a book about a famous magician 　　　 B. he learned to pick a lock

    C. he started entertaining at local parties 　　 D. he learned to do card tricks

    57. The author supports the argument that Houdini was a hard worker by describing ______.

    A. his famous tricks　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. his childhood　　

    C. how he prepared　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. how he became popular

    58. Which of the is true according to this passage?

    A. His brother left him because he was doubtful of the future.　

    B. He went to Europe after an argument with his brother.

    C. Bess was a great help in his career before they were married.

    D. He succeeded because he had special powers.

    59. It can be inferred that Houdini’s death was ______.

    A. a plotted murder　　　 B. another performance　　　　 C. a legend　　　　　 D. an accident

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