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.

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

　　A. his special tricks and supernatural power　 B. his unusual ability and a skeleton key

　　C. his magic tricks and supernatural powers     D. his wisdom and magic tricks

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

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

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

　　A. A Skeleton Key             B. A Man of Many Secrets

　　C. World-wild Fame            D. Great Escape

Late _____the afternoon of a cold day in February ,two gentlemen  were sitting Over their wine in a restaurant.

A in  B on  C of  D　at

 If you keep on, you’ll succeed ____.
  A. in time   B. at one time　C. at the same time  D. on time

 He climbed silently ____ seizing the thief ____.
　A. in the purpose； by surprise 　　B. with purpose of； surprisingly
　C. with purpose of； surprisedly 　D. with the purpose of； by surprise

EVERY morning in the school dormitory, I am woken up by the morning bell along with the crow (啼叫) of the two peacocks, which are the most special inhabitants in our campus.

When I first heard about them, I thought it was so 1　 　 to have two useless peacocks in a high school　 　 2　 　 I even planned a letter to the president　 　　3　 　 him to send them to the zoo. Yet after I paid them my first　 　　4　 , which was a week later, I 　5　 changed my mind.

That was my first Friday in school, 　　6 　 was filled by books and tests. My friend enthusiastically 　7　 me to the back garden of our school to visit the peacocks. I unwillingly followed her through the 　8　 and unruly (混乱的) flood of busy students, and came into the quiet little garden.

The 　　9 silence and special fragrance of water and grass quickly entered (沁入) my 　　10 heart, and brought me some fresh air. I walked to the cage of the peacocks and saw the two attractive creatures. "They are so　 11　 ."

Those simple words popped into my mind　 　　12　 　 I had seen peacocks many times in the zoo. I thought about the　 　13　 　 of several famous poets and artists while 　　14　 them peanuts and ice cream, and I felt a kind of　 　 15　 　 of nature and study in my mind.

Men are beings instead of　 　16　 . Working like machines will change our pristine (质朴的) minds and healthy hearts. There was　 　　17　 　 reporting that a student at Fudan University 18　 30 lost cats. I believe he did not graduate from our school, where everyone can hear the crow from the heavenly animals every morning.

I think nowadays, high school students need to go out to　 　　19　 　 our bodies and minds, 　　20　 　 crouching down behind the piles of text books.

Look at the gold forsythia (连翘), that's the spring calling.

1. A. curious　　 B. ridiculous　　 C. humorous　　　 D. harmonious　　

2. A. and　　　　 B. but　　　　　　 C. that　　　　　 D. so　　

3. A. advising　　 B. preventing　　 C. persuading　　 D. warning　

4. A. attention　 B. money　　　　　 C. respect　　　　 D. visit　　　

5. A. confidentially 　B. thoroughly　　　 　C. definitely　　　　　 D. approximately　

6. A. that　　　　 B. it　　　　　　 C. what　　　　　 D. which　

7. A. pulled　　　 B. dragged　　　　 C. drew　　　　　 D. led　

8. A. quiet　　　 B. active　　　　 C. noisy　　　　　 D. abnormal　

9. A. complete　　 B. unusual　　　　 C. peaceful　　　 D. grateful　

10. A. excited　　 B. interested　　 C. inspired　　　 D. tired　

11. A. beautiful　 B. clever　　　　 C. dirty　　　　　 D. tiresome　

12. A. though　　 B. because　　　　 C. since　　　　　 D. therefore　

13. A. words　　　 B. books　　　　　 C. works　　　　　 D. poems　

14. A. feeding　　　 B. providing　　　　　 C. supplying　　　　　 D. throwing　

15. A. mixture　　 B. connection　　 C. relation　　　 D. combination　

16. A. animals　　 B. machines　　　 C. natures　　　　 D. plants　　

17. A. notice　　 B. news　　　　　 C. information　　 D. journalist　　

18. A. fled　　　 B. bought　　　　 C. rescued　　　　 D. killed　

19. A. promote　　 B. extend　　　　 C. stretch　　　　 D. spread　

20. A. in spite of B. instead of　　 C. because of　　 D. in case of