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

Many years ago, my dad was diagnosed (诊断) with a serious heart condition. He was unable to work a steady job. He would be fine for a while, but would then fall suddenly ill and have to be admitted to the hospital.

He wanted to do something to keep himself busy, so he decided to volunteer at the local children’s hospital. My dad loved kids. It was the perfect job for him. He ended up working with the seriously ill children. He would talk, play, and do arts with them.

One of his kids was a girl with a rare disease that paralyzed (瘫痪) her from the neck down. She couldn’t do anything, and she was very depressed. My dad decided to try to help her. He started visiting her in her room, bringing paints, brushes and paper. He stood the paper up, put the paintbrush in his mouth and began to paint. He didn’t use his hands at all. All the while he would tell her, “See, you can do anything you set your mind to.”

At the end of the day, she began to paint using her mouth, and she and my dad became friends. Soon after, the little girl was sent home because the doctors felt there was nothing else they could do for her. My dad also left the children’s hospital for a little while because he became ill. Some time later after my dad had recovered and returned to work, in came the little girl who had been paralyzed, but this time she was walking. She ran straight over to my dad and hugged him really tight. She gave him a picture she had done using her hands. At the bottom it read: “Thank you for helping me walk.”

My dad would cry every time he told us this story and so would we. He would say sometimes love is more powerful than doctors, and my dad – who died just a few months after the little girl gave him the picture – loved every single child in that hospital.

48. The author’s father worked at the local hospital to ___________.

A. ease his heart condition                    B. keep himself occupied and happy

C. earn money to pay for treatment             D. realize his childhood dream

49. How did the author’s father help the paralyzed little girl?

A. He helped her practice walking.             B. He painted special pictures for her.

C. He showed her she could still do things.       D. He visited her and made a toy for her.

50. According to Paragraph 4, the paralyzed girl ___________.

A. gradually recovered and walked             B. eventually became a unique painter   

C. was sent home and never seen again          D. sent a picture painted with her mouth

51. The article mainly conveys the message that ___________.

A. it’s better to give than to receive             B. volunteering is a worthwhile thing to do

C. love can sometimes bring great results        D. a sick person should not focus on his disease

I was brought up by my grandparents for the first years of my life. We   36  in a very small community and all of my aunts and uncles lived   37_ . Everyone had a hand in taking care of my safety. Of course in those days   38  everyone in the community spoke the beautiful language of my childhood. When my grandfather spoke I would _ 39_ him carefully.
Then at age six my father   40  from the army. I was forbidden to speak that 41  ever again. My grandfather was   42  . He couldn’t speak English, so my grandmother would   43  for him whenever he spoke to me. With my mother and father we   44 from that small community. I was about to enter public school so I had to learn English. My grandfather   45  when I was eight and we returned to that small community for his funeral. He was   46  in the living room, as was the tradition. I went and stood by him and   47  no one was around I spoke to him in a whisper   48  that beautiful language of my childhood. That was the   49  time I spoke those words.
Almost fifty years later, _ 50 _ I had forgotten the beautiful language of my childhood, I had the opportunity to   51  a newly written paper of it. On my first look at it I recognized   52  . I must have looked it over several times in the following weeks. Then one day I read out loud a word from my past. I almost cried. I was   53 reading over other words. Words came   54  back to me after all these years. When receiving something from someone, you don’t take it from their hand, rather you let them lay it in your hand. For me it was   55  ---The beautiful language of my childhood was Michif. It was not only a language but also a way of life.

I was brought up by my grandparents for the first years of my life. We   36   in a very small community and all of my aunts and uncles lived   37_  . Everyone had a hand in taking care of my safety. Of course in those days   38   everyone in the community spoke the beautiful language of my childhood. When my grandfather spoke I would _ 39_  him carefully.

Then at age six my father   40   from the army. I was forbidden to speak that 41   ever again. My grandfather was   42   . He couldn’t speak English, so my grandmother would   43   for him whenever he spoke to me. With my mother and father we   44 from that small community. I was about to enter public school so I had to learn English. My grandfather   45   when I was eight and we returned to that small community for his funeral. He was   46   in the living room, as was the tradition. I went and stood by him and   47   no one was around I spoke to him in a whisper   48   that beautiful language of my childhood. That was the   49   time I spoke those words.

Almost fifty years later, _ 50 _ I had forgotten the beautiful language of my childhood, I had the opportunity to   51   a newly written paper of it. On my first look at it I recognized   52   . I must have looked it over several times in the following weeks. Then one day I read out loud a word from my past. I almost cried. I was   53 reading over other words. Words came   54   back to me after all these years. When receiving something from someone, you don’t take it from their hand, rather you let them lay it in your hand. For me it was   55   ---The beautiful language of my childhood was Michif. It was not only a language but also a way of life.

A. lived             B. reached            C. made                D. put

A. far                B. nearby              C. inside               D. outside

A. never             B. already             C. seldom             D. almost

A. give              B. believe in         C. listen to            D. like

A. returned         B. went                C. rushed              D. swept

A. language        B. community       C. hand                D. safety

A. happy            B. joyful               C. heartbroken      D. warm-blooded

A. look              B. translate           C. wait                 D. speak

A. moved into    B. move back        C. move away       D. moved on

A. worked          B. traveled            C. visited              D. died

A. carried out    B. laid out            C. held out          D. pick out

A. when             B. if                     C. even if             D. although

A. for                B. upon                C. at                     D. in

A. first               B. latter                C. last                  D. former

A. long before    B. long ago           C. before long       D. long after

A. beat               B. see                   C. ask                   D. touch

A. nothing          B. something         C. anything           D. everything

A. sadly             B. hardly              C. faithfully          D. anxiously

A. drawing        B. frying              C. flooding           D. steaming

A. simple           B. merciful           C. perfect             D. bitter

I was brought up by my grandparents for the first years of my life. We   36   in a very small community and all of my aunts and uncles lived   37_  . Everyone had a hand in taking care of my safety. Of course in those days   38   everyone in the community spoke the beautiful language of my childhood. When my grandfather spoke I would _ 39_  him carefully.

Then at age six my father   40   from the army. I was forbidden to speak that 41   ever again. My grandfather was   42   . He couldn’t speak English, so my grandmother would   43   for him whenever he spoke to me. With my mother and father we   44 from that small community. I was about to enter public school so I had to learn English. My grandfather   45   when I was eight and we returned to that small community for his funeral. He was   46   in the living room, as was the tradition. I went and stood by him and   47   no one was around I spoke to him in a whisper   48   that beautiful language of my childhood. That was the   49   time I spoke those words.

Almost fifty years later, _ 50 _ I had forgotten the beautiful language of my childhood, I had the opportunity to   51   a newly written paper of it. On my first look at it I recognized   52   . I must have looked it over several times in the following weeks. Then one day I read out loud a word from my past. I almost cried. I was   53 reading over other words. Words came   54   back to me after all these years. When receiving something from someone, you don’t take it from their hand, rather you let them lay it in your hand. For me it was   55   ---The beautiful language of my childhood was Michif. It was not only a language but also a way of life.

1.A. lived                   B. reached                C. made                    D. put

2.A. far                      B. nearby                  C. inside                    D. outside

3.A. never                 B. already                 C. seldom                 D. almost

4.A. give                    B. believe in             C. listen to                D. like

5.A. returned                    B. went                     C. rushed                  D. swept

6.A. language          B. community          C. hand                      D. safety

7.A. happy                B. joyful            C. heartbroken      D. warm-blooded

8.A. look                    B. translate              C. wait                       D. speak

9.A. moved into      B. move back C. move away          D. moved on

10.A. worked           B. traveled               C. visited                   D. died

11.A. carried out  B. laid out                 C. held out               D. pick out

12.A. when               B. if                             C. even if                   D. although

13.A. for                             B. upon                      C. at                           D. in

14.A. first                 B. latter                    C. last                        D. former

15.A. long before    B. long ago               C. before long          D. long after

16.A. beat                B. see                        C. ask                         D. touch

17.A. nothing                    B. something           C. anything               D. everything

18.A. sadly               B. hardly                   C. faithfully               D. anxiously

19.A. drawing         B. frying           C. flooding                D. steaming

20.A. simple             B. merciful                C. perfect                 D. bitter