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

A.his special tricks and supernatural powerB.his unusual ability and a skeleton key
C.his magic tricks and supernatural powersD.his wisdom and magic tricks
【小题2】In the fourth paragraph, the underlined word “this” refers to _______.
A.his first prison escapeB.the year 1898
C.the publicityD.Harry Houdini’s success
【小题3】It can be inferred from the passage that Houdini became famous _______.
A.in 1894B.before he married
C.at the age of 17D.when he was about 24
【小题4】Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A.A Skeleton KeyB.A Man of Many Secrets
C.World-wild FameD.Great Escape

Frank Woolworth was born in Rodman, New York., in 1852. His family were very poor farmers, and there was never enough to eat. Frank decided he did not want to be farmer. He took a short business course, and went to work as a salesman in a large city.
Woolworth realized he had a natural skill for showing goods to attract people’s interest, but he soon learned something more important. One day his boss told him to sell some odds and ends (小商品 ) for as much as he could get. Frank put all these things on one table with a sign which said five cents each. People fought and pushed to buy the things and the table was soon cleared.
Soon afterwards, Woolworth opened his own store., selling goods at five and ten cents. But he had another lesson to learn before he became successful. That is, if you want to make money by selling low-price goods, you have to buy them in large quantities directly from the factories. Once, for example, Woolworth went to Germany and placed an order for knives. The order was so large that the factory had to keep running 24 hours a day for a whole year. In this way, the price of the knives was cut down by half.
By 1919, Woolworth had over 1000 stores in the US and Canada, and opened his first store in London. He made many millions and his name became famous throughout the world. He always run his business according to strict rules, of which the most important was: “ The customer is always right.”
【小题1】Frank took a short business course in order to ____________.

A.earn more money for his familyB.learn something from a salesman
C.get away from the farmD.get enough to eat.
【小题2】The price of the knives was cut down by half because ______________.
A.the factory workers worked 24 hours a day.
B.knives were ordered in large quantities directly from the factory.
C.the knives were made in Germany, where labour (劳动力) was cheap.
D.the knives were produced in one factory.
【小题3】_____________ make Woolworth a world-famous man.
A.His business skills and his wealth.
B.The low price of the goods he sold.
C.His trip to Germany and his huge order of knives.
D.His natural skill for showing things.
【小题4】The belief that : “ The customer is always right” suggests that _______________.
A.whenever there is a quarrel between the customer and shop assistant, the customers are always right.
B.If you want to succeed, the rule is the only way.
C.stores must always follow the customer’s orders if they want to make more money.
D.stores should do their best to meet the customer’s needs if they want to be successful.

In 1961 Obama was born in Hawaii, US. His father was an African and his mother was a white American. He grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii.
When Obama was 10 years old, he was one of the only three black students at his school in Hawaii. He felt very different from most other students. White girls wanted to touch his hair. A white boy even asked him what his father was.
“I lied to them that my father was a Kenyan prince. But I kept asking myself who I am," said Obama.
However, 37 years later, the boy made history. Obama became the first black president in US history.
Obama's unusual background made him wonder who he was. He once turned to alcohol to help forget this question.
With the help of his friends, Obama finally turned his life around at college. His hard work made him a star at Harvard. Later, he became the third black senator (参议员)in US history.
"Obama's success has made Martin Luther King's dream come true. That is: A man should not be judged by the colour of his skin, but by the content of his character," wrote ABC news.
【小题1】Obama was born in _______.

A.BritainB.AmericanC.KenyaD.Indonesia
【小题2】Which of the following is TURE according to the passage?
A.Obama's parents are both African
B.Obama was the first black senator in US history
C.Obama was once very depressed (压抑)because of his unusual background.
D.No other black students were in the school where Obama studied when he was ten.
【小题3】Obama became the first black president in US history when he was ______.
A.37B.38C.47D.48
【小题4】From the passage we can learn that ______________.
A.Obama's father is a Kenyan prince.
B.Obama was a star in Harvard because he drank a lot
C.We should judge a person by what he did when he was young
D.Obama's success owes to his hard work

Justin Bieber used to be an ordinary Canadian boy, but his life totally changed in 2008. With his great musical talent, this seventeen-year-old boy has become a superstar in the music industry.
Justin Drew Bieber was born in 1994 in Stratford, Ontario and was raised by his single mother. Bieber learned to play musical instruments when he was very young. In 2007, he took part in a local singing competition in his hometown, and he did it just for fun. He never took singing lessons before but surprisingly he placed second in the competition. Then, with the help of his mother, he uploaded (上传) videos of him singing on a website and they successfully attracted the attention of thousands of viewers. His videos got popular through word of mouth and some of them have received up to 10,000,000 views.
Justin Bieber would have never gotten a career in the music business without his videos. Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive (主管) of So So Def Recordings, had watched Bieber’s videos and he was impressed by the boy’s talent. Braun then contacted Bieber and he flew the boy into Atlanta seven months after the first video was posted. Bieber showed his talent in singing as well as his ability in playing musical instruments. He then got a record deal.
In 2009, Justin Bieber released (发行) his first single “One Time” while he was recording the debut album (首张专辑). The single “One Time” tells a story about love. This song had success not only in Canada and the US, but also in the international market. Then he released his debut album “My World 2.0” in 2010 and the song “Baby” became the lead single. This album successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries. In June 2010, he started his first world tour in Hartford, Connecticut. One month later, he started recording his second album.
【小题1】Justin Bieber’s career in music began to take off when _____.

A.he met with Scooter Braun
B.he released his debut album
C.he won second place in a competition
D.his singing videos were uploaded to a website
【小题2】It can be inferred from the text that Justin Bieber _____.
A.owed his success to good luck
B.showed a gift for music when he was young
C.is the youngest superstar ever in the music industry
D.released his debut album with the help of Scooter Braun
【小题3】What do we learn about Justin Bieber’s “One Time” according to the text?
A.It is about love and was released in 2010.
B.It attracted the world’s attention after released.
C.It successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries.
D.It is the lead single of his debut album “My World 2.0”.
【小题4】What is the best title for the text?
A.Justin Bieber’s journey to success
B.Lucky boy — Justin Bieber
C.What made Justin Bieber a singer?
D.Secrets of Justin Bieber’s success

Good health is the most valuable thing a person can have, but one cannot take good health for granted. It is important to remember that the body needs proper care in order to be healthy. There are three things that a person can do to help stay in good shape: eat right food ,get enough sleep, and exercise regularly.
Proper nutrition (营养) is important for good health. Your body cannot work well unless it receives the proper kind of “fuel”(燃料).Don't eat too much food with lots of sugar and fat. Eat plenty of foods high in protein  ,like meat, fish, eggs and nuts. Vegetables and fruits are very important because they provide necessary vitamins and minerals. However, don't overeat. It is not helpful to be overweight.
Getting the proper amount of sleep is also important. If you don't get enough sleep, you feel tired and easily get angry. You have no energy. Over a long period of time a little a amount of sleep may even result in a change of personality. Be sure to allow yourself from seven to nine hours of sleep each night. If you do, your body will feel strong and refreshed, and your mind will be sharp.
Finally, get plenty of exercise. Exercise firms the body, strengthens the muscles, and prevents you from gaining weight. It also improves your heart and lungs. If you follow a regular exercise program, you will probably increase your life-span (寿命).Any kind of exercise is good. Most sports are excellent for keeping the body in good shapes: basketball, swimming, bicycling, running and so on are good examples. Sports are not only good for your body, but they are enjoyable and interesting, too.
If everybody were to eat the right foods, get plenty of sleep and exercise regularly, the world would be a happier and healthier place. We would all live to be much older and wiser.
【小题1】According to the passage,_______.

A.we should always keep fit
B.if we were healthy, we could spend our days in doing things with less sleep
C.one can eat a lot to stay in good shape
D.one needn't take any exercise if he is healthy
【小题2】In order to keep good health, _______ .
A.we should eat a lot of sweetsB.one needs a large amount of fat
C.people should eat according to the foods nutritionD.we must try to sleep now and then
【小题3】Eating more and sleeping less_______.
A.can keep healthyB.is no good for you
C.gets you more energyD.will keep your personality
【小题4】The writer explains ______in this passage.
A.how to eatB.the importance of doing exercise
C.how to keep healthyD.what to eat

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