题目内容
________ Europe and ________ America are separated by ________ Atlantic Ocean.
A./; /; the B.the;
the; the C./; /; / D.the; the; /
A
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 power |
B.his unusual ability and a skeleton key |
C.his magic tricks and supernatural 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 |
4.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 |
Baths and bathing have been considered of an important medical therapy to man. In Greece there are the ruins of a bath tub and water system built over 3 000 years ago. The Romans had warm public baths. In some public baths as many 3 000 persons could bathe at the same time.
Treating diseases by bathing has been popular for centuries. Modern medical bathing, or hydrotherapy, first became popular in Europe and by the late 1 700’s also became popular in the United States.
For many years frequent bathing was believed to be bad for one’s health. Ordinary bathing just to be clean was avoided, and perfume(香水) was used to cover up body and smell.
By the 1 700’s doctors began to say that soap and water were good for health. They believed that it was good for people to be clean. Slowly, people began to bathe more frequently.
In the United States ordinary bathing was slow to become popular. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, many Americans were known as “the great unwashed”. In one American city, for example, a person could only take a bath every 30 days! That was a law.
Frequency of bathing today is partly a matter of habit. People know that bathing for cleanliness is important to health. Doctors know that dirty bodies increase that chance of disease.
Therefore in the United States people generally bathe often.
1.What does the word “hydrotherapy” underlined in the second paragraph refer to?
A.A bathing tub. |
B.Medical bathing. |
C.Ordinary bathing. |
D.Warm public baths. |
2.Where did the ordinary bathing first become popular according to the passage?
A.In Africa. B.In Europe.
C.In the USA. D.The passage doesn’t tell us.
3.Which of the following statements is not true?
A.Bathing was important to Greeks and Romans. |
B.The Greek built water systems. |
C.The Greek had warm public baths. |
D.The Greek used bath tubs. |
4.The passage is mainly about ______.
A.bathing in the USA |
B.the good points and bad points of bathing |
C.the history of bathing |
D.the modern medical bathing |