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．
0f course，his secret was not magic，or supernatural powers．It was simply strength．He had ability to move his toes as well as to move 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 a New York club．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 successful．Then Harty 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 newspaperman to watch．It was the publicity(名声)that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success．
Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs(手铐)and toes trained to escape from ankle chains，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 passed quickly from her mouth to his．
Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame．He arranged to escape from the local jail 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? Worldwide fame，and a name remembered today．
【小题1】According to the passage，Houdini’s success in prison escapes depends on   ．

    The man who brings my milk used to knock for his money for the week’s milk while I was having breakfast on Saturday morning. Just lately he has been arriving before I get up. Staff shortages mean that four men are sharing five rounds, so he has to start earlier.

Delivering milk to people’s homes is scarcely good business, especially when the customer may have a choice of two or three firms serving a single road. In spite of my local difficulties, however, labor troubles are not as sharp as a few years ago. There are enough men prepared to make an early morning for the sake of an open-air job with a fair measure of freedom. If they did stop calling, women would find it hard work to collect all the milk they need from self-service stores . Dairies are aware that stopping deliveries resulted in falling sales.

Marketing ideas have included introducing extra lines, in addition to dairy products, which the milkman can carry to increase turnover. Already they have taken over many rounds given up by bakeries. One dairyman said, “It wont’ be long before the milkman delivers more bread that milk. ” Some milkmen deliver potatoes, and it seems as if diversification will be limited only by the size of the vans.

So the milkman is likely to remain a familiar figure. Even the returnable bottle continues to be used. As long as it has a reasonable life―30 to 40 trips are usual― the cost of collection and cleaning is worthwhile.

72. We are told that the milkman now starts out on his delivery rounds earlier than before because of ___________.

     A. the desire to earn more money                      

     B. more early-rising customers

     C. an increased demand for milk                       

     D. an increased workload

73. Why do some people choose to be milkmen?

     A. Because they can exercise in early morning.  

     B. Because they like working outdoors.

     C. Because they want to serve several firms.            

     D. Because they like getting up early.

74. What does it mean by the underlined sentence in Para. 3 ?  

     A. Bakeries are asking milkmen to deliver bread.

     B. Milkmen have taken over some bakery rounds.

     C. Bread is more popular than milk now.

     D. People buy more bread from milkmen than from bakers.

75. Dairy firms continue to supply returnable milk bottles because they are __________.

     A. most economical in the long term                  

     B. the most durable form of container

     C. easy to clean and collect                              

     D. convenient for customers to return

The Man of Many Secrets-Harry Houdini---was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century. He was 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 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 then 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 newspaperman to watch.

It was the publicity that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success.

Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape from ankle chains. 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, passed quickly from her mouth to his.

Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local jail 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? Worldwide fame, and a name remembered today.

53．According to the passage, Houdini’s success imprison escape depends on          .

       A．his magic tricks and inhuman powers   

       B．his special tricks and a skeleton key

       C．his unusual ability and skeleton key    

       D．his inhuman talents and magic tricks

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

       A．his first prison escape                  B．a local reporter’s invitation

       C．the place, Chicago                      D．The time, 1898

55．It can he inferred from the passage that Houdini became successful         .

       A．before he was about 17                        B．when he was about 17

       C．after the year 1898                               D．before the year 1898

56．According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

       A．Houdini used to be a famous magician in the USA.

       B．Houdini was first recognized widely in Chicago.

       C．Houdini first entered the entertainment world together with his wife.

       D．Houdini owed his great success to his small skeleton key.

King Midas used to love gold. One day he met a fairy who allowed him to make a wish for something. The king replied at once , ‘‘I love gold . I want everything I touch to change into gold”. ‘‘Very well , tomorrow morning, everything you touch will turn into gold .”Saying this, the fairy disappeared.

    The king waited excitedly till the next morning. To his joy ,everything he touched changed immediately into gold. ‘‘I’m the richest man in the world now.” He shouted.

    Soon Midas became hungry. He sat down at his table. All the foods and drinks turned into gold in his hand . ‘‘I’m dying of hunger.” He cried.

    Just then his daughter came running in . ‘‘Why are you so sad , dad ?” she asked, putting her arms around him. There and then she became a golden statue. The king loved his daughter very much .Seeing this ,he began to cry. He looked up and suddenly saw the fairy before him.  ‘‘Don’t you like the golden touch?” asked the fairy. ‘‘ Please take it away,” begged the king, ‘‘ give me back my daughter.”  ‘‘Well, you have learned your lesson. Go and wash in the river. Then the golden touch will be gone.” The king ran quickly to the nearby river.

The fairy allowed the king to make a wish because_____

she hoped to make the king the richest in the world.    B. She loved gold too.

She wanted to teach the king a lesson. 

D. She wanted to turn the king’s daughter into gold gold.

When the foods and drinks turned into gold the king was _____

   A. excited  B. hungry  C. worried   D  happy

Which of the following might have happened afterwards?

A. The king died in the river.

B. The king’s daughter changed back from gold to a lovely girl.

C. All the things the king had touched changed back into real ones.

D. Both B and C

What do you think the story tries to tell us?

A. Gold makes people unhappy.   

B. More gold , more happiness.

C. Gold is not the thing that makes life happy.

D. People feel happy if they have not gold.

King Midas used to love gold. One day he met a fairy who allowed him to make a wish for something. The king replied at once , ‘‘I love gold . I want everything I touch to change into gold”. ‘‘Very well , tomorrow morning, everything you touch will turn into gold .”Saying this, the fairy disappeared.
The king waited excitedly till the next morning. To his joy, everything he touched changed immediately into gold. ‘‘I’m the richest man in the world now.” He shouted.
Soon Midas became hungry. He sat down at his table. All the foods and drinks turned into gold in his hand. ‘‘I’m dying of hunger.” He cried.
Just then his daughter came running in . ‘‘Why are you so sad, dad?” she asked, putting her arms around him. There and then she became a golden statue. The king loved his daughter very much .Seeing this, he began to cry. He looked up and suddenly saw the fairy before him.  ‘‘Don’t you like the golden touch?” asked the fairy. ‘‘Please take it away,” begged the king, ‘‘give me back my daughter.”  ‘‘Well, you have learned your lesson. Go and wash in the river. Then the golden touch will be gone.” The king ran quickly to the nearby river.
【小题1】The fairy allowed the king to make a wish because              .