第四部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

　阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

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(手铐) and toes trained to escape 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 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 powers

B. his wisdom and magic tricks

C. his magic tricks and unhuman powers

D. his unusual ability and a skeleton key

2. In the fourth paragraph, the underlined word “this” refers to _______.

A. the year 1898                                B. his first prison escape

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. when he was about 24                            D. at the age of 17

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

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

C. World-wild Fame                                 D. Great Escape 

Educators and explorers Will Steger, John Stetson, Elizabeth Andre and Abby Fenton joined four Inuit hunters on a 1,200-mile, four-month-long dog-seld expedition (考察队) across the Canadian Arctic’s Baffin Island.

The expedition is travelling with four Inuit dog teams over traditional hunting paths, up frozen rivers, through steep-sided bays, over glaciers and ice caps, and across the sea ice to reach some of the most remote Inuit village of the world.

The travelers wake up early around 6 a. m . During the course of the day they are able to travel about 17 miles. They hope to be able to travel 25 miles or 30 miles per day. They manage their body temperature by adding or taking off layers depending on their level activity.

Team member Elizabeth Andre had to leave the expedition because of frostbite(冻伤) . She was disappointed to miss part of the expedition, but leaving the field was the right decision to protect her fingers from any more damage. She will rejoin the expedition in Pangnirtung, the next village. Elizabeth feels how tough the weather condition can be in the Arctic. She is beginning to appreciate how much skill and knowledge of the environment the Inuit people have.

The expedition team plan to eat a combination of country foods from Iglulik, fresh meat hunted on the trail, and dried food packed out from Steger’s homeland in Minnesota.

The expedition members have already begun to notice the effects of global warming. Theo, a native Inuit traveling with the team, points out that “Looking at what we saw today －we saw that there haven’t been caribou(驯鹿) tracks for a long time. Usually, you look out of your window in Iqaluit and you see them. Now numbers are down”. Theo was born in an igloo(冰屋)and has lived in Inuit for most of his life.

49. The main purpose of the expedition is to_______.

A. experience the hard life of Inuit

B. appreciate the beautiful environment of Inuit village

C. do some research about the Inuit’s life style

D. explore the effects of global warming

50.          of the expedition team members didn't miss any part of the expedition.

A. Four       B. Six       C. Seven      D. Eight

51. The author gives an example of the caribou to show that_______.

A. global warming has had bad effects on the environment there

B. caribous are dying out because of the cold weather

C. the Inuit hunters have killed too many wild animals

D. good measures haven’t been taken to protect wild animals

52. From the text we can learn that_______.

A. the expedition team will walk across the Arctic

B. the expedition members only eat their packed food

C. the final stop for the expedition team is Pangnirtung

D. traveling to Inuit villages needs skill and knowledge of the environment.

I would like to tell you a story about my uncle Theo. He is my oldest uncle, a tall, thin, grey-haired man whose thoughts are always on learning and nothing else. He is quiet, gentle and absent-minded and with about as much sense as a child where money is concerned. Well, he applied a post in Camford University. It was a very good post and there were hundreds of candidates who applied for it, and about fifteen, including Theo, were asked to be interviewed.

    Camford is a very small town; there is only one hotel in it, and it was so full that they had to put many of the candidates two in a room. Theo was one of these, and the man who shared the room with him was a self-confident fellow called Adams, about twenty years younger than Theo, with a loud voice, and a laugh that you could hear all over the hotel. But he was a clever fellow all the same and had a good post in Iscaiot College, Narkover. Well, the Dean, who was the head of the department of the University, and the committee interviewed all the candidates; and as a result of this interview, the number of the candidates was reduced to two, Uncle Theo and Adams. The committee couldn’t decide which of the two to take, so they decided to make their final choice after each of the candidates had given a public lecture in the college lecture-hall. The subject they had to speak on was “The Civilization of the Ancient Summerians”; and the lecture had to be given in three days’ time.

    Well, for these three days Uncle Theo never left his room. He worked day and night at that lecture, writing it out and memorizing it, almost without eating or sleeping. Adams didn’t seem to do any preparation at all. You could hear his voice and his laughter where he had a crowd of people around him. He came to his room late at night, asked Uncle Theo how he was getting on with his lecture, and then told him how he had spent the evening playing bridge, or at the music hall. He ate like a horse and slept like a log; and Uncle Theo sat up working at his lecture.

    The day of the lecture arrived. They all went into the lecture hall and Theo and Adams took their seats on the platform. And then, Theo discovered, to his horror,  that typewritten copy of his speech had disappeared! The Dean said they would call on the candidates on the alphabetical order, Adams first; and the despair in his heart, Theo watched Adams calmly take the stolen speech out of pocket and read it to the professors who were gathered to hear it. And how well he read it! Even Uncle Theo had to admit he couldn’t have read it nearly so eloquently himself, and when Adams finished there was a great burst of applause. Adams bowed and smiled, and sat down.

    Now, it was Theo’s turn. But what could he do? He had put everything he knew into the lecture. His mind was too much upset to put the same thoughts in another way. With a burning face he could only repeat, word for word, in a low, dull voice, the lecture that Adams had spoken so eloquently. There was hardly any applause when he sat down.

    The Dean and the committee went out to decide who the successful candidate was, but everyone was sure what their decision would be. Adams leaned across to Theo and patted him on the back and said, smilingly, “Hard luck, old fellow, but after all, only one of us could win”

    Then the Dean and the committee came back, “Gentlemen”, the Dean said, “the candidate we have chosen is Mr. Hobdell.” Uncle Theo had won! The audience were completely taken by surprise, and the Dean continued, “ I think I ought to tell you how we arrived at the decision. We were all filled with admiration at the learning and eloquence of Mr. Adams. I was greatly impressed. But, you will remember, Mr. Adams read his lecture to us. When Mr. Hobdell’s turn came, he repeated that speech, word by word from memory, though, of course, he couldn’t have seen a line of it before. Now a fine memory is absolutely necessary for this post; and what a memory Mr. Hobdell must have! This is why we decided that Mr. Hobdell was exactly the man we wanted! ”

    As they walked out of the room, the Dean came up to Uncle Theo, who was so confused but so happy that he hardly knew whether he was standing on his head or heels; and as he shook Theo’s hand he said, “Congratulations, Mr. Hobdell! But, my fellow, when you are on our staff, you must be more careful and not leave valuable papers lying about!”

1.. Which of the followings best describes Uncle Theo?

A. Good-mannered    B. Modest     C. Childish      D. Bookish

2. What do we know about the post at Camford University?

   A. The applicants had to sit for an examination.

   B. There was much competition for the post.

   C. The post requires a lot of teaching experience.

   D. The post offered quite high salary.

3.. Adams did not bother to do any preparation because______.

   A. he was quite familiar with the subject.

   B. he knew the committee members well.

   C. he had a well-thought-out plan.

   D. he had full confidence in himself.

4. When Uncle Theo’s turn came, _______.

   A. he felt so angry that he couldn’t see a word.

   B. he felt so upset that he could not remember anything.

   C. he had to put the same thoughts in another way.

   D. he had to repeat the speech, word by word from memory.

5. When the committee went out to make a decision, Adams _______.

   A. could not help feeling worried.

   B. could hardly wait to show his joy.

   C. felt sorry for Theo and tried to cheer him up.

   D. felt ashamed and tried to chat with Theo.

6.Theo became successful because _______.

   A. he had a better memory than Adams.

   B. he was more experienced than Adams.

   C. the committee knew he was exactly the man they wanted.

   D. the committee knew Adams had copied Theo’s speech.

I would like to tell you a story about my uncle Theo. He is my oldest uncle, a tall, thin, grey-haired man whose thoughts are always on learning and nothing else. He is quiet, gentle and absent-minded and with about as much sense as a child where money is concerned. Well, he applied a post in Camford University. It was a very good post and there were hundreds of candidates who applied for it, and about fifteen, including Theo, were asked to be interviewed.
Camford is a very small town; there is only one hotel in it, and it was so full that they had to put many of the candidates two in a room. Theo was one of these, and the man who shared the room with him was a self-confident fellow called Adams, about twenty years younger than Theo, with a loud voice, and a laugh that you could hear all over the hotel. But he was a clever fellow all the same and had a good post in Iscaiot College, Narkover. Well, the Dean, who was the head of the department of the University, and the committee interviewed all the candidates; and as a result of this interview, the number of the candidates was reduced to two, Uncle Theo and Adams. The committee couldn’t decide which of the two to take, so they decided to make their final choice after each of the candidates had given a public lecture in the college lecture-hall. The subject they had to speak on was “The Civilization of the Ancient Summerians”; and the lecture had to be given in three days’ time.
Well, for these three days Uncle Theo never left his room. He worked day and night at that lecture, writing it out and memorizing it, almost without eating or sleeping. Adams didn’t seem to do any preparation at all. You could hear his voice and his laughter where he had a crowd of people around him. He came to his room late at night, asked Uncle Theo how he was getting on with his lecture, and then told him how he had spent the evening playing bridge, or at the music hall. He ate like a horse and slept like a log; and Uncle Theo sat up working at his lecture.
The day of the lecture arrived. They all went into the lecture hall and Theo and Adams took their seats on the platform. And then, Theo discovered, to his horror,  that typewritten copy of his speech had disappeared! The Dean said they would call on the candidates on the alphabetical order, Adams first; and the despair in his heart, Theo watched Adams calmly take the stolen speech out of pocket and read it to the professors who were gathered to hear it. And how well he read it! Even Uncle Theo had to admit he couldn’t have read it nearly so eloquently himself, and when Adams finished there was a great burst of applause. Adams bowed and smiled, and sat down.
Now, it was Theo’s turn. But what could he do? He had put everything he knew into the lecture. His mind was too much upset to put the same thoughts in another way. With a burning face he could only repeat, word for word, in a low, dull voice, the lecture that Adams had spoken so eloquently. There was hardly any applause when he sat down.
The Dean and the committee went out to decide who the successful candidate was, but everyone was sure what their decision would be. Adams leaned across to Theo and patted him on the back and said, smilingly, “Hard luck, old fellow, but after all, only one of us could win”
Then the Dean and the committee came back, “Gentlemen”, the Dean said, “the candidate we have chosen is Mr. Hobdell.” Uncle Theo had won! The audience were completely taken by surprise, and the Dean continued, “ I think I ought to tell you how we arrived at the decision. We were all filled with admiration at the learning and eloquence of Mr. Adams. I was greatly impressed. But, you will remember, Mr. Adams read his lecture to us. When Mr. Hobdell’s turn came, he repeated that speech, word by word from memory, though, of course, he couldn’t have seen a line of it before. Now a fine memory is absolutely necessary for this post; and what a memory Mr. Hobdell must have! This is why we decided that Mr. Hobdell was exactly the man we wanted! ”
As they walked out of the room, the Dean came up to Uncle Theo, who was so confused but so happy that he hardly knew whether he was standing on his head or heels; and as he shook Theo’s hand he said, “Congratulations, Mr. Hobdell! But, my fellow, when you are on our staff, you must be more careful and not leave valuable papers lying about!”
【小题1】. Which of the followings best describes Uncle Theo?

A．The applicants had to sit for an examination.

B．There was much competition for the post.

C．The post requires a lot of teaching experience.

D．The post offered quite high salary.

A．he had a better memory than Adams.
B．he was more experienced than Adams.	C．the committee knew he was exactly the man they wanted.
D．the committee knew Adams had copied Theo’s speech.

Educators and explorers Will Steger, John Stetson, Elizabeth Andre and Abby Fenton joined four Inuit hunters on a 1,200-mile, four-month-long dog-seld expedition (考察队) across the Canadian Arctic’s Baffin Island.
The expedition is travelling with four Inuit dog teams over traditional hunting paths, up frozen rivers, through steep-sided bays, over glaciers and ice caps, and across the sea ice to reach some of the most remote Inuit village of the world.
The travelers wake up early around 6 a. m . During the course of the day they are able to travel about 17 miles. They hope to be able to travel 25 miles or 30 miles per day. They manage their body temperature by adding or taking off layers depending on their level activity.
Team member Elizabeth Andre had to leave the expedition because of frostbite(冻伤) . She was disappointed to miss part of the expedition, but leaving the field was the right decision to protect her fingers from any more damage. She will rejoin the expedition in Pangnirtung, the next village. Elizabeth feels how tough the weather condition can be in the Arctic. She is beginning to appreciate how much skill and knowledge of the environment the Inuit people have.
The expedition team plan to eat a combination of country foods from Iglulik, fresh meat hunted on the trail, and dried food packed out from Steger’s homeland in Minnesota.
The expedition members have already begun to notice the effects of global warming. Theo, a native Inuit traveling with the team, points out that “Looking at what we saw today －we saw that there haven’t been caribou(驯鹿) tracks for a long time. Usually, you look out of your window in Iqaluit and you see them. Now numbers are down”. Theo was born in an igloo(冰屋)and has lived in Inuit for most of his life.
49. The main purpose of the expedition is to_______.
A. experience the hard life of Inuit
B. appreciate the beautiful environment of Inuit village
C. do some research about the Inuit’s life style
D. explore the effects of global warming
50.          of the expedition team members didn't miss any part of the expedition.
A. Four       B. Six       C. Seven      D. Eight
51. The author gives an example of the caribou to show that_______.
A. global warming has had bad effects on the environment there
B. caribous are dying out because of the cold weather
C. the Inuit hunters have killed too many wild animals
D. good measures haven’t been taken to protect wild animals
52. From the text we can learn that_______.
A. the expedition team will walk across the Arctic
B. the expedition members only eat their packed food
C. the final stop for the expedition team is Pangnirtung
D. traveling to Inuit villages needs skill and knowledge of the environment.