Can plants eat people? Probably not, but there are many plants that eat meat. Some of them are big, and they can eat small animals. One famous meat-eating plant is the Venus flytrap.

The Venus flytrap is a very strange plant. It grows in dry parts of the United States. Its leaves are like the pages of a book. They can open and close very quickly. Inside the leaves, there are three small hairs. If a fly touches one of the hairs, the leaves closes quickly. The fly cannot get out. In about half an hour, the leaves press the fly until it is dead. Then, the plant covers the fly. Slowly, the plant eats the fly.

Why do plants do it? Most plants get what they need from the sun, the air, and the ground. In some places, the ground is very poor. It doesn’t have all these important things, especially nitrogen(氮). So some plants eat meat to get what they need. Let’s hope that some of the bigger plants don’t get the same idea!

1.The Venus flytrap is a kind of ______.

A. plant B. animal C. food D. meat

2.The Venus flytrap grows in ______.

A. most parts of the world

B. some parts of Africa

C. dry parts of the United States

D. wet parts of England

3.From the passage, we learn that ______.

A. all plants can eat people

B. all plants can eat animals

C. some plants can eat people

D. some plants can eat animals

4.The underlined word “press” probably means ______ in Chinese.

A. 挤压 B. 关上 C. 打开 D. 松开

5.Why do some plants eat animal meat?

A. Because plants are dangerous to animals.

B. Because animals are dangerous to plants.

C. Because plants want to get what they need from animal meat.

D. Because plants want to protect themselves against animals.

The Man of Many Secrets — Harry Houdini — was one of the greatest American entertainers(表演者) in the theater. He was a man famous for his escapes(逃走;逃生) — from prison cells(囚室), from wooden boxes floating(漂浮) 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 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 (监狱)escape in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded(说服) a detective(侦探) which 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, 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? Worldwide 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 unusual ability and a skeleton key

C. his magic tricks and inhuman powers

D. his wisdom and magic tricks

2.In the fourth paragraph, the underlined word “this” refers to (指的是)______.

A. his first prison escape B. the year 1898

C. the publicity D. Harry Houdini's success

3.Which of the following statement is right?

A. Someone gave him a key that fits many locks.

B. He made a key that could open every door.

C. Everyone hated him very much.

D. He was trained to escape again.

4.The followings help him succeed EXCEPT ________.

A. his brother's help B. his wife's help

C. his fingers D. his toes

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

A. A Skeleton Key B. Many Secrets

C. World-wide Fame D. Great Escapes

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