Question

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 this 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 performed card tricks in clubs in New York．They called them－selves 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．He 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(镣铐)．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-wide 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 unhuman 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 true according to the passage? [　　] A． Harry was a prisoner who became famous for his successful escape B． Harry was a man of magic and supernatural powers C． Harry and his wife played a trick which helped him escape from the prison cells D． Harry’s success resulted from his magic and supernatural power (5) What can be inferred from the under lined sentence? [　　] A． Houdini would talk to his fans in the local theater in the evening． B． People would watch Houdini perform tricks in the local theater in the evening． C． Houdini would visit a local theater in the evening． D． People would gather in the local theater and share their stories about Houdini．

Answer 1

答案：1．B;2．A;3．D;4．C;5．B;
解析：

(1)	文章第四段揭示了Houdini的秘密。
(2)	根据上一段最后一句可以得知this指他能逃脱监狱的事
(3)	他成名的时间是1898，与他在1891年(十七岁)进入娱乐圈对比计算可知他出名是24岁。
(4)	根据第三，第四段内容可知。
(5)	划线部分指他出名后剧场爆满每当他演出时。