2014高考英语阅读理解训练-有详解(13)

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 a club in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as a 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 that came from this started Hairy 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? World-wide fame and a name remembered today. (www.nmet168.com)

1. according to the passage, Houdini’s success in prison escapes depends on ________.

A. his magic tricks and inhuman powers

B. his special tricks and a skeleton key

C. his unusual ability and a skeleton key

D. his inhuman talents and magic tricks

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

A. the previous sentence                      B. “the publicity”

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

3. according to the passage, how did Houdini get the key which helped him unlock prison doors?

A. He took the key from his wife’s mouth.

B. His wife passed it to his hand while kissing him.

C. His wife gave it to him by a magic trick.

D. He got it in his mouth through a kiss by the wife.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that Houdini became famous ________.

A. when he was about 24                    B. when he was about 17

C. after the year 1894                         D. before the year 1898

5. 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. (www.nmet168.com)

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

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

【答案与解析】文章讲的是一个著名的艺人赫迪尼成功的原因。

1. C。事实细节题。从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可知答案C正确。

2. A。词汇猜测题。this是承接上文，代指1898年芝加哥大逃狱即代指上句的内容，故答案选A。

3. D。事实细节题。从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可知答案D正确。

4. A。推理判断题。It was the publicity that came from this started Hairy Houdini’s success中this指的是1898年芝加哥大逃狱，可见他是1898年在芝加哥一举成名的，1891年他17岁，可知1898年他是24岁，即答案选A。

5. B。推理判断题。从第4题可知他是1898年在芝加哥一举成名的，那也是他第一次被大众认可的时间，D项只说了成功的原因之一，太片面，故答案选B。