单选题
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There is one passage in this section with 7 questions. For each question, there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
Questions 51-57 are based on the following passage.
Harry Houdini, who died in 1927, was the entertainment phenomenon of the ragtime era. He could escape from chains and padlocks, from ropes and canvas sacks. They put him in a strait-jacket and hung him upside down from a skyscraper and he somehow untied himself. They tied him up in a locked packing case and sank him in Liverpool docks. Minutes later he surfaced smiling. They locked him in zinc-lined Russian prison van and he emerged leaving the doors locked and the locks undamaged. They padlocked him in a milk churn full of water and he burst free. They put him in a coffin, screwed down the lid, and buffed him and well, no, he didn't pop up like a mole, but when they dug him up more than half an hour later, he was still breathing.
单选题 In the first paragraph, what does the writer say Houdini managed to do?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】第一段通过几个具体例子介绍了Houdini拥有超凡的本领。将各选项对号入座会发现只有选项B与原文说法相符。
单选题 The writer mentions Houdini's burial alive to show that ______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】第一段最后一句提到but when they dug him up more than half an hour later, he was still breathing Harry Houdini即使被掩埋了仍然能存活半个小时”，是为了表明他有超强的生存技巧。
单选题 The writer suggests that Conan Doyle ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】文中第二段提到Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes was the very paragon of analytical thinking but Conan Doyle believed that Houdini achieved his tricks through spiritualism.“作者Conan Doyle是分析问题的典范，但是他认为Houdini的招术是唯心主义。”由此可知作者所说的Conan Doyle是分析性考虑问题的典范，这一句是一个反语，所以A选项正确。
单选题 The writer comes to the conclusion that Houdini ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】第四段开头指出This is all nonsense，“这些全都是无稽之谈”，“这些”是指第三段提到的人们对Houdini的种种猜想，由此可以推知作者认为Houdini是一个正常人。
单选题 It appears that Houdini was able to escape from a strait-jacket by ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】文章倒数第二段指出His fingers were so strong that he could undo a buckle or manipulate keys through the canvas of a strait-jacket or a mail bag，“他的手指是如此的强壮，以至于他能解开皮带扣或者使钥匙穿过帆布紧身衣或邮包来逃生”，由此可知B选项正确。undo解开，消除。buckle皮带扣。manipulate巧妙处理，摆布。
单选题 The writer states that when Houdini escaped from the milk churn ______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】第五段提到The milk churn in which he was locked…had to stand up to get out．“搅拌机有两层，当盖子与边缝相锁的时候，其实边缝并不在搅拌机上”，由此可知这个搅拌机是经过机械师改装过，因此本题选择C。
单选题 According to the writer, how do people regard Houdini nowadays?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】文章最后一段提到Houdini belongs to that band of mythical supermen who, we like to believe , were capable of miracles and would still be alive today were it not for some piece of low trickery.“人们更愿相信他是超人中的一员，仍然具有神奇的力量，并不是什么低级骗术。”因此B项为正确答案。