Passage 2

        We all know that a magician does not really depend on "magic" to perform his tricks, but on his ability to act at great speed. 16)______, this does not prevent us from enjoying watching a magician 17)______rabbits from a hat. 18)______ the greatest magician of all time was Harry Houdini who died in 1926. Houdini mastered the art of 19)______. He could free himself from the tight test knots or the most complicated locks in seconds. 20)______ no one really knows how he did this, there is no doubt 21)______ he had made a close study of every type of lock ever invented. He liked to carry a small steel needle like tool strapped to his leg and he used this in place of a key.

        Houdini once asked the Chicago police to lock him in prison. They 22)______ him in chains and locked him up, but he freed himself 23)______ an instant. The police 24)______ him of having used a tool and locked him up again . This time he wore no clothes and there were chains round his neck, waist, wrists, and legs; but he again escaped in a few minutes. Houdini had probably hidden his "needle" in a wax like 25)______ and dropped it on the floor in the passage. 26)______ he went past, he stepped on it so that it stuck to the bottom of his foot. His most famous escape, however, was 27)______ astonishing. He was heavily chained up and enclosed in an empty wooden chest, the lid of 28)______ was nailed down. The 29)______ was dropped into the sea in New York harbor. In one minute Houdini had swum to the surface. When the chest was 30)______, it was opened and the chains were found inside.

16.A. Generally?B. HoweverC. Possibly D. Likewise

17.A. to produceB. who produces?C. produceD. how to produce

18.A. Out of the question B. Though?C. Probably?D. Undoubted

19.A. escaping B. lockingC. openingD. dropping

20.A. Surprisingly B. Obviously?C. PerhapsD. Although

21.A. if B. whetherC. as toD. that

22.A. involved B. closed C. connectedD. bound

23.A. at B. by C. in D. for

24.A. rid B. chargedC. accusedD. deprived

25.A. candle B. mud?C. something D. substance

26.A. As B. UsuallyC. Maybe?D. Then

27.A. overallB. all butC. no longerD. altogether

28.A. it B. which?C. that D. him

29.A. chest B. body C. lid D. chain

30.A. brought up?B. sunk?C. broken apart D. snapped

答案：

16-20：BCCAD

21-25：DDCCD

26-30：ADBAA