The Man of Many Secrets

    Harry Houdini was one of the greatest American entertainers(表演者·演艺人员) in the theater this century. He was a man famous for his escapes－from prison cells(囚室), 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 ability to move his toes as well as to move 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 New York club. 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 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 newspaperman to watch. It was the publicity(名声) 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 from ankle chains（脚镣）, 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（万能钥匙）, 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? Worldwide fame, and a name remembered today.

B

    Once upon a time, a girl called Goldilocks went into the forest and picked some flowers. She saw a little house and she knocked on the door. There was no one there, so she entered the room. On a table there were three bowls with some food in them. First, she finished the food in the smallest bowl. Next, when she sat down, she destroyed the smallest chair. Finally, she walked into the bedroom and was soon asleep in the smallest bed.

    Goldilocks didn't know the little house was three bears' home. When the three bears returned home, they didn't notice Goldilocks at first. But finally they saw her. When Goldilocks opened her eyes and saw them, she was very frightened and hurried away without her basket. She didn't return again.

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    Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night, I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 a. m. When I arrived at the place, I saw a small woman in her eighties standing before me. I took the woman's suitcase to the car and then returned to help her. She took my arm and we talked slowly toward the car.

    She kept thanking me for my kindness. "It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."

    "Oh, you're such a good man," she said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked." Could you drive me throughout the downtown?"

    "It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.

    "Oh, I'm in no hurry," she said," I'm on my way to the hospice(收容所). I don't have any family left. The doctor says I don't have very long time." I quickly shut off the meter(计价器). For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, and the neighbourhood where she had lived. Sometimes she asked me to slow down in front of a special building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

    As the day broke, she suddenly said," I'm tired. Let's go now."

    We drove in silence to the address she had given me.

    "How much shall I give you?" she asked.

    "Nothing," I said.

    "You have to make a living, "she answered," Oh, it doesn't matter! I have other passengers to pick up." I answered.

    Almost without thinking, I bent sown and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly and said," You gave an old woman a little moment of happiness."

    Gadot, an Israeli actress, was praised for showing Wonder Woman's power, as well as her kind heart. She helped to change how women see themselves.

    Gadot was born on April 30,1985. She was taught to be capable(能干的) and independent as she grew up in a small city in Israel. “There was no TV-watching. It was always 'Take a ball and go play'," she said. In her own words, she was a good girl as well as a tomboy.

    This attitude toward life encouraged Gadot to follow her heart when making future life choices. At 18, she got a chance to be a model. But she didn't think it was the right time for her to do this kind of work. Instead, she joined the army, starting her work at 5 a.m. every day. Then she studied law out of love for the field.

    Later, a director invited her to an audition(试镜), which led her to Wonder Woman. The movie took the world by a storm in 2017. She played a brave and strong female superhero, who enters the world of man to stop a war. Gadot was included(列为) on Time magazine's 2018 list of the 100 Most Influential People. She not only lit up the big screen, but also the lives of women all over the world.