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.

    I' m ready to do my first jump 10 months after a skydiving (特技跳伞) accident. I can't wait! That accident almost killed (杀死) me and it made me stay in hospital for half a year. During the boring long days, I didn't feel good. "How could I live without my favourite sport?" I thought.

    It all started one evening after a nine-to-five day. I was sitting at home when an ad (广告)came on the television. "Try skydiving," it said. The next day, I went to the skydiving school in my town, At the end of the day's lessons, ] knew I found the right sport for me.

    I will never forget my first jump. Five of us walked to the runway and got into a plane. I was afraid, but the others were talking and smiling, and I started to feel a little relaxed. It was a beautiful, cloudless day and the sun was just going down. Soon it was time to jump. As I jumped from the plane, I shouted. But then everything became quiet (安静的). It was the most wonderful four minutes of my life.

    From the first jump, I was hooked. I started spending all my free time skydiving. It became my reason (理由) for living. Things were going really well. Then an accident happened on my 104th jump. I broke my both legs, right arm and nose. I stayed in hospital for six months, but I still couldn't forget skydiving.

    My mother couldn't understand why the only reason I wanted to get better was to go skydiving again. But for me, skydiving is life, and life is skydiving.

    Do you know any 9-year-olds who have started their own museums? When Theodore Roosevelt was only nine and two of his cousins opened the "Roosevelt Museum of Natural History". The museum was in Theodore's bedroom. It had a total of 12 specimens(标本). On display were a few seashells, some dead insects and some birds' nests. Young Roosevelt took great pride in his small museum.

    Born in New York in 1858, Theodore Roosevelt was not always healthy. "I was a sickly, delicate boy, "he once wrote. Roosevelt had a health condition called asthma (哮喘). He often found it hard to breathe. Instead of playing, he watched nature and then read and wrote about it.

    Roosevelt's interest in nature sometimes got him into trouble. Once, his mother found several dead mice in the icebox. She ordered him to throw them out. This was indeed "a loss to science", Roosevelt said later.

    Because Roosevelt was often sickly as a boy, his body was small and weak. When he was about 12, his father urged him to improve his body. Roosevelt began working out in a gym. He didn't become strong quickly. But he did decide to face life's challenges with a strong spirit. That determination stayed with Roosevelt's whole life. And finally his body did get strong. As an adult, he was an active, healthy person. He enjoyed adventures and loved outdoors.

    In 1900, at the age of 41, Roosevelt was elected Vice President. A year later, President Mckinley was shot and killed. Roosevelt became the 26th president of the USA. At 42, he was the youngest leader the country had ever had.

    Zhou Xun is a famous (著名的)film star(明星) of China. She has an English name—Jue. She was born on October(十月) 18th. She comes from Zhejiang Province(省). She is 1.60 meters tall, and she is slim and beautiful. She has black hair in two bunches. She likes watching VCD and sleeping. Her favourite colors are black and blue. She also loves running. Living a happy life is her wish(希望). Lots of students and young people like her.