The Man of Many Secrets — Harry Houdini — was one of the greatest American entertainers(表演者) in the theater. He was a man famous for his escapes（逃走；逃生） — from prison cells（囚室）, from wooden boxes floating（漂浮） 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 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 club in New York. 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 very successful. Then Harry performed his first prison （监狱）escape in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded（说服） a detective（侦探） which to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch.

    It was the publicity(宣传) 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 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, pass quickly from her mouth to his.

    Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison 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.

    My name is Nick. I have four new good friends. They are Dick, Helen, Jack and Amy. Now, they're in the garden. Dick and Jack are boys. Dick is tall and strong. Jack is tall but he's not strong. He is thin. Helen and Amy are girls. They're twins. They are short and slim. Dick is thirteen. Helen is thirteen too. They're in the same class. Jack is in Class4. His shoes are black and his T-shirt is white.

    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.

    Four years ago when I was a boy of 11, I got into the biggest trouble as a kid. It was a Saturday morning. Both my parents were out, leaving me and my 10－month－old sister home alone. Anyway, my sister was still asleep in her room. In fact I had the house to myself. I decided to do some drawing. Soon I gave up. Nothing was on TV, so I felt bored and touched the candles on the shelf…I had an idea! What would happen if I set fire to some kitchen paper? Well, of course it went on fire, but it wasn't the tiny flame(火苗) I'd expected, and I couldn't blow it out. I threw it on the floor, and then I got my dad's boots(靴子) and stamped it out.

    But there was a huge hole left on the floor. When my mum came home later, she smelt the smoke immediately. She dropped the shopping bag, luckily for me, over the hole. I thought this meant she would never see it. However, after running round the house checking for a fire, she of course picked up the bag and saw the hole. Next I was grounded(关禁闭)  for months. Even worse though, the hole was still there, reminding me of what I did.

    Colin Boyle was born in 1973 near Dublin, Ireland. While he was ill in hospital at age 10, his uncle gave him an old violin. He loved it right away. After he left the hospital, he practiced at his school every day after class.

    One day in 1987, John Leaf, the manager (经纪人) of several successful musicians, came to Colin's school. He was having a meeting with the headmaster when he heard Colin practicing. After the meeting, he found Colin and invited him to appear in one of the concerts he was organizing that year. Colin, however, refused Leaf's invitation because just then he was preparing for some important school exams. Years later, Colin made it to college to study engineering. At college he met Kim O'Malley, who was studying chemistry (化学). Kim was also good at music. Being students, they didn't have much money and they usually worked in a restaurant on weekends.

    One evening in April 1992, while Colin and Kim were at work, they heard that there would be no live (现场演出的) music in the restaurant that night because the singer could not come. Colin and Kim persuadedthe owner of the restaurant to let them play. Everyone was shocked to hear how good they were. After that, they worked hard together and improved greatly in music.