American magician David Blaine left the glass box in which he has lived for 44 days without food on October19. Hundreds of people came to watch the end of his starvation experiment, which has become one of London's main tourist attractions.

　　Looking thinner and darker,30 year-old Blaine was taken out of his box over the River Thames(泰晤士河)and immediately went to hospital. He was then slowly reintroduced to food, a process(过程) doctors say could be life threatening. He had been drinking only water since September 5.

　　A native of Brooklyn, New York,Blaine first became known as a street magician in the early 1990s. He soon found himself doing magic tricks in bars for the likes of American actor Leonardo DiCaprio and his supermodel friends.

　　Over the last decade Blaine has become famous with a combination of breath taking magic and clever tricks aimed at getting a lot of attention.

　　In1999,he was buried in a coffin(棺材)for one week and, in 2000,he spent 62 hours in a giant block of ice. Last year he stood on top of a 25-meter pillar(柱子)in the center of New York for 35 hours before jumping into a pile of boxes.

　　"I think a lot of people are unable to accept that they're able to do what they can do,"he said."Theydon't realize we cansurvive. The humanbeing is an amazing creation."

　　But he seems to have suffered from spending so long in the glass box. He said that at times he was unable to see, had serious back pains and lost his sense of taste.

　　1.It is ____ for David Blaine to eat food after such a long starvation.

　　A.pleasantB.deliciousC.dangerousD.important

　　2.Having spent such a long time in the glass box, he suffered the following EXCEPT that____.

　　A.he had become blind

　　B.he had serious backpains

　　C.helosthissenseoftaste

　　D.he was in weakhealth

　　3.Which of the following can best describe David Blaine?

　　A.Serious. B.Adventurous. C.Mad. D.Crazy.

　　4.Which of the following is NOT true of David Blaine?

　　A.Blaine immediately went to hospital after he was taken out of his box because he was in dangerous condition.

　　B.Blaine was born and brought up in England.

　　C.InBlaine's opinion, people can create a wonder.

　　D.Blaine didn't have any food for44 days.

　　(B)

　　A lot of us lose life's tougher battles by starting a frontal(正面的)attack-when a touch of humor might well enable us to win. Consider the case of a young friend of mine, who hit a traffic jam on his way to work shortly after receiving an ultimatum(最后通牒)about being late on the job. Although there was a good reason for Sam's being late-serious illness at home-he decided that this by-now-familiar excuse wouldn't work any longer. His supervisor was probably already pacing up and down preparing a dismissal speech. Yes, the boss was, as Sam entered the office at9:35. The place was as quiet as a locker room(更衣室);everyone was hard at work. Sam's supervisor came up to him. Suddenly, Sam forced a grin and stretched out his hand."How do you do!"he said."I'm Sam Maynard. I'm applying for a job. Which, I understand, became available just 35 minutes ago. Does the early bird get the worm?"

　　The room exploded in laughter. The supervisor clamped off a smile and walked back to his office. Sam Maynard had saved his job-with the only tool that could win, a laugh.

　　Humor is a most effective, yet frequently neglected(忽略), means of handling the difficult situations in our lives. It can be used for patching up differences, apologizing, saying"no,"criticizing, getting the other fellow to do what you want without his losing face. For some jobs, it's the only tool that can succeed. It is away to discuss subjects so sensitive that serious dialogue may start a quarrel. For example, many believe that comedians(喜剧演员)on television are doing more today for racial and religious tolerance(忍受力)than people in any other forum.

　　1.WhywasSamlateforhisjob?

　　A.Because he was ill. B.Because he got up late. C.Because he was caught in a traffic jam.

　　D.He was busy applying for a new job.

　　2.The main idea of this passage is ____.

　　A.Sam Maynard saved his job with humor

　　B.humor is important in our lives

　　C.early bird gets the worm

　　D.humor can solve racialdiscriminations

　　3.The phrase"clamped off"in paragraph 3 means____.

　　A.tried to hold back B.tried to set C.charged D.gaveout

　　4.Which of the following statements can we infer from the passage?

　　A.Many lose life's battles because they are lacking in a sense of humor. B.It wasn't the first time that Sam came late for work. C.Sam was supposed to arrive at his office at8:30. D.Humor is the most effective way of solving problems.【解析】(A)

　　美国魔术师David Blaine多次挑战人体极限，这次又进行了44天的饥饿实验。人们对此众说纷纭。

　　1.C。推测题。根据He was then slowly reintroduced to food, a process doctors say could be life threatening可知，进食对他来说是个威胁生命的过程。

　　2.A。细节题。文中说at time she was unable to see，是说他有时看不见东西，但并不等于说他的眼睛瞎了。故A的说法不符合事实。

　　3.B。推断题。根据buried in a coffin for one week...spent 62 hours in a giant block of ice...stood on top of a 25-meter pillar in the center of New York for 35 hours before jumping into a pile of boxes等细节描写，我们可以得出这个结论：David Blaine喜欢冒险。故选B。

　　4.B。细节题。根据Anative of Brooklyn,New York我们可以知道Blaine是地地道道的美国人。(B)

　　本文通过一个小故事讲述了幽默的重要性。

　　1.C。细节题。根据who hit a traffic jam on his way to work可知，他迟到的原因是，他碰上了交通堵塞。

　　2.B。主旨题。短文第一句是主题句A lot of us lose life's tougher battles by starting a frontal(正面的)attack-when a touch o humor might well enable us to win.(在人生很多场激烈的争斗中，我们如果与人硬碰硬正面交锋的话，可能败得一蹋糊涂。而幽默往往使我们反败为胜)，可见，整篇短文讲的是幽默的重要性。

　　3.A。词义猜测题。前面提到老板连辞退他的话都想好了，而Sam开的这个玩笑使人们哄堂大笑。而老板为了树立他的威严，仍然强忍着他的笑容。故答案为A。

　　4.B。推断题。根据shortly after receiving an ultimatum(最后通牒)about being late on the job我们可以了解到，Sam不是第一次上班迟到了。

　　(文/高利平；英语通高三版2004年第1期；版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)