Magic Tricks
The skilled magician can create an illusion that
seems impossible to explain at first glance.
This can be anything from "magically" guessing the card you
picked out of the deck to making an elephant disappear.
We usually pass a magician's performance off as a
bunch of "tricks." When
dealing with magic, though, there always remains the key question: "What
if?"
Magicians perform in three different
settings. There is "close-up"
magic, where the audience is standing right beside the magician and able to see
his every move (at least what he wants you to see). The tricks usually focus on basic card or
coin tricks. This setting is often the
hardest for a magician to perform in without someone "catching on".
Another setting is "parlor magic,"
where an audience is separated by a small distance. This allows for the use of more props and
more involved tricks, such as sawing someone in half only to have them stand up
without a scratch.
The last setting is "stage magic,"
which has no limits. In this format, a
magician can easily make large items disappear and reappear right in front of
the audience. Recently, a famous
magician made it so the Statue of Liberty seemed to vanish before a stunned
audience sitting on the other side of the harbor. Don't worry—moments
later he made it reappear!
Reading
Comprehension Questions
1) What was the author’s purpose in writing this
passage?
a.
to promote the benefits close-up magic
b.
to give a detailed history of magic
c.
to predict the future of stage magic
d.
to explain the different types of magic
2) In the 2nd paragraph of the above passage, what
is meant by the question, “What If”?
a.
“What if it really was
magic?”
b.
“What if it really was a
joke?”
c.
“What if it really was a
hoax?”
d.
“What if it really was
impossible?”
3) According to the passage, which of the following could best
be defined as "a slight distance
between the magician and the audience"?
a.
close-up magic
b.
cooperative magic
c.
parlor magic
d.
stage magic
4) Which of these settings would a magician use to perform tricks
with giant items, like an elephant?
a.
close-up
b.
cooperative magic
c.
parlor magic
d.
stage magic
5) In the first sentence of the above passage, what is the
meaning of the word “illusion”?
a.
a genuine article
b.
a phony display
c.
a hideous prop
d.
a true picture
Answer Key
1)
What was the
author’s purpose in writing this passage?
a.
to promote the benefits close-up magic
b.
to give a detailed history of magic
c.
to predict the future of stage magic
d.
to explain the
different types of magic
2)
In the 2nd
paragraph of the above passage, what is meant by the question, “What If”?
a.
“What if it really was magic?”
b.
“What if it
really was a joke?”
c.
“What if it
really was a hoax?”
d.
“What if it
really was impossible?”
3)
According to
the passage, which of the following could best be defined as "a slight distance between the magician
and the audience"?
a.
close-up magic
b.
cooperative magic
c.
parlor magic
d.
stage magic
4)
Which of
these settings would a magician use to perform tricks with giant items, like an
elephant?
a.
close-up
b.
cooperative magic
c.
parlor magic
d.
stage magic
5)
In the first
sentence of the above passage, what is the meaning of the word “illusion”?
a.
a genuine article
b.
a phony display
c.
a hideous prop
d.
a true picture