She was known to millions as the "Queen of Crime" or the "Duchess (女公爵) of Death". But surprisingly, she hated violence and blood, and knew nothing of the weapons most often used in murder. "I don't think I dare look at a really horrible and damaged body," Agatha Christie once said. But her pen dared to travel where her eyes would not. In a 50-year writing career, Christie's murder stories made her the world's best-known mystery writer. She is outsold only by the Bible (《圣经》) and Shakespeare.

Her works have been turned into films and TV series, and a line of computer games is set to be released over the next six years.

"My grandmother liked to use new ways to reach people who wanted to enjoy her work," said Christie's grandson, Mathew Prichard. "Turning her stories into PC games allows us to introduce classic mysteries to new audiences."

Born in 1890 in England, Christie was educated at home and began her writing career while working as a nurse during World War I. She went on to produce 79 novels and numerous (大量的) short stories, dying at the age of 86. "With her knowledge of murder, Christie could have been a teacher at police academies," said one fan.

Her first novel, "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" (《斯泰尔斯庄园奇案》), also introduced Hercule Poirot, a retired Belgian (比利时的) police officer who starred in 30 of her works. Among the most popular are "Murder on the Orient Express" (《东方快车谋杀案》) (1934), and "Death on the Nile" (《尼罗河上的惨案》) (1937).

Poirot is a tidy little man with a funny-looking moustache, an egg-shaped head, and a high opinion of himself. He draws conclusions from observing the behavior of those around him, always managing to spot patterns that others cannot see. Poirot has become so famous that someone has even written his biography (传记), "The Life and Times of Hercule Poirot".

Starring in 17 novels, another Christie character, Miss Marple, is nearly as well known as Poirot. But while the Belgian uses his powers of observation, the old Miss Marple relies on her knowledge of human nature to solve crimes. As she once said, "Human nature is the same everywhere."

1. Agatha Christie was a ________ woman.

A. rich B. kind C. bold D. outstanding

2. Christie's murder stories ranked the ________ in sale amount.

A. second B. first C. third D. fourth

3. Christie's stories have been turned into ________ other forms.

A. two B. three C. four D. five

4. Christie's knowledge of murder was ________ .

A. poor B. rich C. limited D. poor

5. Poirot's success lies in his power of ________ while Miss Marple's success belongs to her knowledge of ________ .

A. observation； human nature

B. murder； imagination

C. imagination； murder

D. human nature； observation

(D)篇

1. D。归纳综合题，可用综合归纳法来解。认真阅读分析原文不难发现，Christie一生写了79部小说和大量短篇小说，当然是一个很出色的人。

2. C。推理判断题，可用逻辑推断法来解。由原文第一节末句可推出答案。

3. B。细节判断题，可用直接就题找文法来解。原文第二节体现答案。

4. B。推理判断题，可用逻辑推断法来解。由原文第四节"With her knowledge of murder, Christie could have been a teacher at police academies,"said one fan.可以推出答案。

5. A。细节判断题，可用直接就题找文法来解。原文末节But while the Belgian uses his powers of observation, the old Miss Marple relies on her knowledge of human nature to solve crimes. 体现答案。

本题包含可供选择的（A）和（B）两道题，你可任选其中一题。词数100至130。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  A

Suppose you have received the following letter from a friend. Now write a reply to it.

Dear Cindy,

What happened to you? I went to the station on Saturday morning as we had planned but you didn’t turn up(出现). I didn’t know whether to take the train or not. Finally, as we had booked seats, I got on the train and we had a great weekend. The party on Saturday night at Janice’s home was fun too.

Now it’s Sunday evening. I’ve tried to ring you at your home but there’s no answer. I hope you are all right.

Love,

Kate

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   B

The 21^st Century is a popular paper among teenagers in China. If you have any problem, you can write to the editor and ask for advice. Here is a letter from a student.

Dear Editor,

I’m a student from Xi’an Senior High School. I am having trouble with my classmates at the moment. I’m getting along well with a boy in my class. We often do homework together and we enjoy helping each other. We have become really good friends. But other students have started gossiping(说长道短). They say that this boy and I have fallen in love. This made me angry. I don’t want to end the friendship, but I hate others gossiping. What should I do?

Kate

Write your advice to Kate as an editor. (Your name is Cindy.)

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  A

Suppose you have received the following letter from a friend. Now write a reply to it.

Dear Cindy,

What happened to you? I went to the station on Saturday morning as we had planned but you didn’t turn up(出现). I didn’t know whether to take the train or not. Finally, as we had booked seats, I got on the train and we had a great weekend. The party on Saturday night at Janice’s home was fun too.

Now it’s Sunday evening. I’ve tried to ring you at your home but there’s no answer. I hope you are all right.

Love,

Kate

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   B

The 21^st Century is a popular paper among teenagers in China. If you have any problem, you can write to the editor and ask for advice. Here is a letter from a student.

Dear Editor,

I’m a student from Xi’an Senior High School. I am having trouble with my classmates at the moment. I’m getting along well with a boy in my class. We often do homework together and we enjoy helping each other. We have become really good friends. But other students have started gossiping(说长道短). They say that this boy and I have fallen in love. This made me angry. I don’t want to end the friendship, but I hate others gossiping. What should I do?

Kate

Write your advice to Kate as an editor. (Your name is Cindy.)

Wednesday, October 29,2008.
The United States federal government had two young men in the state of Tennessee arrested on October 22 on unknown charges.
In court documents published on Monday, it came to light that the men had discussed attacking an African – American school and killing 14 of them.
Another crime was about planning to murder Presidential candidate Barack Obama. According to their affidavits (口供), the suspects’ “final act of violence” would be like this: when they attacked Obama they would wear white suits and top hats and drive “their vehicle as fast as they could toward Obama shooting at him from the windows.”
The two suspects are Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Arkansas and Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tennessee. According to the court papers, they met last month over the Internet through a friend. Schlesselman and Cowart are believed to share “very strong views” about White Power.
Schlesselman listed “being racist” as his occupation on his MySpace page. He further wrote: “I'm white. I'm proud. I get angry. I like guns.”
Cowart also had a MySpace page on which photos of guns were presented under a heading of “My Guns”. On his page he wrote, “Better to die quick fighting on your feet than to live forever begging on your knees.”
Some have questioned the pair's ability to carry out the charged plan, but authorities have been very concerned about Obama as the first black presidential candidate from a major party.
“We honestly don't know if they had the ability or the skill to carry out the kind of plan that they talked about.” said Malcolm Wiley, of the United Satates Secret Service in an interview with The New York Times. “But we take any threat seriously no matter how big or how small it is.”
Cowart and Schlesselman are scheduled to appear before a judge on Thursady.
【小题1】The passage is mainly about____________.

单词拼写（每题1分，共10分）
【小题1】It’s clear that the little money he earns can hardly s______ a family as large as his.
【小题2】The West Lake is one of the popular tourist a______ at home and abroad.
【小题3】The goods you bought will be d______ to your house at noon tomorrow.
【小题4】An accident is l______ to happen if you drive fast.
【小题5】Make up a short dialogue, using the u______ phrases in the passage.
【小题6】The Yellow River is one of the top ten rivers in l________ in the world.
【小题7】Children are c________ to know everything they see.
【小题8】Seeing the naughty boy making a noise, Father said to him, “B______ yourself!”
【小题9】 Nowadays every classroom in our school is e______ with an overhead projector(投影仪).
【小题10】He gave v________ excuses for not attending the meeting, but none was convincing.