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。

.

III. 短文改错（共10小题，计10分）此题要求改正所给短文中的错误。对标有题号的每一行作出判断：如无错误，在该行右边边横线上画一个勾(√)；如有错误(每行只有一个错误)，则按下列情况改正：

此行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线划掉。  

此行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，在该行右边横线上写出该加的词。此行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线，在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。注意：原行没有错的不要改。

Ken is a young man and have a big dog and a small　　   1.____________　　

car. Last Sunday he did some shopping for hour in a 　　　 2____________　

shop and then ran out and jump into a car. His dog 　　　 3.____________　

came after him, but it jumped into the next one.　　　　　 4.____________　

Ken saw it and shouted it, but the dog still stayed 　　　      5.____________

in that car. Ken puts his key into the lock of the car, 　       6.____________

but the key couldn’t turn on.. Ken looked at the car 　　　    7.____________

again. It was not him! He was in the wrong car, 　　　　　   8.____________

when the dog was in the right one! At last the young 　　     9.____________

man was smiled and got into his car with the dog. 　　　　  10.____________

第二节 短文改错（共10小题，每题1.5分，满分15分）

此题要求改正所给短文中的错误。对标题号的每一行作出判断：如无错误，在该行右边横线上画一个勾(√)；如有错误(每行只有一个错误)，则按下列情况改正：

此行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线(\)划掉。

此行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，在该行右边横线上写出该加的词。

此行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线，在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。注意：原行没有错的不要改。

Dear Sally,

Now I' d like to tell you something about my part-time job this   76.________

summer vacation, in which I worked like a guide in a travel agency.   77.________

The work was interesting but tired. I think it was helpful to work this 78.________

holiday. That was the first time that I have earned money on my own. 79.________

I've come to understand how hard my parents work to support for     80.________

the family. I used to keep on ask them for money, but now I' 11 never   81.________

waste money and learn to share worries with my parent. I've learnt how  82.________

to get along well with others. What' s worse, I' ve gained some working  83.________

and social experience and I have learnt something can't be learnt from  84.________

textbooks. All this will be good for my future. In the word, I had a    85.________

wonderful and valuable summer vacation.

短文改错（共10小题，每小题1.5分；满分15分）

此题要求改正所给短文中的错误。对标题号的每一行做出判断：如无错误，在该行右边横线上勾（√）；如有错误（每行只有一个错误），则按下列情况改正：

此行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线划掉。

此行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（^），在该行右边横线上写出该加的词。

此行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线，在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。

注意：原行没有错的不要改。

Henry Royce did not like his car, that ran badly and often broke down.         76．___________

So he decided to make better car himself,                                                77．___________

and in 1904 he produced his first new model. Charles Rolls,                         78．___________

a car maker, was very interesting in Royce’s car, and soon                    79．___________

Rolls and Royce go into business together. One of their first                       80．___________

model was the Silver Ghost. In 1907, a Silver Ghost broke                                 81．___________

the world’s record by drive 14,371 miles without breaking                             82．___________

down once. After the drive, it was cost just over ￡2 to put                                     83．___________

the car back into perfect condition. This is not surprising that                          84．___________

the Silver Ghost was regarded “the best car in the world”.                              85．___________

第二节短文改错（共10小题，每小题1.5分，满分15分）
此题要求改正所给短文中的错误，对标题号的每一行做出判断：
如无错误，在该行右边的横线上划（√）；
如有错误，（每行只有一个错误），则按下列情况改正：
此行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（/）划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该次，并也用斜线划掉。
此行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），在该行右边的横线上写出该加的词。
此行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线，在该行右边的划线上写出改正后的词。
注意：原行没有错的不要改。
When an English traveler, who spent a few week in Sweden,                          76.________
was about to return to home, he found he had only enough                             77.________
money left to get a ticket to England. Since it was only two-day                            78. ________
voyage, he believed he can get home without eating                                       79. ________
anything. He final bought a ticket with that little money and                                  80. ________
went to board the ship. He closed his ears to the sound                                          81. ________
of the lunch bell or refused to go to where people had                                    82. ________
his dinner when dinnertime came. However, he couldn’t                                 83. ________
stand this any longer and went to the dining hall, enjoy the                             84. ________
last meal on the ship. He then said, “Waiter, brings me the bill.”                      85. ________
“Oh, meals are included in the ticket,” said the waiter.