One of the most famous writers from England by far is Agatha Christie.
Agatha Christie’s real name was Agatha Miller. She was born in England in 1890.She married Archibald Christie when she was 24 years old, and she changed her family name to Christie.
She sold her first mystery book in 1920. This book was the first time that the world met Mrs.Christie’s famous detective Hercule Poirot. Ten years after that, Mrs. Christie wrote her book with her second famous detective, Miss Marple.
In 1928, Mrs. Christie’s first marriage broke up. She married M.E.L. Mallowan in 1930, but she still wrote her books under the name Agatha Christie.
In her life, Agatha Christie wrote 60 books, 16 plays, and more than 100 short stories. She passed away in 1976 when she was 85 years old. Her books can still be found on sale in bookstores all around the world.
【小题1】 What did Aghta Christie do?

One of the most famous writers from England by far is Agatha Christie.

Agatha Christie’s real name was Agatha Miller. She was born in England in 1890.She married Archibald Christie when she was 24 years old, and she changed her family name to Christie.

She sold her first mystery book in 1920. This book was the first time that the world met Mrs.Christie’s famous detective Hercule Poirot. Ten years after that, Mrs. Christie wrote her book with her second famous detective, Miss Marple.

In 1928, Mrs. Christie’s first marriage broke up. She married M.E.L. Mallowan in 1930, but she still wrote her books under the name Agatha Christie.

In her life, Agatha Christie wrote 60 books, 16 plays, and more than 100 short stories. She passed away in 1976 when she was 85 years old. Her books can still be found on sale in bookstores all around the world.

1. What did Aghta Christie do?

A．She was a detective.                     B．she wrote books.

C．She was a mystery．                     D．She knew famous detectives.

2. Who was Hercule Poirot?

A．A detective in her books.                 B．One of her books.

C．Her husband.                          D．A writer.

3. What happened in 1976?

A．Agatha Christie died.

B．Agatha Christie left her husband.

C．Agatha Christie wrote her last book.

D．Agatha Christie wrote a short story.

4. What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Books about detectives.

B．Famous detectives.

C．A famous writer.

D．Agatha Christie or Agatha Miller.

When Roy was four years old, his father ___1____ in an accident, leaving his mother and him. After Roy left high school, he wanted __2_____ to a good college(大学) in his hometown. But his mother would pay ___3___ money for his college education.
I’ll try to do something for you as soon as you pass the entrance exam (入学考试),” said his mother.
Roy took the exam. As a result, he could enter the college ___4___ he didn’t get high scores. His mother was very excited, but she knew quite a lot of money would be needed. The next day, she sold her car and asked her boss ____5__ another four hours’ work every day. She even had two jobs, one during the day and ___6___ at night. She had to walk to work and work for twelve hours a day, seven days a week, but she didn’t ___7_____. She thought her son’s education was worth (值得) so much.
A term passed. Roy took his first exam after entering the college. When the results were told, Roy ran home to _8___ his mother the news.
“Mum”, he said , “I’ve got my exam results. You must be very ___9____.”
“ You mean you’ve passed?” She asked happily.
“No. I haven’t. You can get your car back and stop ___10____ like that from now on.”

The idea for the book Harry Potter and the philosopher’s Stone came to Joanne Kathleen Rowling in 1990. It took her seven years to finish writing it. During those seven years she had a number of jobs, including one job as an English teacher in Portugal.

Rowling sent the book to four publishers before one of them bought it. She was very happy to sell her book because it was her life’s dream to be a published writer. Before she sold her book, Rowling was short of money, living in a small apartment with her daughter. She could not afford heat in the winter.

Harry Potter became very successful with children and adults in England. The book also really took off in the United States. After her second and third books were published, the three Harry Potter books filled the top three places on many newspapers’ lists of best-sellers. Then the books were made into popular movies. Without question, Rowling’s life had completely changed, in just three years.

Harry Potter has now sold more than 30 million books around the world and has been translated into more than thirty-five languages. In 1997, she earned ?70 (about US$110) a week. By the end of 2001, she had earned over ?150 million ($250 million), making her one of the most successful female writers of all time.

56. Rowling’s dream was 　　　.

　 A. to be a book seller B. to make a movie

　 C. to have her books published　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. to be an English teacher

57. Which sentence is TRUE about the first Harry Potter book?

　 A. Four publishers bought it. B. It took the writer many years to finish it.

　 C. It was first published in Portugal.　　　　　　 D. Rowling got the idea from her daughter.

58. Harry Potter has been translated into 　　　 languages.

　 A. about 50 B. more than 35　　　　　 C. about 70　　　　　　　　　 D. more than 150

59. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about Rowling?

　 A. Not many writers are as successful as she is.

　 B. She spent seven years finishing writing her first book.

C. She lived a poor life before her books were published.

　 D. Her books were made into movies and she directed them.

60. This reading is about 　　　 .

　 A. the writer’s life B. Harry Potter’s life

　 C. how the book became a movie　　　　　　　　 D. why Harry Potter is popular