In 1977, a dead author of detective stories saved the life of a 19-month-old baby in a most unusual way. The author was Agatha Christie, one of the most successful writers of detective stories in the world.

In June 1977, a baby girl became seriously ill in Qatar, near Saudi Arabia. Doctors were unable to _31_the cause of her illness, so she _32_ to London and admitted to Hammersmith Hospital, where specialist help was _33 _. She was then only half-conscious（半昏迷） and on the “Dangerously Ill” list. A team of doctors hurried to _34_the baby only to discover that they,  35_, were puzzled by the very unusual symptoms. While they were discussing the baby’s case, a nurse asked to __36 to them.

“Excuse me,” said nurse Marsha Maitland, “_37_ I think the baby is __38_ from thallium poisoning.”

“_39 _ makes you think that?” Dr. Brown asked. “Thallium poisoning is extremely _40_.”

“A few days ago, I was reading a novel called A Pale Horse __41__ Agatha Christie,” Nurse Maitland explained. “In the book, somebody uses thallium poison, and _42_ the symptoms are _43_. They are exactly the same as the baby’s.”

“You’re very observant and you may be right,” another doctor said. “We’ll _44_some tests and find out _45_ it’s thallium or not.”

The _46_ showed that the baby had  47_ been poisoned by thallium, a rare metal used in making optical（光学的） glass. _48_ they knew the cause of illness, the doctors were able to give the correct treatment. The baby soon _49_ and was sent back to Qatar. Inquiries（调查）showed that the poison __50_ from an insecticide（杀虫剂）used in Qatar.

In 1977，a dead author of detective stories saved the life of a 19-month-old baby in a most unusual way．The author was Agatha Christie，one of the most successful writers of detective stories in the world．

In June 1977，a baby girl became seriously ill in Qatar，near Saudi Arabia．Doctors were unable to  1    the cause of her illness，so she  2  to London and admitted to Hammersmith Hospital，where specialist help was  3  ．She was then only half-conscious（半昏迷）and on the“Dangerously Ill”list．A team of doctors hurried to  4    the baby only to discover that they，5  ，were puzzled by the very unusual symptoms．While they were discussing the baby’s case，a nurse asked to  6   to them.

    “Excuse me，”said Nurse Marsha Maitland，“   7   I think the baby is  8  from thallium poisoning．”

    “  9  makes you think that?”Dr．Brown asked．“Thallium poisoning is extremely  10  ．”

    “A few days ago，I was reading a novel called A Pale Horse    11   Agatha Christie，”Nurse Maitland explained．“In the book，somebody uses thallium poison，and  12   the symptoms are   13  ．They are exactly the same as the baby’s．”

    “You’re every observant and you may be right，”another doctor said．“We’ll  14   some tests and find out  15  it’s thallium or not．”

      The  16  showed that the baby had  17  been poisoned by thallium，a rare metal used in making optical（光学的）glass．   18  they knew the cause of illness, the doctors were able to give the correct treatment．The baby soon 19    and was sent back to Qatar．1nquiries（调查）showed that the poison  20 from an insecticide（杀虫剂）used in Qatar．

1．A．describe              B．diagnose           C．discover             D．discuss

2．A．flew                  B．sent                 C．went                  D．was flown

3．A．inexpensive          B．important          C．available          D．impossible

4．A．examine             B．see                   C．look after            D．cure

5．A．too                    B．either               C．often                  D．never

6．A．refer                  B．turn                 C．speak                  D．belong

7．A．and                    B．so                    C．as                      D．but

8．A．coming              B．suffering          C．tired                   D．dying

9．A．Who                  B．How                C．What                  D．Which

10．A．rare                 B．serious             C．clear                  D．dangerous

11．A．in                     B．on                    C．by                      D．about

12．A．all                    B．some of            C．one of                 D．both

13．A．drawn              B．broadcast         C．announced          D．described

14．A．make up           B．carry out          C．get through         D．deal with

15．A．that                  B．how                 C．what                  D．whether

16．A．words              B．tests                 C．examination        D．book

17．A．indeed              B．actually            C．probably             D．never

18．A．As long as        B．As far as          C．Once                  D．If

19．A．died                 B．got injured        C．recovered           D．got ill

20．A．must come         B．should come       C．might have come  D．can’t have come

What I noticed first about my new parrot, Chico, was that he couldn’t fly. His wings had been cut short and he was stuck on the   1  just like us humans. When the weather turned nice, I took Chico outside. I sat him on a branch of a tree, hoping to make him   2 . At first he seemed   3 . He walked back and forth on the branch looking anxious or nervous. He didn’t even flap his wings in an attempt to fly. Somehow he knew he was   4 .
One day Chico got especially excited . He paced back and forth and made an incredible amount of   5 . Then all of a sudden he stopped and let out an even louder scream. He started   6  flapping his wings for the first time ever － then he lifted off the   7  like a space shuttle! I was amazed and   8  . Little did I know his feathers had been growing back, and Chico had been   9  until the moment was ripe for escape!
Two days later Chico   10  . First I tried to trick him back with food, but he would not come near me. Then I took his   11  and put it away—still he would not come. Finally, I made him a firm promise that I would let him   12  every day the weather was nice if he did come back.   13  , he flew onto my shoulder.
From that day on, whenever the weather was good I would let him out early and he would fly around and be back before dark. The   14  lasted for two months before suddenly Chico became   15 . The vet said that he had been infected with a disease from the pigeons in the neighborhood. Within a few days he died.
I was very sad. The   16  crossed my mind that if I had not set him free to fly, he would be still alive. But what   17  is there in being a bird if you can’t fly?
Chico made his first break for   18  on a late Monday afternoon in April. When will you make yours? You too can take a   19  when the conditions are right, knowing you too, in your own way, were built to fly. If you don’t    20 , what will be the purpose of your life?