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。

LONDON —A British judge on Thursday sentenced a businessman who sold fake (假冒的）bomb detectors (探测器) to 10 years in prison, saying the man hadn’t cared about potentially deadly consequences.

It is believed that James McCormick got about $77. 8 million from the sales of his detectors — which were based on a kind of golf ball finder — to countries including Iraq, Belgium and Saudi Arabia.

McCormick, 57，was convicted (判罪) of cheats last month and sentenced Thursday at the Old Bailey court in London.

“Your cheating conduct in selling a great amount of useless equipment simply for huge profit promoted a false sense of security and in all probability materially contributed to causing death and injury to innocent people,’’ Judge Richard Hone told McCormick. “You have neither regret, nor shame, nor any sense of guilt.”

The detectors, sold for up to $ 42,000 each, were said to be able to find such dangerous objects as bombs under water and from the air. But in fact they “lacked any grounding in science” and were of no use.

McCormick had told the court that he sold his detectors to the police in Kenya，the prison service in Hong Kong, the army in Egypt and the border control in Thailand.

“I never had any bad results from customers,” he said.

39. Why was McCormick sentenced to prison?

A. He sold bombs.                              B. He caused death of people.

C. He made detectors.                              D. He cheated in business.

40. According to the judge, what McCormick had done ________ .

A. increased the cost of safeguarding

B. lowered people’s guard against danger

C. changed people’s idea of social security

D. caused innocent people to commit crimes

41. Which of the following is true of the detectors?

A. They have not been sold to Africa.

B. They have caused many serious problems.

C. They can find dangerous objects in water.

D. They don't function on the basis of science.

42. It can be inferred from the passage that McCormick _________ .

A. sold the equipment at a low price

B. was well-known in most countries

C. did not think he had committed the crime

D. had not got such huge profit as mentioned in the text

【语篇解读】本文是一篇记叙文，题材是新闻报道。本文报道了一条卖假冒炸弹探测器的商人被判10年徒刑的新闻。

【解析】

39. D。细节理解题。难度：中等。问题是“为什么McCormick被判刑入狱”。根据问题中的关键词sentenced to prison定位原文第一段。第一段说到McCormick是一位商人，生产了假冒的炸弹探测器，这是一种商业欺骗。选项D和其对应，为正确答案。

40. B。细节理解题。难度：难。问题是“根据法官的说法，McCormick的所为导致了什么样的结果”。根据问题中的关键词according to the judge定位第四段的第一句：your cheating conduct … promoted a false sense of security and … contributed to causing death and injury to innocent people（你的欺骗行为提高了人们虚假的安全感并助推给无辜百姓带来死亡和伤害）。由此可见，McCormick的行为让人们有了安全感，但这种安全并不真实。B “降低了人们防范危险的安全意识”符合此意，为正确答案。

41. D。判断题。难度：难。问题是“下面哪种说法对探测仪来说是正确的”。

解题思路：根据问题中的关键词detectors，把四个选项具体对应到原文中一处。A对应文章倒数第二段的最后一句he sold his detectors to the police in Kenya，the prison service in Hong Kong, the army in Egypt and the border control in Thailand。该句中的Kenya是非洲的肯尼亚，否定了A的说法。B对应第一段第一句“the man hadn’t cared about potentially deadly consequences”，法官只说罪犯没有关注潜在的致命后果，而不是已经导致严重的问题。C对应第五段的第一句话“were said to be able to find such dangerous objects as bombs under water and from the air”提示，探测仪的功能只是据说，而不一定真的具备找到水中危险物品的功能。选项D定位第五段的最后一句“in fact they ‘lacked any grounding in science’ and were of no use可知，这种探测仪没有科学根据，也毫无用途，和D“没有科学根据的工作原理”相吻合，故最佳答案是D。

42. D。推理判断题。难度：中等。

解题思路：返回原文，将选项与原文一一进行比较。

本题主要考查第四段和第七段。A“以低价销售设备”与原文第四段第一句不符，因为该句提到法官指控McCormick通过卖一些无用的设备来巨额利润。B“在大多数国家很有名”与文中提到的区区几个国家和地区Iraq，Belgium，Saudi Arabia，Kenya，Hong Kong，Egypt和Thailand购买他的探测仪不符。C“认为他没有犯罪”和第七段对应，其中他所说的“I never had any bad results from customers”和C符合，Ｃ是正确答案。Ｄ“他没有赚取文中提到的那么大利润”在原文没有语言根据。

Recently a man came to me, because he was told that there is fluid(积液) around his heart. After trying many drugs which were of no use to reduce the fluid, the doctor told him the only other choice was to have an operation. He refused because he knew that every illness has a mental cause and that if he had the operation but did not clear the mental cause, the fluid would return. At last, he searched the Internet to find a metaphysical healer(玄学治疗师), and he found me.
The mental cause of his disease was an experience of breaking up five years ago with several friends, whom he had known for over twenty years. This experience broke his heart. Not knowing how to “mend” his broken heart, his body created a “repair” by surrounding his heart with fluid to protect it from the sad feelings.
Our work focused on reminding him of the feelings of being loved and forgiving his friends. Months later, his hearts was mended and the fluid disappeared. He left my office after the final session with a smile on his face and a spring in his step.
The key is: to create a healthy body, you must be healthy not only in body, but also in mind.
To be mentally healthy, you need to build up strong relationships. Creating strong relationships will insure that you are accompanied by a network of loving persons. It is important for building a support system that lifts your spirits. Even when you are alone, you will not feel lonely or upset. Strong relationships are not spaceships——they are not hard to build.
【小题1】In order to cure his illness, which of the following ways did the patient try?
? taking many medicines           ? having an operation
? seeing a metaphysical healer    ? visiting different doctors

OPEC Decides not to Increase Production 
Vienna－In spite of Iraq’s decision to stop oil deliveries ,the 11-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) will not increase production to make up the shortfall , ministers decided Tuesday in Vienna .
The 11 oil ministers decided to meet again on July 3 to discuss the effects of the Iraq temporary stop .The organization’s president ,Chakib Khelil of Algeria ,said after the meeting that stocks were high and prices were stable ,so quota（配额） increases were not necessary .
The E.U. Commission has expressed concern about Iraq’s output stop .A speaker said OPEC had to take all possible measures to keep or lower the oil price .
Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali Al-Nuaimi had earlier said there would not be any shortage of oil in the market .The organization had already taken steps to fill the gap .he said .OPEC Secretary General Ali Rodriguez added that the period of the Iraq stopping exports was not known ,so other exporters were not going to lift quotas yet .If the market was destabilized （动摇的）,a suitable response could be made .
Iraq on Monday stopped shipments of crude oil to protest against the U.N. Security Council’s decision to extend the oil-for–food program by only a month , instead of the normal six-month renewal（延期）.
Just before the Vienna meeting , oil prices had gone up ,with a barrel of OPEC crude selling for 27.05 dollars ,up from 26.81 dollars last Friday .North sea oil was at 29.26 dollars Monday evening .
OPEC wants the oil price to stay within a margin of 22 to 28 dollars and achieved that with cuts in January and March that reduced 2.5 million barrels per day off quotas .
(Reports from SOHU English News HOMEPAGE (CHINESE) June 6 ,2001)
【小题1】．Iraq made the decision to stop oil deliveries because ____ .
A  oil price is too low in the international market
B the U.N.Security Council has decided to shorten the time for the oil-for-food programme 
C many oil wells were destroyed during the war in the late 1980s
D it couldn’t get enough money to develop its economy
【小题2】．The attitude the E.U. Commission took towards Iraq’s output stop is ___ .
A  active      B concerned      C cold      D surprising
【小题3】“The organization ”here refers to _____ .
A OPEC       B  the E.U. Commission     C  the U.N. Security     D WHO
【小题4】．The main idea of the passage is ____ .
A the oil prices in the world were stable though Iraq had stopped oil deliveries  
B OPEC wants the oil price to stay within a margin of 22 to 28 dollars
C OPEC will not increase oil production to make up the shortfall that is caused by Iraq .
D  oil is connected with people’s daily life
【小题5】．The 11 oil ministers decided to meet on July 3 so that ____ .
A they can persuade Iraq to continue oil production 
B they can have a discussion about the effects of Iraq’s temporary oil stop
C  they can have a talk with the U.N. Security Council
D they can make up their minds to increase oil production 

单词拼写（共10小题；每小题0.5分，满分5分）
【小题1】We have our bad times but on the whole we’re f____________ happy. 
【小题2】His health is improving day by day. It is quite a____________ that the medicine has a good effect on his disease.  
【小题3】He has talents by which he might d____________ himself.
【小题4】All these trees are over 800 years old, some d____________ back to 1,000 years ago.
【小题5】 Since the famine broke out, the number of people dying of s____________ has been increasing.
【小题6】 The attack by terrorists has been ____________(谴责) by the entire world.
【小题7】We must learn to ____________(调整) to the quick pace of life in modern society.
【小题8】Why ____________ (操心，烦扰) to go abroad to study when there are so many good universities at home?
【小题9】The ____________ (植物学的) analyses have showed us that it used to be a lake.
【小题10】This is a primitive necklace and it is so well ____________ (保存).