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。

第三节  完形填空(每空1分，共20分)

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项中选出一个最佳答案。

After the war between Britain and France which lasted 7 years, James Cook got married and   21   down in London. For several years, Captain Cook   22   to the east of America   23   he made a map of its  24   ．In 1768 came Cook's   25   for a major expedition. The navy was   26   a plan for an expedition   27   the South Pacific Ocean in   28   of watching a very unusual   29  ， that is the planet Venus   30　　between the earth and the sun in 1769. His   31   hope was to find a new land   32   was thought to be   33   in the Indian and Pacific Ocean.   34   Captain Cook was to be there in charge of this expedition   35   Captain of the ship   36  "Endeavour". It was an old merchant ship just like   37   on which Cook had learnt his seamanship. It was strongly built and had a lot of space   38   for storage. Cook understood there would be a lot of hardship for them, so he got everything   39   it. In this expedition, he had sailed around   40   and up the east coast of Australia, charting(绘制) over 8,000 miles of coastline that had been unknown before.

 21. A. set          B. sailed      C. sent       D. settled

 22. A. went       B. flew        C. sailed     D. came

 23. A. which     B. where     C. that        D. when

 24. A. countries    B. coasts      C. cities      D. seas

 25. A. chance           B. hope       C. ship       D. expedition

 26. A. finding      B. learning     C. doing     D. making

 27. A. in               B. to               C. for         D. at

 28. A. the hope     B. a view     C. an idea   D. plan

 29. A. accident     B. incident      C. matter    D. event

 30. A. existing      B. setting     C. passing   D. appearing

 31. A. first        B. second           C. third       D. last

 32. A. which     B. where     C. what       D. on which

 33. A. passing      B. going      C. existing      D. sailing

 34. A. but         B. as          C. and         D. for

 35. A. of           B. for          C. like        D. as

 36. A. which called      B. called  C. call        D. calling

 37. A. one         B. it         C. the one       D. what

 38. A. down      B. off          C. up          D. away

 39. A. full prepared for            B. fully prepared for

C. fully preparing         D. full preparation

40. A. Endland          B. Australia   C. New Zealand      D. Tasmania

第三节 完形填空(每空1分，共20分)
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项中选出一个最佳答案。
After the war between Britain and France which lasted 7 years, James Cook got married and   21   down in London. For several years, Captain Cook   22   to the east of America   23   he made a map of its  24  ．In 1768 came Cook's   25   for a major expedition. The navy was   26   a plan for an expedition   27   the South Pacific Ocean in   28   of watching a very unusual   29 ， that is the planet Venus   30　　between the earth and the sun in 1769. His   31   hope was to find a new land   32   was thought to be   33   in the Indian and Pacific Ocean.   34   Captain Cook was to be there in charge of this expedition   35   Captain of the ship   36  "Endeavour". It was an old merchant ship just like   37   on which Cook had learnt his seamanship. It was strongly built and had a lot of space   38   for storage. Cook understood there would be a lot of hardship for them, so he got everything   39   it. In this expedition, he had sailed around   40   and up the east coast of Australia, charting(绘制) over 8,000 miles of coastline that had been unknown before.
21. A. set         B. sailed     C. sent      D. settled
22. A. went      B. flew       C. sailed    D. came
23. A. which     B. where     C. that       D. when
24. A. countries    B. coasts     C. cities     D. seas
25. A. chance          B. hope      C. ship      D. expedition
26. A. finding      B. learning     C. doing    D. making
27. A. in              B. to              C. for        D. at
28. A. the hope     B. a view     C. an idea   D. plan
29. A. accident     B. incident      C. matter    D. event
30. A. existing      B. setting     C. passing   D. appearing
31. A. first       B. second          C. third      D. last
32. A. which     B. where     C. what      D. on which
33. A. passing      B. going     C. existing      D. sailing
34. A. but        B. as          C. and        D. for
35. A. of          B. for         C. like       D. as
36. A. which called      B. called  C. call       D. calling
37. A. one        B. it         C. the one       D. what
38. A. down     B. off         C. up         D. away
39. A. full prepared for           B. fully prepared for
C. fully preparing        D. full preparation
40. A. Endland         B. Australia   C. New Zealand      D. Tasmania

第三节完形填空（共20小题，计分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21￣40各题所给的四个选项中，选出一个最佳答案。
At the end of my senior year of high school, I got a job working at a local coffee shop. I thought the job would be easy and stress-free. I   21   myself pouring the best coffees, making delicious doughnut (炸面包圈), and becoming friends with   22   customers.
But I wasn't   23    the people with enormous orders, the women who   24  that the coffee was much too creamy (全乳脂的), or the men who wanted their iced coffees   25  again and again until they reached perfection. I couldn't seem to   26 anyone.
One rainy day, one of my regular customers came in looking  27  . He said he felt like getting in bed, pulling the   28  up over his head, and staying there for a few years. I knew exactly how he felt.
29   he left, I handed him a bag along with his iced coffee. He was   30  , since he hadn’t ordered anything but coffee, I had given him his favorite type of doughnut.
“It’s   31  me,” I told him. “have a nice day.”
He smiled and thanked me before heading back out into the  32  .
The next day, it was still raining. I   33  my afternoon hanging out the window, handing people their  34   . I was completely wet and freezing cold.   35  , no one was tipping that day. Every time I looked into our   36   tip jar, I grew more depressed.
In the evening, the customer from the day before drove up to the window. He handed me a pink rose and a  37 ．He said that not many people took time to  38  others and he was glad there were still people like me in the world．With a friendly wave, he drove away．I ran to the back of the shop and read the note．It read:
Christine,
Thanks for being so sweet, kind and thoughtful yesterday．It's so nice to meet someone who’s genuinely （真诚地） nice．Please don ' t change your   39  ! Have a great day !——Hank
After that, whenever I felt depressed or sick of coffee, I thought of Hank and his kindness．Then I would smile, hold my head up high,   40   my throat and ask politely, "How can I help you?"
21．A．believed             B．hoped               C．pictured           D．supposed
22．A．particular        B．regular   C．special           D．common
23．A．thinking  B．considering           C．guessing          D．expecting
24．A．complained     B．praised     C．doubted           D．explained
25．A．repeated         B．returned        C．recovered       D．remade
26．A．fit         B．please   C．suit      D．meet
27．A．satisfied        B．happy    C．upset            D．anxious
28．A．hat             B．sheet          C．coat       D．pillow
29．A．Before         B．After        C．Until           D．While
30．A．embarrassed    B．angry          C．surprised D．glad
31．A．on                  B．in       C．for      D．after
32．A．crowd         B．street    C．shop             D．rain
33．A．spent     B．took   C．cost     D．wasted
34．A．doughnuts      B．coffees         C．orders     D．bags
35．A．Better              B．Worse              C．Further           D．Later
36．A．old            B．full              C．broken         D．empty
37．A．letter          B．bill            C．note             D．gift
38．A．talk about      B．care about   C．hear about            D．know about
39．A．way     B．job       C．mind            D．product
40．A．cut                  B．force       C．raise        D．clear