Question

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was born Agatha May Clarissa Miller in Devon, England in 1890, the youngest of three children in a conservative, well-to-do family. Taught at home by a governess and tutors, as a child Agatha Christie never attended school. She became skillful at creating games to keep herself occupied at a very young age. A bashful child, unable to adequately express her feelings, she first turned to music as a means of expression and, later in life, to writing.

In 1914, at the age of 24, she married Archie Christie, a World War I fighter pilot. While he was off at war, she worked as a nurse. It was while working in a hospital during the war that Christie first came up with the idea of writing a detective novel. Although it was completed in a year, it wasn’t published until 1920, five years later.

“The mysterious Affair at Styles” gave the world the unique Hercule Poirot, a retired Belgian police officer who was to become one of the most enduring characters in all of fiction. With his waxed moustache and his “little grey cell,” he was “meticulous (careful to do things correctly), a tidy little man, always neat, orderly and a bit absurd.”

Christie wrote more than 30 novels featuring Poirot. Among the most popular were” The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”(1926), “Murder on the Orient Expredd”(1934), and “Death on the Nile” (1937).

Another of Christie’s most well-known and beloved characters was introduced in “Murder at the Vicarage” in 1930. Miss Jane Marple, an elderly single in the old- fashioned English village of St. Mary Mead, solved all manner of mysteries with intense concentration and instinct.

Christies ultimately (finally)became the acknowledged Queen of the Golden Age. In all, she wrote over 66 novel, numerous short stories and screenplays, and a series of romantic novels using the pen name Mary Westmacott. Several of her works were made into successful feature films, the most notable being Murder on the Orient Express (1974). In short, she is the single most popular mystery writer of all time. In 1971 she was awarded the high honor of becoming a Dame of the British Empire.

1.Which of the following is the correct order in which the events happened?

a. Agatha became a Dame of The British Empire.

b. Agatha worked as a nurse

c. The Mysterious Affair at Styles was published.

d. Murder on the Vicarage Express was published

e. Murder on the Orient Express was filmed

f. Archie Christie went to the front as a fighter pilot.

A. f-b-d-c-e-a B. f-b-c-d-a-e

C. f-d-b-c-a-e D. f-d-c-b-e-a

2.What does the underlined word “bashful” probably mean?

A. Shy B. Conservative C. Stupid D. Sensitive

3.Mary Westmacott is_________________.

A. Agatha’s governess

B. the name of Agatha’s novel

C. another name for Agatha

D. the heroine of Agatha’s novel

4.Which of the following is NOT true about Hercule Poirot?

A. He was once a policeman

B. He paid much attention to details

C. He sometimes seems rather foolish

D. He solved mysterious with a sixth sense

5.In Agatha Christie’s life, What were the most popular novels that she wrote?

A; biography B. detective novel

C. romantic fiction D. science fiction

Answer 1

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.D

5.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文介绍了英国的小说家和剧作家阿加莎克里斯蒂的生平和她的作品。阿加莎克里斯蒂以写侦探小说而出名，被誉为“举世公认的侦探小说女王”。

1.B 细节理解题。根据最后一段的最后一句可知a发生在1971年；根据第二段的第一句和第二句可知f和b发生在1914年；根据第二段的最后一句可知c发生在1920年；根据第五段的第一句可知d发生在1930年；根据第六段倒数第三句可知e发生在1974年，按照年代排列，这六个事件的顺序是f-b-c-d-a-e，故选B。

2.A 猜测词义题。A害羞的；B保守的，守旧的；C愚蠢的；D敏感的。根据划线后面的句子“unable to adequately express her feelings, she first turned to music as a means of expression and, later in life, to writing”可知童年的阿加莎羞于表达自己的情感，划线的bashful和shy的意思相近，故选A。

3.C 细节理解题。根据最后一段的第二句“and a series of romantic novels using the pen name Mary Westmacott”可知Mary Westmacott是阿加莎的笔名，故选C。

4.D 细节理解题。根据第三段的“a retired Belgian police officer who was to become one of ......”可知A项表述符合文意；根据第三段的“meticulous (careful to do things correctly)”可B项表述符合文意；根据第三段的“a bit absurd”可知C项表述符合文意；D项表述文中没有提及，故选D。

5.5】B 推理判断题。通读全文并结合最后一段的“In short, she is the single most popular mystery writer of all time.”可知阿加莎的侦探小说最受欢迎，故选B。

考点：考查人物传记类短文阅读