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 find out the cause of her illness with confidence, so she was sent to Hammersmith Hospital in London. She was then only semi-conscious (半清醒狀態(tài)) and on the "Dangerously Ill" list. A team of doctors hurried to examine the baby only to discover that they, too, were confused by the very unusual symptoms (癥狀). While they were discussing the baby's case, a nurse asked to speak to them.
"Excuse me," said Nurse Marsha Maitlan, "but I think the baby is suffering from thallium poisoning. (鉈中毒)"
"What makes you think that?" Dr. Brown asked. "Thallium poisoning is extremely rare."
"A few days ago, I was reading a novel called A Pale Horse by Agatha Christie," Nurse Maitlan explained. "In the book, somebody uses thallium poison, and all the symptoms are described. They're exactly the same as the baby's."
"You're very thoughtful and you may be right," another doctor said. "We'll carry out some tests and find out whether it's thallium or not."
Tests showed that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium, a rare metallic substance used in making special glass. Once they knew the cause of the illness, the doctors were able to give the baby the correct treatment. She soon recovered and was sent back to Qatar. Later it was reported that the poison might have come from an insecticide (殺蟲劑) used in Qatar.
【小題1】The one who first suggested the correct cause of the baby's illness was _____.

A．a(chǎn) doctor in Qatar	B．Nurse Maitlan
C．Dr. Brown	D．Agatha Christie

【小題2】The baby was sent to London because _____.

A．she was born there

B．the hospitals in Qatar were full at that time

C．she was the daughter of a doctor in London

D．the Qatar doctors were not sure whether they could cure her

【小題3】As far as we can tell from the passage, Agatha Christie _____.

A．had never met this baby

B．had spent a long time studying the baby's case

C．visited the baby in the hospital at Hammersmith

D．gave Nurse Maitlan some advice on the phone

【小題4】It seems likely from the passage that the baby's illness had something to do with _____.

A．a(chǎn) dangerous pair of glasses

B．the water in Qatar

C．a(chǎn) harmful substance used to kill insects

D．a(chǎn) dead writer

【小題5】When the baby was sent to the hospital in London, her case was considered to be _____.

A．a(chǎn)n urgent one	B．quite a simple one
C．a(chǎn) usual one	D．the result of thallium poisoning

Mr. Brown is an experienced doctor. He is always         when faced with emergency.

A．a(chǎn)s poor as a church mouse                B．a(chǎn)s busy as a bee

C．a(chǎn)s cool as a cucumber                    D．a(chǎn)s strong as a horse

 

Have you ever wanted to feel like you were in a western film? Or maybe you wanted to feel like you were a pioneer traveling the west? It is possible to experience such things during a Wild West vacation! Here are four of the best Wild West vacation locations available:

Walk the Lewis and Clark Trail

Walk some or all of the 3,700 miles trail that was traversed by Mariwether Lewis and William Clark, two of the world’s greatest explorers. Though not all the trails are marked, there are various stops that have been preserved by various historic societies. There is also a coach (長途客車) that makes a 16-day trek following the trail. This begins in St. Louis, Missouri, and ends in Astoria, Oregon.

Venture Route 66

Take a tour or go to see it yourself — ride on the famous Route 66. The road is nearly 2,500 miles long. Harley Davidson offers motorcycle tours that last two weeks. Route 66 will provide an experience that may only be found on the open road. The historic road is still well taken care of.

Visit the Grand Canyon

Visit the greatest canyon in the world, located in Northern Arizona. Raft down the Colorado River, or hike the various trails that run throughout the canyon. If walking is not your thing, there are donkey and horse riding adventures available. In addition, there are motorized boats that float down through the canyon in a week’s time.

Visit Deadwood

Located in South Dakota, Deadwood is a historic landmark. It is the kind of town that comes to mind when one thinks of an old western film. Actors who act as gunslingers (殺手) will often be seen in the streets playing their roles. Winter activities are popular in this old town, and there is always something to do.

1.The underlined word “trek” (Para 2) can be replaced by      .

A．beautiful scenery	B．traveling information
C．pleasant holiday	D．long and hard journey

2.Which of following riding adventures can tourists take on Route 66?              

A．A horse riding adventure.	B．A coach riding adventure.
C．A motorcycle riding adventure.	D．A donkey riding adventure.

3.If you want to hike various trails you are advised to      .

A．visit the Grand Canyon	B．visit Deadwood
C．venture Route 66	D．walk the Lewis and Clark Trail

4.What do we know from the passage?

A．A number of historic stops aren’t protected well.

B．William Clark was a pioneer who explored the west.

C．Western films are the most popular among Americans.

D．None of the trails in the west are marked.

 

What Is a Boy?

Between the innocence of babyhood and the seriousness of manhood we find a delightful creature called a “boy”. Boys come in different sizes, weights, and colors, but all boys have the same belief: to enjoy every second of every minute of every hour of every day and to fill the air with noise until the adult males pack them off to bed at night．

Boys are found everywhere—on top of, under, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around, or jumping to. Mothers spoil them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers love them, and God protects them. A boy is TRUTH with dirt on its face, BEAUTY with a cut on its finger, WISDOM with chocolate in its hair, and the HOPE of the future with a snake in its pocket．

When you are busy, a boy is a trouble-maker and a noise. When you want him to make a good impression, his brain turns to jelly or else he becomes a wild creature bent on destroying the world and himself with it.

A boy is a mixture – he has the stomach of a horse, the digestion of stones and sand, the energy of an atomic bomb, the curiosity of a cat, the imagination of a superman, the shyness of a sweet girl, the brave nature of a bull, the violence of a firecracker, but when you ask him to make something, he has five thumbs on each hand.

He likes ice cream, knives, saws, Christmas, comic books, woods, water (in its natural habitat), large animals, Dad, trains, Saturday mornings, and fire engines． He is not much for Sunday schools, company, schools, books without pictures, music lessons, neckties, barbers, girls, overcoats, adults, or bedtime.

Nobody else is so early to rise, or so late to supper. Nobody else gets so much fun out of trees, dogs, and breezes. Nobody else can put into one pocket a rusty knife, a half eaten apple, a three-feet rope, six cents and some unknown things.

A boy is a magical creature—he is your headache but when you come home at night with only destroyed pieces of your hopes and dreams, he can mend them like new with two magic words, “Hi, Dad!”

1.The whole passage is in a tone of _________．

A．a(chǎn)mbition and expectation                 B．respect and harmony

C．humor and affection                     D．confidence and imagination

2.By saying “he has five thumbs on each hand.”, the author means        .

A．he has altogether five fingers              B．he is slow, foolish and clumsy

C．he becomes clever and smart              D．he cuts his hand with a knife

3.According to the writer, boys appreciate everything in the following except _________．

A．ice cream                             B．comic books

C．Saturday mornings                      D．Sunday schools

4.What does the writer feel about boys?

A．He feels curious about their noise．

B．He is fed up with these creatures．

C．He is amazed by their naughtiness．

D．He feels unsafe staying with them．

 

New York is one of the last large American cities to have some of its policemen on horseback. The New York police have 170 horses that they use in certain parts of the city. The horses are expensive to feed, but it is even more expensive to take care of them. Because the horses must walk on the streets, they need special horseshoes. In fact, they need more than 8,000 of them each year. Every police horse in New York gets new shoes every month. Keeping these shoes in good repair is the job of six blacksmiths. There are only about thirty-five of these blacksmiths in the whole Unite States.

The cost of shoeing a horse is between twenty dollars and thirty--five dollars, and it takes a good blacksmith two to three hours to do the job.  

A blacksmith’s job is not an easy one. He must be able to shape a shoe from a piece of metal and then fit it to the horse’s foot. The blacksmith must bend over all the time when he is fitting the shoe and must hold the weight of the horse’s leg while he works. But even more important, he must be able to deal with horses ------ for before the blacksmith can begin his work, he has to get the horse to lift its leg.

One of the blacksmiths in New York is James Corbin. He came to the country form Ireland in 1948.He not only makes horseshoes for the police but also works for a group of horse owners near the city. Corbin became interested in blacksmithing because his father did it, and, as he puts it, “It’s a good way to make a living.”

According to the reading passage, a blacksmith must be likely a         man.

    A. clever               B. rich             C. strong               D. tall

James Corbin became a blacksmith because he        .

    A. was interested in horses.                    B. was needed by the policemen

    C. drew a picture of the horses                 D. had to make a living

In the reading passage “to shape a shoe” is to       .

    A. fit it on the horse’s foot                          B. use it for two or three hours

    C. make the form of a horseshoe from a piece of metal   D. draw a picture of the shoe

The best title for the passage is          .

    A. Policemen on Horseback               B. Blacksmiths and Horseshoeing

    C. James Corbin, a Blacksmith           D. Horseshoeing Is a Good Way to Make a Living

Which of the following is true?

    A. Only a few large American cities have some policemen on horseback.

    B. New York is the only city in America to have some policemen on horseback.

    C. Policemen on horseback enjoy traveling around the United States.

    D. Policemen on horseback are less expensive than those in cars.