Question

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 (半清醒状态) 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 (症状). 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. (铊中毒)"

"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 (杀虫剂) used in Qatar.

The one who first suggested the correct cause of the baby's illness was _____.

A. a doctor in Qatar               B. Nurse Maitlan

C. Dr. Brown                    D. Agatha Christie

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

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

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

A. a dangerous pair of glasses

B. the water in Qatar

C. a harmful substance used to kill insects

D. a dead writer

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

A. an urgent one               B. quite a simple one

C. a usual one                 D. the result of thallium poisoning

Answer 1

【小题1】B

【小题2】D

【小题3】A

【小题4】C

【小题5】A

解析:

【小题1】细节题。根据第二段最后提到的nurse asked to speak to them.

"Excuse me," said Nurse Marsha Maitlan, "but I think the baby is suffering from thallium poisoning. (铊中毒)"可知，是B项是她提供的建议救了那个孩子。

【小题2】细节题。根据文章第二段Doctors were unable to find out the cause of her illness with confidence, so she was sent to Hammersmith Hospital in London.可知是因为无法确诊孩子的疾病才送往伦敦的。

【小题3】细节理解题。根据文章开头可知Agatha Christie一个侦探作家，本文发生的故事就和他笔下的一篇文章相似，是他救了孩子，确切的说是他写的文章在这里被护士充分利用而拯救孩子的命。并且文章一开始已经交待a dead author，本故事发生时他已经死了，所以他永远也不会看到过这个孩子。

【小题4】细节题。根据文章最后可知Later it was reported that the poison might have come from an insecticide (杀虫剂) used in Qatar.孩子的病跟杀虫剂有关。

【小题5】推断题。根据文章描述孩子的病情很严重，是半昏迷状态，所以说不能确诊立刻转院，说明此种情况是紧急的。