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 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 and Shakespeare.
Her works have been turned into films and TV series, and a line of computer games is 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 Pritchard. "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 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.
【小题1】By saying "her pen dared travel where her eyes would not", the writer means        

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 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 and Shakespeare.

Her works have been turned into films and TV series, and a line of computer games is 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 Pritchard. "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 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.

By saying "her pen dared travel where her eyes would not", the writer means         

A. she would like to make a trip with her pen rather than other things

B. she couldn't live without her pen

C. she could describe anything with her pen that she would not like to face

D. she made up stories with her pen

By which means can't we learn the works of Christie?

A. Watching TV.   B. Going to the cinema. C. Reading novels.   D. Playing computer games.

Mathew Prichard's words suggest that      _

A. Christie had been trying to write different stories in different styles

B. Christie was fond of changing styles while writing

C. Christie's works are short of audiences

D. People began to lose interest in Christie's works

The fifth paragraph mainly  

A. tells us Christie is a productive writer                 B. gives us a brief introduction of Christie

C. tells us when Christie took up writing                 D. tells us why Christie was popular

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。

第三部分 任务型阅读（满分10分）

      Joseph Pulitzer(April 10，1847—October 29，1911)was a Hungarian—American publisher best known for establishing the Pulitzer Prizes after death．

      Pulitzer was born in Makó，Hungary．At 17，Pulitzer attempted to join the Austrian army．but was turned down due to age，bad health and poor eyesight. Disappointed but still with hope，he traveled first to Paris and then to London, hoping to join the army there. And he was rejected for the same reasons. Finally , he moved to the United States in 1846 and served in the Lincoln Army when he was just 18 until the end of the American Civil War. After the war he settled in St. Louis Missouri, where in 1868 he started working as a reporter for a German-language daily newspaper, the Westliche Post fro $3,000. Then , in 1879, he bought the St. Louis Dispatch for $2,700 and merged (合作) the two papers as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which remained St. Louis’ daily newspaper. He bought the New York World in 1883, which turned out to be a successful decision, and which made Pulitzer wealthy. In 1885, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, but resigned after a few months’ service. In 1895 the New York World introduced the first newspaper comic printed with color. Under Pulitzer’s leadership circulation (发行量) grew from 15,000 to 600,000, making it the largest newspaper in the country . But unfortunately from 1890, Pulitzer’s already failing health worsened rapidly and he with drew from direct management of the newspaper, and simply gave some instructions from his vacation houses in Maine or in New York. At the ago of some instructions from his vacation houses in Maine or in New York. At the age of forty, he was struck blind, but he still continued to run his press empire for twenty-two more years.

       In 1892, Pulitzer offered Columbia University’s president money to set up the world’s first school of journalism. But the university turned down the offer. In 1902, Columbia’s new president willingly accepted the plan for a school and prizes,  but it would not be until after Pulitzer’s death that this dream would come true．Pulitzer left the university$2 million in his will，which led to the creation in 1912 of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism．And up till now，Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism still remains one of the most famous in the world．

      Joseph Pulitzer died aboard his sailing boat in 1911．He was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx，New York．In 1917．the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded，as Pulitzer wished to．

    In 1989，in honor of his great achievements and contributions，Pulitzer was included in the St．Louis Walk of Fame．

Title：A biography of a famous person