Question

Agatha Christie is possibly the world’s most famous detective(偵探的) story writer. She wrote about 80 novels, and her sales (4 billion copies of her novels) was over those of William Shakespeare. However, behind her works was a shy woman whose life was often lonely and unhappy.

She was born in 1890 in Devon, the third child of Clarissa and Frederick Miller, and grew into a beautiful and sensitive(敏感的) girl. She didn’t go to school but was educated by her parents. Her father taught her maths through stories and games, and her mother encouraged her to write by her own stories. Unfortunately her father died in 1901 when she was 11, and both she and her mother were very sad.

When World War I came in 1914, she became a nurse in a hospital, which was very useful to her later work. Many of the murders(殺人犯) in her books were carried out by a clever use of medicine, showing how much she had learnt about them as a nurse.

She wrote her first detective novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1916. And it was published in 1920. In this novel she introduced Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective who appeared in many later novels. Her other main detective was Miss Marple, who was from Agatha’s grandmother and her circle of friends. Christie’s stories keep the reader guessing who the murderer is until the very end of the story.

In 1914, at the beginning of the war, she married Archibald Christie, but the marriage was unhappy. It didn’t last and they left each other in 1926. It was a very difficult time for her, as her much-loved mother had died earlier that year. Agatha suffered a lot and one night she drove her car and disappeared.

She went missing for eleven days and was finally found in a hotel in Harrogate, in the North of England. Agatha only wanted staying alone but the newspapers had given her a hard time over her driving the car and disappearing. She decided never to let them enter her private life again

She enjoyed a very happy second marriage to Max Mallowan who she met in Baghdad and married in 1930. Her detective skills were a help to him in his work in Syria and Iraq. By successfully staying out of the newspapers, she found happiness with her husband. Her best novels were written after 1930, and she continued writing until 1973. She died peacefully in 1976.

1.What does the underlined word “her” refer to?

A. Clarissa. B. Miss Marple.

C. Agatha. D. Agatha’s grandmother.

2.Why did Agatha drive her car and disappear?

A. She felt terrible and went to hospital. B. She wanted to stay alone for some time.

C. She went to find Max Mallowan. D. She decided to stay away from the war.

3.When did Agatha write her best novels?

A. When she was very young and with her father.

B. When she got married with Archibald Christie.

C. When she stopped being shy and quiet.

D. When she had a second marriage.

4.What is the right order according to the passage?

① Agatha’s mother died. ②Agatha got married the first time.

③ Agatha helped Max Mallowan with his work. ④ Agatha’s father died.

⑤ Agatha disappeared. ⑥Agatha wrote her first detective novel.

A. ①②④③⑤ B. ④⑥②①⑤③ C. ④②⑥①⑤③ D. ④②⑥③①⑤

5.Why does the writer write the passage?

A. To make a difference on writers. B. To explain how to stop being shy.

C. To show us a history of a war. D. To introduce us a famous writer.

Answer 1