Everybody may have seen the film “Death on the Nile (n. 尼羅河)”, but nobody can imagine that the writer of the story, Agatha Christie, saved a baby in a most unusual way.

In June 1977, a baby girl became seriously ill in Deleville. Doctors there were unable to find out the cause of her illness, so she was sent to a famous hospital in London, where there were many excellent doctors. The baby was so seriously ill that a team of doctors hurried to examine the baby without delay. The doctors, too, were puzzled by the baby’s illness and they also became discouraged. Just then a nurse asked to speak to them.

“I think the baby is suffering from thallium (n. 鉈) poisoning. ” said the nurse. “A few days ago, I read a story ‘A Pale Horse’ written by Agatha Christie. Someone uses thallium poison, and all the symptoms are written in the book. They are exactly the same as the baby’s.”

“You’re very good at observing things,” said a doctor, “and you may be right. We’ll carry out some tests and find out whether the cause is thallium poisoning or not.”

The tests proved that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium. Once they knew the cause, the doctors were able to give her correct treatment. The baby soon got well and was sent back to Deleville A week later, it was reported that the poison might have come from an insecticide (n. 殺蟲劑) used in Deleville.

60. The baby was sent to a hospital in London because __________.

A. her parents were living in London then

B. the hospitals in Deleville were full at that time

C. she was the daughter of a famous doctor in London

D. doctors in Deleville were not sure about the cause of her illness

61. When the baby was first sent to the hospital in London, her illness was considered to be ____________.

A. quite easy to treat               B. the result of thallium poisoning

C. a common one                  D. extraordinarily serious

62. From this passage it seems that the baby’s illness had something to do with __________.

A. a dead writer           B. the water in Deleville

C. a dangerous murderer   D. a harmful substance (n. 物質(zhì)) used to kill pests

63. As far as we can tell from the story, Agatha Christie ____________.

A. had never met this baby

B. had spent a long time studying the baby’s illness

C. visited the baby both in Deleville and London

D. gave the nurse some advice on the telephone

People believe that climbing can do  good to health. Where can you learn the skill of climbing then? If you think that you have to go to the mountains to learn how to climb, you’re wrong. Many Americans are learning to climb in city gyms. Here，people are learning on special climbing walls. The climbing wall goes straight up and has small holding places for hands and feet.

How do people climb the wall? To climb，you need special shoes and a harness (保護(hù)帶) around your chest to hold you. There are ropes tied to your harness. The ropes hold you in place so that you don’t fall. A beginner’s wall is usually about 15 feet high, and you climb straight up. There are small pieces of metal that stick out for you to stand on and hold on to. Sometimes it’s easy to see the next piece of metal. Sometimes, it’s not. The most difficult part is to control your fear. It’s normal for humans to be afraid of falling, so it’s difficult not to feel fear. But when you move away from the wall, the harness and the ropes hold you，and you begin to feel safe. You move slowly until you reach the top.

Climbing attracts people because it’s good exercise for almost everyone. You use your whole body, especially your arms and legs. This sport gives your body a complete workout. When you climb，both your mind and your body can become stronger.

56. What can we infer from the passage?

A. People are fairly interested in climbing nowadays.

B. It is impossible to build up one’s body by climbing.

C. People can only learn the skill of climbing outdoors.

D. It is always easy to see holding places in climbing.

57. The most difficult thing to do in wall climbing is________.

A. to tie ropes to your harness         B. to control your fear

C. to move away from the wall           D. to climb straight up

58. The word “workout” underlined in the last paragraph most probably means________.

A. settlement　 　B. exercise     C. excitement    D. tiredness

59. Why does the author write this passage?

A. To tell people where to find gyms.

B. To prove the basic need for climbing.

C. To encourage people to climb mountains.

D. To introduce the sport of wall climbing.

Because my family were not going to be helpful, I decided I would look for one all by myself and not tell them about it till I’d got one.

I had seen an agency advertised in a local newspaper. I rushed out of the 36 in search of it. I was wildly excited, and as  37 as if I were going on the stage. Finding the  38  quite easily, I ran breathlessly through a door which said “Enter without knocking, if you please.”

The simple atmosphere of the office  39  me. The woman looked carefully at me 40 through her glasses, and then  41  me in a low voice. I answered softly. All of a sudden I started to feel rather  42 ,She wondered why I was looking for this sort of  43  . I felt even more helpless, when she told me that it would be  44  to get a job without  45 .I wondered whether I ought to leave,   46  the telephone on her desk rang, I heard her say:“  47  , I’ve got someone in the  48  at this very moment, who might  49  .” She wrote down a 50  , and held it out to me, saying: “Ring up this lady. She wants  a  51  immediately. In fact, you would have to start tomorrow by cooking a dinner for ten people.”

“Oh yes,” said I —  52  having cooked for more than four in my life. I  53  her again and again, and rushed out to the  54  telephone box. I collected my thoughts, took a deep breath, and rang the number. I said confidently that I was just what she was looking for.

I spent the next few hours  55  cook books.

36. A. bed            B house              C. agency       D. office

37. A. proud          B. please            C. nervous      D. worried

38. A. family        B. door              C. place          D. stage

39. A. calmed        B. excited          C. frightened   D. disturbed

40. A. as usual      B. for a while      C. in a minute   D. once again

41. A. advised       B. examined         C. informed       D. questioned

42. A. encouraged  B. dissatisfied      C. hopeless      D. pleased

43. A. place       B. job             C. advice        D. help

44. A. difficult  B. helpless        C. possible      D. unusual

45. A. ability    B. experience     C. knowledge   D. study

46. A. after       B. since             C. until        D. when

47. A. Above all                    B.  As a matter of fact

C.As a result                   D.  In spite of that

48. A. family     B. house          C. office       D.restaurant

49. A. hire        B. accept          C suit            D. offer

50. A. letter      B. name             C. note           D. number

51. A. cook       B. help               C. teacher       D. secretary

52. A. almost     B. never             C. nearly        D. really

53. A. answered    B. promised      C. thanked     D. told

54. A. outside      B. local            C. closest      D. nearest

55. A. borrowing  B. buying           C. reading      D. writing

 It is still unknown_______ caused the accident last Saturday.

A that      B when    C what      D how

____ wants to stay in a hotel has to pay their own.

A Anyone      B The one    C Whoever    D Who

 The experiment shows that proper amounts of exercise ,if _______regularly, can improve our health.

A being carried out    B carrying out

C carried out          D to carry out

 It is one of the funniest things ____on the Internet so far this year.

A finding    B being found  C to find   D found

 To learn English well, we should find opportunities to hear English_______ as much as we can.

A speak    B speaking   C spoken   D to speak

---You effort is sure to pay __________.

---Thank you for you encouragement.

A. off　　　 B. back　　 C. for　　　 D down

 Although he failed when he tried doing the experiment for the first time, he decided to try it____.

A once in a while      B at once    C once more   D once