Everybody may have seen the film “Death on the Nile ( 尼罗河)”, 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 her 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 (铊) 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 (症状) 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 (杀虫剂) used in Deleville.
小题1: 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．doctors in Deleville were not sure about the cause of her illness
D．she was the daughter of a famous doctor in London小题2: 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
小题3: From this passage it seems that the baby’s illness had something to do with ______.
A a dead writer B. a harmful substance ( 物质) used to kill pests
C. the water in Deleville D. a dangerous murderer
小题4: 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
