In 1977 , a dead author of detective stories saved the life of a nine-month-old baby in a most unusual way. The author was Agatha Christie, a gentle married lady and one of the most successful writers of detective stories in the world.
In June 1977 , a baby girl became seriously ill in Qatar (卡塔尔) , near Sandi Arabia(沙特阿拉伯) . Doctors were unable to find out the cause of her illness, so she was flown to London and sent to Hammersmith Hospital. A team of doctors hurried to examine the baby only to discover that they, too, were puzzled by the very unusual signs of illness. While they were having a discussion about the baby's illness, a nurse asked to speak to them.
―Excuse me,‖ said Nurse Marsha Maitland, ―but I think the baby is suffering from thallium poisoning(铊中毒) .‖
―What makes you think that‖ Dr. Brown asked. ―Thallium poisoning is very rare.‖
―A few days ago, I was reading a novel called A Pale Horse' by Agatha Christie,‖ Nurse Maitland explained.“In the book, somebody uses thallium poison, and all the signs are exactly the same as the baby' s . ”
―You are very careful and you may be right,‖ another doctor said. ―we‘ll carry out some tests and find out whether it' s thallium(铊) or not.‖
Tests showed that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium. 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 on it was proved that the poison might have come from an insecticide(杀虫剂) used in Qatar.
(1). Who first suggested the correct cause of the baby's illness ( ).
A、A Doctor in Qatar.
B、Nurse Maitland.
C、Dr. Brown.
D、Agatha Christie.
(2). Why was the baby sent to London ( ).
A、She was a British girl whose parents were working in Qatar.
B、The hospitals in Qatar were full at that time.
C、She was the daughter of a doctor in one of the places.
D、The Qatar doctors were not sure they could cure her.
(3). As far as we can tell from passage, Agatha Christie. ( )
A、had never even met this baby.
B、had spent a long time as a police officer.
C、visited the baby in the hospital at Hammersmith.
D、gave Nurse Maitland some advice on the phone .
(4). Nurse Maitland spoke to the doctors( ).
A、when she heard them discussing the possibility of thallium poison.
B、because she could see that the doctors had made a mistake.
C、to suggest a possible reason for the patient' s illness.
D、after she had read about a horse which had been poisoned.
(5). What did the doctor think of the suggestion which Nurse Maitland made ( ).
A、They were very quick to agree with her.
B、They were unhappy over her interruption.
C、They said that she was wrong because thallium poisoning is very rare.
D、They thought it was a possibility worth considering.