“Have you put any salt in it?”
“Certainly not, ma’am,” answered Marie, amazed by the question. “You told me yourself that I was never to put salt in it.”
Upon this, Madame Duparc snatched up the saucepan without saying another word, turned to the cupboard, and stretched out her hand toward one of four salt-cellars which always stood there. Then she sprinkled salt into the saucepan--- or, if not salt something which she took for salt.
The hasty-pudding made, Marie poured it from the saucepan into a soup-plate which her mistress held. Madame Duparc herself then took it to her father, Monsieur De Beaulieu. Then she and her daughter, and one of her sons, remained with the old man while he was eating his breakfast. Marie, left in the kitchen, prepared to clean the saucepan; but, before she could do so, she was suddenly called in two different directions by Madame De Beaulieu and Madame Duparc. The old lady wished to be taken to mass, and her mistress wanted to send her on a number of errands. It was half-past eleven in the forenoon before she got back to the kitchen.
The first news that met her on her return was that Monsieur De Beaulieu had been suffering, ever since nine o’clock, from a violent attack of vomiting and colic. Madame Duparc ordered her to help the old man to bed immediately; and inquired, when these directions had been followed, whether Marie felt capable of looking after him herself, or whether she would prefer that a nurse should be sent for. Being a kind-hearted, willing girl, always anxious to make herself useful, Marie replied that she would gladly undertake the nursing of the old man; and thereupon her bed was moved at once into Monsieur De Beaulieu’room.
Meanwhile Madame Duparc fetched from a neighboring apothecary’s one of the apprentices(学徒) of the shop to see her father. The apprentice was quite unfit to meet the emergency of the case, which was certainly serious enough to require the attention of his master, if not of a regularly qualified physician. Instead of applying and internal remedies, the apprentice stupidly tried blistering. This course of treatment proved utterly useless; but no better advice was called in. After he had suffered for hours without relief, Monsieur De Beaulieu began to sink rapidly toward the afternoon. At half-past five o’clock he had ceased to exist.
This shocking catastrophe, startling and suspicious as it was, did not appear to disturb the nerves of Madame Duparc. She lost no time in sending for the nearest nurse to lay out the body of Monsieur De Beaulieu. On entering the chamber of death, the nurse found Marie there alone, praying by the old man’s bedside. “He died suddenly, did he not?” said the nurse. “Very suddenly”,answered Marie. “He was walking about only yesterday in perfect health.” Soon afterward the time came when it was customary to prepare supper. Marie went into the kitchen mechanically, to get the meal ready. Madame Duparc, her daughter, and her youngest son, sat down to it as usual. Madame De Beaulieu, overwhelmed by the dreadful death of her husband, was incapable of joining them.
When supper was over, Marie assisted the old lady to bed. Then, worn out though she was with fatigue, she went back to the nurse to keep her company in watching by the dead body. Monsieur De Beaulieu had been kind to Marie, and had spoken gratefully of the little attentions she had shown him. She remembered this tenderly now that he was no more; and she could not find it in her heart to leave a hired mourner to be the only watcher by his death-bed. All that night she remained in the room, entirely ignorant of what was passing the while in every other part of the house—her own little bedroom included, as a matter of course.
About seven o’clock the next morning, after sitting up all night, she went back again wearily to the kitchen to begin her day’s work. Her mistress joined her there, and saluted her instantly with a scolding.
“You are the most careless, slovenly girl I ever met with.” Said Madame Duparc. “Look at your dress; how can you expect to be decent on a Sunday, if you wear your best pair of pockets on week-days?”
65. What implication can we draw from the underlined sentence in Para.3?
A. Salt was something necessary to make the hasty-pudding.
B. Madame Duparc deliberately sprinkled salt into the saucepan.
C. Salt was likely to be mistaken for other ingredients.
D. Madame Duparc was criticizing Marie in a silent way.
66. From the passage, we can learn that Marie_________________.
A. intended to put salt into the hasty-pudding
B. cleaned the saucepan after the breakfast
C. fetched a physician from the apothecary’s
D. had a busy day when the disaster happened
67. Para.6 mainly tells us that________
A. Monsieur De Beaulieu wasn’t properly treated
B. it was impossible to fetch a qualified physician then
C. the apprentice make a mistake during the treatment
D. Madame Duparc knew nothing about medical treatment
68. When Monsieur De Beaulieu fell ill, _______
A. Marie undertook the nursing of him willingly.
B. all the family members were concerned about him
C. the nurse knew exactly the reason for his illness
D. Marie was severely scolded for leaving him alone
69. The cause of Monsieur De Beaulieu’s death probably lies in______
A. Marie’s careless attendance on him
B. the indifference from his wife
C. the salt previously put into his breakfast
D. his old age and poor health condition
70. According to the article, it’s safe to conclude that_____
A. Madame Duparc was deeply worried about her father
B. there was nothing suspicious in the old man’s death
C. the apprentice should answer for the old man’s death
D. something terrible was going to happen to Marie