Agatha Christie’s Grey Cells Mystery

The mystery behind Agatha Christie’s enduring popularity may have been solved by three leading universities collaborating on a study of more than 80 of her crime novels.

Despite the worldwide sales of two billion, critics such as the crime writer P D James pan her writing style and “cardboard cut-out” characters. But the study by neuro-linguists at the universities of London, Birmingham and Warwick shows that she peppered her prose with phrases that act as a trigger to raise levels of serotonin and endorphins, the chemical messengers in the brain that induce pleasure and satisfaction .

“Christie’s language patterns stimulate higher than usual activity in the brain,” said Dr Roland Kapferer, who coordinated the research.

The study involved loading Christie’s novels onto a computer and analyzing her words, phrases and sentences.

One finding was that she used a very limited vocabulary. “It means that readers aren’t distracted and so they concentrate more on the clues and the plots,” said Dr Pernilla Danielson from the school of humanities at Birmingham University.

Despite the grisly theme of her novels, researchers say that much of her vocabulary is pleasing and gentle. Favourite words or phrases, repeatedly used in a “mesmerising” way, help to stimulate the pleasure-inducing side of the brain. They include she, yes, girl, kind, smiled and suddenly. Common phrases include can you keep an eye on this, more or less, a day or two and something like that.

“Christie does not give her readers too much detail,” said Kapferer. “Her narrative lays down what can be described as a general mist of ideas in which the reader is shrouded until the plot has unfolded. It creates what we call ‘minimum cognitive distraction’.”

Another trick deployed by Christie, who died in 1976, is the frequent use of the dash to create a faster-paced, unreflective narrative. Each phrase followed by a dash entices readers to carry on and they are seldom distracted by the adjectival or adverbial phrases used by other crime writers.

However, Mathew Prichard, Christie’s grandson, was skeptical of the research. “It’s not really a mystery. She was simply a writer of great plots,” he said.

From “The Sunday Times”

English learner’s Digest 2006 №17

Part 1 DECEMBER 22ND

Chapter 1

Vocabulary

Active vocabulary words

hiss v.

foul adj.

homesickness n.

dingy adj.

incessant adj.

jostle v.

reluctance n.

drab adj.

squeeze v.

flimsy adj.

defiant adj.

pallor n.

splendor n.

Recognition vocabulary

rhinestone n.

plumbago n.

convolvulus n.

shanty n.

veldt n.

Word combinations

1. to go with smth

2. to dwell on the past

3. to wipe out smth (to wipe smth out of one`s memory)

Find English equivalents for the following expressions.

1. приступ ностальгии

2. под влиянием минуты

3. наблюдательный человек

4. трудолюбивые муравьи

Fill in the words from the list, then make sentences using the completed phrases.

raw; drab; grimed; rhinestone; setting; flimsy; cheap; fabric; grim

1. ___________ air

2. ___________ looking

3. smoke-___________

4. glittering ___________

5. dingy ___________

6. ___________ shoes

7. ___________quality

8. ___________ gloves

9. to set one's lips in a ___________line

Fill in the correct preposition where necessary, then make sentences using the completed phrases. Suggest Russian equivalents for the phrases given.

1. to pull _______ the collar

2. to walk _______ the platform

3. to get on _______ sth

4. to get _______ a train

5. to look _______ sth

Fill in the correct words from the list in the correct form:

Pallor, jostle, drab, reluctance (2), squeeze, flimsy, foul, dingy

1. The air within the cell was_______________ .

2. His face had a greenish ______________ .

3. It was a ____________ morning!

4. You won’t be warm enough in that ___________ dress.

5. Her ___________________ to get involved was understandable.

6. After much consideration and a great deal of _______________ we finally took this decision.

7. The lives of the people are sometimes dull and ______________.

8. He ____________ my hand.

9. The children were ________________ with each other.

What is it?

An imitation gem made of paste –

A crude dwelling –

The state or quality of being splendid –

Translate the following sentences:

1. Какой отвратительный здесь запах!

2. Мама гладила белье, утюг зашипел, как только она опустила его на влажную рубашку.

3. Альфреда постоянно одолевали приступы ностальгии. И ничто не могло скрасить его однообразную, скучную жизнь.

4. Публика была шокирована вызывающим поведением артиста.

5. Войдя в комнату, Мэгги заметила, что занавески поблекли, и неплохо было бы купить новые.

6. В мегаполисе просто невозможно жить. Он как огромный муравейник – постоянные толпы людей, все куда-то спешат, толкаются.

7. Если бы я только мог вычеркнуть ее из своей памяти!