FOREWORD BY AGATHA CHRISTIE

FOREWORD BY AGATHA CHRISTIE
This book of Christmas fare may be described as "The Chef's Selection." I am the Chef!
There are two main courses: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and The Mystery of theSpanish Chest; a selection of Entrées: Greenshaw's Folly¹, The Dream, and The Under Dog; and aSorbet: Four-and-Twenty Blackbirds.
The Mystery of the Spanish Chest may be described as a Hercule Poirot Special. It is a case inwhich he considers he was at his best! Miss Marple, in her turn, has always been pleased with herperspicuity in Greenshaw's Folly.
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding is an indulgence of my own, since it recalls to me, verypleasurably, the Christmases of my youth.
After my father's death, my mother and I always spent Christmas with my brother-in-law's familyin the north of England - and what superb Christmases they were for a child to remember! AbneyHall had everything! The garden boasted a waterfall, a stream, and a tunnel under the drive! TheChristmas fare was of gargantuan² proportions. I was a skinny child, appearing delicate, butactually of robust³ health and perpetually hungry! The boys of the family and I used to vie witheach other as to who could eat most on Christmas Day. Oyster⁴ Soup and Turbot went downwithout undue⁵ zest⁶, but then came Roast Turkey, Boiled Turkey and an enormous Sirloin of Beef.
The boys and I had two helpings⁷ of all three! We then had Plum Pudding, Mince-pies, Trifle andevery kind of dessert. During the afternoon we ate chocolates solidly. We neither felt, nor were,sick! How lovely to be eleven years old and greedy!
What a day of delight from "Stockings" in bed in the morning, Church and all the Christmashymns, Christmas dinner, Presents, and the final Lighting⁸ of the Christmas Tree!
And how deep my gratitude⁹ to the kind and hospitable¹⁰ hostess who must have worked so hard tomake Christmas Day a wonderful memory to me still in my old age.
So let me dedicate this book to the memory of Abney Hall, its kindness and its hospitality.
And a happy Christmas to all who read this book.

Agatha Christie
 

1 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

2 gargantuan   

adj.巨大的，庞大的

参考例句：

• My gargantuan,pristine machine was good for writing papers and playing solitaire,and that was all.我那庞大的、早期的计算机只适合写文章和玩纸牌游戏，就这些。
• Right away,I realized this was a mistake of gargantuan proportions.我立刻意识到这是一个巨大的错误。

3 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

4 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

5 undue   

adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的

参考例句：

• Don't treat the matter with undue haste.不要过急地处理此事。
• It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms.最好不要过分看重他的批评。

6 zest   

n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣

参考例句：

• He dived into his new job with great zest.他充满热情地投入了新的工作。
• He wrote his novel about his trip to Asia with zest.他兴趣浓厚的写了一本关于他亚洲之行的小说。

7 helpings   

n.（食物）的一份( helping的名词复数 )；帮助，支持

参考例句：

• You greedy pig! You've already had two helpings! 你这个馋嘴！你已经吃了两份了！
• He had two helpings of pudding. 他吃了两客布丁。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

9 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

10 hospitable   

adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的

参考例句：

• The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客，无论是他的朋友还是同事，他都盛情接待。
• The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。