Twenty

Twenty
Hercule Poirot looked up at the fa?ade of the dignified¹ Georgian house in what had been untilrecently a quiet street in an old-fashioned market town. Progress was rapidly overtaking it, but thenew supermarket, the Gifte Shoppe, Margery’s Boutique, Peg’s Café, and a palatial² new bank, hadall chosen sites in Croft Road and not encroached on the narrow High Street.
The brass³ knocker on the door was brightly polished, Poirot noted⁴ with approval. He pressed thebell at the side.
It was opened almost at once by a tall distinguished-looking woman with upswept grey hair andan energetic manner.
“M. Poirot? You are very punctual. Come in.”
“Miss Battersby?”
“Certainly.” She held back the door. Poirot entered. She deposited his hat on the hall stand andled the way to a pleasant room overlooking a narrow walled garden.
She waved towards a chair and sat down herself in an attitude of expectation. It was clear thatMiss Battersby was not one to lose time in conventional utterances⁵.
“You are, I think, the former Principal of Meadowfield School?”
“Yes. I retired⁶ a year ago. I understand you wished to see me on the subject of Norma Restarick,a former pupil.”
“That is right.”
“In your letters,” said Miss Battersby, “you gave me no further details.” She added, “I may saythat I know who you are, M. Poirot. I should therefore like a little more information before Iproceed further. Are you, for instance, thinking of employing Norma Restarick?”
“That is not my intention, no.”
“Knowing what your profession is you understand why I should want further details. Have you,for instance, an introduction to me from any of Norma’s relations?”
“Again, no,” said Hercule Poirot. “I will explain myself further.”
“Thank you.”
“In actual fact, I am employed by Miss Restarick’s father, Andrew Restarick.”
“Ah. He has recently returned to England, I believe, after many years’ absence.”
“That is so.”
“But you do not bring me a letter of introduction from him?”
“I did not ask him for one.”
Miss Battersby looked at him inquiringly.
“He might have insisted on coming with me,” said Hercule Poirot. “That would have hamperedme in asking you the questions that I wish to ask, because it is likely that the answers to themmight cause him pain and distress⁷. There is no reason why he should be caused further distressthan he is already suffering at this moment.”
“Has anything happened to Norma?”
“I hope not…There is, however, a possibility of that. You remember the girl, Miss Battersby?”
“I remember all my pupils. I have an excellent memory. Meadowfield, in any case, is not a verylarge school. Two hundred girls, no more.”
“Why have you resigned from it, Miss Battersby?”
“Really, M. Poirot, I cannot see that that is any of your business.”
“No, I am merely expressing my quite natural curiosity.”
“I am seventy. Is that not a reason?”
“Not in your case, I should say. You appear to me to be in full vigour⁸ and energy, fully⁹ capableof continuing your headmistressship for a good many years to come.”
“Times change, M. Poirot. One does not always like the way they are changing. I will satisfyyour curiosity. I found I was having less and less patience with parents. Their aims for theirdaughters are shortsighted and quite frankly¹⁰ stupid.”
Miss Battersby was, as Poirot knew from looking up her qualifications, a very well-knownmathematician.
“Do not think that I lead an idle life,” said Miss Battersby. “I lead a life where the work is farmore congenial to me. I coach senior students. And now, please, may I know the reason for yourinterest in the girl, Norma Restarick?”
“There is some occasion for anxiety. She has, to put it baldly, disappeared.”
Miss Battersby continued to look quite unconcerned.
“Indeed? When you say ‘disappeared,’ I presume you mean that she has left home withouttelling her parents where she was going. Oh, I believe her mother is dead, so without telling herfather where she was going. That is really not at all uncommon¹¹ nowadays, M. Poirot. Mr.
Restarick has not consulted the police?”
“He is adamant¹² on that subject. He refuses definitely.”
“I can assure you that I have no knowledge as to where the girl is. I have heard nothing fromher. Indeed, I have had no news from her since she left Meadowfield. So I fear I cannot help youin any way.”
“It is not precisely¹³ that kind of information that I want. I want to know what kind of a girl she is—how you would describe her. Not her personal appearance. I do not mean that. I mean as to herpersonality and characteristics.”
“Norma, at school, was a perfectly¹⁴ ordinary girl. Not scholastically¹⁵ brilliant, but her work wasadequate.”
“Not a neurotic¹⁶ type?”
Miss Battersby considered. Then she said slowly: “No, I would not say so. Not more, that is,than might be expected considering her home circumstances.”
“You mean her invalid¹⁷ mother?”
“Yes. She came from a broken home. The father, to whom I think she was very devoted¹⁸, lefthome suddenly with another woman — a fact which her mother quite naturally resented. Sheprobably upset her daughter more than she need have done by voicing her resentment¹⁹ withoutrestraint.”
“Perhaps it may be more to the point if I ask you your opinion of the late Mrs. Restarick?”
“What you are asking me for is my private opinion?”
“If you do not object?”
“No, I have no hesitation²⁰ at all in answering your question. Home conditions are very importantin a girl’s life and I have always studied them as much as I can through the meagre informationthat comes to me. Mrs. Restarick was a worthy²¹ and upright woman, I should say. Self-righteous,censorious and handicapped in life by being an extremely stupid one!”
“Ah,” said Poirot appreciatively.
“She was also, I would say, a malade imaginaire. A type that would exaggerate her ailments²².
The type of woman who is always in and out of nursing homes. An unfortunate home backgroundfor a girl—especially a girl who has no very definite personality of her own. Norma had nomarked intellectual ambitions, she had no confidence in herself, she was not a girl to whom Iwould recommend a career. A nice ordinary job followed by marriage and children was what Iwould have hoped for her.”
“You saw—forgive me for asking—no signs at any time of mental instability?”
“Mental instability?” said Miss Battersby. “Rubbish!”
“So that is what you say. Rubbish! And not neurotic?”
“Any girl, or almost any girl, can be neurotic, especially in adolescence²³, and in her firstencounters with the world. She is still immature²⁴, and needs guidance in her first encounters withsex. Girls are frequently attracted to completely unsuitable, sometimes even dangerous youngmen. There are, it seems, no parents nowadays, or hardly any, with the strength of character tosave them from this, so they often go through a time of hysterical²⁵ misery²⁶, and perhaps make anunsuitable marriage which ends not long after in divorce.”
“But Norma showed no signs of mental instability?” Poirot persisted with the question.
“She is an emotional but normal girl,” said Miss Battersby. “Mental instability! As I said before—rubbish! She’s probably run away with some young man to get married, and there’s nothingmore normal than that!”

1 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

2 palatial   

adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的

参考例句：

• Palatial office buildings are being constructed in the city.那个城市正在兴建一些宫殿式办公大楼。
• He bought a palatial house.他买了套富丽堂皇的大房子。

3 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 utterances   

n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论

参考例句：

• John Maynard Keynes used somewhat gnomic utterances in his General Theory. 约翰·梅纳德·凯恩斯在其《通论》中用了许多精辟言辞。 来自辞典例句
• Elsewhere, particularly in his more public utterances, Hawthorne speaks very differently. 在别的地方，特别是在比较公开的谈话里，霍桑讲的话则完全不同。 来自辞典例句

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

8 vigour   

（=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力

参考例句：

• She is full of vigour and enthusiasm.她有热情，有朝气。
• At 40,he was in his prime and full of vigour.他40岁时正年富力强。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

11 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

12 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

13 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

14 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

15 scholastically   

参考例句：

16 neurotic   

adj.神经病的，神经过敏的；n.神经过敏者，神经病患者

参考例句：

• Nothing is more distracting than a neurotic boss. 没有什么比神经过敏的老板更恼人的了。
• There are also unpleasant brain effects such as anxiety and neurotic behaviour.也会对大脑产生不良影响，如焦虑和神经质的行为。

17 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

18 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

19 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

20 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

21 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

22 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

23 adolescence   

n.青春期，青少年

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the process of going from childhood to maturity.青春期是从少年到成年的过渡期。
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence.这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。

24 immature   

adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的

参考例句：

• Tony seemed very shallow and immature.托尼看起来好像很肤浅，不夠成熟。
• The birds were in immature plumage.这些鸟儿羽翅未全。

25 hysterical   

adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的

参考例句：

• He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。
• His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。

26 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。