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21. Three Women
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Twenty-one
T HREE W OMEN1
D inner was over at Little Paddocks. It had been a silent and uncomfortable meal.
Patrick, uneasily aware of having fallen from grace, only made spasmodic attempts at conversation—and such ashe did make were not well received. Phillipa Haymes was sunk in abstraction. Miss Blacklock herself had abandonedthe effort to behave with her normal cheerfulness. She had changed for dinner and had come down wearing hernecklace of cameos but for the first time fear showed from her darkly circled eyes, and betrayed itself by her twitchinghands.
Julia, alone, had maintained her air of cynical2 detachment throughout the evening.
“I’m sorry, Letty,” she said, “that I can’t pack my bag and go. But I presume the police wouldn’t allow it. I don’tsuppose I’ll darken your roof—or whatever the expression is—for long. I should imagine that Inspector3 Craddock willbe round with a warrant and the handcuffs any moment. In fact I can’t imagine why something of the kind hasn’thappened already.”
“He’s looking for the old lady—for Miss Marple,” said Miss Blacklock.
“Do you think she’s been murdered, too?” Patrick asked with scientific curiosity. “But why? What could sheknow?”
“I don’t know,” said Miss Blacklock dully. “Perhaps Miss Murgatroyd told her something.”
“If she’s been murdered too,” said Patrick, “there seems to be logically only one person who could have done it.”
“Who?”
“Hinchcliffe, of course,” said Patrick triumphantly4. “That’s where she was last seen alive — at Boulders5. Mysolution would be that she never left Boulders.”
“My head aches,” said Miss Blacklock in a dull voice. She pressed her fingers to her forehead. “Why should Hinchmurder Miss Marple? It doesn’t make sense.”
“It would if Hinch had really murdered Murgatroyd,” said Patrick triumphantly.
Phillipa came out of her apathy6 to say:
“Hinch wouldn’t murder Murgatroyd.”
“She might have if Murgatroyd had blundered on something to show that she—Hinch—was the criminal.”
“Anyway, Hinch was at the station when Murgatroyd was killed.”
“She could have murdered Murgatroyd before she left.”
Startling them all, Letitia Blacklock suddenly screamed out:
“Murder, murder, murder —! Can’t you talk of anything else? I’m frightened, don’t you understand? I’mfrightened. I wasn’t before. I thought I could take care of myself … But what can you do against a murderer who’swaiting—and watching—and biding7 his time! Oh, God!”
She dropped her head forward on her hands. A moment later she looked up and apologized stiffly.
“I’m sorry. I—I lost control.”
“That’s all right, Aunt Letty,” said Patrick affectionately. “I’ll look after you.”
“You?” was all Letitia Blacklock said, but the disillusionment behind the word was almost an accusation8.
That had been shortly before dinner, and Mitzi had then created a diversion by coming and declaring that she wasnot going to cook the dinner.
“I do not do anything more in this house. I go to my room. I lock myself in. I stay there until it is daylight. I amafraid—people are being killed—that Miss Murgatroyd with her stupid English face—who would want to kill her?
Only a maniac9! Then it is a maniac that is about! And a maniac does not care who he kills. But me, I do not want to bekilled. There are shadows in the kitchen—and I hear noises—I think there is someone out in the yard and then I think Isee a shadow by the larder10 door and then it is footsteps I hear. So I go now to my room and I lock the door and perhapseven I put the chest of drawers against it. And in the morning I tell that cruel hard policeman that I go away from here.
And if he will not let me I say: ‘I scream and I scream and I scream until you have to let me go!’”
Everybody, with a vivid recollection of what Mitzi could do in the screaming line, shuddered11 at the threat.
“So I go to my room,” said Mitzi, repeating the statement once more to make her intentions quite clear. With asymbolic action she cast off the cretonne apron12 she had been wearing. “Good night, Miss Blacklock. Perhaps in themorning, you may not be alive. So in case that is so, I say good-bye.”
She departed abruptly13 and the door, with its usual gentle little whine14, closed softly after her.
Julia got up.
“I’ll see to dinner,” she said in a matter-of-fact way. “Rather a good arrangement—less embarrassing for you allthan having me sit down at table with you. Patrick (since he’s constituted himself your protector, Aunt Letty) hadbetter taste every dish first. I don’t want to be accused of poisoning you on top of everything else.”
So Julia had cooked and served a really excellent meal.
Phillipa had come out to the kitchen with an offer of assistance but Julia had said firmly that she didn’t want anyhelp.
“Julia, there’s something I want to say—”
“This is no time for girlish confidences,” said Julia firmly. “Go on back in the dining room, Phillipa.”
Now dinner was over and they were in the drawing room with coffee on the small table by the fire—and nobodyseemed to have anything to say. They were waiting—that was all.
At 8:30 Inspector Craddock rang up.
“I shall be with you in about a quarter of an hour’s time,” he announced. “I’m bringing Colonel and Mrs.
Easterbrook and Mrs. Swettenham and her son with me.”
“But really, Inspector … I can’t cope with people tonight—”
Miss Blacklock’s voice sounded as though she were at the end of her tether.
“I know how you feel, Miss Blacklock. I’m sorry. But this is urgent.”
“Have you—found Miss Marple?”
“No,” said the Inspector, and rang off.
Julia took the coffee tray out to the kitchen where, to her surprise, she found Mitzi contemplating16 the piled-updishes and plates by the sink.
Mitzi burst into a torrent17 of words.
“See what you do in my so nice kitchen! That frying pan—only, only for omelettes do I use it! And you, what haveyou used it for?”
“Frying onions.”
“Ruined—ruined. It will have now to be washed and never—never—do I wash my omelette pan. I rub it carefullyover with a greasy18 newspaper, that is all. And this saucepan here that you have used—that one, I use him only for milk—”
“Well, I don’t know what pans you use for what,” said Julia crossly. “You choose to go to bed and why on earthyou’ve chosen to get up again, I can’t imagine. Go away again and leave me to wash up in peace.”
“No, I will not let you use my kitchen.”
“Oh, Mitzi, you are impossible!”
Julia stalked angrily out of the kitchen and at that moment the doorbell rang.
“I do not go to the door,” Mitzi called from the kitchen. Julia muttered an impolite Continental19 expression underher breath and stalked to the front door.
It was Miss Hinchcliffe.
“’Evening,” she said in her gruff voice. “Sorry to barge20 in. Inspector’s rung up, I expect?”
“He didn’t tell us you were coming,” said Julia, leading the way to the drawing room.
“He said I needn’t come unless I liked,” said Miss Hinchcliffe. “But I do like.”
Nobody offered Miss Hinchcliffe sympathy or mentioned Miss Murgatroyd’s death. The ravaged21 face of the tallvigorous woman told its own tale, and would have made any expression of sympathy an impertinence.
“Turn all the lights on,” said Miss Blacklock. “And put more coal on the fire. I’m cold—horribly cold. Come andsit here by the fire, Miss Hinchcliffe. The Inspector said he would be here in a quarter of an hour. It must be nearly thatnow.”
“Mitzi’s come down again,” said Julia.
“Has she? Sometimes I think that girl’s mad—quite mad. But then perhaps we’re all mad.”
“I’ve no patience with this saying that all people who commit crimes are mad,” barked Miss Hinchcliffe. “Horriblyand intelligently sane—that’s what I think a criminal is!”
The sound of a car was heard outside and presently Craddock came in with Colonel and Mrs. Easterbrook andEdmund and Mrs. Swettenham.
They were all curiously22 subdued23.
Colonel Easterbrook said in a voice that was like an echo of his usual tones:
“Ha! A good fire.”
Mrs. Easterbrook wouldn’t take off her fur coat and sat down close to her husband. Her face, usually pretty andrather vapid24, was like a little pinched weasel face. Edmund was in one of his furious moods and scowled25 at everybody.
Mrs. Swettenham made what was evidently a great effort, and which resulted in a kind of parody26 of herself.
“It’s awful—isn’t it?” she said conversationally27. “Everything, I mean. And really the less one says, the better.
Because one doesn’t know who next—like the Plague. Dear Miss Blacklock, don’t you think you ought to have a littlebrandy? Just half a wineglass even? I always think there’s nothing like brandy—such a wonderful stimulant28. I—itseems so terrible of us—forcing our way in here like this, but Inspector Craddock made us come. And it seems soterrible—she hasn’t been found, you know. That poor old thing from the Vicarage, I mean. Bunch Harmon is nearlyfrantic. Nobody knows where she went instead of going home. She didn’t come to us. I’ve not even seen her today.
And I should know if she had come to the house because I was in the drawing room—at the back, you know, andEdmund was in his study writing—and that’s at the front—so if she’d come either way we should have seen. And oh, Ido hope and pray that nothing has happened to that dear sweet old thing—all her faculties29 still and everything.”
“Mother,” said Edmund in a voice of acute suffering, “can’t you shut up?”
“I’m sure, dear, I don’t want to say a word,” said Mrs. Swettenham, and sat down on the sofa by Julia.
Inspector Craddock stood near the door. Facing him, almost in a row, were the three women. Julia and Mrs.
Swettenham on the sofa. Mrs. Easterbrook on the arm of her husband’s chair. He had not brought about thisarrangement, but it suited him very well.
Miss Blacklock and Miss Hinchcliffe were crouching30 over the fire. Edmund stood near them. Phillipa was far backin the shadows.
Craddock began without preamble31.
“You all know that Miss Murgatroyd’s been killed,” he began. “We’ve reason to believe that the person who killedher was a woman. And for certain other reasons we can narrow it down still more. I’m about to ask certain ladies hereto account for what they were doing between the hours of four and four-twenty this afternoon. I have already had anaccount of her movements from—from the young lady who has been calling herself Miss Simmons. I will ask her torepeat that statement. At the same time, Miss Simmons, I must caution you that you need not answer if you think youranswers may incriminate you, and anything you say will be taken down by Constable32 Edwards and may be used asevidence in court.”
“You have to say that, don’t you?” said Julia. She was rather pale, but composed. “I repeat that between four andfour-thirty I was walking along the field leading down to the brook15 by Compton Farm. I came back to the road by thatfield with three poplars in it. I didn’t meet anyone as far as I can remember. I did not go near Boulders.”
“Mrs. Swettenham?”
Edmund said, “Are you cautioning all of us?”
The Inspector turned to him.
“No. At the moment only Miss Simmons. I have no reason to believe that any other statement made will beincriminating, but anyone, of course, is entitled to have a solicitor33 present and to refuse to answer questions unless heis present.”
“Oh, but that would be very silly and a complete waste of time,” cried Mrs. Swettenham. “I’m sure I can tell you atonce exactly what I was doing. That’s what you want, isn’t it? Shall I begin now?”
“Yes, please, Mrs. Swettenham.”
“Now, let me see.” Mrs. Swettenham closed her eyes, opened them again. “Of course I had nothing at all to dowith killing34 Miss Murgatroyd. I’m sure everybody here knows that. But I’m a woman of the world, I know quite wellthat the police have to ask all the most unnecessary questions and write the answers down very carefully, because it’sall for what they call ‘the record.’ That’s it, isn’t it?” Mrs. Swettenham flashed the question at the diligent35 ConstableEdwards, and added graciously, “I’m not going too fast for you, I hope?”
Constable Edwards, a good shorthand writer, but with little social savoir faire, turned red to the ears and replied:
“It’s quite all right, madam. Well, perhaps a little slower would be better.”
Mrs. Swettenham resumed her discourse36 with emphatic37 pauses where she considered a comma or a full stop mightbe appropriate.
“Well, of course it’s difficult to say—exactly—because I’ve not got, really, a very good sense of time. And eversince the war quite half our clocks haven’t gone at all, and the ones that do go are often either fast or slow or stopbecause we haven’t wound them up.” Mrs. Swettenham paused to let this picture of confused time sink in and thenwent on earnestly, “What I think I was doing at four o’clock was turning the heel of my sock (and for someextraordinary reason I was going round the wrong way—in purl, you know, not plain) but if I wasn’t doing that, I musthave been outside snipping38 off the dead chrysanthemums—no, that was earlier—before the rain.”
“The rain,” said the Inspector, “started at 4:10 exactly.”
“Did it now? That helps a lot. Of course, I was upstairs putting a wash basin in the passage where the rain alwayscomes through. And it was coming through so fast that I guessed at once that the gutter39 was stopped up again. So Icame down and got my mackintosh and rubber boots. I called Edmund, but he didn’t answer, so I thought perhapshe’d got to a very important place in his novel and I wouldn’t disturb him, and I’ve done it quite often myself before.
With the broom handle, you know, tied on to that long thing you push up windows with.”
“You mean,” said Craddock, noting bewilderment on his subordinate’s face, “that you were cleaning out thegutter?”
“Yes, it was all choked up with leaves. It took a long time and I got rather wet, but I got it clear at last. And then Iwent in and got changed and washed—so smelly, dead leaves—and then I went into the kitchen and put the kettle on.
It was 6:15 by the kitchen clock.”
Constable Edwards blinked.
“Which means,” finished Mrs. Swettenham triumphantly, “that it was exactly twenty minutes to five.”
“Or near enough,” she added.
“Did anybody see what you were doing whilst you were out cleaning the gutter?”
“No, indeed,” said Mrs. Swettenham. “I’d soon have roped them in to help if they had! It’s a most difficult thing todo single-handed.”
“So, by your own statement, you were outside, in a mackintosh and boots, at the time when the rain was comingdown, and according to you, you were employed during that time in cleaning out a gutter but you have no one who cansubstantiate that statement?”
“You can look at the gutter,” said Mrs. Swettenham. “It’s beautifully clear.”
“Did you hear your mother call to you, Mr. Swettenham?”
“No,” said Edmund. “I was fast asleep.”
“Edmund,” said his mother reproachfully, “I thought you were writing.”
Inspector Craddock turned to Mrs. Easterbrook.
“Now, Mrs. Easterbrook?”
“I was sitting with Archie in his study,” said Mrs. Easterbrook, fixing wide innocent eyes on him. “We werelistening to the wireless40 together, weren’t we, Archie?”
There was a pause. Colonel Easterbrook was very red in the face. He took his wife’s hand in his.
“You don’t understand these things, kitten,” he said. “I—well, I must say, Inspector, you’ve rather sprung thisbusiness on us. My wife, you know, has been terribly upset by all this. She’s nervous and highly strung and doesn’tappreciate the importance of—of taking due consideration before she makes a statement.”
“Archie,” cried Mrs. Easterbrook reproachfully, “are you going to say you weren’t with me?”
“Well, I wasn’t, was I, my dear? I mean one’s got to stick to the facts. Very important in this sort of inquiry41. I wastalking to Lampson, the farmer at Croft End, about some chicken netting. That was about a quarter to four. I didn’t gethome until after the rain had stopped. Just before tea. A quarter to five. Laura was toasting the scones42.”
“And had you been out also, Mrs. Easterbrook?”
The pretty face looked more like a weasel’s than ever. Her eyes had a trapped look.
“No—no, I just sat listening to the wireless. I didn’t go out. Not then. I’d been out earlier. About—about half pastthree. Just for a little walk. Not far.”
She looked as though she expected more questions, but Craddock said quietly:
“That’s all, Mrs. Easterbrook.”
He went on: “These statements will be typed out. You can read them and sign them if they are substantiallycorrect.”
Mrs. Easterbrook looked at him with sudden venom43.
“Why don’t you ask the others where they were? That Haymes woman? And Edmund Swettenham? How do youknow he was asleep indoors? Nobody saw him.”
Inspector Craddock said quietly:
“Miss Murgatroyd, before she died, made a certain statement. On the night of the hold-up here, someone wasabsent from this room. Someone who was supposed to have been in the room all the time. Miss Murgatroyd told herfriend the names of the people she did see. By a process of elimination44, she made the discovery that there wassomeone she did not see.”
“Nobody could see anything,” said Julia.
“Murgatroyd could,” said Miss Hinchcliffe, speaking suddenly in her deep voice. “She was over there behind thedoor, where Inspector Craddock is now. She was the only person who could see anything of what was happening.”
“Aha! That is what you think, is it!” demanded Mitzi.
She made one of her dramatic entrances, flinging open the door and almost knocking Craddock sideways. She wasin a frenzy45 of excitement.
“Ah, you do not ask Mitzi to come in here with the others, do you, you stiff policemen? I am only Mitzi! Mitzi inthe kitchen! Let her stay in the kitchen where she belongs! But I tell you that Mitzi, as well as anyone else, andperhaps better, yes, better, can see things. Yes, I see things. I see something the night of the burglary. I see somethingand I do not quite believe it, and I hold my tongue till now. I think to myself I will not tell what it is I have seen, notyet. I will wait.”
“And when everything had calmed down, you meant to ask for a little money from a certain person, eh?” saidCraddock.
Mitzi turned on him like an angry cat.
“And why not? Why look down your nose? Why should I not be paid for it if I have been so generous as to keepsilence? Especially if some day there will be money—much much money. Oh! I have heard things—I know what goeson. I know this Pippemmer—this secret society of which she”—she flung a dramatic finger towards Julia—“is anagent. Yes, I would have waited and asked for money—but now I am afraid. I would rather be safe. For soon, perhaps,someone will kill me. So I will tell what I know.”
“All right then,” said the Inspector sceptically. “What do you know?”
“I tell you.” Mitzi spoke46 solemnly. “On that night I am not in the pantry cleaning silver as I say—I am already inthe dining room when I hear the gun go off. I look through the keyhole. The hall it is black, but the gun go off againand the torch it falls—and it swings round as it falls—and I see her. I see her there close to him with the gun in herhand. I see Miss Blacklock.”
“Me?” Miss Blacklock sat up in astonishment47. “You must be mad!”
“But that’s impossible,” cried Edmund. “Mitzi couldn’t have seen Miss Blacklock.”
Craddock cut in and his voice had the corrosive48 quality of a deadly acid.
“Couldn’t she, Mr. Swettenham? And why not? Because it wasn’t Miss Blacklock who was standing49 there with thegun? It was you, wasn’t it?”
“I—of course not—what the hell!”
“You took Colonel Easterbrook’s revolver. You fixed50 up the business with Rudi Scherz—as a good joke. You hadfollowed Patrick Simmons into the far room and when the lights went out, you slipped out through the carefully oileddoor. You shot at Miss Blacklock and then you killed Rudi Scherz. A few seconds later you were back in the drawingroom clicking your lighter51.”
For a moment Edmund seemed at a loss for words, then he spluttered out:
“The whole idea is monstrous52. Why me? What earthly motive53 had I got?”
“If Miss Blacklock dies before Mrs. Goedler, two people inherit, remember. The two we know of as Pip andEmma. Julia Simmons has turned out to be Emma—”
“And you think I’m Pip?” Edmund laughed. “Fantastic—absolutely fantastic! I’m about the right age—nothingelse. And I can prove to you, you damned fool, that I am Edmund Swettenham. Birth certificate, schools, university—everything.”
“He isn’t Pip.” The voice came from the shadows in the corner. Phillipa Haymes came forward, her face pale. “I’mPip, Inspector.”
“You, Mrs. Haymes?”
“Yes. Everybody seems to have assumed that Pip was a boy—Julia knew, of course, that her twin was another girl—I don’t know why she didn’t say so this afternoon—”
“Family solidarity,” said Julia. “I suddenly realized who you were. I’d had no idea till that moment.”
“I’d had the same idea as Julia did,” said Phillipa, her voice trembling a little. “After I—lost my husband and thewar was over, I wondered what I was going to do. My mother died many years ago. I found out about my Goedlerrelations. Mrs. Goedler was dying and at her death the money would go to a Miss Blacklock. I found out where MissBlacklock lived and I—I came here. I took a job with Mrs. Lucas. I hoped that, since this Miss Blacklock was anelderly woman without relatives, she might, perhaps, be willing to help. Not me, because I could work, but help withHarry’s education. After all, it was Goedler money and she’d no one particular of her own to spend it on.
“And then,” Phillipa spoke faster, it was as though, now her long reserve had broken down, she couldn’t get thewords out fast enough, “that hold-up happened and I began to be frightened. Because it seemed to me that the onlypossible person with a motive for killing Miss Blacklock was me. I hadn’t the least idea who Julia was—we aren’tidentical twins and we’re not much alike to look at. No, it seemed as though I was the only one bound to besuspected.”
She stopped and pushed her fair hair back from her face, and Craddock suddenly realized that the faded snapshot inthe box of letters must have been a photograph of Phillipa’s mother. The likeness54 was undeniable. He knew too whythat mention of closing and unclosing hands had seemed familiar—Phillipa was doing it now.
“Miss Blacklock has been good to me. Very very good to me—I didn’t try to kill her. I never thought of killing her.
But all the same, I’m Pip.” She added, “You see, you needn’t suspect Edmund any more.”
“Needn’t I?” said Craddock. Again there was that acid biting tone in his voice. “Edmund Swettenham’s a youngman who’s fond of money. A young man, perhaps, who would like to marry a rich wife. But she wouldn’t be a richwife unless Miss Blacklock died before Mrs. Goedler. And since it seemed almost certain that Mrs. Goedler would diebefore Miss Blacklock, well—he had to do something about it—didn’t you, Mr. Swettenham?”
“It’s a damned lie!” Edmund shouted.
And then, suddenly, a sound rose on the air. It came from the kitchen—a long unearthly shriek55 of terror.
“That isn’t Mitzi!” cried Julia.
“No,” said Inspector Craddock, “it’s someone who’s murdered three people….”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 omen N5jzY     
n.征兆,预兆;vt.预示
参考例句:
  • The superstitious regard it as a bad omen.迷信的人认为那是一种恶兆。
  • Could this at last be a good omen for peace?这是否终于可以视作和平的吉兆了?
2 cynical Dnbz9     
adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的,不信世道向善的
参考例句:
  • The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大,他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
  • He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。
3 inspector q6kxH     
n.检查员,监察员,视察员
参考例句:
  • The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
  • The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。
4 triumphantly 9fhzuv     
ad.得意洋洋地;得胜地;成功地
参考例句:
  • The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
  • Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。
5 boulders 317f40e6f6d3dc0457562ca415269465     
n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 );巨砾;(受水或天气侵蚀而成的)巨石;漂砾
参考例句:
  • Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静,海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下,入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 apathy BMlyA     
n.漠不关心,无动于衷;冷淡
参考例句:
  • He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
  • She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。
7 biding 83fef494bb1c4bd2f64e5e274888d8c5     
v.等待,停留( bide的现在分词 );居住;(过去式用bided)等待;面临
参考例句:
  • He was biding his time. 他正在等待时机。 来自辞典例句
  • Applications:used in carbide alloy, diamond tools, biding admixture, high-temperature alloy, rechargeable cell. 用作硬质合金,磁性材料,金刚石工具,高温合金,可充电池等。 来自互联网
8 accusation GJpyf     
n.控告,指责,谴责
参考例句:
  • I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
  • She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。
9 maniac QBexu     
n.精神癫狂的人;疯子
参考例句:
  • Be careful!That man is driving like a maniac!注意!那个人开车像个疯子一样!
  • You were acting like a maniac,and you threatened her with a bomb!你像一个疯子,你用炸弹恐吓她!
10 larder m9tzb     
n.食物贮藏室,食品橱
参考例句:
  • Please put the food into the larder.请将您地食物放进食物柜内。
  • They promised never to raid the larder again.他们答应不再随便开食橱拿东西吃了。
11 shuddered 70137c95ff493fbfede89987ee46ab86     
v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动
参考例句:
  • He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车,车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 apron Lvzzo     
n.围裙;工作裙
参考例句:
  • We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
  • She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。
13 abruptly iINyJ     
adv.突然地,出其不意地
参考例句:
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。
14 whine VMNzc     
v.哀号,号哭;n.哀鸣
参考例句:
  • You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
  • The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上,一声尖厉的呼啸,跳飞开去。
15 brook PSIyg     
n.小河,溪;v.忍受,容让
参考例句:
  • In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
  • The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。
16 contemplating bde65bd99b6b8a706c0f139c0720db21     
深思,细想,仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 ); 注视,凝视; 考虑接受(发生某事的可能性); 深思熟虑,沉思,苦思冥想
参考例句:
  • You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
  • She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。
17 torrent 7GCyH     
n.激流,洪流;爆发,(话语等的)连发
参考例句:
  • The torrent scoured a channel down the hillside. 急流沿着山坡冲出了一条沟。
  • Her pent-up anger was released in a torrent of words.她压抑的愤怒以滔滔不绝的话爆发了出来。
18 greasy a64yV     
adj. 多脂的,油脂的
参考例句:
  • He bought a heavy-duty cleanser to clean his greasy oven.昨天他买了强力清洁剂来清洗油污的炉子。
  • You loathe the smell of greasy food when you are seasick.当你晕船时,你会厌恶油腻的气味。
19 continental Zazyk     
adj.大陆的,大陆性的,欧洲大陆的
参考例句:
  • A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
  • The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。
20 barge munzH     
n.平底载货船,驳船
参考例句:
  • The barge was loaded up with coal.那艘驳船装上了煤。
  • Carrying goods by train costs nearly three times more than carrying them by barge.通过铁路运货的成本比驳船运货成本高出近3倍。
21 ravaged 0e2e6833d453fc0fa95986bdf06ea0e2     
毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 ); 蹂躏; 劫掠; 抢劫
参考例句:
  • a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
  • The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。
22 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
23 subdued 76419335ce506a486af8913f13b8981d     
adj. 屈服的,柔和的,减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
  • I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候,我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。
24 vapid qHjy2     
adj.无味的;无生气的
参考例句:
  • She made a vapid comment about the weather.她对天气作了一番平淡无奇的评论。
  • He did the same thing year by year and found life vapid.他每年做着同样的事,觉得生活索然无味。
25 scowled b83aa6db95e414d3ef876bc7fd16d80d     
怒视,生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。
  • The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。
26 parody N46zV     
n.打油诗文,诙谐的改编诗文,拙劣的模仿;v.拙劣模仿,作模仿诗文
参考例句:
  • The parody was just a form of teasing.那个拙劣的模仿只是一种揶揄。
  • North Korea looks like a grotesque parody of Mao's centrally controlled China,precisely the sort of system that Beijing has left behind.朝鲜看上去像是毛时代中央集权的中国的怪诞模仿,其体制恰恰是北京方面已经抛弃的。
27 conversationally c99513d77f180e80661b63a35b670a58     
adv.会话地
参考例句:
  • I am at an unfavourable position in being conversationally unacquainted with English. 我由于不熟悉英语会话而处于不利地位。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The findings suggest that happy lives are social and conversationally deep, rather than solitary and superficial. 结论显示,快乐的生活具有社会层面的意义并与日常交谈有关,而并不仅仅是个体差异和表面现象。 来自互联网
28 stimulant fFKy4     
n.刺激物,兴奋剂
参考例句:
  • It is used in medicine for its stimulant quality.由于它有兴奋剂的特性而被应用于医学。
  • Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
29 faculties 066198190456ba4e2b0a2bda2034dfc5     
n.能力( faculty的名词复数 );全体教职员;技巧;院
参考例句:
  • Although he's ninety, his mental faculties remain unimpaired. 他虽年届九旬,但头脑仍然清晰。
  • All your faculties have come into play in your work. 在你的工作中,你的全部才能已起到了作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》
30 crouching crouching     
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
  • A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
31 preamble 218ze     
n.前言;序文
参考例句:
  • He spoke without preamble.他没有开场白地讲起来。
  • The controversy has arisen over the text of the preamble to the unification treaty.针对统一条约的序文出现了争论。
32 constable wppzG     
n.(英国)警察,警官
参考例句:
  • The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
  • The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气,不肯冒起火来。
33 solicitor vFBzb     
n.初级律师,事务律师
参考例句:
  • The solicitor's advice gave me food for thought.律师的指点值得我深思。
  • The solicitor moved for an adjournment of the case.律师请求将这个案件的诉讼延期。
34 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
参考例句:
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
35 diligent al6ze     
adj.勤勉的,勤奋的
参考例句:
  • He is the more diligent of the two boys.他是这两个男孩中较用功的一个。
  • She is diligent and keeps herself busy all the time.她真勤快,一会儿也不闲着。
36 discourse 2lGz0     
n.论文,演说;谈话;话语;vi.讲述,著述
参考例句:
  • We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
  • He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。
37 emphatic 0P1zA     
adj.强调的,着重的;无可置疑的,明显的
参考例句:
  • Their reply was too emphatic for anyone to doubt them.他们的回答很坚决,不容有任何人怀疑。
  • He was emphatic about the importance of being punctual.他强调严守时间的重要性。
38 snipping 5fe0030e9f7f57e9e018d33196ee84b6     
n.碎片v.剪( snip的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The crew had been snipping it for souvenirs. 舰上人员把它剪下来当作纪念品。 来自辞典例句
  • The gardener is snipping off the dead leaves in the garden. 花匠在花园时剪枯叶。 来自互联网
39 gutter lexxk     
n.沟,街沟,水槽,檐槽,贫民窟
参考例句:
  • There's a cigarette packet thrown into the gutter.阴沟里有个香烟盒。
  • He picked her out of the gutter and made her a great lady.他使她脱离贫苦生活,并成为贵妇。
40 wireless Rfwww     
adj.无线的;n.无线电
参考例句:
  • There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
  • Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。
41 inquiry nbgzF     
n.打听,询问,调查,查问
参考例句:
  • Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
  • The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。
42 scones 851500ddb2eb42d0ca038d69fbf83f7e     
n.烤饼,烤小圆面包( scone的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • scones and jam with clotted cream 夹有凝脂奶油和果酱的烤饼
  • She makes scones and cakes for the delectation of visitors. 她烘制了烤饼和蛋糕供客人享用。 来自辞典例句
43 venom qLqzr     
n.毒液,恶毒,痛恨
参考例句:
  • The snake injects the venom immediately after biting its prey.毒蛇咬住猎物之后马上注入毒液。
  • In fact,some components of the venom may benefit human health.事实上,毒液的某些成分可能有益于人类健康。
44 elimination 3qexM     
n.排除,消除,消灭
参考例句:
  • Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
  • I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。
45 frenzy jQbzs     
n.疯狂,狂热,极度的激动
参考例句:
  • He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
  • They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。
46 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
47 astonishment VvjzR     
n.惊奇,惊异
参考例句:
  • They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
  • I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。
48 corrosive wzsxn     
adj.腐蚀性的;有害的;恶毒的
参考例句:
  • Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。
  • Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。
49 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
50 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
51 lighter 5pPzPR     
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级
参考例句:
  • The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色,色调明朗了一些。
  • The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。
52 monstrous vwFyM     
adj.巨大的;恐怖的;可耻的,丢脸的
参考例句:
  • The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升,形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
  • Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人!
53 motive GFzxz     
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的
参考例句:
  • The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
54 likeness P1txX     
n.相像,相似(之处)
参考例句:
  • I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
  • She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。
55 shriek fEgya     
v./n.尖叫,叫喊
参考例句:
  • Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
  • People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧,气愤或疼痛而尖叫。


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