Between them, the doctor and M. Hautet carried the unconscious woman into the house. The commissary looked after them, shaking his head.
“Pauvre femme,” he murmured to himself. “The shock was too much for her. Well, well, we can do nothing. Now, M. Poirot, shall we visit the place where the crime was committed?”
“If you please, M. Bex.”
We passed through the house, and out by the front door. Poirot had looked up at the staircase in passing, and shook his head in a dissatisfied manner.
“It is to me incredible that the servants heard nothing. The creaking of that staircase, with three people
descending1 it, would
awaken2 the dead!”
“It was the middle of the night, remember. They were sound asleep by then.”
But Poirot continued to shake his head as though not
fully3 accepting the explanation. On the sweep of the drive, he paused, looking up at the house.
“What moved them in the first place to try if the front door were open? It was a most unlikely thing that it should be. It was far more probable that they should at once try to force a window.”
“But all the windows on the ground floor are barred with iron shutters,” objected the commissary.
Poirot
pointed4 to a window on the first floor.
“That is the window of the bedroom we have just come from, is it not? And see—there is a tree by which it would be the easiest thing in the world to mount.”
“Possibly,” admitted the other. “But they could not have done so without leaving footprints in the flower-bed.”
I saw the justice of his words. There were two large oval flower-beds planted with
scarlet5 geraniums, one each side of the steps leading up to the front door. The tree in question had its roots actually at the back of the bed itself, and it would have been impossible to reach it without stepping on the bed.
点击
收听单词发音
1
descending
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n. 下行
adj. 下降的 |
参考例句: |
- The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
- The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置,然后再下山。
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2
awaken
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vi.醒,觉醒;vt.唤醒,使觉醒,唤起,激起 |
参考例句: |
- Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。
- Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。
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3
fully
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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。
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4
pointed
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adj.尖的,直截了当的 |
参考例句: |
- He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
- She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
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5
scarlet
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n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的 |
参考例句: |
- The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
- The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了,深红的颜色变成了绯红,绯红又变为浅红。
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6
attentively
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adv.聚精会神地;周到地;谛;凝神 |
参考例句: |
- She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时,她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着,把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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7
perfectly
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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。
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8
darted
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v.投掷,投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 );向前冲,飞奔 |
参考例句: |
- The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了,瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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9
crestfallen
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adj. 挫败的,失望的,沮丧的 |
参考例句: |
- He gathered himself up and sneaked off,crushed and crestfallen.他爬起来,偷偷地溜了,一副垂头丧气、被斗败的样子。
- The youth looked exceedingly crestfallen.那青年看上去垂头丧气极了。
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10
astonishment
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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。
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11
shrugged
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vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式) |
参考例句: |
- Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
- She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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12
courteous
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adj.彬彬有礼的,客气的 |
参考例句: |
- Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一,但她总是很谦恭有礼。
- He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善,而且彬彬有礼。
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13
villa
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n.别墅,城郊小屋 |
参考例句: |
- We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
- We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。
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14
gasp
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n.喘息,气喘;v.喘息;气吁吁他说 |
参考例句: |
- She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
- The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。
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15
downwards
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adj./adv.向下的(地),下行的(地) |
参考例句: |
- He lay face downwards on his bed.他脸向下伏在床上。
- As the river flows downwards,it widens.这条河愈到下游愈宽。
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16
dispelled
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v.驱散,赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- His speech dispelled any fears about his health. 他的发言消除了人们对他身体健康的担心。
- The sun soon dispelled the thick fog. 太阳很快驱散了浓雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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17
exclamation
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n.感叹号,惊呼,惊叹词 |
参考例句: |
- He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
- The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号,以引起读者的注意。
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18
annoyance
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n.恼怒,生气,烦恼 |
参考例句: |
- Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气?
- I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。
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19
credentials
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n.证明,资格,证明书,证件 |
参考例句: |
- He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
- Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。
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20
magistrate
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n.地方行政官,地方法官,治安官 |
参考例句: |
- The magistrate committed him to prison for a month.法官判处他一个月监禁。
- John was fined 1000 dollars by the magistrate.约翰被地方法官罚款1000美元。
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21
impatience
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n.不耐烦,急躁 |
参考例句: |
- He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢,他显得不耐烦。
- He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。
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22
spoke
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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。
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23
arrogance
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n.傲慢,自大 |
参考例句: |
- His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
- Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。
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24
flicker
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vi./n.闪烁,摇曳,闪现 |
参考例句: |
- There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。
- At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时,光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现,几乎并不灿烂。
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25
fig
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n.无花果(树) |
参考例句: |
- The doctor finished the fig he had been eating and selected another.这位医生吃完了嘴里的无花果,又挑了一个。
- You can't find a person who doesn't know fig in the United States.你找不到任何一个在美国的人不知道无花果的。
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26
trampling
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踩( trample的现在分词 ); 践踏; 无视; 侵犯 |
参考例句: |
- Diplomats denounced the leaders for trampling their citizens' civil rights. 外交官谴责这些领导人践踏其公民的公民权。
- They don't want people trampling the grass, pitching tents or building fires. 他们不希望人们踩踏草坪、支帐篷或生火。
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27
grunted
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(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说 |
参考例句: |
- She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声,继续看书,不屑抬起头来看一眼。
- She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。
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28
obliterated
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v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 );涂去;擦掉;彻底破坏或毁灭 |
参考例句: |
- The building was completely obliterated by the bomb. 炸弹把那座建筑物彻底摧毁了。
- He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝,喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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29
bent
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n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 |
参考例句: |
- He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
- We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
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30
dagger
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n.匕首,短剑,剑号 |
参考例句: |
- The bad news is a dagger to his heart.这条坏消息刺痛了他的心。
- The murderer thrust a dagger into her heart.凶手将匕首刺进她的心脏。
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31
apparently
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adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 |
参考例句: |
- An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
- He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
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32
irony
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n.反语,冷嘲;具有讽刺意味的事,嘲弄 |
参考例句: |
- She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
- In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。
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33
undoubtedly
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adv.确实地,无疑地 |
参考例句: |
- It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
- He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。
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34
heartily
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adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很 |
参考例句: |
- He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿,就出去找他的马。
- The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手,热情地和我握手。
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35
distinguished
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adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 |
参考例句: |
- Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
- A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。
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36
vexed
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adj.争论不休的;(指问题等)棘手的;争论不休的问题;烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 );使苦恼;使生气;详细讨论 |
参考例句: |
- The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
- He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
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37
puerile
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adj.幼稚的,儿童的 |
参考例句: |
- The story is simple,even puerile.故事很简单,甚至有些幼稚。
- Concert organisers branded the group's actions as puerile.音乐会的组织者指称该乐队的行为愚蠢幼稚。
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38
juncture
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n.时刻,关键时刻,紧要关头 |
参考例句: |
- The project is situated at the juncture of the new and old urban districts.该项目位于新老城区交界处。
- It is very difficult at this juncture to predict the company's future.此时很难预料公司的前景。
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39
whitewashed
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粉饰,美化,掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- The wall had been whitewashed. 墙已粉过。
- The towers are in the shape of bottle gourds and whitewashed. 塔呈圆形,状近葫芦,外敷白色。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
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40
concurred
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同意(concur的过去式与过去分词形式) |
参考例句: |
- Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。
- So many things concurred to give rise to the problem. 许多事情同时发生而导致了这一问题。
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41
malice
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n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋 |
参考例句: |
- I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
- There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。
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42
subscriptions
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n.(报刊等的)订阅费( subscription的名词复数 );捐款;(俱乐部的)会员费;捐助 |
参考例句: |
- Subscriptions to these magazines can be paid in at the post office. 这些杂志的订阅费可以在邮局缴纳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Payment of subscriptions should be made to the club secretary. 会费应交给俱乐部秘书。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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43
triumphantly
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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。
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