Chapter 17 AN ARISTOCRATIC GENTLEMAN
"You have been to the Riviera before, Georges?" said Poirot to his valet the following morning.
George was an intensely English, rather wooden-faced individual.
"Yes, sir. I was here two years ago when I was in the service of Lord Edward Frampton."
"And today," murmured his master, "you are here with Hercule Poirot. How one mounts in the world!"
The valet made no reply to this observation. After a suitable pause he asked:
"The brown lounge suit, sir? The wind is somewhat
chilly1 today."
"There is a grease spot on the waistcoat," objected Poirot. "A morceau of
Filet2 de sole a la Jeanette alighted there when I was lunching at the Ritz last Tuesday."
"There is no spot there now, sir," said George reproachfully. "I have removed it."
"Très bien!" said Poirot. "I am pleased with you, Georges."
"Thank you, sir."
There was a pause, and then Poirot murmured dreamily:
"Supposing, my good Georges, that you had been born in the same social sphere as your late master, Lord Edward Frampton - that, penniless yourself, you had married an extremely wealthy wife, but that that wife proposed to divorce you, with excellent reasons, what would you do about it?"
"I should endeavour, sir," replied George, "to make her change her mind."
"By peaceful or by forcible methods?"
George looked shocked.
"You will excuse me, sir," he said, "but a gentleman of the aristocracy would not behave like a Whitechapel coster. He would not do anything low."
"Would he not, Georges? I wonder now? Perhaps you are right."
There was a knock on the door. George went to it and opened it a
discreet3 inch or two. A low murmured
colloquy4 went on, and then the valet returned to Poirot. "A note, sir."
Poirot took it. It was from M. Caux, the Commissary of Police.
"We are about to
interrogate5 the Comte de la Roche. The Juge d'Instruction begs that you will be present."
"Quickly, my suit, Georges. I must hasten myself."
点击
收听单词发音
1
chilly
|
|
adj.凉快的,寒冷的 |
参考例句: |
- I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
- I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后,寒气逼人。
|
2
filet
|
|
n.肉片;鱼片 |
参考例句: |
- They feasted us on filet mignon and strawberry shortcake.他们拿出鱼片和草莓松脆饼盛情款待我们。
- You cannot make filet mignon out of chopped liver.你不能从品质差的肉制造品质高的肉。
|
3
discreet
|
|
adj.(言行)谨慎的;慎重的;有判断力的 |
参考例句: |
- He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
- It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。
|
4
colloquy
|
|
n.谈话,自由讨论 |
参考例句: |
- The colloquy between them was brief.他们之间的对话很简洁。
- They entered into eager colloquy with each other.他们展开热切的相互交谈。
|
5
interrogate
|
|
vt.讯问,审问,盘问 |
参考例句: |
- The lawyer took a long time to interrogate the witness fully.律师花了很长时间仔细询问目击者。
- We will interrogate the two suspects separately.我们要对这两个嫌疑人单独进行审讯。
|
6
magistrate
|
|
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。
|
7
alibi
|
|
n.某人当时不在犯罪现场的申辩或证明;借口 |
参考例句: |
- Do you have any proof to substantiate your alibi? 你有证据表明你当时不在犯罪现场吗?
- The police are suspicious of his alibi because he already has a record.警方对他不在场的辩解表示怀疑,因为他已有前科。
|
8
exquisitely
|
|
adv.精致地;强烈地;剧烈地;异常地 |
参考例句: |
- He found her exquisitely beautiful. 他觉得她异常美丽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He wore an exquisitely tailored gray silk and accessories to match. 他穿的是做工非常考究的灰色绸缎衣服,还有各种配得很协调的装饰。 来自教父部分
|
9
haughty
|
|
adj.傲慢的,高傲的 |
参考例句: |
- He gave me a haughty look and walked away.他向我摆出傲慢的表情后走开。
- They were displeased with her haughty airs.他们讨厌她高傲的派头。
|
10
countenance
|
|
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 |
参考例句: |
- At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
- I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地,仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。
|
11
heresy
|
|
n.异端邪说;异教 |
参考例句: |
- We should denounce a heresy.我们应该公开指责异端邪说。
- It might be considered heresy to suggest such a notion.提出这样一个观点可能会被视为异端邪说。
|
12
haughtily
|
|
adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 |
参考例句: |
- She carries herself haughtily. 她举止傲慢。
- Haughtily, he stalked out onto the second floor where I was standing. 他傲然跨出电梯,走到二楼,我刚好站在那儿。
|
13
admiration
|
|
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 |
参考例句: |
- He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
- We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。
|
14
iniquitous
|
|
adj.不公正的;邪恶的;高得出奇的 |
参考例句: |
- Many historians,of course,regard this as iniquitous.当然,许多历史学家认为这是极不公正的。
- Men of feeling may at any moment be killed outright by the iniquitous and the callous.多愁善感的人会立即被罪恶的人和无情的人彻底消灭。
|
15
shrugged
|
|
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》
|
16
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。
|
17
privately
|
|
adv.以私人的身份,悄悄地,私下地 |
参考例句: |
- Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
- The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。
|
18
villa
|
|
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。
|
19
compartment
|
|
n.卧车包房,隔间;分隔的空间 |
参考例句: |
- We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴,整个客车隔间由我们独享。
- The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。
|
20
scrutiny
|
|
n.详细检查,仔细观察 |
参考例句: |
- His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好,但是经不起仔细检查。
- Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。
|
21
unwillingly
|
|
adv.不情愿地 |
参考例句: |
- He submitted unwillingly to his mother. 他不情愿地屈服于他母亲。
- Even when I call, he receives unwillingly. 即使我登门拜访,他也是很不情愿地接待我。
|
22
mere
|
|
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 |
参考例句: |
- That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
- It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
|
23
curiously
|
|
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。
|
24
scribbled
|
|
v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 );乱画;草草地写;匆匆记下 |
参考例句: |
- She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
- He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前,他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。
|
25
scrap
|
|
n.碎片;废料;v.废弃,报废 |
参考例句: |
- A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
- Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。
|
26
amiability
|
|
n.和蔼可亲的,亲切的,友善的 |
参考例句: |
- His amiability condemns him to being a constant advisor to other people's troubles. 他那和蔼可亲的性格使他成为经常为他人排忧解难的开导者。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- I watched my master's face pass from amiability to sternness. 我瞧着老师的脸上从和蔼变成严峻。 来自辞典例句
|
27
curt
|
|
adj.简短的,草率的 |
参考例句: |
- He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
- He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。
|
28
triumphantly
|
|
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。
|
29
debonair
|
|
adj.殷勤的,快乐的 |
参考例句: |
- He strolled about,look very debonair in his elegant new suit.他穿了一身讲究的新衣服逛来逛去,显得颇为惬意。
- He was a handsome,debonair,death-defying racing-driver.他是一位英俊潇洒、风流倜傥、敢于挑战死神的赛车手。
|
30
curtly
|
|
adv.简短地 |
参考例句: |
- He nodded curtly and walked away. 他匆忙点了一下头就走了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The request was curtly refused. 这个请求被毫不客气地拒绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
|
31
severely
|
|
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地 |
参考例句: |
- He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
- He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
|
32
spoke
|
|
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。
|
33
suffused
|
|
v.(指颜色、水气等)弥漫于,布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- Her face was suffused with colour. 她满脸通红。
- Her eyes were suffused with warm, excited tears. 她激动地热泪盈眶。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
|
34
outrageous
|
|
adj.无理的,令人不能容忍的 |
参考例句: |
- Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
- Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。
|
35
dealing
|
|
n.经商方法,待人态度 |
参考例句: |
- This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
- His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
|
36
insinuate
|
|
vt.含沙射影地说,暗示 |
参考例句: |
- He tried to insinuate himself into the boss's favor.他设法巧妙地渐渐取得老板的欢心。
- It seems to me you insinuate things about her.我觉得你讲起她来,总有些弦外之音。
|
37
crestfallen
|
|
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。
|
38
rubies
|
|
红宝石( ruby的名词复数 ); 红宝石色,深红色 |
参考例句: |
- a necklace of rubies intertwined with pearls 缠着珍珠的红宝石项链
- The crown was set with precious jewels—diamonds, rubies and emeralds. 王冠上镶嵌着稀世珍宝—有钻石、红宝石、绿宝石。
|
39
extraordinarily
|
|
adv.格外地;极端地 |
参考例句: |
- She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
- The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨,大海出奇地宁静。
|
40
sleek
|
|
adj.光滑的,井然有序的;v.使光滑,梳拢 |
参考例句: |
- Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
- The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。
|
41
peremptorily
|
|
adv.紧急地,不容分说地,专横地 |
参考例句: |
- She peremptorily rejected the request. 她断然拒绝了请求。
- Their propaganda was peremptorily switched to an anti-Western line. 他们的宣传断然地转而持反对西方的路线。 来自辞典例句
|
42
juncture
|
|
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。
|
43
entirely
|
|
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 |
参考例句: |
- The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
- His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
|