Chapter 28 POIROT PLAYS THE SQUIRREL
Poirot started to keep his dinner appointment with a
margin1 of three quarters of an hour to spare. He had an object in this. The car took him, not straight to Monte Carlo, but to Lady Tamplin's house at Cap Martin, where he asked for Miss Grey. The ladies were
dressing2 and Poirot was shown into a small
salon3 to wait, and here, after a
lapse4 of three or four minutes, Lenox Tamplin came to him.
"Katherine is not quite ready yet," she said. "Can I give her a message, or would you rather wait until she comes down?"
Poirot looked at her thoughtfully. He was a minute or two in replying, as though something of great weight hung upon his decision.
Apparently5 the answer to such a simple question mattered.
"No," he said at last, "no, I do not think it is necessary that I should wait to see Mademoiselle Katherine. I think, perhaps, that it is better that I should not. These things are sometimes difficult."
Lenox waited politely, her
eyebrows6 slightly raised.
"I have a piece of news," continued Poirot. "You will, perhaps, tell your friend. M. Kettering was arrested tonight for the murder of his wife."
"You want me to tell Katherine that?" asked Lenox. She breathed rather hard, as though she had been running; her face, Poirot thought, looked white and strained - rather noticeably so.
"If you please, Mademoiselle."
"Why?" said Lenox. "Do you think Katherine will be upset? Do you think she cares?"
"I don't know, Mademoiselle," said Poirot. "See, I admit it
frankly7. As a rule I know everything, but in this case, I - well, I do not. You, perhaps, know better than I do."
"Yes," said Lenox, "I know - but I am not going to tell you all the same."
She paused for a minute or two, her dark brows
点击
收听单词发音
1
margin
|
|
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘 |
参考例句: |
- We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
- The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
|
2
dressing
|
|
n.(食物)调料;包扎伤口的用品,敷料 |
参考例句: |
- Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
- The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。
|
3
salon
|
|
n.[法]沙龙;客厅;营业性的高级服务室 |
参考例句: |
- Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗?
- You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。
|
4
lapse
|
|
n.过失,流逝,失效,抛弃信仰,间隔;vi.堕落,停止,失效,流逝;vt.使失效 |
参考例句: |
- The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。
- I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。
|
5
apparently
|
|
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。
|
6
eyebrows
|
|
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) |
参考例句: |
- Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
- His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
|
7
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。
|
8
drawn
|
|
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 |
参考例句: |
- All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
- Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
|
9
abruptly
|
|
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。
|
10
shrug
|
|
v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) |
参考例句: |
- With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩,走出了房间。
- I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。
|
11
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》
|
12
motive
|
|
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。
|
13
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。
|
14
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。
|
15
softened
|
|
(使)变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 ); 缓解打击; 缓和; 安慰 |
参考例句: |
- His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
- The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。
|
16
standing
|
|
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。
|
17
precursor
|
|
n.先驱者;前辈;前任;预兆;先兆 |
参考例句: |
- Error is often the precursor of what is correct.错误常常是正确的先导。
- He said that the deal should not be seen as a precursor to a merger.他说该笔交易不应该被看作是合并的前兆。
|
18
rendezvous
|
|
n.约会,约会地点,汇合点;vi.汇合,集合;vt.使汇合,使在汇合地点相遇 |
参考例句: |
- She made the rendezvous with only minutes to spare.她还差几分钟时才来赴约。
- I have a rendezvous with Peter at a restaurant on the harbour.我和彼得在海港的一个餐馆有个约会。
|
19
abject
|
|
adj.极可怜的,卑屈的 |
参考例句: |
- This policy has turned out to be an abject failure.这一政策最后以惨败而告终。
- He had been obliged to offer an abject apology to Mr.Alleyne for his impertinence.他不得不低声下气,为他的无礼举动向艾莱恩先生请罪。
|
20
benign
|
|
adj.善良的,慈祥的;良性的,无危险的 |
参考例句: |
- The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
- Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。
|
21
anecdotes
|
|
n.掌故,趣闻,轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) |
参考例句: |
- amusing anecdotes about his brief career as an actor 关于他短暂演员生涯的趣闻逸事
- He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman. 他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
|
22
graceful
|
|
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 |
参考例句: |
- His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
- The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。
|
23
gaily
|
|
adv.欢乐地,高兴地 |
参考例句: |
- The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
- She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。
|
24
solely
|
|
adv.仅仅,唯一地 |
参考例句: |
- Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
- The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。
|
25
animated
|
|
adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的 |
参考例句: |
- His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
- We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。
|
26
expressive
|
|
adj.表现的,表达…的,富于表情的 |
参考例句: |
- Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
- He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的,富于表情的,生动活泼的脸。
|
27
fatalities
|
|
n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 );死亡;致命性;命运 |
参考例句: |
- Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤,但没有人死亡。
- The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
|
28
forefinger
|
|
n.食指 |
参考例句: |
- He pinched the leaf between his thumb and forefinger.他将叶子捏在拇指和食指之间。
- He held it between the tips of his thumb and forefinger.他用他大拇指和食指尖拿着它。
|
29
gallantly
|
|
adv. 漂亮地,勇敢地,献殷勤地 |
参考例句: |
- He gallantly offered to carry her cases to the car. 他殷勤地要帮她把箱子拎到车子里去。
- The new fighters behave gallantly under fire. 新战士在炮火下表现得很勇敢。
|
30
credulous
|
|
adj.轻信的,易信的 |
参考例句: |
- You must be credulous if she fooled you with that story.连她那种话都能把你骗倒,你一定是太容易相信别人了。
- Credulous attitude will only make you take anything for granted.轻信的态度只会使你想当然。
|
31
intake
|
|
n.吸入,纳入;进气口,入口 |
参考例句: |
- Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
- There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。
|
32
gasp
|
|
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。
|
33
glib
|
|
adj.圆滑的,油嘴滑舌的 |
参考例句: |
- His glib talk sounds as sweet as a song.他说的比唱的还好听。
- The fellow has a very glib tongue.这家伙嘴油得很。
|
34
catastrophe
|
|
n.大灾难,大祸 |
参考例句: |
- I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
- This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。
|
35
alas
|
|
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) |
参考例句: |
- Alas!The window is broken!哎呀!窗子破了!
- Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而,真理很少带有浪漫色彩。
|
36
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。
|
37
blackmailer
|
|
敲诈者,勒索者 |
参考例句: |
- The blackmailer had a hold over him. 勒索他的人控制着他。
- The blackmailer will have to be bought off,or he'll ruin your good name. 得花些钱疏通那个敲诈者,否则他会毁坏你的声誉。
|
38
distrait
|
|
adj.心不在焉的 |
参考例句: |
- The distrait boy is always losing his books.这个心不在焉的男孩老是丢书。
- The distrait actress fluffed her lines.那位心不在焉的女演员忘了台词。
|
39
amiable
|
|
adj.和蔼可亲的,友善的,亲切的 |
参考例句: |
- She was a very kind and amiable old woman.她是个善良和气的老太太。
- We have a very amiable companionship.我们之间存在一种友好的关系。
|
40
wig
|
|
n.假发 |
参考例句: |
- The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
- He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。
|