Chapter 16 – Interview with Mr Whitfield
The inquest was a dry
proceeding1-mere bare bones. There was evidence of identification, then I gave evidence of the finding of the body. Medical evidence followed.
The inquest was
adjourned2 for a week.
The St Loo murder had jumped into
prominence3 in the daily press. It had, in fact, succeeded 'Seton Still Missing. Unknown Fate of Missing Airman.'
Now that Seton was dead and due tribute had been paid to his memory, a new sensation was due. The St Loo Mystery was a godsend to papers at their wits' end for news in the month of August.
After the inquest, having successfully
dodged4 reporters, I met Poirot, and we had an interview with the
Rev5. Giles Buckley and his wife.
Maggie's father and mother were a charming pair, completely unworldly and unsophisticated.
Mrs Buckley was a woman of character, tall and fair and showing very plainly her northern
ancestry6. Her husband was a small man, grey-haired, with a diffident appealing manner.
Poor souls, they were completely dazed by the misfortune that had overtaken them and robbed them of a well-beloved daughter. 'Our Maggie', as they called her.
'I can scarcely realize it even now,' said Mr Buckley. 'Such a dear child, M. Poirot. So quiet and unselfish-always thinking of others. Who could wish to harm her?'
'I could hardly understand the telegram,' said Mrs Buckley. 'Why it was only the morning before that we had seen her off.'
'In the midst of life we are in death,' murmured her husband.
'Colonel Weston has been very kind,' said Mrs Buckley. 'He assures us that everything is being done to find the man who did this thing. He must be a madman. No other explanation is possible.'
'Madame, I cannot tell you how I sympathize with you in your loss-and how I admire your bravery!'
'Breaking down would not bring Maggie back to us,' said Mrs Buckley, sadly.
'My wife is wonderful,' said the clergyman. 'Her faith and courage are greater than mine. It is all so-so bewildering, M. Poirot.'
'I know-I know, Monsieur.'
'You are a great detective, M. Poirot?' said Mrs Buckley.
点击
收听单词发音
1
proceeding
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n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报 |
参考例句: |
- This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
- The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。
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2
adjourned
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(使)休会, (使)休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- The court adjourned for lunch. 午餐时间法庭休庭。
- The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court. 新证据呈到庭上后,审讯就宣告暂停。
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3
prominence
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n.突出;显著;杰出;重要 |
参考例句: |
- He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
- This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。
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4
dodged
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v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 );回避 |
参考例句: |
- He dodged cleverly when she threw her sabot at him. 她用木底鞋砸向他时,他机敏地闪开了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He dodged the book that I threw at him. 他躲开了我扔向他的书。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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5
rev
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v.发动机旋转,加快速度 |
参考例句: |
- It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
- Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。
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6
ancestry
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n.祖先,家世 |
参考例句: |
- Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
- He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。
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7
kin
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n.家族,亲属,血缘关系;adj.亲属关系的,同类的 |
参考例句: |
- He comes of good kin.他出身好。
- She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。
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8
intrude
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vi.闯入;侵入;打扰,侵扰 |
参考例句: |
- I do not want to intrude if you are busy.如果你忙我就不打扰你了。
- I don't want to intrude on your meeting.我不想打扰你们的会议。
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9
proffer
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v.献出,赠送;n.提议,建议 |
参考例句: |
- He rose and proffered a silver box full of cigarettes.他站起身,伸手递过一个装满香烟的银盒子。
- I proffer to lend him one.我表示愿意借他一个。
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10
delightful
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adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 |
参考例句: |
- We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
- Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
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11
abased
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使谦卑( abase的过去式和过去分词 ); 使感到羞耻; 使降低(地位、身份等); 降下 |
参考例句: |
- His moral force was abased into more than childish weakness. 他的精神力量已经衰颓,低得不如孩子。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
- He is self-abased because of unluck he meets with. 他因遭不幸而自卑。
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12
abasement
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n.滥用 |
参考例句: |
- She despised herself when she remembered the utter self-abasement of the past. 当她回忆起过去的不折不扣的自卑时,她便瞧不起自己。
- In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. 在我们的世界里,除了恐惧、狂怒、得意、自贬以外,没有别的感情。 来自英汉文学
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13
conceit
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n.自负,自高自大 |
参考例句: |
- As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后,谦虚使人进步。
- She seems to be eaten up with her own conceit.她仿佛已经被骄傲冲昏了头脑。
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14
prudently
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adv. 谨慎地,慎重地 |
参考例句: |
- He prudently pursued his plan. 他谨慎地实行他那计划。
- They had prudently withdrawn as soon as the van had got fairly under way. 他们在蓬车安全上路后立即谨慎地离去了。
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15
solicitors
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初级律师( solicitor的名词复数 ) |
参考例句: |
- Most solicitors in England and Wales are in private practice . 英格兰和威尔士的大多数律师都是私人执业者。
- The family has instructed solicitors to sue Thomson for compensation. 那家人已经指示律师起诉汤姆森,要求赔偿。
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16
urbane
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adj.温文尔雅的,懂礼的 |
参考例句: |
- He tried hard to be urbane.他极力作出彬彬有礼的神态。
- Despite the crisis,the chairman's voice was urbane as usual.尽管处于危机之中,董事长的声音还象通常一样温文尔雅。
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17
constable
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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。
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18
sufficiently
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adv.足够地,充分地 |
参考例句: |
- It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
- The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
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19
adviser
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n.劝告者,顾问 |
参考例句: |
- They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
- Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。
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20
peculiar
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adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 |
参考例句: |
- He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
- He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。
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21
severely
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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。
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22
meekly
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adv.温顺地,逆来顺受地 |
参考例句: |
- He stood aside meekly when the new policy was proposed. 当有人提出新政策时,他唯唯诺诺地站 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He meekly accepted the rebuke. 他顺从地接受了批评。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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23
remarkably
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ad.不同寻常地,相当地 |
参考例句: |
- I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
- He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。
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24
immediate
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adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 |
参考例句: |
- His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
- We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
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25
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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26
appalled
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v.使惊骇,使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的;丧胆的 |
参考例句: |
- The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
- They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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27
verbiage
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n.冗词;冗长 |
参考例句: |
- Stripped of their pretentious verbiage,his statements come dangerously close to inviting racial hatred.抛开那些夸大其词的冗词赘语不论,他的言论有挑起种族仇恨的危险。
- Even in little 140-character bites,that's a lot of verbiage.即使限制在一条140个字也有很大一部分是废话。
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28
possessed
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adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 |
参考例句: |
- He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
- He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。
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29
enjoyment
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n.乐趣;享有;享用 |
参考例句: |
- Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同,我们这次访问更加愉快了。
- After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话,这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。
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30
inspector
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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。
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31
rendezvous
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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。
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33
facetiously
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adv.爱开玩笑地;滑稽地,爱开玩笑地 |
参考例句: |
- The house had been facetiously named by some waggish officer. 这房子是由某个机智幽默的军官命名的。 来自辞典例句
- I sometimes facetiously place the cause of it all to Charley Furuseth's credit. 我有时候也曾将起因全部可笑地推在却利?福罗萨的身上。 来自辞典例句
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34
depressed
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adj.沮丧的,抑郁的,不景气的,萧条的 |
参考例句: |
- When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
- His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。
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35
scent
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n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉 |
参考例句: |
- The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
- The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
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36
fungus
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n.真菌,真菌类植物 |
参考例句: |
- Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
- This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。
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37
soothingly
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adv.抚慰地,安慰地;镇痛地 |
参考例句: |
- The mother talked soothingly to her child. 母亲对自己的孩子安慰地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He continued to talk quietly and soothingly to the girl until her frightened grip on his arm was relaxed. 他继续柔声安慰那姑娘,她那因恐惧而紧抓住他的手终于放松了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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38
complacently
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adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 |
参考例句: |
- He complacently lived out his life as a village school teacher. 他满足于一个乡村教师的生活。
- "That was just something for evening wear," returned his wife complacently. “那套衣服是晚装,"他妻子心安理得地说道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
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39
caressing
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爱抚的,表现爱情的,亲切的 |
参考例句: |
- The spring wind is gentle and caressing. 春风和畅。
- He sat silent still caressing Tartar, who slobbered with exceeding affection. 他不声不响地坐在那里,不断抚摸着鞑靼,它由于获得超常的爱抚而不淌口水。
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40
fishy
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adj. 值得怀疑的 |
参考例句: |
- It all sounds very fishy to me.所有这些在我听起来都很可疑。
- There was definitely something fishy going on.肯定当时有可疑的事情在进行中。
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41
honourable
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adj.可敬的;荣誉的,光荣的 |
参考例句: |
- I don't think I am worthy of such an honourable title.这样的光荣称号,我可担当不起。
- I hope to find an honourable way of settling difficulties.我希望设法找到一个体面的办法以摆脱困境。
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42
slump
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n.暴跌,意气消沉,(土地)下沉;vi.猛然掉落,坍塌,大幅度下跌 |
参考例句: |
- She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
- Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。
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43
continental
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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。
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44
premises
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n.建筑物,房屋 |
参考例句: |
- According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定,场内不准饮酒。
- All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行,不用送到外面去做。
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45
libido
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n.本能的冲动 |
参考例句: |
- Lack of sleep is a major factor in loss of libido.睡眠不足是导致性欲丧失的一个主要因素。
- Ginseng can increase energy and libido,which can help solve intimacy problems.人参可以增加活力和性欲,从而帮助解决亲密关系的问题。
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46
quack
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n.庸医;江湖医生;冒充内行的人;骗子 |
参考例句: |
- He describes himself as a doctor,but I feel he is a quack.他自称是医生,可是我感觉他是个江湖骗子。
- The quack was stormed with questions.江湖骗子受到了猛烈的质问。
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47
thoroughly
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adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 |
参考例句: |
- The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
- The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
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48
harmonious
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adj.和睦的,调和的,和谐的,协调的 |
参考例句: |
- Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
- The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。
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49
perplexed
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adj.不知所措的 |
参考例句: |
- The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛,走了又回来,犹豫不决,总怕上当受骗。
- The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。
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50
hilariously
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参考例句: |
- Laughing hilariously, Wu Sun-fu left the study and ran straight upstairs. 吴荪甫异样地狂笑着,站起身来就走出了那书房,一直跑上楼去。 来自互联网
- Recently I saw a piece of news on the weband I thought it was hilariously ridiculous. 最近在网上的新闻里看到一则很好笑的新闻。 来自互联网
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51
cocaine
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n.可卡因,古柯碱(用作局部麻醉剂) |
参考例句: |
- That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
- Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。
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