Chapter 5 Murder
The following day was the 30th June.
It was just half-past nine when we were told that
Inspector1 Japp was below and anxious to see us.
It was some years since we had seen anything of the Scotland Yard inspector.
‘Ah! ce bon Japp,’ said Poirot. ‘What does he want, I wonder?’
‘Help,’ I snapped. ‘He’s out of his depth over some case and he’s come to you.’
I had not the indulgence for Japp that Poirot had. It was not so much that I minded his picking Poirot’s brains – after all, Poirot enjoyed the process, it was a delicate flattery. What did annoy me was Japp’s hypocritical
pretence2 that he was doing nothing of the kind. I liked people to be
straightforward3. I said so, and Poirot laughed.
‘You are the dog of the bulldog breed, eh, Hastings? But you must remember that the poor Japp he has to save his face. So he makes his little pretence. It is very natural.’
I thought it merely foolish and said so. Poirot did not agree.
‘The outward form – it is a
bagatelle4 – but it matters to people. It enables them to keep the amour propre.’
Personally I thought a dash of inferiority complex would do Japp no harm, but there was no point in arguing the matter. Besides, I was anxious to learn what Japp had come about.
He greeted us both
heartily5.
‘Just going to have breakfast, I see. Not got the hens to lay square eggs for you yet, M. Poirot?’
This was an
allusion6 to a complaint from Poirot as to the varying sizes of eggs which had offended his sense of symmetry.
‘As yet, no,’ said Poirot smiling. ‘And what brings you to see us so early, my good Japp?’
‘It’s not early – not for me. I’ve been up and at work for a good two hours. As to what brings me to see you – well, it’s murder.’
‘Murder?’
Japp nodded.
‘Lord Edgware was killed at his house in Regent Gate last night. Stabbed in the neck by his wife.’
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收听单词发音
1
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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2
pretence
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n.假装,作假;借口,口实;虚伪;虚饰 |
参考例句: |
- The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。
- He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。
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3
straightforward
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adj.正直的,坦率的;易懂的,简单的 |
参考例句: |
- A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
- I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。
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4
bagatelle
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n.琐事;小曲儿 |
参考例句: |
- To him money is a bagatelle.金钱对他来说不算一回事。
- One day, they argued for a bagatelle of their children.一天,夫妻为了孩子的一件小事吵起来。
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5
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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6
allusion
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n.暗示,间接提示 |
参考例句: |
- He made an allusion to a secret plan in his speech.在讲话中他暗示有一项秘密计划。
- She made no allusion to the incident.她没有提及那个事件。
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7
callous
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adj.无情的,冷淡的,硬结的,起老茧的 |
参考例句: |
- He is callous about the safety of his workers.他对他工人的安全毫不关心。
- She was selfish,arrogant and often callous.她自私傲慢,而且往往冷酷无情。
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8
judgment
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n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 |
参考例句: |
- The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
- He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。
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9
concealment
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n.隐藏, 掩盖,隐瞒 |
参考例句: |
- the concealment of crime 对罪行的隐瞒
- Stay in concealment until the danger has passed. 把自己藏起来,待危险过去后再出来。
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10
cistern
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n.贮水池 |
参考例句: |
- The cistern is empty but soon fills again.蓄水池里现在没水,但不久就会储满水的。
- The lavatory cistern overflowed.厕所水箱的水溢出来了
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11
mischief
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n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹 |
参考例句: |
- Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
- He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。
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12
incapable
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adj.无能力的,不能做某事的 |
参考例句: |
- He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
- Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。
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13
impulsive
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adj.冲动的,刺激的;有推动力的 |
参考例句: |
- She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
- He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人,也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。
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14
inquisitively
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过分好奇地; 好问地 |
参考例句: |
- The Mouse looked at her rather inquisitively, and seemed to her to wink with one of its little eyes, but It'said nothing. 这老鼠狐疑地看着她,好像还把一只小眼睛向她眨了眨,但没说话。
- The mouse looked at her rather inquisitively. 那只耗子用疑问的眼光看看她。
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15
motive
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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。
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16
stolidly
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adv.迟钝地,神经麻木地 |
参考例句: |
- Too often people sat stolidly watching the noisy little fiddler. 人们往往不动声色地坐在那里,瞧着这位瘦小的提琴手闹腾一番。 来自辞典例句
- He dropped into a chair and sat looking stolidly at the floor. 他坐在椅子上,两眼呆呆地望着地板。 来自辞典例句
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17
fixed
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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。
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18
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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19
flopped
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v.(指书、戏剧等)彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 );(因疲惫而)猛然坐下;(笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地)移动或落下;砸锅 |
参考例句: |
- Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽,一屁股坐到椅子上。
- It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地,出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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20
acting
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n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的 |
参考例句: |
- Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
- During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
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21
blandly
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adv.温和地,殷勤地 |
参考例句: |
- There is a class of men in Bristol monstrously prejudiced against Blandly. 布里斯托尔有那么一帮人为此恨透了布兰德利。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
- \"Maybe you could get something in the stage line?\" he blandly suggested. “也许你能在戏剧这一行里找些事做,\"他和蔼地提议道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
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22
winked
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v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮 |
参考例句: |
- He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼,她便知道他的想法和她一样。
- He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
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23
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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24
groaned
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v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦 |
参考例句: |
- He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
- The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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25
solicitor
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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。
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26
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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27
guilt
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n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责 |
参考例句: |
- She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
- Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。
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28
temperament
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n.气质,性格,性情 |
参考例句: |
- The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
- Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。
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29
oyster
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n.牡蛎;沉默寡言的人 |
参考例句: |
- I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎,它味道真美。
- I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时,我发现我相当喜欢吃。
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30
sneaking
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a.秘密的,不公开的 |
参考例句: |
- She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
- She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走,躲开采访者。
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31
esteem
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n.尊敬,尊重;vt.尊重,敬重;把…看作 |
参考例句: |
- I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
- The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。
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32
meticulously
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adv.过细地,异常细致地;无微不至;精心 |
参考例句: |
- The hammer's silvery head was etched with holy runs and its haft was meticulously wrapped in blue leather. 锤子头是纯银制成的,雕刻着神圣符文,而握柄则被精心地包裹在蓝色的皮革中。 来自辞典例句
- She is always meticulously accurate in punctuation and spelling. 她的标点和拼写总是非常精确。 来自辞典例句
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33
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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34
curiously
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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。
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