Chapter 13 The Nephew
The new Lord Edgware’s eye was a quick one. He noticed the slight start I gave.
‘Ah! you’ve got it,’ he said
amiably1. ‘Aunt Jane’s little supper party. Just a shade bottled, wasn’t I? But I fancied it passed quite unperceived.’
Poirot was saying goodbye to Geraldine
Marsh2 and Miss Carroll.
‘I’ll come down with you,’ said Ronald
genially3.
He led the way down the stairs, talking as he went.
‘Rum thing – life. Kicked out one day, lord of the
manor4 the next. My late unlamented uncle kicked me out, you know, three years ago. But I expect you know all about that, M. Poirot?’
‘I had heard the fact mentioned – yes,’ replied Poirot composedly.
‘Naturally. A thing of that kind is sure to be dug up. The earnest sleuth can’t afford to miss it.’
He grinned.
Then he threw open the dining-room door.
‘Have a spot before you go.’
Poirot refused. So did I. But the young man mixed himself a drink and continued to talk.
‘Here’s to murder,’ he said cheerfully. ‘In the space of one short night I am converted from the credit-or’s despair to the tradesman’s hope. Yesterday ruin stared me in the face, today all is
affluence6. God bless Aunt Jane.’
He drained his glass. Then, with a slight change of manner, he
spoke7 to Poirot.
‘Seriously, though, M. Poirot, what are you doing here? Four days ago Aunt Jane was dramatically declaiming, “Who will rid me of this
insolent8 tyrant9?” and lo and
behold10 she is ridded! Not by your agency, I hope? The perfect crime, by Hercule Poirot, ex-sleuth hound.’
点击
收听单词发音
1
amiably
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adv.和蔼可亲地,亲切地 |
参考例句: |
- She grinned amiably at us. 她咧着嘴向我们亲切地微笑。
- Atheists and theists live together peacefully and amiably in this country. 无神论者和有神论者在该国和睦相处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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2
marsh
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n.沼泽,湿地 |
参考例句: |
- There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
- I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。
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3
genially
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adv.亲切地,和蔼地;快活地 |
参考例句: |
- The white church peeps out genially from behind the huts scattered on the river bank. 一座白色教堂从散布在岸上的那些小木房后面殷勤地探出头来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- "Well, It'seems strange to see you way up here,'said Mr. Kenny genially. “咳,真没想到会在这么远的地方见到你,"肯尼先生亲切地说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
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4
manor
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n.庄园,领地 |
参考例句: |
- The builder of the manor house is a direct ancestor of the present owner.建造这幢庄园的人就是它现在主人的一个直系祖先。
- I am not lord of the manor,but its lady.我并非此地的领主,而是这儿的女主人。
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5
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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6
affluence
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n.充裕,富足 |
参考例句: |
- Their affluence is more apparent than real.他们的富有是虚有其表。
- There is a lot of affluence in this part of the state because it has many businesses.这个州的这一部分相当富有,因为它有很多商行。
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7
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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8
insolent
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adj.傲慢的,无理的 |
参考例句: |
- His insolent manner really got my blood up.他那傲慢的态度把我的肺都气炸了。
- It was insolent of them to demand special treatment.他们要求给予特殊待遇,脸皮真厚。
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9
tyrant
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n.暴君,专制的君主,残暴的人 |
参考例句: |
- The country was ruled by a despotic tyrant.该国处在一个专制暴君的统治之下。
- The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves.暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。
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10
behold
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v.看,注视,看到 |
参考例句: |
- The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
- The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。
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11
discreet
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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。
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12
camouflage
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n./v.掩饰,伪装 |
参考例句: |
- The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
- The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。
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13
fatuous
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adj.愚昧的;昏庸的 |
参考例句: |
- He seems to get pride in fatuous remarks.说起这番蠢话来他似乎还挺得意。
- After his boring speech for over an hour,fatuous speaker waited for applause from the audience.经过超过一小时的烦闷的演讲,那个愚昧的演讲者还等着观众的掌声。
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14
subtlety
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n.微妙,敏锐,精巧;微妙之处,细微的区别 |
参考例句: |
- He has shown enormous strength,great intelligence and great subtlety.他表现出充沛的精力、极大的智慧和高度的灵活性。
- The subtlety of his remarks was unnoticed by most of his audience.大多数听众都没有觉察到他讲话的微妙之处。
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15
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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16
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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17
admiration
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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。
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18
chuckling
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轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- I could hear him chuckling to himself as he read his book. 他看书时,我能听见他的轻声发笑。
- He couldn't help chuckling aloud. 他忍不住的笑了出来。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
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19
wig
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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。
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20
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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21
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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22
celebrated
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adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 |
参考例句: |
- He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
- The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
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23
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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24
supreme
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adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 |
参考例句: |
- It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
- He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
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25
mincing
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adj.矫饰的;v.切碎;切碎 |
参考例句: |
- She came to the park with mincing,and light footsteps.她轻移莲步来到了花园之中。
- There is no use in mincing matters.掩饰事实是没有用的。
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26
squeak
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n.吱吱声,逃脱;v.(发出)吱吱叫,侥幸通过;(俚)告密 |
参考例句: |
- I don't want to hear another squeak out of you!我不想再听到你出声!
- We won the game,but it was a narrow squeak.我们打赢了这场球赛,不过是侥幸取胜。
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27
neatly
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adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地 |
参考例句: |
- Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
- The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
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28
purely
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adv.纯粹地,完全地 |
参考例句: |
- I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
- This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。
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29
soda
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n.苏打水;汽水 |
参考例句: |
- She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
- I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。
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30
crux
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adj.十字形;难事,关键,最重要点 |
参考例句: |
- The crux of the matter is how to comprehensively treat this trend.问题的关键是如何全面地看待这种趋势。
- The crux of the matter is that attitudes have changed.问题的要害是人们的态度转变了。
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31
alibi
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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。
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32
alibis
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某人在别处的证据( alibi的名词复数 ); 不在犯罪现场的证人; 借口; 托辞 |
参考例句: |
- The suspects all had alibis for the day of the robbery. 嫌疑人均有证据证明抢劫当天不在犯罪现场。
- I'm not trying to beat your alibis any more than I'm trying to prove 'em. 我并不是不让你辩护,我只是想把那个人找出来。
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33
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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34
prospects
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n.希望,前途(恒为复数) |
参考例句: |
- There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
- They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。
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35
frankly
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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。
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36
entirely
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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。
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37
amiable
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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。
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38
acquiescence
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n.默许;顺从 |
参考例句: |
- The chief inclined his head in sign of acquiescence.首领点点头表示允许。
- This is due to his acquiescence.这是因为他的默许。
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39
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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40
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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41
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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42
morbid
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adj.病的;致病的;病态的;可怕的 |
参考例句: |
- Some people have a morbid fascination with crime.一些人对犯罪有一种病态的痴迷。
- It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like.不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。
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43
disposition
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n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 |
参考例句: |
- He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
- He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。
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44
harping
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n.反复述说 |
参考例句: |
- Don't keep harping on like that. 别那样唠叨个没完。
- You're always harping on the samestring. 你总是老调重弹。
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