Chapter 23 The Letter
‘And now,’ said Poirot, ‘we will go out to lunch.’
He put his hand through my arm. He was smiling at me.
‘I have hope,’ he explained.
I was glad to see him restored to his old self, though I was none the less convinced myself of young Ronald’s
guilt1. I fancied that Poirot himself had perhaps come round to this view, convinced by Japp’s arguments. The search for the purchaser of the box was, perhaps, a last sally to save his face.
We went
amicably2 to lunch together.
Somewhat to my amusement at a table the other side of the room, I saw Bryan Martin and Jenny Driver lunching together. Remembering what Japp had said, I suspected a possible romance.
They saw us and Jenny waved a hand.
When we were
sipping3 coffee, Jenny left her escort and came over to our table. She looked as vivid and dynamic as ever.
‘May I sit and talk to you a minute, M. Poirot?’ ‘Assuredly, Mademoiselle. I am charmed to see you. Will not M. Martin join us also?’
‘I told him not to. You see, I wanted to talk to you about Carlotta.’
‘Yes, Mademoiselle?’
‘You wanted to get a line on to some man friend of hers. Isn’t that so?’
‘Yes, yes.’
‘Well, I’ve been thinking and thinking. Sometimes you can’t get at things straight away. To get them clear you’ve got to think back – remember a lot of little words and phrases that perhaps you didn’t pay attention to at the time. Well, that’s what I’ve been doing. Thinking and thinking – and remembering just what she said. And I’ve come to a certain conclusion.’
‘Yes, Mademoiselle?’
‘I think the man that she cared about – or was beginning to care about – was Ronald
Marsh5 – you know, the one who has just succeeded to the title.’
‘What makes you think it was he, Mademoiselle?’
‘Well, for one thing, Carlotta was speaking in a general sort of way one day. About a man having hard luck, and how it might affect character. That a man might be a decent sort really and yet go down the hill. More sinned against then sinning – you know the idea. The first thing a woman kids herself with when she’s getting soft about a man. I’ve heard the old
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收听单词发音
1
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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2
amicably
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adv.友善地 |
参考例句: |
- Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵,口吻也马上变得温和了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- The couple parted amicably. 这对夫妻客气地分手了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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3
sipping
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v.小口喝,呷,抿( sip的现在分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
- She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。
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ass
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n.驴;傻瓜,蠢笨的人 |
参考例句: |
- He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
- An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。
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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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6
wheeze
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n.喘息声,气喘声;v.喘息着说 |
参考例句: |
- The old man managed to wheeze out a few words.老人勉强地喘息着说出了几句话。
- He has a slight wheeze in his chest.他呼吸时胸部发出轻微的响声。
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7
impersonal
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adj.无个人感情的,与个人无关的,非人称的 |
参考例句: |
- Even his children found him strangely distant and impersonal.他的孩子们也认为他跟其他人很疏远,没有人情味。
- His manner seemed rather stiff and impersonal.他的态度似乎很生硬冷淡。
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offhand
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adj.临时,无准备的;随便,马虎的 |
参考例句: |
- I can't answer your request offhand.我不能随便答复你的要求。
- I wouldn't want to say what I thought about it offhand.我不愿意随便说我关于这事的想法。
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kindly
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adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 |
参考例句: |
- Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
- A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
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valiant
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adj.勇敢的,英勇的;n.勇士,勇敢的人 |
参考例句: |
- He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
- Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施,通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。
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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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interpretation
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n.解释,说明,描述;艺术处理 |
参考例句: |
- His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
- Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。
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proceedings
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n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报 |
参考例句: |
- He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
- to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼
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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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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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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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affronted
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adj.被侮辱的,被冒犯的v.勇敢地面对( affront的过去式和过去分词 );相遇 |
参考例句: |
- He hoped they would not feel affronted if they were not invited . 他希望如果他们没有获得邀请也不要感到受辱。
- Affronted at his impertinence,she stared at him coldly and wordlessly. 被他的无礼而冒犯,她冷冷地、无言地盯着他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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specially
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adv.特定地;特殊地;明确地 |
参考例句: |
- They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
- The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。
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standing
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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。
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verity
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n.真实性 |
参考例句: |
- Human's mission lies in exploring verity bravely.人的天职在勇于探索真理。
- How to guarantee the verity of the financial information disclosed by listed companies? 如何保证上市公司财务信息披露真实性?
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inexplicable
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adj.无法解释的,难理解的 |
参考例句: |
- It is now inexplicable how that development was misinterpreted.当时对这一事态发展的错误理解究竟是怎么产生的,现在已经无法说清楚了。
- There are many things which are inexplicable by science.有很多事科学还无法解释。
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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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reproof
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n.斥责,责备 |
参考例句: |
- A smart reproof is better than smooth deceit.严厉的责难胜过温和的欺骗。
- He is impatient of reproof.他不能忍受指责。
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perusing
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v.读(某篇文字)( peruse的现在分词 );(尤指)细阅;审阅;匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览(某篇文字) |
参考例句: |
- She found the information while she was perusing a copy of Life magazine. 她在读《生活》杂志的时候看到了这个消息。 来自辞典例句
- Hence people who began by beholding him ended by perusing him. 所以人们从随便看一看他开始的,都要以仔细捉摸他而终结。 来自辞典例句
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forgery
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n.伪造的文件等,赝品,伪造(行为) |
参考例句: |
- The painting was a forgery.这张画是赝品。
- He was sent to prison for forgery.他因伪造罪而被关进监狱。
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literally
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adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实 |
参考例句: |
- He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
- Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
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ragged
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adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的 |
参考例句: |
- A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
- Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。
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apprehend
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vt.理解,领悟,逮捕,拘捕,忧虑 |
参考例句: |
- I apprehend no worsening of the situation.我不担心局势会恶化。
- Police have not apprehended her killer.警察还未抓获谋杀她的凶手。
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hoax
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v.欺骗,哄骗,愚弄;n.愚弄人,恶作剧 |
参考例句: |
- They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
- They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。
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dealing
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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。
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accusation
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n.控告,指责,谴责 |
参考例句: |
- I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
- She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。
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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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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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prosaic
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adj.单调的,无趣的 |
参考例句: |
- The truth is more prosaic.真相更加乏味。
- It was a prosaic description of the scene.这是对场景没有想象力的一个描述。
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scents
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n.香水( scent的名词复数 );气味;(动物的)臭迹;(尤指狗的)嗅觉 |
参考例句: |
- The air was fragrant with scents from the sea and the hills. 空气中荡漾着山和海的芬芳气息。
- The winds came down with scents of the grass and wild flowers. 微风送来阵阵青草和野花的香气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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adroitly
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adv.熟练地,敏捷地 |
参考例句: |
- He displayed the cigarette holder grandly on every occasion and had learned to manipulate it adroitly. 他学会了一套用手灵巧地摆弄烟嘴的动作,一有机会就要拿它炫耀一番。 来自辞典例句
- The waitress passes a fine menu to Molly who orders dishes adroitly. 女服务生捧来菜单递给茉莉,后者轻车熟路地点菜。 来自互联网
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sentimental
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adj.多愁善感的,感伤的 |
参考例句: |
- She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人,她相信姻缘命中注定。
- We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。
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memento
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n.纪念品,令人回忆的东西 |
参考例句: |
- The photos will be a permanent memento of your wedding.这些照片会成为你婚礼的永久纪念。
- My friend gave me his picture as a memento before going away.我的朋友在离别前给我一张照片留作纪念品。
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addicted
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adj.沉溺于....的,对...上瘾的 |
参考例句: |
- He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
- She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。
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predilection
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n.偏好 |
参考例句: |
- He has a predilection for rich food.他偏好油腻的食物。
- Charles has always had a predilection for red-haired women.查尔斯对红头发女人一直有偏爱。
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shudder
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v.战粟,震动,剧烈地摇晃;n.战粟,抖动 |
参考例句: |
- The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材,他浑身一阵战栗。
- We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。
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mare
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n.母马,母驴 |
参考例句: |
- The mare has just thrown a foal in the stable.那匹母马刚刚在马厩里产下了一只小马驹。
- The mare foundered under the heavy load and collapsed in the road.那母马因负载过重而倒在路上。
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tout
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v.推销,招徕;兜售;吹捧,劝诱 |
参考例句: |
- They say it will let them tout progress in the war.他们称这将有助于鼓吹他们在战争中的成果。
- If your case studies just tout results,don't bother requiring registration to view them.如果你的案例研究只是吹捧结果,就别烦扰别人来注册访问了。
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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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