Chapter 25 A
Luncheon1 Party
It was, I think, on the day after that that we went to the Widburns’ luncheon party at Claridge’s.
Neither Poirot nor I were particularly anxious to go. It was, as a matter of fact, about the sixth invitation we had received. Mrs Widburn was a
persistent2 woman and she liked
celebrities3. Undaunted by refusals, she finally offered such a choice of dates that capitulation was
inevitable4. Under those circumstances the sooner we went and got it over the better.
Poirot had been very uncommunicative ever since the news from Paris.
To my remarks on the subject he returned always the same answer.
‘There is something here I do not comprehend.’
And once or twice he murmured to himself.
‘Pince-nez. Pince-nez in Paris.
Pince-nez in Carlotta Adams’ bag.’
I really felt glad of the luncheon party as a means of
distraction5.
Young Donald Ross was there and came up and greeted me cheerily. There were more men than women and he was put next to me at table.
Jane Wilkinson sat almost opposite us, and next to her, between her and Mrs Widburn, sat the young Duke of Merton.
I fancied – of course it may have been only my fancy – that he looked slightly ill at ease. The company in which he found himself was, so I should imagine, little to his
liking6. He was a
strictly7 conservative and somewhat
reactionary8 young man – the kind of character that seemed to have stepped out of the Middle Ages by some regrettable mistake. His infatuation for the extremely modern Jane Wilkinson was one of those
anachronistic9 jokes that Nature so loves to play.
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收听单词发音
1
luncheon
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n.午宴,午餐,便宴 |
参考例句: |
- We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
- I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。
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2
persistent
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adj.坚持不懈的,执意的;持续的 |
参考例句: |
- Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
- She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤,使她很难为情。
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3
celebrities
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n.(尤指娱乐界的)名人( celebrity的名词复数 );名流;名声;名誉 |
参考例句: |
- He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
- a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目
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4
inevitable
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adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 |
参考例句: |
- Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
- The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。
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5
distraction
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n.精神涣散,精神不集中,消遣,娱乐 |
参考例句: |
- Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注,不能有丝毫分神。
- Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。
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6
liking
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n.爱好;嗜好;喜欢 |
参考例句: |
- The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
- I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。
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7
strictly
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adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地 |
参考例句: |
- His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
- The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。
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8
reactionary
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n.反动者,反动主义者;adj.反动的,反动主义的,反对改革的 |
参考例句: |
- They forced thousands of peasants into their reactionary armies.他们迫使成千上万的农民参加他们的反动军队。
- The reactionary ruling clique was torn by internal strife.反动统治集团内部勾心斗角,四分五裂。
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9
anachronistic
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adj.时代错误的 |
参考例句: |
- In remembering historic events,the mistake you tend to make is anachronistic.在记历史事件时,你容易犯的错误是时代错误。
- English public schools are anachronistic.英国的公立学校已经落伍过时了。
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10
exquisitely
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adv.精致地;强烈地;剧烈地;异常地 |
参考例句: |
- He found her exquisitely beautiful. 他觉得她异常美丽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He wore an exquisitely tailored gray silk and accessories to match. 他穿的是做工非常考究的灰色绸缎衣服,还有各种配得很协调的装饰。 来自教父部分
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11
trite
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adj.陈腐的 |
参考例句: |
- The movie is teeming with obvious and trite ideas.这部电影充斥着平铺直叙的陈腐观点。
- Yesterday,in the restaurant,Lorraine had seemed trite,blurred,worn away.昨天在饭店里,洛兰显得庸俗、堕落、衰老了。
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utterances
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n.发声( utterance的名词复数 );说话方式;语调;言论 |
参考例句: |
- John Maynard Keynes used somewhat gnomic utterances in his General Theory. 约翰·梅纳德·凯恩斯在其《通论》中用了许多精辟言辞。 来自辞典例句
- Elsewhere, particularly in his more public utterances, Hawthorne speaks very differently. 在别的地方,特别是在比较公开的谈话里,霍桑讲的话则完全不同。 来自辞典例句
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intoxicating
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a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的 |
参考例句: |
- Power can be intoxicating. 权力能让人得意忘形。
- On summer evenings the flowers gave forth an almost intoxicating scent. 夏日的傍晚,鲜花散发出醉人的芳香。
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14
intoxicated
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喝醉的,极其兴奋的 |
参考例句: |
- She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
- They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉,东南西北全然不辨。
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gaffe
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n.(社交上令人不快的)失言,失态 |
参考例句: |
- I had no idea of the gaffe which I was committing.我不清楚我犯了什么错误。
- He made an embarrassing gaffe at the convention last weekend.他在上周末的会议上出了洋相,狼狈不堪。
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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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momentary
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adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的 |
参考例句: |
- We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
- I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。
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lull
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v.使安静,使入睡,缓和,哄骗;n.暂停,间歇 |
参考例句: |
- The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
- Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后,地面战又突然爆发了。
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serenely
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adv.安详地,宁静地,平静地 |
参考例句: |
- The boat sailed serenely on towards the horizon.小船平稳地向着天水交接处驶去。
- It was a serenely beautiful night.那是一个宁静美丽的夜晚。
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drawn
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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。
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stammered
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v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠,结结巴巴地说,“你是什么意思?” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
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animation
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n.活泼,兴奋,卡通片/动画片的制作 |
参考例句: |
- They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
- The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。
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monologue
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n.长篇大论,(戏剧等中的)独白 |
参考例句: |
- The comedian gave a long monologue of jokes.喜剧演员讲了一长段由笑话组成的独白。
- He went into a long monologue.他一个人滔滔不绝地讲话。
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disappearance
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n.消失,消散,失踪 |
参考例句: |
- He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
- Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。
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25
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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26
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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reassure
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v.使放心,使消除疑虑 |
参考例句: |
- This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点,于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
- The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。
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dispensing
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v.分配( dispense的现在分词 );施与;配(药) |
参考例句: |
- A dispensing optician supplies glasses, but doesn't test your eyes. 配镜师为你提供眼镜,但不检查眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The firm has been dispensing ointments. 本公司配制药膏。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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chic
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n./adj.别致(的),时髦(的),讲究的 |
参考例句: |
- She bought a chic little hat.她买了一顶别致的小帽子。
- The chic restaurant is patronized by many celebrities.这家时髦的饭店常有名人光顾。
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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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laden
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adj.装满了的;充满了的;负了重担的;苦恼的 |
参考例句: |
- He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
- Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。
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32
blister
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n.水疱;(油漆等的)气泡;v.(使)起泡 |
参考例句: |
- I got a huge blister on my foot and I couldn't run any farther.我脚上长了一个大水泡,没办法继续跑。
- I have a blister on my heel because my shoe is too tight.鞋子太紧了,我脚后跟起了个泡。
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ostriches
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n.鸵鸟( ostrich的名词复数 );逃避现实的人,不愿正视现实者 |
参考例句: |
- They are the silliest lot of old ostriches I ever heard of. 他们真是我闻所未闻的一群最傻的老鸵鸟。 来自辞典例句
- How ostriches could bear to run so hard in this heat I never succeed in understanding. 驼鸟在这样干燥炎热的地带为什么能疾速长跑,我永远也理解不了。 来自辞典例句
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dole
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n.救济,(失业)救济金;vt.(out)发放,发给 |
参考例句: |
- It's not easy living on the dole.靠领取失业救济金生活并不容易。
- Many families are living on the dole since the strike.罢工以来,许多家庭靠失业救济金度日。
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35
stifling
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a.令人窒息的 |
参考例句: |
- The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热,光景是要下雨。
- We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里,简直透不过气来。
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leisurely
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adj.悠闲的;从容的,慢慢的 |
参考例句: |
- We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着,看遍所有的橱窗。
- He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐,高兴的开车去工作。
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37
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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38
smuggling
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n.走私 |
参考例句: |
- Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
- The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。
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susceptible
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adj.过敏的,敏感的;易动感情的,易受感动的 |
参考例句: |
- Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
- We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。
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taut
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adj.拉紧的,绷紧的,紧张的 |
参考例句: |
- The bowstring is stretched taut.弓弦绷得很紧。
- Scarlett's taut nerves almost cracked as a sudden noise sounded in the underbrush near them. 思嘉紧张的神经几乎一下绷裂了,因为她听见附近灌木丛中突然冒出的一个声音。
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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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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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