Chapter 29 Poirot Speaks
It fell to me to ring up
Inspector1 Japp the following morning.
His voice sounded rather
depressed2. ‘Oh! it’s you, Captain Hastings. Well, what’s in the wind now?’
I gave him Poirot’s message.
‘Come round at eleven? Well, I dare say I could. He’s not got anything to help us over young Ross’s death, has he? I don’t mind confessing that we could do with something. There’s not a clue of any kind. Most mysterious business.’
‘I think he’s got something for you,’ I said noncommittally. ‘He seems very pleased with himself at all events.’
‘That’s more than I am, I can tell you. All right, Captain Hastings. I’ll be there.’
My next task was to ring up Bryan Martin. To him I said what I had been told to say: That Poirot had discovered something rather interesting which he thought Mr Martin would like to hear. When asked what it was, I said that I had no idea. Poirot had not
confided3 in me. There was a pause.
‘All right,’ said Bryan at last. ‘I’ll come.’
He rang off.
Presently, somewhat to my surprise, Poirot rang up Jenny Driver and asked her, also, to be present.
He was quiet and rather grave. I asked him no questions.
Bryan Martin was the first to arrive. He looked in good health and spirits, but – or it might have been my fancy – a shade uneasy. Jenny Driver arrived almost immediately afterwards. She seemed surprised to see Bryan and he seemed to share her surprise.
Poirot brought forward two chairs and urged them to sit down. He glanced at his watch.
‘Inspector Japp will be here in one moment, I expect.’
‘Inspector Japp?’ Bryan seemed startled. ‘Yes – I have asked him to come here – informally – as a friend.’
‘I see.’
He relapsed into silence. Jenny gave a quick glance at him then glanced away. She seemed rather
preoccupied4 about something this morning.
A moment later Japp entered the room.
He was, I think, a trifle surprised to find Bryan Martin and Jenny Driver there, but he made no sign. He greeted Poirot with his usual jocularity.
‘Well, M. Poirot, what’s it all about? You’ve got some wonderful theory or other, I suppose.’
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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
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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3
confided
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v.吐露(秘密,心事等)( confide的过去式和过去分词 );(向某人)吐露(隐私、秘密等) |
参考例句: |
- She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。
- He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露,他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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4
preoccupied
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adj.全神贯注的,入神的;被抢先占有的;心事重重的v.占据(某人)思想,使对…全神贯注,使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) |
参考例句: |
- He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事,没注意到有什么不对。
- The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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5
humble
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adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 |
参考例句: |
- In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见,他将在选举中获胜。
- Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。
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6
accosted
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v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 );跟…搭讪;(乞丐等)上前向…乞讨;(妓女等)勾搭 |
参考例句: |
- She was accosted in the street by a complete stranger. 在街上,一个完全陌生的人贸然走到她跟前搭讪。
- His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him. 他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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7
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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8
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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9
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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10
ridicule
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v.讥讽,挖苦;n.嘲弄 |
参考例句: |
- You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
- Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。
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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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12
frantically
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ad.发狂地, 发疯地 |
参考例句: |
- He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
- She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。
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13
idol
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n.偶像,红人,宠儿 |
参考例句: |
- As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子,他是父母的宠儿。
- Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。
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14
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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15
hoarsely
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adv.嘶哑地 |
参考例句: |
- "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
- Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
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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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17
vouched
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v.保证( vouch的过去式和过去分词 );担保;确定;确定地说 |
参考例句: |
- He vouched his words by his deeds. 他用自己的行动证明了自己的言辞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Have all those present been vouched for? 那些到场的人都有担保吗? 来自互联网
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18
stoutly
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adv.牢固地,粗壮的 |
参考例句: |
- He stoutly denied his guilt.他断然否认自己有罪。
- Burgess was taxed with this and stoutly denied it.伯杰斯为此受到了责难,但是他自己坚决否认有这回事。
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unaware
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a.不知道的,未意识到的 |
参考例句: |
- They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
- I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。
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scapegoat
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n.替罪的羔羊,替人顶罪者;v.使…成为替罪羊 |
参考例句: |
- He has been made a scapegoat for the company's failures.他成了公司倒闭的替罪羊。
- They ask me to join the party so that I'll be their scapegoat when trouble comes.他们想叫我入伙,出了乱子,好让我替他们垫背。
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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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bawled
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v.大叫,大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 );放声大哭;大声叫出;叫卖(货物) |
参考例句: |
- She bawled at him in front of everyone. 她当着大家的面冲他大喊大叫。
- My boss bawled me out for being late. 我迟到,给老板训斥了一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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perspiration
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n.汗水;出汗 |
参考例句: |
- It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了,我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
- The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。
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24
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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gasped
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v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要 |
参考例句: |
- She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
- People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
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blackmail
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n.讹诈,敲诈,勒索,胁迫,恫吓 |
参考例句: |
- She demanded $1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
- The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。
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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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publicity
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n.众所周知,闻名;宣传,广告 |
参考例句: |
- The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
- He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事,只当它是一种宣传手法。
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unevenly
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adv.不均匀的 |
参考例句: |
- Fuel resources are very unevenly distributed. 燃料资源分布很不均匀。
- The cloth is dyed unevenly. 布染花了。
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inaccurate
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adj.错误的,不正确的,不准确的 |
参考例句: |
- The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确,而且夸大其词。
- She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。
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neurotic
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adj.神经病的,神经过敏的;n.神经过敏者,神经病患者 |
参考例句: |
- Nothing is more distracting than a neurotic boss. 没有什么比神经过敏的老板更恼人的了。
- There are also unpleasant brain effects such as anxiety and neurotic behaviour.也会对大脑产生不良影响,如焦虑和神经质的行为。
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deliberately
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adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地 |
参考例句: |
- The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
- They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。
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devotedly
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专心地; 恩爱地; 忠实地; 一心一意地 |
参考例句: |
- He loved his wife devotedly. 他真诚地爱他的妻子。
- Millions of fans follow the TV soap operas devotedly. 千百万观众非常着迷地收看这部电视连续剧。
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agitated
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adj.被鼓动的,不安的 |
参考例句: |
- His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定,回答全乱了。
- She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时,她十分焦虑。
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innocence
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n.无罪;天真;无害 |
参考例句: |
- There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
- The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。
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contrive
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vt.谋划,策划;设法做到;设计,想出 |
参考例句: |
- Can you contrive to be here a little earlier?你能不能早一点来?
- How could you contrive to make such a mess of things?你怎么把事情弄得一团糟呢?
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impudent
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adj.鲁莽的,卑鄙的,厚颜无耻的 |
参考例句: |
- She's tolerant toward those impudent colleagues.她对那些无礼的同事采取容忍的态度。
- The teacher threatened to kick the impudent pupil out of the room.老师威胁着要把这无礼的小学生撵出教室。
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38
rascally
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adj. 无赖的,恶棍的
adv. 无赖地,卑鄙地 |
参考例句: |
- They said Kelso got some rascally adventurer, some Belgian brute, to insult his son-in-law in public. 他们说是凯尔索指使某个下贱的冒险家,一个比利时恶棍,来当众侮辱他的女婿。
- Ms Taiwan: Can't work at all, but still brag and quibble rascally. 台湾小姐:明明不行,还要硬拗、赖皮逞强。
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apparently
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adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 |
参考例句: |
- An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
- He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
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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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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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riddle
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n.谜,谜语,粗筛;vt.解谜,给…出谜,筛,检查,鉴定,非难,充满于;vi.出谜 |
参考例句: |
- The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
- Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。
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mentality
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n.心理,思想,脑力 |
参考例句: |
- He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
- Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。
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