8 THE ARMSTRONG KIDNAPPING CASE
They found M. Bouc finishing an omelet.
“I thought it best to have lunch served immediately in the restaurant car,” he said. “Afterwards it will be cleared and M. Poirot can conduct his examination of the passengers there. In the meantime I have ordered them to bring us three some food here.”
“An excellent idea,” said Poirot.
None of the three men was hungry, and the meal was soon eaten; but not till they were sipping¹ their coffee did M. Bouc mention the subject that was occupying all their minds.
“Eh bien?” he asked.
“Eh bien, I have discovered the identity of the victim. I know why it was imperative² he should leave America.”
“Who was he?”
“Do you remember reading of the Armstrong baby? This is the man who murdered little Daisy Armstrong. Cassetti.”
“I recall it now. A shocking affair—though I cannot remember the details.”
“Colonel Armstrong was an Englishman—a V.C. He was half American, his mother having been a daughter of W. K. Van der Halt, the Wall Street millionaire. He married the daughter of Linda Arden, the most famous tragic³ American actress of her day. They lived in America and had one child—a girl whom they idolized. When she was three years old she was kidnapped, and an impossibly high sum demanded as the price of her return. I will not weary you with all the intricacies that followed. I will come to the moment when, after the parents had paid over the enormous sum of two hundred thousand dollars, the child’s dead body was discovered; it had been dead for at least a fortnight. Public indignation rose to fever point. And there was worse to follow. Mrs. Armstrong was expecting another baby. Following the shock of the discovery, she gave birth prematurely⁴ to a dead child, and herself died. Her broken-hearted husband shot himself.”
“Mon Dieu, what a tragedy. I remember now,” said M. Bouc. “There was also another death, if I remember rightly?”
“Yes, an unfortunate French or Swiss nursemaid. The police were convinced that she had some knowledge of the crime. They refused to believe her hysterical

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点击收听单词发音  

1 sipping
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。

2 imperative
n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的
参考例句：
He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。 The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

3 tragic
adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的
参考例句：
The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。 Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

4 prematurely
adv.过早地，贸然地
参考例句：
She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》 His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

5 hysterical
adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的
参考例句：
He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。 His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。

6 acquitted
宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现
参考例句：
The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。 Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

7 biased
a.有偏见的
参考例句：
a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校 The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

8 vengeance
n.报复，报仇，复仇
参考例句：
He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。 For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

9 charred
v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦
参考例句：
the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸 The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 joint
adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合
参考例句：
I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。 We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 curiously
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。

12 compartment
n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间
参考例句：
We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴，整个客车隔间由我们独享。 The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。

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