VII
Colonel Johnson stared at Sugden for some minutes before he spluttered:
“Do you mean to tell me,
Superintendent1, that this is one of those damned cases you get in
detective stories where a man is killed in a locked room by some
apparently2 supernatural agency?”
A very faint smile
agitated3 the superintendent’s moustache as he replied gravely:
“I do not think it’s quite as bad as that, sir.”
Colonel Johnson said:
“Suicide. It must be suicide!”
“Where’s the weapon, if so? No, sir, suicide won’t do.”
“Then how did the murderer escape? By the window?” Sugden shook his head.
“I’ll take my oath he didn’t do that.”
“But the door was locked, you say, on the inside.”
The superintendent nodded. He drew a key from his pocket and laid it on the table.
“No fingerprints,” he announced. “But just look at that key, sir. Take a look at it with that
magnifying glass there.”
Poirot
bent4 forward. He and Johnson examined the key together. The chief
constable5 uttered
“By Jove, I get you. Those faint scratches on the end of the barrel. You see ’em, Poirot?”
“But yes, I see. That means, does it not, that the key was turned from outside the door—
turned by means of a special
implement7 that went through the keyhole and gripped the barrel—
possibily an ordinary pair of pliers would do it.”
The superintendent nodded.
“It can be done all right.”
Poirot said: “The idea being, then, that the death would be thought to be suicide, since the
door was locked and no one was in the room?”
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收听单词发音
1
superintendent
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n.监督人,主管,总监;(英国)警务长 |
参考例句: |
- He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
- He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。
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2
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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3
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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4
bent
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n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 |
参考例句: |
- He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
- We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
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5
constable
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n.(英国)警察,警官 |
参考例句: |
- The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
- The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气,不肯冒起火来。
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6
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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7
implement
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n.(pl.)工具,器具;vt.实行,实施,执行 |
参考例句: |
- Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划,除非你能完成这项计划。
- The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。
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8
disorder
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n.紊乱,混乱;骚动,骚乱;疾病,失调 |
参考例句: |
- When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后,他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
- It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。
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9
catching
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adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住 |
参考例句: |
- There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
- Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。
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10
underneath
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adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面 |
参考例句: |
- Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
- She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
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11
bungle
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v.搞糟;n.拙劣的工作 |
参考例句: |
- If you bungle a job,you must do it again!要是你把这件事搞糟了,你得重做!
- That last stupid bungle of his is the end.他那最后一次愚蠢的错误使我再也无法容忍了。
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12
stolidly
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adv.迟钝地,神经麻木地 |
参考例句: |
- Too often people sat stolidly watching the noisy little fiddler. 人们往往不动声色地坐在那里,瞧着这位瘦小的提琴手闹腾一番。 来自辞典例句
- He dropped into a chair and sat looking stolidly at the floor. 他坐在椅子上,两眼呆呆地望着地板。 来自辞典例句
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13
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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14
pointed
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adj.尖的,直截了当的 |
参考例句: |
- He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
- She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
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15
shambles
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n.混乱之处;废墟 |
参考例句: |
- My room is a shambles.我房间里乱七八糟。
- The fighting reduced the city to a shambles.这场战斗使这座城市成了一片废墟。
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16
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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17
linoleum
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n.油布,油毯 |
参考例句: |
- They mislaid the linoleum.他们把油毡放错了地方。
- Who will lay the linoleum?谁将铺设地板油毡?
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18
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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19
snarl
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v.吼叫,怒骂,纠缠,混乱;n.混乱,缠结,咆哮 |
参考例句: |
- At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。
- The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。
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20
physically
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adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律 |
参考例句: |
- He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服,心绪也很乱。
- Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。
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21
frail
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adj.身体虚弱的;易损坏的 |
参考例句: |
- Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了,身体虚弱,不便独居。
- She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上,看上去特别虚弱。
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22
touching
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adj.动人的,使人感伤的 |
参考例句: |
- It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
- His letter was touching.他的信很感人。
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23
perplexed
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adj.不知所措的 |
参考例句: |
- The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛,走了又回来,犹豫不决,总怕上当受骗。
- The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。
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24
sergeant
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n.警官,中士 |
参考例句: |
- His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
- How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹?
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25
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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26
jugular
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n.颈静脉 |
参考例句: |
- He always goes for the jugular.他总是直奔要害而去。
- Bilateral internal jugular vein stenting is also a rare procedure.两侧内颈静脉支架置放术也是少见的技术。
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27
vein
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n.血管,静脉;叶脉,纹理;情绪;vt.使成脉络 |
参考例句: |
- The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
- The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。
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28
spout
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v.喷出,涌出;滔滔不绝地讲;n.喷管;水柱 |
参考例句: |
- Implication in folk wealth creativity and undertaking vigor spout.蕴藏于民间的财富创造力和创业活力喷涌而出。
- This acts as a spout to drain off water during a rainstorm.在暴风雨季,这东西被用作喷管来排水。
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29
artery
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n.干线,要道;动脉 |
参考例句: |
- We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
- The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。
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30
insistence
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n.坚持;强调;坚决主张 |
参考例句: |
- They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
- His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。
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31
awed
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adj.充满敬畏的,表示敬畏的v.使敬畏,使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声,人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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