VI
The Rolls called punctually for Poirot at a little before six.
Alistair Blunt and his secretary were the only occupants. Mrs. Olivera and Jane had gone down
in another car earlier, it seemed.
The drive was uneventful. Blunt talked a little, mostly of his garden and of a recent horticultural
show.
Poirot congratulated him on his escape from death, at which Blunt
demurred1. He said:
“Oh, that! Don’t think the fellow was shooting at me particularly. Anyway, the poor chap
hadn’t the first idea of how to aim! Just one of these half-crazed students. There’s no harm in them
really. They just get worked up and fancy a pot shot at the P.M. will alter the course of history. It’s
pathetic, really.”
“There have been other attempts on your life, have there not?”
“Sounds quite melodramatic,” said Blunt, with a slight twinkle. “Someone sent me a bomb by
post not long ago. It wasn’t a very efficient bomb. You know, these fellows who want to take on
the management of the world—what sort of an efficient business do they think they could make of
it, when they can’t even devise an effectual bomb?”
He shook his head.
“It’s always the same thing — long- haired woolly idealists — without one practical bit of
knowledge in their heads. I’m not a clever chap—never have been—but I can just read and write
and do arithmetic. D’you understand what I mean by that?”
“I think so, but explain to me further.”
“Well, if I read something that is written down in English I can understand what it means—I
am not talking of
abstruse2 stuff, formulae or philosophy—just plain businesslike English—most
people can’t! If I want to write down something I can write down what I mean—I’ve discovered
that quite a lot of people can’t do that either! And, as I say, I can do plain arithmetic. If Jones has
eight bananas and Brown takes ten away from him, how many will Jones have left? That’s the
kind of sum people like to pretend has a simple answer. They won’t admit, first that Brown can’t
do it—and second that there won’t be an answer in plus bananas!”
“They prefer the answer to be a
conjuring4 trick?”
“Exactly. Politicians are just as bad. But I’ve always held out for plain common sense. You
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收听单词发音
1
demurred
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v.表示异议,反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- At first she demurred, but then finally agreed. 她开始表示反对,但最终还是同意了。
- They demurred at working on Sundays. 他们反对星期日工作。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
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2
abstruse
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adj.深奥的,难解的 |
参考例句: |
- Einstein's theory of relativity is very abstruse.爱因斯坦的相对论非常难懂。
- The professor's lectures were so abstruse that students tended to avoid them.该教授的课程太深奥了,学生们纷纷躲避他的课。
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3
ruse
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n.诡计,计策;诡计 |
参考例句: |
- The children thought of a clever ruse to get their mother to leave the house so they could get ready for her surprise.孩子们想出一个聪明的办法使妈妈离家,以便他们能准备给她一个惊喜。It is now clear that this was a ruse to divide them.现在已清楚这是一个离间他们的诡计。
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4
conjuring
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n.魔术 |
参考例句: |
- Paul's very good at conjuring. 保罗很会变戏法。
- The entertainer didn't fool us with his conjuring. 那个艺人变的戏法没有骗到我们。
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5
thrillers
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n.紧张刺激的故事( thriller的名词复数 );戏剧;令人感到兴奋的事;(电影)惊悚片 |
参考例句: |
- He has written seven thrillers, and clearly enjoys intellectual pursuits. 他已经写了7本惊悚小说,显然很喜欢这样的智力活动。 来自辞典例句
- Most Americans prefer to read fast-moving adventure stories that we call "thrillers". 大部分美国人喜欢看我们称之为"惊险小说"的情节多变的冒险故事。 来自辞典例句
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6
bust
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vt.打破;vi.爆裂;n.半身像;胸部 |
参考例句: |
- I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
- She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。
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7
disapproval
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n.反对,不赞成 |
参考例句: |
- The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
- They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。
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8
costly
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adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的 |
参考例句: |
- It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
- This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
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9
simplicity
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n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯 |
参考例句: |
- She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
- The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。
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10
appreciation
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n.评价;欣赏;感谢;领会,理解;价格上涨 |
参考例句: |
- I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
- I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。
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11
grilled
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adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的
动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式 |
参考例句: |
- He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后,警察才放他走。
- He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问,直到他承认为止。
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12
frigid
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adj.寒冷的,凛冽的;冷淡的;拘禁的 |
参考例句: |
- The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨,他在下面呆不了太长时间。
- She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。
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13
hostility
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n.敌对,敌意;抵制[pl.]交战,战争 |
参考例句: |
- There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
- His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。
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14
hazily
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ad. vaguely, not clear |
参考例句: |
- He remembered her only hazily. 他只是模模糊糊地记得她。
- We saw the distant hills hazily. 我们朦胧地看到了远处的山丘。
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15
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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16
robustly
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adv.要用体力地,粗鲁地 |
参考例句: |
- These three hormones also robustly stimulated thymidine incorporation and inhibited drug-induced apoptosis. 并且这三种激素有利于胸(腺嘧啶脱氧核)苷掺入和抑制药物诱导的细胞凋亡。 来自互联网
- The economy is still growing robustly, but inflation, It'seems, is back. 经济依然强劲增长,但是通胀似乎有所抬头。 来自互联网
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17
scotch
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n.伤口,刻痕;苏格兰威士忌酒;v.粉碎,消灭,阻止;adj.苏格兰(人)的 |
参考例句: |
- Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
- Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景,真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。
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18
doorway
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n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径 |
参考例句: |
- They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
- Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
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19
lighting
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n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光 |
参考例句: |
- The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
- The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。
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20
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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21
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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22
hampered
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妨碍,束缚,限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
- So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。
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23
eyebrows
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眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) |
参考例句: |
- Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
- His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
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24
curiously
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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。
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25
pretext
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n.借口,托词 |
参考例句: |
- He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
- He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口,没参加那个会议。
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26
exasperated
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adj.恼怒的 |
参考例句: |
- We were exasperated at his ill behaviour. 我们对他的恶劣行为感到非常恼怒。
- Constant interruption of his work exasperated him. 对他工作不断的干扰使他恼怒。
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undesirable
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adj.不受欢迎的,不良的,不合意的,讨厌的;n.不受欢迎的人,不良分子 |
参考例句: |
- They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
- Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。
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28
subversive
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adj.颠覆性的,破坏性的;n.破坏份子,危险份子 |
参考例句: |
- She was seen as a potentially subversive within the party.她被看成党内潜在的颠覆分子。
- The police is investigating subversive group in the student organization.警方正调查学生组织中的搞颠覆阴谋的集团。
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solely
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adv.仅仅,唯一地 |
参考例句: |
- Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
- The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。
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30
concealed
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a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 |
参考例句: |
- The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
- I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。
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disapproves
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v.不赞成( disapprove的第三人称单数 ) |
参考例句: |
- She disapproves of unmarried couples living together. 她反对未婚男女同居。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Her mother disapproves of her wearing transparent underwear. 她母亲不赞成她穿透明的内衣。 来自辞典例句
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disapprove
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v.不赞成,不同意,不批准 |
参考例句: |
- I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
- She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员,但她的父母不赞成。
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dispositions
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安排( disposition的名词复数 ); 倾向; (财产、金钱的)处置; 气质 |
参考例句: |
- We got out some information about the enemy's dispositions from the captured enemy officer. 我们从捕获的敌军官那里问出一些有关敌军部署的情况。
- Elasticity, solubility, inflammability are paradigm cases of dispositions in natural objects. 伸缩性、可缩性、易燃性是天然物体倾向性的范例。
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34
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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35
unduly
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adv.过度地,不适当地 |
参考例句: |
- He did not sound unduly worried at the prospect.他的口气听上去对前景并不十分担忧。
- He argued that the law was unduly restrictive.他辩称法律的约束性有些过分了。
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36
fanatic
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n.狂热者,入迷者;adj.狂热入迷的 |
参考例句: |
- Alexander is a football fanatic.亚历山大是个足球迷。
- I am not a religious fanatic but I am a Christian.我不是宗教狂热分子,但我是基督徒。
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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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38
sarcastically
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adv.挖苦地,讽刺地 |
参考例句: |
- 'What a surprise!' Caroline murmured sarcastically.“太神奇了!”卡罗琳轻声挖苦道。
- Pierce mocked her and bowed sarcastically. 皮尔斯嘲笑她,讽刺地鞠了一躬。
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39
irritation
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n.激怒,恼怒,生气 |
参考例句: |
- He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
- Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说,但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。
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40
subsided
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v.(土地)下陷(因在地下采矿)( subside的过去式和过去分词 );减弱;下降至较低或正常水平;一下子坐在椅子等上 |
参考例句: |
- After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后,部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚, 暴风雨已经过去,四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
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heartily
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adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很 |
参考例句: |
- He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿,就出去找他的马。
- The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手,热情地和我握手。
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