IV
He reached Mr. Barnes’ House at Ealing at 6:45. He remembered that Mr. Barnes had called that a
good time of day.
Mr. Barnes was at work in his garden.
He said by way of greeting:
“We need rain, M. Poirot—need it badly.”
He looked thoughtfully at his guest. He said:
“You don’t look very well, M. Poirot?”
“Sometimes,” said Hercule Poirot, “I do not like the things I have to do.”
Mr. Barnes nodded his head sympathetically.
He said:
“I know.”
Hercule Poirot looked vaguely¹ round at the neat arrangement of the small beds. He murmured:
“It is well-planned, this garden. Everything is to scale. It is small but exact.”
Mr. Barnes said:
“When you have only a small place you’ve got to make the most of it. You can’t afford to make
mistakes in the planning.”
Hercule Poirot nodded.
Barnes went on:
“I see you’ve got your man?”
“Frank Carter?”
“Yes. I’m rather surprised, really.”
“You did not think that it was, so to speak, a private murder?”
“No. Frankly² I didn’t. What with Amberiotis and Alistair Blunt—I made sure that it was one of
these Espionage³ or Counter-Espionage mix-ups.”
“That is the view you expounded⁴ to me at our first meeting.”
“I know. I was quite sure of it at the time.”
Poirot said slowly:
“But you were wrong.”
“Yes. Don’t rub it in. The trouble is, one goes by one’s own experience. I’ve been mixed-up in
that sort of thing so much I suppose I’m inclined to see it everywhere.”
Poirot said:
“You have observed in your time a conjurer offer a card, have you not? What is called—forcing
a card?”
“Yes, of course.”
“That is what was done here. Every time that one thinks of a private reason for Morley’s death,
hey presto—the card is forced on one. Amberiotis, Alistair Blunt, the unsettled state of politics—
of the country—” He shrugged

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1 vaguely
adv.含糊地，暖昧地
参考例句：
He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。 He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

2 frankly
adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说
参考例句：
To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。 Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

3 espionage
n.间谍行为，谍报活动
参考例句：
The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。 Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

4 expounded
论述，详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He expounded his views on the subject to me at great length. 他详细地向我阐述了他在这个问题上的观点。 He warmed up as he expounded his views. 他在阐明自己的意见时激动起来了。

5 shrugged
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》

6 purely
adv.纯粹地，完全地
参考例句：
I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。 This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

7 motive
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。

8 illuminating
a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的
参考例句：
We didn't find the examples he used particularly illuminating. 我们觉得他采用的那些例证启发性不是特别大。 I found his talk most illuminating. 我觉得他的话很有启发性。

9 cryptic
adj.秘密的，神秘的，含义模糊的
参考例句：
She made a cryptic comment about how the film mirrored her life.她隐晦地表示说这部电影是她人生的写照。 The new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms.新的保险单在编写时没有隐秘条款或秘密条款。

10 genially
adv.亲切地，和蔼地；快活地
参考例句：
The white church peeps out genially from behind the huts scattered on the river bank. 一座白色教堂从散布在岸上的那些小木房后面殷勤地探出头来。 来自《简明英汉词典》 "Well, It'seems strange to see you way up here,'said Mr. Kenny genially. “咳，真没想到会在这么远的地方见到你，"肯尼先生亲切地说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

11 aggrieved
adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句：
He felt aggrieved at not being chosen for the team. 他因没被选到队里感到愤愤不平。 来自《简明英汉词典》 She is the aggrieved person whose fiance&1& did not show up for their wedding. 她很委屈，她的未婚夫未出现在他们的婚礼上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 guilt
n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责
参考例句：
She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。 Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。