Nineteen
“V ery glad to have met you,” said Lawrence. “Come to my place.”
We turned in at the little rustic¹ gate, went up the path, and he drew a key from his pocket and inserted it in the lock.
“You keep the door locked now,” I observed.
“Yes.” He laughed rather bitterly. “Case of stable door when the steed is gone, eh? It is rather like that. You know,padre,” he held the door open and I passed inside, “there’s something about all this business that I don’t like. It’s toomuch of—how shall I put it—an inside job. Someone knew about that pistol of mine. That means that the murderer,whoever he was, must have actually been in this house—perhaps even had a drink with me.”
“Not necessarily,” I objected. “The whole village of St. Mary Mead² probably knows exactly where you keep yourtoothbrush and what kind of tooth powder you use.”
“But why should it interest them?”
“I don’t know,” I said, “but it does. If you change your shaving cream it will be a topic of conversation.”
“They must be very hard up for news.”
“They are. Nothing exciting ever happens here.”
“Well, it has now—with a vengeance³.”
I agreed.
“And who tells them all these things anyway? Shaving cream and things like that?”
“Probably old Mrs. Archer⁴.”
“That old crone? She’s practically a half-wit, as far as I can make out.”
“That’s merely the camouflage⁵ of the poor,” I explained. “They take refuge behind a mask of stupidity. You’llprobably find that the old lady has all her wits about her. By the way, she seems very certain now that the pistol was inits proper place midday Thursday. What’s made her so positive all of a sudden?”
“I haven’t the least idea.”
“Do you think she’s right?”
“There again I haven’t the least idea. I don’t go round taking an inventory

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1 rustic
adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬
参考例句：
It was nearly seven months of leisurely rustic living before Michael felt real boredom.这种悠闲的乡村生活过了差不多七个月之后,迈克尔开始感到烦闷。 We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.我们希望新鲜的空气和乡村的氛围能帮他调整自己。

2 mead
n.蜂蜜酒
参考例句：
He gave me a cup of mead.他给我倒了杯蜂蜜酒。 He drank some mead at supper.晚饭时他喝了一些蜂蜜酒。

3 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。

4 archer
n.射手，弓箭手
参考例句：
The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。 The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

5 camouflage
n./v.掩饰，伪装
参考例句：
The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。 The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

6 inventory
n.详细目录，存货清单
参考例句：
Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。 We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

7 artistic
adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的
参考例句：
The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。 These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

8 disarray
n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱
参考例句：
His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。 Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

9 asses
n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人
参考例句：
Sometimes I got to kick asses to make this place run right. 有时我为了把这个地方搞得像个样子，也不得不踢踢别人的屁股。 来自教父部分 Those were wild asses maybe, or zebras flying around in herds. 那些也许是野驴或斑马在成群地奔跑。

10 cartridges
子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头
参考例句：
computer consumables such as disks and printer cartridges 如磁盘、打印机墨盒之类的电脑耗材 My new video game player came with three game cartridges included. 我的新电子游戏机附有三盘游戏带。

11 apparently
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。

12 chambers
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅
参考例句：
The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

13 imp
n.顽童
参考例句：
What a little imp you are!你这个淘气包！ There's a little imp always running with him.他总有一个小鬼跟着。

14 limpid
adj.清澈的，透明的
参考例句：
He has a pair of limpid blue eyes.他有一双清澈的蓝眼睛。 The sky was a limpid blue,as if swept clean of everything.碧空如洗。

15 heartily
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。

16 flustered
adj.慌张的；激动不安的v.使慌乱，使不安( fluster的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句：
The honking of horns flustered the boy. 汽车喇叭的叫声使男孩感到慌乱。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 She was so flustered that she forgot her reply. 她太紧张了，都忘记了该如何作答。 来自辞典例句

17 poise
vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信
参考例句：
She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise.她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。 Ballet classes are important for poise and grace.芭蕾课对培养优雅的姿仪非常重要。

18 housekeeper
n.管理家务的主妇，女管家
参考例句：
A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。 She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

19 disposition
n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署
参考例句：
He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。 He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

20 giggle
n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说
参考例句：
Both girls began to giggle.两个女孩都咯咯地笑了起来。 All that giggle and whisper is too much for me.我受不了那些咯咯的笑声和交头接耳的样子。

21 awfully
adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地
参考例句：
Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。 I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

22 softened
（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰
参考例句：
His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。 The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

23 inspector
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。

24 horrified
a.(表现出)恐惧的
参考例句：
The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。 We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

25 clandestine
adj.秘密的，暗中从事的
参考例句：
She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。 The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

26 reassured
adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句：
The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 shriek
v./n.尖叫，叫喊
参考例句：
Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。 People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。

28 entirely
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。

29 utterly
adv.完全地，绝对地
参考例句：
Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。 I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

30 tongs
n.钳；夹子
参考例句：
She used tongs to put some more coal on the fire.她用火钳再夹一些煤放进炉子里。 He picked up the hot metal with a pair of tongs.他用一把钳子夹起这块热金属。

31 prick
v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛
参考例句：
He felt a sharp prick when he stepped on an upturned nail.当他踩在一个尖朝上的钉子上时，他感到剧烈的疼痛。 He burst the balloon with a prick of the pin.他用针一戳，气球就爆了。

32 embellished
v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色
参考例句：
The door of the old church was embellished with decorations. 老教堂的门是用雕饰美化的。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The stern was embellished with carvings in red and blue. 船尾饰有红色和蓝色的雕刻图案。 来自辞典例句