Six
O n the whole it was rather an exhausting day. Enthusiasm in itself can be extremely wearing, Miss Marple thought.
She felt vaguely¹ dissatisfied with herself and her own reactions. There was a pattern here-perhaps several patterns,and yet she herself could obtain no clear glimpse of it or them. Any vague disquietude she felt centered round thepathetic but inconspicuous personality of Edgar Lawson. If she could only find in her memory the right parallel.
Painstakingly² she rejected the curious behaviour of Mr. Selkirk’s delivery van-the absentminded postman-thegardener who worked on Whitmonday-and that very curious affair of the summer weight combinations.
Something that she could not quite put her finger on was wrong about Edgar Lawson-something that went beyondthe observed and admitted facts. But for the life of her, Miss Marple did not see how that wrongness, whatever it was,affected her friend Carrie Louise. In the confused patterns of life at Stonygates, people’s troubles and desires impingedon each other. But none of them (again as far as she could see) impinged on Carrie Louise.
Carrie Louise … Suddenly Miss Marple realised that it was she alone, except for the absent Ruth, who used thatname. To her husband, she was Caroline. To Miss Bellever, Cara. Stephen Restarick usually addressed her asMadonna. To Wally she was formally Mrs. Serrocold, and Gina elected to address her as Grandam-a mixture, shehad explained, of Grande Dame³ and Grandmamma.
Was there some significance, perhaps, in the various names that were found for Caroline Louise Serrocold? Wasshe to all of them a symbol and not quite a real person?
When on the following morning Carrie Louise, dragging her feet a little as she walked, came and sat down on thegarden seat beside her friend and asked her what she was thinking about, Miss Marple replied promptly⁴:
“You, Carrie Louise.”
“What about me?”
“Tell me honestly-is there anything here that worries you?”
“Worries me?” The other woman raised wondering, clear blue eyes. “But, Jane, what should worry me?”
“Well, most of us have worries.” Miss Marple’s eyes twinkled a little. “I have. Slugs, you know-and the difficultyof getting linen

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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 painstakingly
adv. 费力地 苦心地
参考例句：
Every aspect of the original has been closely studied and painstakingly reconstructed. 原作的每一细节都经过了仔细研究，费尽苦心才得以重现。 The cause they contrived so painstakingly also ended in failure. 他们惨淡经营的事业也以失败而告终。

3 dame
n.女士
参考例句：
The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。 If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

4 promptly
adv.及时地，敏捷地
参考例句：
He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。 She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

5 linen
n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的
参考例句：
The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。 Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

6 unnatural
adj.不自然的；反常的
参考例句：
Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？ She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

7 briefly
adv.简单地，简短地
参考例句：
I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。 He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

8 invalid
n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的
参考例句：
He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。 A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

9 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。

10 plight
n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定
参考例句：
The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。 She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

11 abode
n.住处，住所
参考例句：
It was ten months before my father discovered his abode.父亲花了十个月的功夫，才好不容易打听到他的住处。 Welcome to our humble abode!欢迎光临寒舍！

12 villa
n.别墅，城郊小屋
参考例句：
We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。 We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

13 bullied
adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。 The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 rheumatism
n.风湿病
参考例句：
The damp weather plays the very devil with my rheumatism.潮湿的天气加重了我的风湿病。 The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。

15 horrid
adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的
参考例句：
I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。 The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

16 cramps
n. 抽筋, 腹部绞痛, 铁箍 adj. 狭窄的, 难解的 v. 使...抽筋, 以铁箍扣紧, 束缚
参考例句：
If he cramps again let the line cut him off. 要是它再抽筋，就让这钓索把它勒断吧。 "I have no cramps." he said. “我没抽筋，"他说。

17 Christian
adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒
参考例句：
They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。 His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

18 suite
n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员
参考例句：
She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。 That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

19 eldest
adj.最年长的，最年老的
参考例句：
The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。 The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

20 tugged
v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。 A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 sullen
adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的
参考例句：
He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。 Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

22 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

23 genial
adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的
参考例句：
Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。 He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友，也是友善待客的主人。

24 appraising
v.估价( appraise的现在分词 )；估计；估量；评价
参考例句：
At the appraising meeting, experts stated this method was superior to others. 鉴定会上，专家们指出这种方法优于其他方法。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 The teacher is appraising the students' work. 老师正在评定学生的作业。 来自辞典例句

25 bishop
n.主教，（国际象棋）象
参考例句：
He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。 Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

26 covert
adj.隐藏的；暗地里的
参考例句：
We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。 The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

27 appraisal
n.对…作出的评价；评价，鉴定，评估
参考例句：
What's your appraisal of the situation?你对局势是如何评估的？ We need to make a proper appraisal of his work.对于他的工作我们需要做出适当的评价。

28 enchanting
a.讨人喜欢的
参考例句：
His smile, at once enchanting and melancholy, is just his father's. 他那种既迷人又有些忧郁的微笑，活脱儿象他父亲。 Its interior was an enchanting place that both lured and frightened me. 它的里头是个吸引人的地方，我又向往又害怕。

29 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

30 maverick
adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者
参考例句：
He's a maverick.He has his own way of thinking about things.他是个特异独行的人。对事情有自己的看法。 You're a maverick and you'll try anything.你是个爱自行其是的人，样样事情都要尝试一下。

31 perfectly
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。