II
The second incident was Mr. Meadowes’ hay fever. That was what hecalled it at first. Later he admitted doubtfully that he might just possiblyhave caught cold. He sneezed a good deal, and his eyes ran. If there was afaint elusive¹ suggestion of raw onion floating in the breeze in the vicinityof Mr. Meadowes’ large silk handkerchief nobody noticed the fact, and in-deed a pungent² amount of eau de cologne masked the more penetratingodour.
Finally, defeated by incessant³ sneezing and noseblowing, Mr. Meadowesretired to bed for the day.
It was on the morning of that day that Mrs. Blenkensop received a letterfrom her son Douglas. So excited and thrilled was Mrs. Blenkensop thateverybody at Sans Souci heard about it. The letter had not been censoredat all, she explained, because fortunately one of Douglas’s friends comingon leave had brought it, so for once Douglas had been able to write quitefully.
“And it just shows,” declared Mrs. Blenkensop, wagging her head sagely,“how little we know really of what is going on.”
After breakfast she went upstairs to her room, opened the japanned boxand put the letter away. Between the folded pages were some unnotice-able grains of rice powder. She closed the box again, pressing her fingersfirmly on its surface.
As she left her room she coughed, and from opposite came the sound ofa highly histrionic sneeze.
Tuppence smiled and proceeded downstairs.
She had already made known her intention of going up to London forthe day—to see her lawyer on some business and to do a little shopping.
Now she was given a good send-off by the assembled boarders and en-trusted with various commissions—“only if you have time, of course.”
Major Bletchley held himself aloof⁴ from this female chatter⁵. He wasreading his paper and uttering appropriate comments aloud. “Damnedswines of Germans. Machine- gunning civilian⁶ refugees on the roads.
Damned brutes

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1 elusive
adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的
参考例句：
Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。 Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

2 pungent
adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的
参考例句：
The article is written in a pungent style.文章写得泼辣。 Its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hideouts.它的刺激性气味会令恐怖分子窒息，迫使他们从藏身地点逃脱出来。

3 incessant
adj.不停的，连续的
参考例句：
We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。 She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。

4 aloof
adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的
参考例句：
Never stand aloof from the masses.千万不可脱离群众。 On the evening the girl kept herself timidly aloof from the crowd.这小女孩在晚会上一直胆怯地远离人群。

5 chatter
vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战
参考例句：
Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。 I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

6 civilian
adj.平民的，民用的，民众的
参考例句：
There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。 He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

7 brutes
兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性
参考例句：
They're not like dogs; they're hideous brutes. 它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。 Suddenly the foul musty odour of the brutes struck his nostrils. 突然，他的鼻尖闻到了老鼠的霉臭味。 来自英汉文学

8 detour
n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道
参考例句：
We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。 He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。

9 snail
n.蜗牛
参考例句：
Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。 Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。

10 pussy
n.(儿语)小猫，猫咪
参考例句：
Why can't they leave my pussy alone?为什么他们就不能离我小猫咪远一点？ The baby was playing with his pussy.孩子正和他的猫嬉戏。

11 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 noted
adj.著名的，知名的
参考例句：
The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。 Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 clenched
v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。 She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 hoarse
adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的
参考例句：
He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。 He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动，嗓子都喊哑了。

15 fowl
n.家禽，鸡，禽肉
参考例句：
Fowl is not part of a traditional brunch.禽肉不是传统的早午餐的一部分。 Since my heart attack,I've eaten more fish and fowl and less red meat.自从我患了心脏病后，我就多吃鱼肉和禽肉，少吃红色肉类。

16 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。

17 kindly
adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地
参考例句：
Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。 A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

18 injustice
n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利
参考例句：
They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。 All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

19 Nazi
n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的
参考例句：
They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。 Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

20 alas
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)
参考例句：
Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！ Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

21 robustly
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

22 intern
v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生
参考例句：
I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。 The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

23 mitigates
v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
Data Control is the containment of activity. It is what mitigates risk. 数据控制就是限制攻击者活动的机制，它可以降低安全风险。 来自互联网 Laziness also mitigates the threat from piracy. 懒散也减轻了来自盗版的威胁。 来自互联网

24 constructive
adj.建设的，建设性的
参考例句：
We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。 He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

25 loathing
n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢
参考例句：
She looked at her attacker with fear and loathing . 她盯着襲擊她的歹徒，既害怕又憎恨。 They looked upon the creature with a loathing undisguised. 他们流露出明显的厌恶看那动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

26 hatred
n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨
参考例句：
He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。 The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

27 patriotic
adj.爱国的，有爱国心的
参考例句：
His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。 The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

28 fortitude
n.坚忍不拔；刚毅
参考例句：
His dauntless fortitude makes him absolutely fearless.他不屈不挠的坚韧让他绝无恐惧。 He bore the pain with great fortitude.他以极大的毅力忍受了痛苦。

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