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Sir James’s words came like a bomb-shell. Both girls looked equally puzzled. The lawyer went across to his desk, and returned with a small newspaper cutting, which he handed to Jane. Tuppence read it over her shoulder. Mr. Carter would have recognized it. It referred to the mysterious man found dead in New York.
“As I was saying to Miss Tuppence,” resumed the lawyer, “I set to work to prove the impossible possible. The great stumbling-block was the undeniable fact that Julius Hersheimmer was not an assumed name. When I came across this paragraph my problem was solved. Julius Hersheimmer set out to discover what had become of his cousin. He went out West, where he obtained news of her and her photograph to aid him in his search. On the eve of his departure from New York he was set upon and murdered. His body was dressed in shabby clothes, and the face disfigured to prevent identification. Mr. Brown took his place. He sailed immediately for England. None of the real Hersheimmer’s friends or intimates saw him before he sailed—though indeed it would hardly have mattered if they had, the impersonation was so perfect. Since then he had been hand and glove with those sworn to hunt him down. Every secret of theirs has been known to him. Only once did he come near disaster. Mrs. Vandemeyer knew his secret. It was no part of his plan that that huge
bribe1 should ever be offered to her. But for Miss Tuppence’s fortunate change of plan, she would have been far away from the flat when we arrived there. Exposure stared him in the face. He took a desperate step, trusting in his assumed character to
avert2 suspicion. He nearly succeeded—but not quite.”
“I can’t believe it,” murmured Jane. “He seemed so splendid.”
“The real Julius Hersheimmer was a splendid fellow! And Mr. Brown is a
consummate3 actor. But ask Miss Tuppence if she also has not had her suspicions.”
Jane turned mutely to Tuppence. The latter nodded.
“I didn’t want to say it, Jane—I knew it would hurt you. And, after all, I couldn’t be sure. I still don’t understand why, if he’s Mr. Brown, he rescued us.”
“Was it Julius Hersheimmer who helped you to escape?”
Tuppence recounted to Sir James the exciting events of the evening, ending up: “But I can’t see why!”
“Can’t you? I can. So can young Beresford, by his actions. As a last hope Jane Finn was to be allowed to escape—and the escape must be managed so that she harbours no suspicions of its being a put-up job. They’re not
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收听单词发音
1
bribe
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n.贿赂;v.向…行贿,买通 |
参考例句: |
- He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
- He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。
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2
avert
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v.防止,避免;转移(目光、注意力等) |
参考例句: |
- He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
- I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。
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3
consummate
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adj.完美的;v.成婚;使完美 [反]baffle |
参考例句: |
- The restored jade burial suit fully reveals the consummate skill of the labouring people of ancient China.复原后的金缕玉衣充分显示出中国古代劳动人民的精湛工艺。
- The actor's acting is consummate and he is loved by the audience.这位演员技艺精湛,深受观众喜爱。
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4
averse
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adj.厌恶的;反对的,不乐意的 |
参考例句: |
- I don't smoke cigarettes,but I'm not averse to the occasional cigar.我不吸烟,但我不反对偶尔抽一支雪茄。
- We are averse to such noisy surroundings.我们不喜欢这么吵闹的环境。
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5
entrusted
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v.委托,托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- He entrusted the task to his nephew. 他把这任务托付给了他的侄儿。
- She was entrusted with the direction of the project. 她受委托负责这项计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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6
dealing
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n.经商方法,待人态度 |
参考例句: |
- This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
- His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
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7
inconvenient
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adj.不方便的,令人感到麻烦的 |
参考例句: |
- You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
- Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗?
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8
awe
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n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧 |
参考例句: |
- The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
- The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。
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9
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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10
momentary
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adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的 |
参考例句: |
- We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
- I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。
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11
qualms
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n.不安;内疚 |
参考例句: |
- He felt no qualms about borrowing money from friends.他没有对于从朋友那里借钱感到不安。
- He has no qualms about lying.他撒谎毫不内疚。
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12
exultation
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n.狂喜,得意 |
参考例句: |
- It made him catch his breath, it lit his face with exultation. 听了这个名字,他屏住呼吸,乐得脸上放光。
- He could get up no exultation that was really worthy the name. 他一点都激动不起来。
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13
spoke
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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。
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14
ragged
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adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的 |
参考例句: |
- A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
- Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。
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15
recess
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n.短期休息,壁凹(墙上装架子,柜子等凹处) |
参考例句: |
- The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
- Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。
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16
tattered
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adj.破旧的,衣衫破的 |
参考例句: |
- Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
- Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。
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17
velvet
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n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 |
参考例句: |
- This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
- The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。
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18
insistent
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adj.迫切的,坚持的 |
参考例句: |
- There was an insistent knock on my door.我听到一阵急促的敲门声。
- He is most insistent on this point.他在这点上很坚持。
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19
hysterical
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adj.情绪异常激动的,歇斯底里般的 |
参考例句: |
- He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。
- His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。
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20
frayed
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adj.磨损的v.(使布、绳等)磨损,磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- His shirt was frayed. 他的衬衫穿破了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The argument frayed their nerves. 争辩使他们不快。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
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21
dummy
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n.假的东西;(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头 |
参考例句: |
- The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹,只是一个假货。
- The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。
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22
scrutinized
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v.仔细检查,详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句: |
- The jeweler scrutinized the diamond for flaws. 宝石商人仔细察看钻石有无瑕庇 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- Together we scrutinized the twelve lemon cakes from the delicatessen shop. 我们一起把甜食店里买来的十二块柠檬蛋糕细细打量了一番。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比
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23
attentively
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adv.聚精会神地;周到地;谛;凝神 |
参考例句: |
- She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时,她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着,把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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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
dingy
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adj.昏暗的,肮脏的 |
参考例句: |
- It was a street of dingy houses huddled together. 这是一条挤满了破旧房子的街巷。
- The dingy cottage was converted into a neat tasteful residence.那间脏黑的小屋已变成一个整洁雅致的住宅。
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26
sinister
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adj.不吉利的,凶恶的,左边的 |
参考例句: |
- There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
- Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值,而且包藏祸心。
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27
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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28
absurdity
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n.荒谬,愚蠢;谬论 |
参考例句: |
- The proposal borders upon the absurdity.这提议近乎荒谬。
- The absurdity of the situation made everyone laugh.情况的荒谬可笑使每个人都笑了。
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29
emphatic
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adj.强调的,着重的;无可置疑的,明显的 |
参考例句: |
- Their reply was too emphatic for anyone to doubt them.他们的回答很坚决,不容有任何人怀疑。
- He was emphatic about the importance of being punctual.他强调严守时间的重要性。
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30
scent
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n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉 |
参考例句: |
- The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
- The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
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31
intoxicated
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喝醉的,极其兴奋的 |
参考例句: |
- She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
- They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉,东南西北全然不辨。
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32
wrenched
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v.(猛力地)扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 );扭伤;使感到痛苦;使悲痛 |
参考例句: |
- The bag was wrenched from her grasp. 那只包从她紧握的手里被夺了出来。
- He wrenched the book from her hands. 他从她的手中把书拧抢了过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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33
shudder
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v.战粟,震动,剧烈地摇晃;n.战粟,抖动 |
参考例句: |
- The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材,他浑身一阵战栗。
- We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。
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34
crumpled
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adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的
动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 |
参考例句: |
- She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
- She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。
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