Chapter One
Hercule Poirot frowned.
“Miss Lemon,” he said.
“Yes, M. Poirot?”
“There are three mistakes in this letter.”
His voice held incredulity. For Miss Lemon, that hideous¹ and efficient woman, never mademistakes. She was never ill, never tired, never upset, never inaccurate². For all practical purposes,that is to say, she was not a woman at all. She was a machine—the perfect secretary. She kneweverything, she coped with everything. She ran Hercule Poirot’s life for him, so that it, too,functioned like a machine. Order and method had been Hercule Poirot’s watchwords from manyyears ago. With George, his perfect manservant, and Miss Lemon, his perfect secretary, order andmethod ruled supreme³ in his life. Now that crumpets were baked square as well as round, he hadnothing about which to complain.
And yet, this morning, Miss Lemon had made three mistakes in typing a perfectly⁴ simple letter,and moreover, had not even noticed those mistakes. The stars stood still in their courses!
Hercule Poirot held out the offending document. He was not annoyed, he was merelybewildered. This was one of the things that could not happen—but it had happened!
Miss Lemon took the letter. She looked at it. For the first time in his life, Poirot saw her blush; adeep ugly unbecoming flush that dyed her face right up to the roots of her strong grizzled hair.
“Oh, dear,” she said. “I can’t think how—at least I can. It’s because of my sister.”
“Your sister?”
Another shock. Poirot had never conceived of Miss Lemon’s having a sister. Or, for that matter,having a father, mother, or even grandparents. Miss Lemon, somehow, was so completely machinemade—a precision instrument so to speak—that to think of her having affections, or anxieties, orfamily worries, seemed quite ludicrous. It was well known that the whole of Miss Lemon’s heartand mind was given, when she was not on duty, to the perfection of a new filing system which wasto be patented and bear her name.
“Your sister?” Hercule Poirot repeated, therefore, with an incredulous note in his voice.
Miss Lemon nodded a vigorous assent

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1 hideous
adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的
参考例句：
The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。 They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。

2 inaccurate
adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的
参考例句：
The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。 She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

3 supreme
adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的
参考例句：
It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。 He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 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。

5 assent
v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可
参考例句：
I cannot assent to what you ask.我不能应允你的要求。 The new bill passed by Parliament has received Royal Assent.议会所通过的新方案已获国王批准。

6 fixed
adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的
参考例句：
Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？ Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

7 hostel
n.（学生）宿舍，招待所
参考例句：
I lived in a hostel while I was a student.我求学期间住在青年招待所里。 He says he's staying at a Youth Hostel.他说他现住在一家青年招待所。

8 catering
n. 给养
参考例句：
Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。 Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的？

9 smoothly
adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地
参考例句：
The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。 Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

10 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。

11 attentive
adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的
参考例句：
She was very attentive to her guests.她对客人招待得十分周到。 The speaker likes to have an attentive audience.演讲者喜欢注意力集中的听众。

12 thoroughly
adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地
参考例句：
The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。 The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

13 vagaries
n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况
参考例句：
The vagaries of fortune are indeed curious.\" 命运的变化莫测真是不可思议。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹 The vagaries of inclement weather conditions are avoided to a certain extent. 可以在一定程度上避免变化莫测的恶劣气候影响。 来自辞典例句

14 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。

15 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。

16 invincible
adj.不可征服的，难以制服的
参考例句：
This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。 The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。

17 surmise
v./n.猜想，推测
参考例句：
It turned out that my surmise was correct.结果表明我的推测没有错。 I surmise that he will take the job.我推测他会接受这份工作。

18 kleptomaniac
n.有偷窃狂的人
参考例句：
The kleptomaniac has a compulsion to steal.盗窃狂患者有一股不可抗拒的偷东西的冲动。 The vicious kleptomaniac was eventually overthrown after losing his cold war sponsors in the west.这个恶毒的盗窃狂最终在失去他冷战时期的西方赞助者之后被推翻。

19 conscientious
adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的
参考例句：
He is a conscientious man and knows his job.他很认真负责，也很懂行。 He is very conscientious in the performance of his duties.他非常认真地履行职责。

20 embroil
vt.拖累；牵连；使复杂
参考例句：
I was reluctant to embroil myself in his problems.我不愿意卷入到他的问题中去。 Please do not embroil me in your squabbles.请别把我牵连进你们的纠纷里。

21 polyglot
adj.通晓数种语言的；n.通晓多种语言的人
参考例句：
He was a round old man with a guttural,polyglot accent.他是一位肥胖的老人,讲话时带有多种语言混合的多喉音的声调。 Thanks to his polyglot aptitude,he made rapid progress.由于他有学习语言的天才，他学习的进度很快。

22 inconvenient
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？

23 quotation
n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情
参考例句：
He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。 The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。

24 baker
n.面包师
参考例句：
The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。 The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

25 gracefully
ad.大大方方地；优美地
参考例句：
She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。 The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

26 components
（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分
参考例句：
the components of a machine 机器部件 Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

27 lavish
adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍
参考例句：
He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。 The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

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