I was walking in Central Park with Avery Knight¹, the great New York burglar, highwayman, and murderer.

"But, my dear Knight," said I, "it sounds incredible. You have undoubtedly² performed some of the most wonderful feats³ in your profession known to modern crime. You have committed some marvellous deeds under the very noses of the police--you have boldly entered the homes of millionaires and held them up with an empty gun while you made free with their silver and jewels; you have sandbagged citizens in the glare of Broadway's electric lights; you have killed and robbed with superb openness and absolute impunity--but when you boast that within forty-eight hours after committing a murder you can run down and actually bring me face to face with the detective assigned to apprehend⁵ you, I must beg leave to express my doubts--remember, you are in New York."

Avery Knight smiled indulgently.

"You pique⁶ my professional pride, doctor," he said in a nettled⁷ tone. "I will convince you."

About twelve yards in advance of us a prosperous-looking citizen was rounding a clump⁸ of bushes where the walk curved. Knight suddenly drew a revolver and shot the man in the back. His victim fell and lay without moving.

The great murderer went up to him leisurely⁹ and took from his clothes his money, watch, and a valuable ring and cravat¹⁰ pin. He then rejoined me smiling calmly, and we continued our walk.

Ten steps and we met a policeman running toward the spot where the shot had been fired. Avery Knight stopped him.

"I have just killed a man," he announced, seriously, "and robbed him of his possessions."

"G'wan," said the policeman, angrily, "or I'll run yez in! Want yer name in the papers, don't yez? I never knew the cranks to come around so quick after a shootin' before. Out of th' park, now, for yours, or I'll fan yez."

点击收听单词发音  

1 knight
n.骑士，武士；爵士
参考例句：
He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。 A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

2 undoubtedly
adv.确实地，无疑地
参考例句：
It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。 He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

3 feats
功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )
参考例句：
He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。 His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。

4 feat
n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的
参考例句：
Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。 He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

5 apprehend
vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑
参考例句：
I apprehend no worsening of the situation.我不担心局势会恶化。 Police have not apprehended her killer.警察还未抓获谋杀她的凶手。

6 pique
v.伤害…的自尊心，使生气 n.不满，生气
参考例句：
She went off in a fit of pique.她一赌气就走了。 Tom finished the sentence with an air of pique.汤姆有些生气地说完这句话。

7 nettled
v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
My remarks clearly nettled her. 我的话显然惹恼了她。 He had been growing nettled before, but now he pulled himself together. 他刚才有些来火，但现在又恢复了常态。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

8 clump
n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走
参考例句：
A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。 It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。

9 leisurely
adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的
参考例句：
We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。 He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。

10 cravat
n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结
参考例句：
You're never fully dressed without a cravat.不打领结，就不算正装。 Mr. Kenge adjusting his cravat,then looked at us.肯吉先生整了整领带，然后又望着我们。

11 ken
n.视野，知识领域
参考例句：
Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。 Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

12 celebrated
adj.有名的，声誉卓著的
参考例句：
He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。 The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

13 induction
n.感应，感应现象
参考例句：
His induction as a teacher was a turning point in his life.他就任教师工作是他一生的转折点。 The magnetic signals are sensed by induction coils.磁信号由感应线圈所检测。

14 countenance
n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同
参考例句：
At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。 I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

15 tauntingly
嘲笑地，辱骂地； 嘲骂地
参考例句：

16 scents
n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉
参考例句：
The air was fragrant with scents from the sea and the hills. 空气中荡漾着山和海的芬芳气息。 The winds came down with scents of the grass and wild flowers. 微风送来阵阵青草和野花的香气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 caliber
n.能力；水准
参考例句：
They ought to win with players of such high caliber.他们选手的能力这样高,应该获胜。 We are always trying to improve the caliber of our schools.我们一直在想方设法提高我们学校的水平。

18 hazing
n.受辱，被欺侮v.（使）笼罩在薄雾中( haze的现在分词 )；戏弄，欺凌（新生等，有时作为加入美国大学生联谊会的条件）
参考例句：
With labor, the hazing period ends. 费了好大力气，痛苦的时期终于过了。 来自互联网 A high-gloss paint surface is one that directly reflects light with minimum hazing or diffusion. 高度光洁的漆表面可以直接反射光源。 来自互联网

19 mere
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。 It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

20 proceeding
n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报
参考例句：
This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。 The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

21 northward
adv.向北；n.北方的地区
参考例句：
He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。 I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。

22 analytical
adj.分析的；用分析法的
参考例句：
I have an analytical approach to every survey.对每项调查我都采用分析方法。 As a result,analytical data obtained by analysts were often in disagreement.结果各个分析家所得的分析数据常常不一致。

23 simultaneously
adv.同时发生地，同时进行地
参考例句：
The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。 The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

24 commissioner
n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员
参考例句：
The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。 He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

25 phenomena
n.现象
参考例句：
Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。 The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

26 skilful
(=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的
参考例句：
The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多，熟练的程度越高。 He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。

27 postulation
n.假定；公设
参考例句：

28 justified
a.正当的，有理的
参考例句：
She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。 The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

29 precedent
n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的
参考例句：
Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？ This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

30 doggedly
adv.顽强地，固执地
参考例句：
He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。 He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat.他顽强地、步履艰难地走着，一直走回了公寓。

31 slew
v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多
参考例句：
He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。 They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

32 publicity
n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告
参考例句：
The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。 He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

33 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。

34 foretell
v.预言，预告，预示
参考例句：
Willow trees breaking out into buds foretell the coming of spring.柳枝绽青报春来。 The outcome of the war is hard to foretell.战争胜负难以预卜。

35 distinguished
adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的
参考例句：
Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。 A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。