空幻之屋17

时间：2024-12-31 10:05:29

（单词翻译:单击）

Eleven
I
Hercule Poirot flicked1 a last speck2 of dust from his shoes. He had dressed carefully for his
luncheon3 party and he was satisfied with the result.
He knew well enough the kind of clothes that were worn in the country on a Sunday in England,
but he did not choose to conform to English ideas. He preferred his own standards of urban
smartness. He was not an English country gentleman. He was Hercule Poirot!
He did not, he confessed it to himself, really like the country. The weekend cottage—so many
of his friends had extolled4 it—he had allowed himself to succumb5, and had purchased Resthaven,
though the only thing he had liked about it was its shape, which was quite square like a box. The
surrounding landscape he did not care for though it was, he knew, supposed to be a beauty spot. It
was, however, too wildly asymmetrical6 to appeal to him. He did not care much for trees at any
time — they had that untidy habit of shedding their leaves. He could endure poplars and he
approved of a monkey puzzle—but this riot of beech7 and oak left him unmoved. Such a landscape
was best enjoyed from a car on a fine afternoon. You exclaimed, “Quel beau paysage!” and drove
back to a good hotel.
The best thing about Resthaven, he considered, was the small vegetable garden neatly8 laid out
in rows by his Belgian gardener Victor. Meanwhile Françoise, Victor’s wife, devoted9 herself with
tenderness to the care of her employer’s stomach.
Hercule Poirot passed through the gate, sighed, glanced down once more at his shining black
shoes, adjusted his pale grey Homburg hat, and looked up and down the road.
He shivered slightly at the aspect of Dovecotes. Dovecotes and Resthaven had been erected10 by
rival builders, both of whom had acquired a small piece of land. Further enterprise on their part
had been swiftly curtailed11 by a National Trust for preserving the beauties of the countryside. The
two houses remained representative of two schools of thought. Resthaven was a box with a roof,
severely12 modern and a little dull. Dovecotes was a riot of half-timbering and Olde Worlde packed
into as small a space as possible.
Hercule Poirot debated within himself as to how he should approach The Hollow. There was, he
knew, a little higher up the lane, a small gate and a path. This, the unofficial way, would save a
half-mile détour by the road. Nevertheless Hercule Poirot, a stickler13 for etiquette14, decided15 to take
the longer way round and approach the house correctly by the front entrance.
This was his first visit to Sir Henry and Lady Angkatell. One should not, he considered, take
shortcuts16 uninvited, especially when one was the guest of people of social importance. He was, it
must be admitted, pleased by their invitation.
“Je suis un peu snob,” he murmured to himself.
He had retained an agreeable impression of the Angkatells from the time in Baghdad,
particularly of Lady Angkatell. “Une originale!” he thought to himself.
His estimation of the time required for walking to The Hollow by road was accurate. It was
exactly one minute to one when he rang the front doorbell. He was glad to have arrived and felt
slightly tired. He was not fond of walking.
The door was opened by the magnificent Gudgeon, of whom Poirot approved. His reception,
however, was not quite as he had hoped. “Her ladyship is in the pavilion by the swimming pool,
sir. Will you come this way?”
The passion of the English for sitting out of doors irritated Hercule Poirot. Though one had to
put up with this whimsy17 in the height of summer, surely, Poirot thought, one should be safe from it
by the end of September! The day was mild, certainly, but it had, as autumn days always had, a
certain dampness. How infinitely18 pleasanter to have been ushered19 into a comfortable drawing
room with, perhaps, a small fire in the grate. But no, here he was being led out through french
windows across a slope of lawn, past a rockery and then through a small gate and along a narrow
track between closely planted young chestnuts20.
It was the habit of the Angkatells to invite guests for one o’clock, and on fine days they had
cocktails21 and sherry in the small pavilion by the swimming pool. Lunch itself was scheduled for
one thirty, by which time the most unpunctual of guests should have managed to arrive, which
permitted Lady Angkatell’s excellent cook to embark22 on soufflés and such accurately23 timed
delicacies24 without too much trepidation25.
To Hercule Poirot, the plan did not commend itself.
“In a little minute,” he thought, “I shall be almost back where I started.”
With an increasing awareness26 of his feet in his shoes, he followed Gudgeon’s tall figure.
It was at that moment from just ahead of him that he heard a little cry. It increased, somehow,
his dissatisfaction. It was incongruous, in some way unfitting. He did not classify it, nor indeed
think about it. When he thought about it afterwards he was hard put to it to remember just what
emotions it had seemed to convey. Dismay? Surprise? Horror? He could only say that it suggested,
very definitely, the unexpected.
Gudgeon stepped out from the chestnuts. He was moving to one side, deferentially27, to allow
Poirot to pass and at the same time clearing his throat preparatory to murmuring, “M. Poirot, my
lady” in the proper subdued28 and respectful tones when his suppleness29 became suddenly rigid30. He
gasped31. It was an unbutlerlike noise.
Hercule Poirot stepped out on to the open space surrounding the swimming pool, and
immediately he, too, stiffened32, but with annoyance33.
It was too much — it was really too much! He had not suspected such cheapness of the
Angkatells. The long walk by the road, the disappointment at the house—and now this! The
misplaced sense of humour of the English!
He was annoyed and he was bored—oh, how he was bored. Death was not, to him, amusing.
And here they had arranged for him, by way of a joke, a set piece.
For what he was looking at was a highly artificial murder scene. By the side of the pool was the
body, artistically34 arranged with an outflung arm and even some red paint dripping gently over the
edge of the concrete into the pool. It was a spectacular body, that of a handsome fair-haired man.
Standing35 over the body, revolver in hand, was a woman, a short, powerfully built, middle-aged36
woman with a curiously37 blank expression.
And there were three other actors. On the far side of the pool was a tall young woman whose
hair matched the autumn leaves in its rich brown; she had a basket in her hand full of dahlia heads.
A little farther off was a man, a tall, inconspicuous man in a shooting coat, carrying a gun. And
immediately on his left, with a basket of eggs in her hand, was his hostess, Lady Angkatell.
It was clear to Hercule Poirot that several different paths converged38 here at the swimming pool
and that these people had each arrived by a different path.
It was all very mathematical and artificial.
He sighed. Enfin, what did they expect him to do? Was he to pretend to believe in this “crime?”
Was he to register dismay—alarm? Or was he to bow, to congratulate his hostess: “Ah, but it is
very charming, what you arrange for me here?”
Really, the whole thing was very stupid—not spirituel at all! Was it not Queen Victoria who
had said: “We are not amused?” He felt very inclined to say the same: “I, Hercule Poirot, am not
amused.”
Lady Angkatell had walked towards the body. He followed, conscious of Gudgeon, still
breathing hard, behind him. “He is not in the secret, that one,” Hercule Poirot thought to himself.
From the other side of the pool, the other two people joined them. They were all quite close now,
looking down on that spectacular sprawling39 figure by the pool’s edge.
And suddenly, with a terrific shock, with that feeling as of blurring40 on a cinematograph screen
before the picture comes into focus, Hercule Poirot realized that this artificially set scene had a
point of reality.
For what he was looking down at was, if not a dead, at least a dying man.
It was not red paint dripping off the edge of the concrete, it was blood. This man had been shot,
and shot a very short time ago.
He darted41 a quick glance at the woman who stood there, revolver in hand. Her face was quite
blank, without feeling of any kind. She looked dazed and rather stupid.
“Curious,” he thought.
Had she, he wondered, drained herself of all emotion, all feeling, in the firing of the shot? Was
she now all passion spent, nothing but an exhausted42 shell? It might be so, he thought.
Then he looked down on the shot man, and he started. For the dying man’s eyes were open.
They were intensely blue eyes and they held an expression that Poirot could not read but which he
described to himself as a kind of intense awareness.
And suddenly, or so it felt to Poirot, there seemed to be in all this group of people only one
person who was really alive—the man who was at the point of death.
Poirot had never received so strong an impression of vivid and intense vitality43. The others were
pale shadowy figures, actors in a remote drama, but this man was real.
John Christow opened his mouth and spoke44. His voice was strong, unsurprised and urgent.
“Henrietta—” he said.
Then his eyelids45 dropped, his head jerked sideways.
Hercule Poirot knelt down, made sure, then rose to his feet, mechanically dusting the knees of
his trousers.
“Yes,” he said. “He is dead.”

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 flicked 7c535fef6da8b8c191b1d1548e9e790a     
（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）
参考例句：
  • She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
  • I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。
2 speck sFqzM     
n.微粒，小污点，小斑点
参考例句：
  • I have not a speck of interest in it.我对它没有任何兴趣。
  • The sky is clear and bright without a speck of cloud.天空晴朗，一星星云彩也没有。
3 luncheon V8az4     
n.午宴，午餐，便宴
参考例句：
  • We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
  • I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。
4 extolled 7c1d425b02cb9553e0dd77adccff5275     
v.赞颂，赞扬，赞美( extol的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school. 他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Tessenow decried the metropolis and extolled the peasant virtues. 特森诺夫痛诋大都市，颂扬农民的美德。 来自辞典例句
5 succumb CHLzp     
v.屈服，屈从；死
参考例句：
  • They will never succumb to the enemies.他们决不向敌人屈服。
  • Will business leaders succumb to these ideas?商业领袖们会被这些观点折服吗？
6 asymmetrical gO7ye     
adj.不均匀的，不对称的
参考例句：
  • Most people's faces are asymmetrical.多数人的脸并不对称。
  • Folds may be gentle and symmetrical,or sharp and asymmetrical.褶皱可以是平缓而对称的，也可以是陡峭而非对称的。
7 beech uynzJF     
n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的
参考例句：
  • Autumn is the time to see the beech woods in all their glory.秋天是观赏山毛榉林的最佳时期。
  • Exasperated,he leaped the stream,and strode towards beech clump.他满腔恼怒，跳过小河，大踏步向毛榉林子走去。
8 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地
参考例句：
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
9 devoted xu9zka     
adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的
参考例句：
  • He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
10 ERECTED ERECTED     
adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立
参考例句：
  • A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
  • A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。
11 curtailed 7746e1f810c323c484795ba1ce76a5e5     
v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • Spending on books has been severely curtailed. 购书开支已被大大削减。
  • Their public health programme had to be severely curtailed. 他们的公共卫生计划不得不大大收缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 severely SiCzmk     
adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地
参考例句：
  • He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
  • He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
13 stickler 2rkyS     
n.坚持细节之人
参考例句：
  • She's a real stickler for etiquette,so you'd better ask her advice.她非常讲求礼节，所以你最好问她的意见。
  • You will find Mrs. Carboy a stickler about trifles.您会发现卡博太太是个拘泥小节的人。
14 etiquette Xiyz0     
n.礼仪，礼节；规矩
参考例句：
  • The rules of etiquette are not so strict nowadays.如今的礼仪规则已不那么严格了。
  • According to etiquette,you should stand up to meet a guest.按照礼节你应该站起来接待客人。
15 decided lvqzZd     
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。
16 shortcuts ebf87251d092a6de9c12cc3e85c1707a     
n.捷径( shortcut的名词复数 )；近路；快捷办法；被切短的东西（尤指烟草）
参考例句：
  • In other words, experts want shortcuts to everything. 换句话说，专家需要所有的快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
  • Offer shortcuts from the Help menu. 在帮助菜单中提供快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
17 whimsy TIlyx     
n.古怪，异想天开
参考例句：
  • They are like oracular messages,but witty-jaunty at times-and sometimes trembling on the edge of whimsy.它们都像神谕，但很机智，有时极其轻快，有时又濒于怪诞。
  • He had a whimsy about flying to the moon.他有个想飞上月球的怪念头。
18 infinitely 0qhz2I     
adv.无限地，无穷地
参考例句：
  • There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
  • The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。
19 ushered d337b3442ea0cc4312a5950ae8911282     
v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
  • A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
20 chestnuts 113df5be30e3a4f5c5526c2a218b352f     
n.栗子( chestnut的名词复数 )；栗色；栗树；栗色马
参考例句：
  • A man in the street was selling bags of hot chestnuts. 街上有个男人在卖一包包热栗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Talk of chestnuts loosened the tongue of this inarticulate young man. 因为栗子，正苦无话可说的年青人，得到同情他的人了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
21 cocktails a8cac8f94e713cc85d516a6e94112418     
n.鸡尾酒( cocktail的名词复数 )；餐前开胃菜；混合物
参考例句：
  • Come about 4 o'clock. We'll have cocktails and grill steaks. 请四点钟左右来，我们喝鸡尾酒，吃烤牛排。 来自辞典例句
  • Cocktails were a nasty American habit. 喝鸡尾酒是讨厌的美国习惯。 来自辞典例句
22 embark qZKzC     
vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机
参考例句：
  • He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
  • Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。
23 accurately oJHyf     
adv.准确地，精确地
参考例句：
  • It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
  • Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。
24 delicacies 0a6e87ce402f44558508deee2deb0287     
n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到
参考例句：
  • Its flesh has exceptional delicacies. 它的肉异常鲜美。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • After these delicacies, the trappers were ready for their feast. 在享用了这些美食之后，狩猎者开始其大餐。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
25 trepidation igDy3     
n.惊恐，惶恐
参考例句：
  • The men set off in fear and trepidation.这群人惊慌失措地出发了。
  • The threat of an epidemic caused great alarm and trepidation.流行病猖獗因而人心惶惶。
26 awareness 4yWzdW     
n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智
参考例句：
  • There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
  • Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。
27 deferentially 90c13fae351d7697f6aaf986af4bccc2     
adv.表示敬意地，谦恭地
参考例句：
  • "Now, let me see,'said Hurstwood, looking over Carrie's shoulder very deferentially. “来，让我瞧瞧你的牌。”赫斯渥说着，彬彬有礼地从嘉莉背后看过去。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • He always acts so deferentially around his supervisor. 他总是毕恭毕敬地围着他的上司转。 来自互联网
28 subdued 76419335ce506a486af8913f13b8981d     
adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
  • He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
  • I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。
29 suppleness b4e82c9f5182546d8ba09ca5c2afd3ff     
柔软； 灵活； 易弯曲； 顺从
参考例句：
  • The leather may need to be oiled every two to three weeks in order to retain its suppleness. 为了保持皮革的柔韧性，可能两三周就要上一次油。
  • She tried to recover her lost fitness and suppleness. 她试图恢复她失去的身体的康健和轻柔。
30 rigid jDPyf     
adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的
参考例句：
  • She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
  • The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。
31 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要
参考例句：
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
32 stiffened de9de455736b69d3f33bb134bba74f63     
加强的
参考例句：
  • He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去，这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。
  • She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。
33 annoyance Bw4zE     
n.恼怒，生气，烦恼
参考例句：
  • Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
  • I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。
34 artistically UNdyJ     
adv.艺术性地
参考例句：
  • The book is beautifully printed and artistically bound. 这本书印刷精美，装帧高雅。
  • The room is artistically decorated. 房间布置得很美观。
35 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
36 middle-aged UopzSS     
adj.中年的
参考例句：
  • I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
  • The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。
37 curiously 3v0zIc     
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。
38 converged 7de33615d7fbc1cb7bc608d12f1993d2     
v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集
参考例句：
  • Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
  • People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》
39 sprawling 3ff3e560ffc2f12f222ef624d5807902     
adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）
参考例句：
  • He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
  • a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇
40 blurring e5be37d075d8bb967bd24d82a994208d     
n.模糊，斑点甚多，（图像的）混乱v.（使）变模糊( blur的现在分词 )；（使）难以区分
参考例句：
  • Retinal hemorrhage, and blurring of the optic dise cause visual disturbances. 视网膜出血及神经盘模糊等可导致视力障碍。 来自辞典例句
  • In other ways the Bible limited Puritan writing, blurring and deadening the pages. 另一方面，圣经又限制了清教时期的作品，使它们显得晦涩沉闷。 来自辞典例句
41 darted d83f9716cd75da6af48046d29f4dd248     
v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔
参考例句：
  • The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
42 exhausted 7taz4r     
adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的
参考例句：
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
43 vitality lhAw8     
n.活力，生命力，效力
参考例句：
  • He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
  • He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。
44 spoke XryyC     
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。
45 eyelids 86ece0ca18a95664f58bda5de252f4e7     
n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色
参考例句：
  • She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。
  • Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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