赫尔克里·波洛的丰功伟绩20

时间：2024-12-31 11:15:05

（单词翻译:单击）

V
Marie Hellin looked swiftly at Poirot out of small intelligent eyes and as swiftly looked away
again. She said in smooth, even tones:
“But I remember perfectly1, Monsieur. I was engaged by Madame Samoushenka the last week
in June. Her former maid had departed in a hurry.”
“Did you ever hear why that maid left?”
“She went—suddenly—that is all I know! It may have been illness—something of that kind.
Madame did not say.”
Poirot said:
“Did you find your mistress easy to get on with?”
The girl shrugged2 her shoulders.
“She had great moods. She wept and laughed in turns. Sometimes she was so despondent3 she
would not speak or eat. Sometimes she was wildly gay. They are like that, these dancers. It is
temperament4.”
“And Sir George?”
The girl looked up alertly. An unpleasant gleam came into her eyes.
“Ah, Sir George Sanderfield? You would like to know about him? Perhaps it is that that you
really want to know? The other was only an excuse, eh? Ah, Sir George, I could tell you some
curious things about him, I could tell you—”
Poirot interrupted:
“It is not necessary.”
She stared at him, her mouth open. Angry disappointment showed in her eyes.
VI
“I always say you know everything, Alexis Pavlovitch.”
Hercule Poirot murmured the words with his most flattering intonation5.
He was reflecting to himself that his third Labor6 of Hercules had necessitated7 more travelling
and more interviews than could have been imagined possible. This little matter of a missing lady’s
maid was proving one of the longest and most difficult problems he had ever tackled. Every clue,
when examined, led exactly nowhere.
It had brought him this evening to the Samovar Restaurant in Paris whose proprietor8, Count
Alexis Pavlovitch, prided himself on knowing everything that went on in the artistic9 world.
He nodded now complacently10:
“Yes, yes, my friend, I know—I always know. You ask me where she is gone—the little
Samoushenka, the exquisite11 dancer? Ah! she was the real thing, that little one.” He kissed his
fingertips. “What fire—what abandon! She would have gone far—she would have been the
Première Ballerina of her day—and then suddenly it all ends—she creeps away—to the end of the
world—and soon, ah! so soon, they forget her.”
“Where is she then?” demanded Poirot.
“In Switzerland. At Vagray les Alpes. It is there that they go, those who have the little dry
cough and who grow thinner and thinner. She will die, yes, she will die! She has a fatalistic nature.
She will surely die.”
Poirot coughed to break the tragic12 spell. He wanted information.
“You do not, by chance, remember a maid she had? A maid called Nita Valetta?”
“Valetta? Valetta? I remember seeing a maid once—at the station when I was seeing Katrina
off to London. She was an Italian from Pisa, was she not? Yes, I am sure she was an Italian who
came from Pisa.”
Hercule Poirot groaned13.
“In that case,” he said, “I must now journey to Pisa.”

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1 perfectly 8Mzxb     
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。
2 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 despondent 4Pwzw     
adj.失望的，沮丧的，泄气的
参考例句：
  • He was up for a time and then，without warning,despondent again.他一度兴高采烈，但忽然又情绪低落下来。
  • I feel despondent when my work is rejected.作品被拒后我感到很沮丧。
4 temperament 7INzf     
n.气质，性格，性情
参考例句：
  • The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
  • Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。
5 intonation ubazZ     
n.语调，声调；发声
参考例句：
  • The teacher checks for pronunciation and intonation.老师在检查发音和语调。
  • Questions are spoken with a rising intonation.疑问句是以升调说出来的。
6 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦
参考例句：
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。
7 necessitated 584daebbe9eef7edd8f9bba973dc3386     
使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • Recent financial scandals have necessitated changes in parliamentary procedures. 最近的金融丑闻使得议会程序必须改革。
  • No man is necessitated to do wrong. 没有人是被迫去作错事的。
8 proprietor zR2x5     
n.所有人；业主；经营者
参考例句：
  • The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
  • The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。
9 artistic IeWyG     
adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的
参考例句：
  • The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
  • These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。
10 complacently complacently     
adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地
参考例句：
  • He complacently lived out his life as a village school teacher. 他满足于一个乡村教师的生活。
  • "That was just something for evening wear," returned his wife complacently. “那套衣服是晚装，"他妻子心安理得地说道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
11 exquisite zhez1     
adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的
参考例句：
  • I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
  • I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。
12 tragic inaw2     
adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的
参考例句：
  • The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
  • Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。
13 groaned 1a076da0ddbd778a674301b2b29dff71     
v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦
参考例句：
  • He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
  • The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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