赫尔克里·波洛的丰功伟绩33

时间：2024-12-31 11:19:57

（单词翻译:单击）

Six
THE STYMPHALEAN BIRDS
Harold Waring noticed them first walking up the path from the lake. He was sitting outside the
hotel on the terrace. The day was fine, the lake was blue, and the sun shone. Harold was smoking a
pipe and feeling that the world was a pretty good place.
His political career was shaping well. An undersecretaryship at the age of thirty was
something to be justly proud of. It had been reported that the Prime Minister had said to someone
that “young Waring would go far.” Harold was, not unnaturally1, elated. Life presented itself to
him in rosy2 colours. He was young, sufficiently3 good-looking, in first-class condition, and quite
unencumbered with romantic ties.
He had decided4 to take a holiday in Herzoslovakia so as to get right off the beaten track and
have a real rest from everyone and everything. The hotel at Lake Stempka, though small, was
comfortable and not overcrowded. The few people there were mostly foreigners. So far the only
other English people were an elderly woman, Mrs. Rice, and her married daughter, Mrs. Clayton.
Harold liked them both. Elsie Clayton was pretty in a rather old-fashioned style. She made up very
little, if at all, and was gentle and rather shy. Mrs. Rice was what is called a woman of character.
She was tall, with a deep voice and a masterful manner, but she had a sense of humour and was
good company. Her life was clearly bound up in that of her daughter.
Harold had spent some pleasant hours in the company of mother and daughter, but they did
not attempt to monopolize5 him and relations remained friendly and unexacting between
them.
The other people in the hotel had not aroused Harold’s notice. Usually they were hikers, or
members of a motor-coach tour. They stayed a night or two and then went on. He had hardly
noticed any one else—until this afternoon.
They came up the path from the lake very slowly and it just happened that at the moment
when Harold’s attention was attracted to them, a cloud came over the sun. He shivered a little.
Then he stared. Surely there was something odd about these two women? They had long,
curved noses, like birds, and their faces, which were curiously7 alike, were quite immobile. Over
their shoulders they wore loose cloaks that flapped in the wind like the wings of two big birds.
Harold thought to himself.
“They are like birds—” he added almost without volition8, “birds of ill omen6.”
The women came straight up on the terrace and passed close by him. They were not young—
perhaps nearer fifty than forty, and the resemblance between them was so close that they were
obviously sisters. Their expression was forbidding. As they passed Harold the eyes of both of
them rested on him for a minute. It was a curious, appraising9 glance—almost inhuman10.
Harold’s impression of evil grew stronger. He noticed the hand of one of the two sisters, a
long clawlike hand . . . Although the sun had come out, he shivered once again. He thought:
“Horrible creatures. Like birds of prey11. . . .”
He was distracted from these imaginings by the emergence12 of Mrs. Rice from the hotel. He
jumped up and drew forward a chair. With a word of thanks she sat down and, as usual, began to
knit vigorously.
Harold asked:
“Did you see those two women who just went into the hotel?”
“With cloaks on? Yes, I passed them.”
“Extraordinary creatures, didn’t you think?”
“Well—yes, perhaps they are rather odd. They only arrived yesterday, I think. Very alike—
they must be twins.”
Harold said:
“I may be fanciful, but I distinctly felt there was something evil about them.”
“How curious. I must look at them more closely and see if I agree with you.”
She added: “We’ll find out from the concierge13 who they are. Not English, I imagine?”
“Oh no.”
Mrs. Rice glanced at her watch. She said:
“Teatime. I wonder if you’d mind going in and ringing the bell, Mr. Waring?”
“Certainly, Mrs. Rice.”
He did so and then as he returned to his seat he asked:
“Where’s your daughter this afternoon?”
“Elsie? We went for a walk together. Part of the way round the lake and then back through
the pinewoods. It really was lovely.”
A waiter came out and received orders for tea. Mrs. Rice went on, her needles flying
vigorously:
“Elsie had a letter from her husband. She mayn’t come down to tea.”
“Her husband?” Harold was surprised. “Do you know, I always thought she was a widow.”
Mrs. Rice shot him a sharp glance. She said drily:
“Oh no, Elsie isn’t a widow.” She added with emphasis: “Unfortunately!”
Harold was startled.
Mrs. Rice, nodding her head grimly, said:
“Drink is responsible for a lot of unhappiness, Mr. Waring.”
“Does he drink?”
“Yes. And a good many other things as well. He’s insanely jealous and has a singularly
violent temper.” She sighed. “It’s a difficult world, Mr. Waring. I’m devoted14 to Elsie, she’s my
only child—and to see her unhappy isn’t an easy thing to bear.”
Harold said with real emotion:
“She’s such a gentle creature.”
“A little too gentle, perhaps.”
“You mean—”
Mrs. Rice said slowly:
“A happy creature is more arrogant15. Elsie’s gentleness comes, I think, from a sense of defeat.
Life has been too much for her.”
Harold said with some slight hesitation16:
“How—did she come to marry this husband of hers?”
Mrs. Rice answered:
“Philip Clayton was a very attractive person. He had (still has) great charm, he had a certain
amount of money—and there was no one to advise us of his real character. I had been a widow for
many years. Two women, living alone, are not the best judges of a man’s character.”
Harold said thoughtfully:
“No, that’s true.”
He felt a wave of indignation and pity sweep over him. Elsie Clayton could not be more than
twenty-five at the most. He recalled the clear friendliness17 of her blue eyes, the soft droop18 of her
mouth. He realized, suddenly, that his interest in her went a little beyond friendship.
And she was tied to a brute19. . . .

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 unnaturally 3ftzAP     
adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地
参考例句：
  • Her voice sounded unnaturally loud. 她的嗓音很响亮，但是有点反常。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Her eyes were unnaturally bright. 她的眼睛亮得不自然。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 rosy kDAy9     
adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的
参考例句：
  • She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
  • She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。
3 sufficiently 0htzMB     
adv.足够地，充分地
参考例句：
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
4 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。
5 monopolize FEsxA     
v.垄断，独占，专营
参考例句：
  • She tried to monopolize his time.她想独占他的时间。
  • They are controlling so much cocoa that they are virtually monopolizing the market.他们控制了大量的可可粉，因此他们几乎垄断了整个市场。
6 omen N5jzY     
n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示
参考例句：
  • The superstitious regard it as a bad omen.迷信的人认为那是一种恶兆。
  • Could this at last be a good omen for peace?这是否终于可以视作和平的吉兆了？
7 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。
8 volition cLkzS     
n.意志；决意
参考例句：
  • We like to think that everything we do and everything we think is a product of our volition.我们常常认为我们所做和所想的一切都出自自己的意愿。
  • Makin said Mr Coombes had gone to the police of his own volition.梅金说库姆斯先生是主动去投案的。
9 appraising 3285bf735793610b563b00c395ce6cc6     
v.估价( appraise的现在分词 )；估计；估量；评价
参考例句：
  • At the appraising meeting, experts stated this method was superior to others. 鉴定会上，专家们指出这种方法优于其他方法。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The teacher is appraising the students' work. 老师正在评定学生的作业。 来自辞典例句
10 inhuman F7NxW     
adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的
参考例句：
  • We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
  • It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。
11 prey g1czH     
n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨
参考例句：
  • Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
  • The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
12 emergence 5p3xr     
n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体
参考例句：
  • The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
  • Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。
13 concierge gppzr     
n.管理员；门房
参考例句：
  • This time the concierge was surprised to the point of bewilderment.这时候看门人惊奇到了困惑不解的地步。
  • As I went into the dining-room the concierge brought me a police bulletin to fill out.我走进餐厅的时候，看门人拿来一张警察局发的表格要我填。
14 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。
15 arrogant Jvwz5     
adj.傲慢的，自大的
参考例句：
  • You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
  • People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。
16 hesitation tdsz5     
n.犹豫，踌躇
参考例句：
  • After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
  • There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。
17 friendliness nsHz8c     
n.友谊，亲切，亲密
参考例句：
  • Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
  • His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。
18 droop p8Zyd     
v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡
参考例句：
  • The heavy snow made the branches droop.大雪使树枝垂下来。
  • Don't let your spirits droop.不要萎靡不振。
19 brute GSjya     
n.野兽，兽性
参考例句：
  • The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
  • That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

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