赫尔克里·波洛的丰功伟绩34

时间：2024-12-31 11:20:15

（单词翻译:单击）

II
That evening, Harold joined mother and daughter after dinner. Elsie Clayton was wearing a soft
dull pink dress. Her eyelids1, he noticed, were red. She had been crying.
Mrs. Rice said briskly:
“I’ve found out who your two harpies are, Mr. Waring. Polish ladies—of very good family,
so the concierge2 says.”
Harold looked across the room to where the Polish ladies were sitting. Elsie said with
interest:
“Those two women over there? With the henna-dyed hair? They look rather horrible
somehow—I don’t know why.”
Harold said triumphantly3:
“That’s just what I thought.”
Mrs. Rice said with a laugh:
“I think you are both being absurd. You can’t possibly tell what people are like just by
looking at them.”
Elsie laughed.
She said:
“I suppose one can’t. All the same I think they’re vultures!”
“Picking out dead men’s eyes!” said Harold.
“Oh, don’t,” cried Elsie.
Harold said quickly:
“Sorry.”
Mrs. Rice said with a smile:
“Anyway they’re not likely to cross our path.”
Elsie said:
“We haven’t got any guilty secrets!”
“Perhaps Mr. Waring has,” said Mrs. Rice with a twinkle.
Harold laughed, throwing his head back.
He said:
“Not a secret in the world. My life’s an open book.”
And it flashed across his mind:
“What fools people are who leave the straight path. A clear conscience—that’s all one needs
in life. With that you can face the world and tell everyone who interferes4 with you to go to the
devil!”
He felt suddenly very much alive—very strong—very much master of his fate!
III
Harold Waring, like many other Englishmen, was a bad linguist5. His French was halting and
decidedly British in intonation7. Of German and Italian he knew nothing.
Up to now, these linguistic8 disabilities had not worried him. In most hotels on the Continent,
he had always found, everyone spoke9 English, so why worry?
But in this out-of-the-way spot, where the native language was a form of Slovak and even the
concierge only spoke German it was sometimes galling10 to Harold when one of his two women
friends acted as interpreter for him. Mrs. Rice, who was fond of languages, could even speak a
little Slovak.
Harold determined11 that he would set about learning German. He decided6 to buy some
textbooks and spend a couple of hours each morning in mastering the language.
The morning was fine and after writing some letters, Harold looked at his watch and saw that
there was still time for an hour’s stroll before lunch. He went down towards the lake and then
turned aside into the pine woods. He had walked there for perhaps five minutes when he heard an
unmistakable sound. Somewhere not far away a woman was sobbing12 her heart out.
Harold paused a minute, then he went in the direction of the sound. The woman was Elsie
Clayton and she was sitting on a fallen tree with her face buried in her hands and her shoulders
quivering with the violence of her grief.
Harold hesitated a minute, then he came up to her. He said gently:
“Mrs. Clayton—Elsie?”
She started violently and looked up at him. Harold sat down beside her.
He said with real sympathy:
“Is there anything I can do? Anything at all?”
She shook her head.
“No—no—you’re very kind. But there’s nothing that anyone can do for me.”
Harold said rather diffidently:
“Is it to do with—your husband?”
She nodded. Then she wiped her eyes and took out her powder compact, struggling to regain13
command of herself. She said in a quavering voice:
“I didn’t want Mother to worry. She’s so upset when she sees me unhappy. So I came out
here to have a good cry. It’s silly, I know. Crying doesn’t help. But—sometimes—one just feels
that life is quite unbearable14.”
Harold said:
“I’m terribly sorry.”
She threw him a grateful glance. Then she said hurriedly:
“It’s my own fault, of course. I married Philip of my own free will. It—it’s turned out badly,
I’ve only myself to blame.”
Harold said:
“It’s very plucky15 of you to put it like that.”
Elsie shook her head.
“No, I’m not plucky. I’m not brave at all. I’m an awful coward. That’s partly the trouble with
Philip. I’m terrified of him—absolutely terrified—when he gets in one of his rages.”
Harold said with feeling:
“You ought to leave him!”
“I daren’t. He—he wouldn’t let me.”
“Nonsense! What about a divorce?”
She shook her head slowly.
“I’ve no grounds.” She straightened her shoulders. “No, I’ve got to carry on. I spend a fair
amount of time with Mother, you know. Philip doesn’t mind that. Especially when we go
somewhere off the beaten track like this.” She added, the colour rising in her cheeks, “You see,
part of the trouble is that he’s insanely jealous. If—if I so much as speak to another man he makes
the most frightful16 scenes.”
Harold’s indignation rose. He had heard many women complain of the jealousy17 of a husband,
and whilst professing18 sympathy, had been secretly of the opinion that the husband was amply
justified19. But Elsie Clayton was not one of those women. She had never thrown him so much as a
flirtatious20 glance.
Elsie drew away from him with a slight shiver. She glanced up at the sky.
“The sun’s gone in. It’s quite cold. We’d better get back to the hotel. It must be nearly lunch
time.”
They got up and turned in the direction of the hotel. They had walked for perhaps a minute
when they overtook a figure going in the same direction. They recognized her by the flapping
cloak she wore. It was one of the Polish sisters.
They passed her, Harold bowing slightly. She made no response but her eyes rested on them
both for a minute and there was a certain appraising21 quality in the glance which made Harold feel
suddenly hot. He wondered if the woman had seen him sitting by Elsie on the tree trunk. If so, she
probably thought. . . .
Well, she looked as though she thought . . . A wave of indignation overwhelmed him! What
foul22 minds some women had!
Odd that the sun had gone in and that they should both have shivered—perhaps just at the
moment that that woman was watching them. . . .
Somehow, Harold felt a little uneasy.

分享到：


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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》
2 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。
3 triumphantly 9fhzuv     
ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地
参考例句：
  • The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
  • Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。
4 interferes ab8163b252fe52454ada963fa857f890     
vi. 妨碍，冲突，干涉
参考例句：
  • The noise interferes with my work. 这噪音妨碍我的工作。
  • That interferes with my plan. 那干扰了我的计划。
5 linguist K02xo     
n.语言学家；精通数种外国语言者
参考例句：
  • I used to be a linguist till I become a writer.过去我是个语言学家，后来成了作家。
  • Professor Cui has a high reputation as a linguist.崔教授作为语言学家名声很高。
6 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。
7 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。
8 linguistic k0zxn     
adj.语言的，语言学的
参考例句：
  • She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
  • The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。
9 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。
10 galling galling     
adj.难堪的,使烦恼的,使焦躁的
参考例句：
  • It was galling to have to apologize to a man she hated. 令人恼火的是得向她憎恶的男人道歉。
  • The insolence in the fellow's eye was galling. 这家伙的傲慢目光令人恼怒。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
11 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
12 sobbing df75b14f92e64fc9e1d7eaf6dcfc083a     
<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的
参考例句：
  • I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
  • Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。
13 regain YkYzPd     
vt.重新获得，收复，恢复
参考例句：
  • He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
  • The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。
14 unbearable alCwB     
adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的
参考例句：
  • It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
  • The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。
15 plucky RBOyw     
adj.勇敢的
参考例句：
  • The plucky schoolgirl amazed doctors by hanging on to life for nearly two months.这名勇敢的女生坚持不放弃生命近两个月的精神令医生感到震惊。
  • This story featured a plucky heroine.这个故事描述了一个勇敢的女英雄。
16 frightful Ghmxw     
adj.可怕的；讨厌的
参考例句：
  • How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊！
  • We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。
17 jealousy WaRz6     
n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌
参考例句：
  • Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
  • I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。
18 professing a695b8e06e4cb20efdf45246133eada8     
声称( profess的现在分词 )； 宣称； 公开表明； 信奉
参考例句：
  • But( which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. 只要有善行。这才与自称是敬神的女人相宜。
  • Professing Christianity, he had little compassion in his make-up. 他号称信奉基督教，却没有什么慈悲心肠。
19 justified 7pSzrk     
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。
20 flirtatious M73yU     
adj.爱调情的，调情的，卖俏的
参考例句：
  • a flirtatious young woman 卖弄风情的年轻女子
  • Her flirtatious manners are intended to attract. 她的轻浮举止是想引人注意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
21 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
22 foul Sfnzy     
adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规
参考例句：
  • Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
  • What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

©2005-2010英文阅读网