无人生还19

时间:2026-03-19 02:57:28

(单词翻译:单击)

II
The voice had stopped.
There was a moment’s petrified1 silence and then a resounding2 crash!
Rogers had dropped the coffee tray!
At the same moment, from somewhere outside the room there came a
scream and the sound of a thud.
Lombard was the first to move. He leapt to the door and flung it open.
Outside, lying in a huddled3 mass, was Mrs Rogers.
Lombard called:
‘Marston.’
Anthony sprang to help him. Between them, they lifted up the woman
and carried her into the drawing-room.
Dr Armstrong came across quickly. He helped them to lift her on to the
sofa and bent4 over her. He said quickly:
‘It’s nothing. She’s fainted, that’s all. She’ll be round in a minute.’
Lombard said to Rogers:
‘Get some brandy.’
Rogers, his face white, his hands shaking, murmured:
‘Yes, sir,’ and slipped quickly out of the room.
Vera cried out:
‘Who was that speaking? Where was he? It sounded—it sounded—’
General Macarthur spluttered out:
‘What’s going on here? What kind of a practical joke was that?’
His hand was shaking. His shoulders sagged5. He looked suddenly ten
years older.
Blore was mopping his face with a handkerchief.
Only Mr Justice Wargrave and Miss Brent seemed comparatively un-
moved. Emily Brent sat upright, her head held high. In both cheeks was a
spot of hard colour. The judge sat in his habitual6 pose, his head sunk down
into his neck. With one hand he gently scratched his ear. Only his eyes
were active, darting7 round and round the room, puzzled, alert with intelli-
gence.
Again it was Lombard who acted. Armstrong being busy with the col-
lapsed8 woman, Lombard was free once more to take the initiative.
He said:
‘That voice? It sounded as though it were in the room.’
Vera cried:
‘Who was it? Who was it? It wasn’t one of us.’
Like the judge, Lombard’s eyes wandered slowly round the room. They
rested a minute on the open window, then he shook his head decisively.
Suddenly his eyes lighted up. He moved forward swiftly to where a door
near the fireplace led into an adjoining room.
With a swift gesture, he caught the handle and flung the door open. He
passed through and immediately uttered an exclamation10 of satisfaction.
He said:
‘Ah, here we are.’
The others crowded after him. Only Miss Brent remained alone sitting
erect11 in her chair.
Inside the second room a table had been brought up close to the wall
which adjoined the drawing-room. On the table was a gramophone—an
old-fashioned type with a large trumpet12 attached. The mouth of the trum-
pet was against the wall, and Lombard, pushing it aside indicated where
two or three small holes had been unobtrusively bored through the wall.
Adjusting the gramophone he replaced the needle on the record and im-
mediately9 they heard again ‘You are charged with the following indictments13
—’
Vera cried:
‘Turn it off! Turn it off! It’s horrible!’
Lombard obeyed.
Dr Armstrong said, with a sigh of relief:
‘A disgraceful and heartless practical joke, I suppose.’
The small clear voice of Mr Justice Wargrave murmured:
‘So you think it’s a joke, do you?’
The doctor stared at him.
‘What else could it be?’
The hand of the judge gently stroked his upper lip.
He said:
‘At the moment I’m not prepared to give an opinion.’
Anthony Marston broke in. He said:
‘Look here, there’s one thing you’ve forgotten. Who the devil turned the
thing on and set it going?’
Wargrave murmured:
‘Yes, I think we must inquire into that.’
He led the way back into the drawing-room. The others followed.
Rogers had just come in with a glass of brandy. Miss Brent was bending
over the moaning form of Mrs Rogers.
Adroitly14 Rogers slipped between the two women.
‘Allow me, Madam, I’ll speak to her. Ethel—Ethel—it’s all right. All right,
do you hear? Pull yourself together.’
Mrs Rogers’ breath came in quick gasps15. Her eyes, staring frightened
eyes, went round and round the ring of faces. There was urgency in Ro-
gers’ tone.
‘Pull yourself together, Ethel.’
Dr Armstrong spoke16 to her soothingly17:
‘You’ll be all right now, Mrs Rogers. Just a nasty turn.’ She said:
‘Did I faint, sir?’
‘Yes.’
‘It was the voice—that awful voice—like a judgment—’
Her face turned green again, her eyelids18 fluttered.
Dr Armstrong said sharply:
‘Where’s that brandy?’
Rogers had put it down on a little table. Someone handed it to the doctor
and he bent over the gasping19 woman with it.
‘Drink this, Mrs Rogers.’
She drank, choking a little and gasping. The spirit did her good. The col-
our returned to her face. She said:
‘I’m all right now. It just—gave me a turn.’
Rogers said quickly:
‘Of course it did. It gave me a turn, too. Fair made me drop that tray.
Wicked lies, it was! I’d like to know—’
He was interrupted. It was only a cough—a dry little cough but it had
the effect of stopping him in full cry. He stared at Mr Justice Wargrave and
the latter coughed again. Then he said:
‘Who put on that record on the gramophone. Was it you, Rogers?’
Rogers cried:
‘I didn’t know what it was. Before God, I didn’t know what it was, sir. If I
had I’d never have done it.’
The judge said dryly:
‘That is probably true. But I think you’d better explain, Rogers.’
The butler wiped his face with a handkerchief. He said earnestly:
‘I was just obeying orders, sir, that’s all.’
‘Whose orders?’
‘Mr Owen’s.’
Mr Justice Wargrave said:
‘Let me get this quite clear. Mr Owen’s orders were—what exactly?’
Rogers said:
‘I was to put a record on the gramophone. I’d find the record in the
drawer and my wife was to start the gramophone when I’d gone into the
drawing-room with the coffee tray.’
The judge murmured:
‘A very remarkable20 story.’
Rogers cried:
‘It’s the truth, sir. I swear to God it’s the truth. I didn’t know what it was
—not for a moment. It had a name on it—I thought it was just a piece of
music.’
Wargrave looked at Lombard.
‘Was there a title on it?’
Lombard nodded. He grinned suddenly, showed his white pointed21 teeth.
He said:
‘Quite right, sir. It was entitled Swan Song…’

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 petrified 2e51222789ae4ecee6134eb89ed9998d     
adj.惊呆的;目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆,使惊呆;变僵硬;使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I'm petrified of snakes. 我特别怕蛇。
  • The poor child was petrified with fear. 这可怜的孩子被吓呆了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 resounding zkCzZC     
adj. 响亮的
参考例句:
  • The astronaut was welcomed with joyous,resounding acclaim. 人们欢声雷动地迎接那位宇航员。
  • He hit the water with a resounding slap. 他啪的一声拍了一下水。
3 huddled 39b87f9ca342d61fe478b5034beb4139     
挤在一起(huddle的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
  • We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。
4 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
5 sagged 4efd2c4ac7fe572508b0252e448a38d0     
下垂的
参考例句:
  • The black reticule sagged under the weight of shapeless objects. 黑色的拎包由于装了各种形状的东西而中间下陷。
  • He sagged wearily back in his chair. 他疲倦地瘫坐到椅子上。
6 habitual x5Pyp     
adj.习惯性的;通常的,惯常的
参考例句:
  • He is a habitual criminal.他是一个惯犯。
  • They are habitual visitors to our house.他们是我家的常客。
7 darting darting     
v.投掷,投射( dart的现在分词 );向前冲,飞奔
参考例句:
  • Swallows were darting through the clouds. 燕子穿云急飞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Swallows were darting through the air. 燕子在空中掠过。 来自辞典例句
8 lapsed f403f7d09326913b001788aee680719d     
adj.流失的,堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 );陷入;倒退;丧失
参考例句:
  • He had lapsed into unconsciousness. 他陷入了昏迷状态。
  • He soon lapsed into his previous bad habits. 他很快陷入以前的恶习中去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 mediately 806e80459c77df0ee0a0820a80764058     
在中间,间接
参考例句:
  • Im-mediately after a race, each swimmer has an ear pricked to test for lac-tic-acid levels. 赛后每个泳者耳朵立刻用针扎一下,验血浆乳酸浓度值。
10 exclamation onBxZ     
n.感叹号,惊呼,惊叹词
参考例句:
  • He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
  • The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号,以引起读者的注意。
11 erect 4iLzm     
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的
参考例句:
  • She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头,把背挺得笔直。
  • Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。
12 trumpet AUczL     
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘
参考例句:
  • He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴,我吹喇叭。
  • The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。
13 indictments 4b724e4ddbecb664d09e416836a01cc7     
n.(制度、社会等的)衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 );刑事起诉书;公诉书;控告
参考例句:
  • A New York jury brought criminal indictments against the founder of the organization. 纽约的一个陪审团对这个组织的创始人提起了多项刑事诉讼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • These two indictments are self-evident and require no elaboration. 这两条意义自明,无须多说。 来自互联网
14 adroitly adroitly     
adv.熟练地,敏捷地
参考例句:
  • He displayed the cigarette holder grandly on every occasion and had learned to manipulate it adroitly. 他学会了一套用手灵巧地摆弄烟嘴的动作,一有机会就要拿它炫耀一番。 来自辞典例句
  • The waitress passes a fine menu to Molly who orders dishes adroitly. 女服务生捧来菜单递给茉莉,后者轻车熟路地点菜。 来自互联网
15 gasps 3c56dd6bfe73becb6277f1550eaac478     
v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • He leant against the railing, his breath coming in short gasps. 他倚着栏杆,急促地喘气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • My breaths were coming in gasps. 我急促地喘起气来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 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。
17 soothingly soothingly     
adv.抚慰地,安慰地;镇痛地
参考例句:
  • The mother talked soothingly to her child. 母亲对自己的孩子安慰地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He continued to talk quietly and soothingly to the girl until her frightened grip on his arm was relaxed. 他继续柔声安慰那姑娘,她那因恐惧而紧抓住他的手终于放松了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 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》
19 gasping gasping     
adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词
参考例句:
  • He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
  • "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗?”“我巴不得能喝点!”
20 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
参考例句:
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
21 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

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