雪地上的女尸3

时间：2025-04-18 02:47:43

（单词翻译:单击）

III
The evening was a busy one. Holly1 and mistletoe had been brought in in large quantities and a
Christmas tree had been set up at one end of the dining-room. Everyone helped to decorate it, to
put up the branches of holly behind pictures and to hang mistletoe in a convenient position in the
hall.
"I had no idea anything so archaic2 still went on," murmured Desmond to Sarah with a sneer3.
"We've always done it," said Sarah, defensively.
"What a reason!"
"Oh, don't be tiresome4, Desmond. I think it's fun."
"Sarah my sweet, you can't!"
"Well, not not really perhaps but I do in a way."
"Who's going to brave the snow and go to midnight mass?" asked Mrs Lacey at twenty minutes to
twelve.
"Not me," said Desmond. "Come on, Sarah."
With a hand on her arm he guided her into the library and went over to the record case.
"There are limits, darling," said Desmond. "Midnight mass!"
"Yes," said Sarah. "Oh yes."
With a good deal of laughter, donning of coats and stamping of feet, most of the others got off.
The two boys, Bridget, David and Diana set out for the ten minutes' walk to the church through the
falling snow. Their laughter died away in the distance.
"Midnight mass!" said Colonel Lacey, snorting. "Never went to midnight mass in my young days.
Mass, indeed! Popish, that is! Oh, I beg your pardon, M. Poirot."
Poirot waved a hand. "It is quite all right. Do not mind me."
"Matins is good enough for anybody, I should say," said the colonel. "Proper Sunday morning
service. 'Hark the herald5 angels sing,' and all the good old Christmas hymns6. And then back to
Christmas dinner. That's right, isn't it, Em?"
"Yes, dear," said Mrs Lacey. "That's what we do. But the young ones enjoy the midnight service.
And it's nice, really, that they want to go."
"Sarah and that fellow don't want to go."
"Well, there dear, I think you're wrong," said Mrs Lacey. "Sarah, you know, did want to go, but
she didn't like to say so."
"Beats me why she cares what that fellow's opinion is."
"She's very young, really," said Mrs Lacey placidly7. "Are you going to bed, M. Poirot? Good
night. I hope you'll sleep well."
"And you, Madame? Are you not going to bed yet?"
"Not just yet," said Mrs Lacey. "I've got the stockings to fill, you see. Oh, I know they're all
practically grown up, but they do like their stockings. One puts jokes in them! Silly little things.
But it all makes for a lot of fun."
"You work very hard to make this a happy house at Christmas time," said Poirot. "I honour you."
He raised her hand to his lips in a courtly fashion.
"Hm," grunted8 Colonel Lacey, as Poirot departed. "Flowery sort of fellow. Still he appreciates
you."
Mrs Lacey dimpled up at him. "Have you noticed, Horace, that I'm standing9 under the mistletoe?"
she asked with the demureness10 of a girl of nineteen.
Hercule Poirot entered his bedroom. It was a large room well provided with radiators11. As he went
over toward the big four-poster bed he noticed an envelope lying on his pillow. He opened it and
drew out a piece of paper. On it was a shakily printed message in capital letters.
"DON'T EAT NONE OF THE PLUM PUDDING. ONE AS WISHES YOU WELL."
Hercule Poirot stared at it. His eyebrows12 rose. "Cryptic," he murmured, "and most unexpected."

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1 holly hrdzTt     
n.[植]冬青属灌木
参考例句：
  • I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
  • People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。
2 archaic 4Nyyd     
adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的
参考例句：
  • The company does some things in archaic ways,such as not using computers for bookkeeping.这个公司有些做法陈旧，如记账不使用电脑。
  • Shaanxi is one of the Chinese archaic civilized origins which has a long history.陕西省是中国古代文明发祥之一，有悠久的历史。
3 sneer YFdzu     
v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语
参考例句：
  • He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
  • You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻，但很多人喜欢这种音乐。
4 tiresome Kgty9     
adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的
参考例句：
  • His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
  • He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。
5 herald qdCzd     
vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎
参考例句：
  • In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
  • Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。
6 hymns b7dc017139f285ccbcf6a69b748a6f93     
n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • At first, they played the hymns and marches familiar to them. 起初他们只吹奏自己熟悉的赞美诗和进行曲。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821
  • I like singing hymns. 我喜欢唱圣歌。 来自辞典例句
7 placidly c0c28951cb36e0d70b9b64b1d177906e     
adv.平稳地，平静地
参考例句：
  • Hurstwood stood placidly by, while the car rolled back into the yard. 当车子开回场地时，赫斯渥沉着地站在一边。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • The water chestnut floated placidly there, where it would grow. 那棵菱角就又安安稳稳浮在水面上生长去了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
8 grunted f18a3a8ced1d857427f2252db2abbeaf     
（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说
参考例句：
  • She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
  • She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。
9 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。
10 demureness b54213d1097915caed4be5f31718c8bb     
n.demure（拘谨的，端庄的）的变形
参考例句：
11 radiators 3b2bec7153ad581082a64cd93346b77f     
n.（暖气设备的）散热器( radiator的名词复数 )；汽车引擎的冷却器，散热器
参考例句：
  • You can preset the radiators to come on when you need them to. 你可以预先调好暖气，使它在你需要的时候启动。
  • Stars are radiators of vast power. 恒星是强大的发光体。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
12 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

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