借镜杀人30

时间：2025-10-10 07:11:31

（单词翻译:单击）

2
The setting sun illumined the west façade of the house. Inspector1 Curry2
looked towards it.
“Is this about the place where you stopped your car last night?” he
asked.
Alex Restarick stood back a little as though considering.
“Near enough,” he said. “It’s difficult to tell exactly because of the fog.
Yes, I should say this was the place.”
Inspector Curry stood looking round with an appraising3 eye.
The gravelled sweep of drive swept round in a slow curve, and at this
point, emerging from a screen of rhododendrons, the west façade of the
house came suddenly into view with its terrace and yew5 hedges and steps
leading down to the lawns. Thereafter the drive continued in its curving
progress, sweeping6 through a belt of trees and round between the lake
and the house until it ended in the big gravel4 sweep at the east side of the
house.
“Dodgett,” said Inspector Curry.
Police Constable7 Dodgett, who had been holding himself at the ready,
started spasmodically into motion. He hurled8 himself across the interven-
ing space of lawn in a diagonal line towards the house, reached the ter-
race, and went in by the side door. A few moments later, the curtains of
one of the windows were violently agitated9. Then Constable Dodgett reap-
peared out of the garden door, and ran back to rejoin them, breathing like
a steam engine.
“Two minutes and forty-two seconds,” said Inspector Curry, clicking the
stop watch with which he had been timing10 him. “They don’t take long,
these things, do they?”
His tone was pleasantly conversational11.
“I don’t run as fast as your constable,” said Alex. “I presume it is my sup-
posed movements you have been timing?”
“I’m just pointing out that you had the opportunity to do murder. That’s
all, Mr. Restarick. I’m not making any accusations—as yet.”
Alex Restarick said kindly12 to Constable Dodgett who was still panting:
“I can’t run as fast as you can, but I believe I’m in better training.”
“It’s since ’aving the bronchitis last winter,” said Dodgett.
Alex turned back to the Inspector.
“Seriously, though, in spite of trying to make me uncomfortable and ob-
serving my reactions—and you must remember that we artistic13 folk are
oh! so sensitive, such tender plants!”—his voice took on a mocking note
—“you can’t really believe I had anything to do with all this? I’d hardly
send a box of poisoned chocolates to Mrs. Serrocold and put my card in-
side, would I?”
“That might be what we are meant to think. There’s such a thing as a
double bluff14, Mr. Restarick.”
“Oh, I see. How ingenious you are. By the way, those chocolates were
poisoned?”
“The six chocolates containing Kirsch flavouring in the top layer were
poisoned, yes. They contained aconitine.”
“Not one of my favourite poisons, Inspector. Personally, I have a weak-
ness for curare.”
“Curare has to be introduced into the bloodstream, Mr. Restarick, not
into the stomach.”
“How wonderfully knowledgeable15 the police force are,” said Alex admir-
ingly.
Inspector Curry cast a quiet sideways glance at the young man. He
noted16 the slightly pointed17 ears, the un-English Mongolian type of face. The
eyes that danced with mischievous18 mockery. It would have been hard at
any time to know what Alex Restarick was thinking. A satyr—or did he
mean a faun? An overfed faun, Inspector Curry thought suddenly, and
somehow there was an unpleasantness about that idea.
A twister with brains — that’s how he would sum up Alex Restarick.
Cleverer than his brother. Mother had been a Russian or so he had heard.
“Russians” to Inspector Curry were what “Bony” had been in the early
days of the nineteenth century and what “the Huns” had been in the early
twentieth century. Anything to do with Russia was bad in Inspector
Curry’s opinion, and if Alex Restarick had murdered Gulbrandsen he
would be a very satisfactory criminal. But unfortunately Curry was by no
means convinced that he had.
Constable Dodgett, having recovered his breath, now spoke19.
“I moved the curtains as you told me, sir,” he said. “And counted thirty. I
noticed that the curtains have a hook torn off at the top. Means that
there’s a gap. You’d see the light in the room from outside.”
Inspector Curry said to Alex:
“Did you notice light streaming out from that window last night?”
“I couldn’t see the house at all because of the fog. I told you so.”
“Fog’s patchy, though. Sometimes it clears for a minute here and there.”
“It never cleared so that I could see the house—the main part, that is.
The gymnasium building close at hand loomed20 up out of the mist in a deli-
ciously unsubstantial way. It gave a perfect illusion of dock warehouses21.
As I told you, I am putting on a Limehouse Ballet and—”
“You told me,” agreed Inspector Curry.
“One gets in the habit, you know, of looking at things from the point of
view of a stage set, rather than from the point of view of reality.”
“I daresay. And yet a stage set’s real enough, isn’t it, Mr. Restarick?”
“I don’t see exactly what you mean, Inspector.”
“Well, it’s made of real materials—canvas and wood and paint and card-
board. The illusion is in the eye of the beholder22, not in the set itself. That,
as I say, is real enough, as real behind the scenes as it is in front.”
Alex stared at him.
“Now that, you know, is a very penetrating23 remark, Inspector. It’s given
me an idea.”
“For another ballet?”
“No, not for another ballet … Dear me, I wonder if we’ve all been rather
stupid?”

分享到：


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 inspector q6kxH     
n.检查员，监察员，视察员
参考例句：
  • The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
  • The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。
2 curry xnozh     
n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革
参考例句：
  • Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
  • Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。
3 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
4 gravel s6hyT     
n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石
参考例句：
  • We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
  • More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。
5 yew yew     
n.紫杉属树木
参考例句：
  • The leaves of yew trees are poisonous to cattle.紫杉树叶会令牛中毒。
  • All parts of the yew tree are poisonous,including the berries.紫杉的各个部分都有毒，包括浆果。
6 sweeping ihCzZ4     
adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的
参考例句：
  • The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
  • Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？
7 constable wppzG     
n.(英国)警察，警官
参考例句：
  • The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
  • The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气，不肯冒起火来。
8 hurled 16e3a6ba35b6465e1376a4335ae25cd2     
v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂
参考例句：
  • He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
  • The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 agitated dzgzc2     
adj.被鼓动的，不安的
参考例句：
  • His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
  • She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。
10 timing rgUzGC     
n.时间安排，时间选择
参考例句：
  • The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
  • The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。
11 conversational SZ2yH     
adj.对话的，会话的
参考例句：
  • The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。
  • She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。
12 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地
参考例句：
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
13 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。
14 bluff ftZzB     
v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗
参考例句：
  • His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
  • John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。
15 knowledgeable m2Yxg     
adj.知识渊博的；有见识的
参考例句：
  • He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
  • He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。
16 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的，知名的
参考例句：
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
17 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。
18 mischievous mischievous     
adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的
参考例句：
  • He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
  • A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。
19 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。
20 loomed 9423e616fe6b658c9a341ebc71833279     
v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近
参考例句：
  • A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
  • The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
21 warehouses 544959798565126142ca2820b4f56271     
仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
  • Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。
22 beholder 8y9zKl     
n.观看者，旁观者
参考例句：
  • Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 看起来觉得美就是美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • It has been said that art is a tryst, for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet. 有人说艺术是一种幽会，因为艺术家和欣赏者可在幽会的乐趣中相遇在一起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
23 penetrating ImTzZS     
adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的
参考例句：
  • He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
  • He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

©2005-2010英文阅读网