黑麦奇案2

时间：2025-10-10 07:15:23

（单词翻译:单击）

Chapter One
It was Miss Somers’s turn to make the tea. Miss Somers was the newest
and the most inefficient1 of the typists. She was no longer young and had a
mild worried face like a sheep. The kettle was not quite boiling when Miss
Somers poured the water onto the tea, but poor Miss Somers was never
quite sure when a kettle was boiling. It was one of the many worries that
afflicted2 her in life.
She poured out the tea and took the cups round with a couple of limp,
sweet biscuits in each saucer.
Miss Griffith, the efficient head typist, a grey-haired martinet3 who had
been with Consolidated4 Investments Trust for sixteen years, said sharply:
“Water not boiling again, Somers!” and Miss Somers’s worried meek5 face
went pink and she said, “Oh dear, I did think it was boiling this time.”
Miss Griffith thought to herself: “She’ll last for another month, perhaps,
just while we’re so busy … But really! The mess the silly idiot made of that
letter to Eastern Developments—a perfectly6 straightforward7 job, and al-
ways so stupid over the tea. If it weren’t so difficult to get hold of any intel-
ligent typists—and the biscuit tin lid wasn’t shut tightly last time, either.
Really—”
Like so many of Miss Griffith’s indignant inner communings the sen-
tence went unfinished.
At that moment Miss Grosvenor sailed in to make Mr. Fortescue’s sacred
tea. Mr. Fortescue had different tea, and different china and special bis-
cuits. Only the kettle and the water from the cloakroom tap were the
same. But on this occasion, being Mr. Fortescue’s tea, the water boiled.
Miss Grosvenor saw to that.
Miss Grosvenor was an incredibly glamorous8 blonde. She wore an ex-
pensively9 cut little black suit and her shapely legs were encased in the
very best and most expensive black-market nylons.
She sailed back through the typists’ room without deigning10 to give any-
one a word or a glance. The typists might have been so many blackbeetles.
Miss Grosvenor was Mr. Fortescue’s own special personal secretary; un-
kind rumour11 always hinted that she was something more, but actually this
was not true. Mr. Fortescue had recently married a second wife, both
glamorous and expensive, and fully12 capable of absorbing all his attention.
Miss Grosvenor was to Mr. Fortescue just a necessary part of the office dé-
cor—which was all very luxurious13 and very expensive.
Miss Grosvenor sailed back with the tray held out in front of her like a
ritual offering. Through the inner office and through the waiting room,
where the more important clients were allowed to sit, and through her
own anteroom, and finally with a light tap on the door she entered the
holy of holies, Mr. Fortescue’s office.
It was a large room with a gleaming expanse of parquet14 floor on which
were dotted expensive oriental rugs. It was delicately panelled in pale
wood and there were some enormous stuffed chairs upholstered in pale
buff leather. Behind a colossal15 sycamore desk, the centre and focus of the
room, sat Mr. Fortescue himself.
Mr. Fortescue was less impressive than he should have been to match
the room, but he did his best. He was a large flabby man with a gleaming
bald head. It was his affectation to wear loosely cut country tweeds in his
city office. He was frowning down at some papers on his desk when Miss
Grosvenor glided16 up to him in her swanlike manner. Placing the tray on
the desk at his elbow, she murmured in a low impersonal17 voice, “Your tea,
Mr. Fortescue,” and withdrew.
Mr. Fortescue’s contribution to the ritual was a grunt18.
Seated at her own desk again Miss Grosvenor proceeded with the busi-
ness in hand. She made two telephone calls, corrected some letters that
were lying there typed ready for Mr. Fortescue to sign and took one in-
coming call.
“Ay’m afraid it’s impossible just now,” she said in haughty19 accents. “Mr.
Fortescue is in conference.”
As she laid down the receiver she glanced at the clock. It was ten
minutes past eleven.
It was just then that an unusual sound penetrated20 through the almost
soundproof door of Mr. Fortescue’s office. Muffled21, it was yet fully recog-
nizable, a strangled agonized22 cry. At the same moment the buzzer23 on Miss
Grosvenor’s desk sounded in a long-drawn frenzied24 summons. Miss Gros-
venor, startled for a moment into complete immobility, rose uncertainly to
her feet. Confronted by the unexpected, her poise25 was shaken. However,
she moved towards Mr. Fortescue’s door in her usual statuesque fashion,
tapped and entered.
What she saw upset her poise still further. Her employer behind his
desk seemed contorted with agony. His convulsive movements were
alarming to watch.
Miss Grosvenor said, “Oh dear, Mr. Fortescue, are you ill?” and was im-
mediately26 conscious of the idiocy27 of the question. There was no doubt but
that Mr. Fortescue was very seriously ill. Even as she came up to him, his
body was convulsed in a painful spasmodic movement.
Words came out in jerky gasps28.
“Tea—what the hell—you put in the tea—get help—quick get a doctor—”
Miss Grosvenor fled from the room. She was no longer the supercilious29
blonde secretary—she was a thoroughly30 frightened woman who had lost
her head.
She came running into the typists’ office crying out:
“Mr. Fortescue’s having a fit—he’s dying—we must get a doctor—he
looks awful—I’m sure he’s dying.”
Reactions were immediate31 and varied32 a good deal.
Miss Bell, the youngest typist, said, “If it’s epilepsy we ought to put a
cork33 in his mouth. Who’s got a cork?”
Nobody had a cork.
Miss Somers said, “At his age it’s probably apoplexy.”
Miss Griffith said, “We must get a doctor—at once.”
But she was hampered34 in her usual efficiency because in all her sixteen
years of service it had never been necessary to call a doctor to the city of-
fice. There was her own doctor but that was at Streatham Hill. Where was
there a doctor near here?
Nobody knew. Miss Bell seized a telephone directory and began looking
up Doctors under D. But it was not a classified directory and doctors were
not automatically listed like taxi ranks. Someone suggested a hospital—
but which hospital? “It has to be the right hospital,” Miss Somers insisted,
“or else they won’t come. Because of the National Health, I mean. It’s got
to be in the area.”
Someone suggested 999 but Miss Griffith was shocked at that and said it
would mean the police and that would never do. For citizens of a country
which enjoyed the benefits of Medical Service for all, a group of quite
reasonably intelligent women showed incredible ignorance of correct pro-
cedure. Miss Bell started looking up Ambulances under A. Miss Griffith
said, “There’s his own doctor—he must have a doctor.” Someone rushed
for the private address book. Miss Griffith instructed the office boy to go
out and find a doctor—somehow, anywhere. In the private address book,
Miss Griffith found Sir Edwin Sandeman with an address in Harley Street.
Miss Grosvenor, collapsed35 in a chair, wailed36 in a voice whose accent was
noticeably less Mayfair than usual, “I made the tea just as usual—really I
did—there couldn’t have been anything wrong in it.”
“Wrong in it?” Miss Griffith paused, her hand on the dial of the tele-
phone. “Why do you say that?”
“He said it—Mr. Fortescue—he said it was the tea—”
Miss Griffith’s hand hovered37 irresolutely38 between Welbeck and 999.
Miss Bell, young and hopeful, said: “We ought to give him some mustard
and water—now. Isn’t there any mustard in the office?”
There was no mustard in the office.
Some short while later Dr. Isaacs of Bethnal Green, and Sir Edwin San-
deman met in the elevator just as two different ambulances drew up in
front of the building. The telephone and the office boy had done their
work.

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1 inefficient c76xm     
adj.效率低的，无效的
参考例句：
  • The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
  • Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。
2 afflicted aaf4adfe86f9ab55b4275dae2a2e305a     
使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
  • A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。
3 martinet hBjx6     
n.要求严格服从纪律的人
参考例句：
  • They discover that the new teacher is a martinet.他们发现新来的老师非常严格。
  • He's a retired Lieutenant Colonel and a bit of a martinet.他是个退役中校，有点军人作风。
4 consolidated dv3zqt     
a.联合的
参考例句：
  • With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
  • Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。
5 meek x7qz9     
adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的
参考例句：
  • He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
  • The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。
6 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地
参考例句：
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
7 straightforward fFfyA     
adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的
参考例句：
  • A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
  • I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。
8 glamorous ezZyZ     
adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的
参考例句：
  • The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
  • It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。
9 pensively 0f673d10521fb04c1a2f12fdf08f9f8c     
adv.沉思地，焦虑地
参考例句：
  • Garton pensively stirred the hotchpotch of his hair. 加顿沉思着搅动自己的乱发。 来自辞典例句
  • "Oh, me,'said Carrie, pensively. "I wish I could live in such a place." “唉，真的，"嘉莉幽幽地说，"我真想住在那种房子里。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
10 deigning 1b2657f2fe573d21cb8fa3d44bbdc7f1     
v.屈尊，俯就( deign的现在分词 )
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。
  • He passed by without deigning to look at me. 他走过去不屑看我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 rumour 1SYzZ     
n.谣言，谣传，传闻
参考例句：
  • I should like to know who put that rumour about.我想知道是谁散布了那谣言。
  • There has been a rumour mill on him for years.几年来，一直有谣言产生，对他进行中伤。
12 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地
参考例句：
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
13 luxurious S2pyv     
adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的
参考例句：
  • This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
  • The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。
14 parquet wL9xr     
n.镶木地板
参考例句：
  • The parquet floors shone like mirrors.镶木地板亮得象镜子。
  • The snail left a trail of slime along the parquet floor.蜗牛在镶木地板上留下一道黏液。
15 colossal sbwyJ     
adj.异常的，庞大的
参考例句：
  • There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
  • Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。
16 glided dc24e51e27cfc17f7f45752acf858ed1     
v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔
参考例句：
  • The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
  • They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 impersonal Ck6yp     
adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的
参考例句：
  • Even his children found him strangely distant and impersonal.他的孩子们也认为他跟其他人很疏远，没有人情味。
  • His manner seemed rather stiff and impersonal.他的态度似乎很生硬冷淡。
18 grunt eeazI     
v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝
参考例句：
  • He lifted the heavy suitcase with a grunt.他咕噜着把沉重的提箱拎了起来。
  • I ask him what he think,but he just grunt.我问他在想什麽，他只哼了一声。
19 haughty 4dKzq     
adj.傲慢的，高傲的
参考例句：
  • He gave me a haughty look and walked away.他向我摆出傲慢的表情后走开。
  • They were displeased with her haughty airs.他们讨厌她高傲的派头。
20 penetrated 61c8e5905df30b8828694a7dc4c3a3e0     
adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句：
  • The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
  • They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。
21 muffled fnmzel     
adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）
参考例句：
  • muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
  • There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
22 agonized Oz5zc6     
v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦
参考例句：
  • All the time they agonized and prayed. 他们一直在忍受痛苦并且祈祷。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • She agonized herself with the thought of her loss. 她念念不忘自己的损失，深深陷入痛苦之中。 来自辞典例句
23 buzzer 2x7zGi     
n.蜂鸣器；汽笛
参考例句：
  • The buzzer went off at eight o'clock.蜂鸣器在8点钟时响了。
  • Press the buzzer when you want to talk.你想讲话的时候就按蜂鸣器。
24 frenzied LQVzt     
a.激怒的；疯狂的
参考例句：
  • Will this push him too far and lead to a frenzied attack? 这会不会逼他太甚，导致他进行疯狂的进攻？
  • Two teenagers carried out a frenzied attack on a local shopkeeper. 两名十几岁的少年对当地的一个店主进行了疯狂的袭击。
25 poise ySTz9     
vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信
参考例句：
  • She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise.她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。
  • Ballet classes are important for poise and grace.芭蕾课对培养优雅的姿仪非常重要。
26 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。
27 idiocy 4cmzf     
n.愚蠢
参考例句：
  • Stealing a car and then driving it drunk was the ultimate idiocy.偷了车然后醉酒开车真是愚蠢到极点。
  • In this war there is an idiocy without bounds.这次战争疯癫得没底。
28 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》
29 supercilious 6FyyM     
adj.目中无人的，高傲的；adv.高傲地；n.高傲
参考例句：
  • The shop assistant was very supercilious towards me when I asked for some help.我要买东西招呼售货员时，那个售货员对我不屑一顾。
  • His manner is supercilious and arrogant.他非常傲慢自大。
30 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地
参考例句：
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
31 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的
参考例句：
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
32 varied giIw9     
adj.多样的，多变化的
参考例句：
  • The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
  • The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。
33 cork VoPzp     
n.软木，软木塞
参考例句：
  • We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
  • Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。
34 hampered 3c5fb339e8465f0b89285ad0a790a834     
妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
  • So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。
35 collapsed cwWzSG     
adj.倒塌的
参考例句：
  • Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
  • The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。
36 wailed e27902fd534535a9f82ffa06a5b6937a     
v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句
37 hovered d194b7e43467f867f4b4380809ba6b19     
鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫
参考例句：
  • A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
  • A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。
38 irresolutely bd48a0849e0a868390b09177fd05c8ef     
adv.优柔寡断地
参考例句：
  • He followed irresolutely for a little distance, half a pace behind her. 他犹豫地跟了短短的一段距离，落在她身后半步路。 来自英汉文学
  • She arose and stood irresolutely at the foot of the stairs. 她起身来到楼梯脚下，犹豫不定地站在那里。 来自飘（部分）

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