阿加莎•克里斯蒂是世界著名的推理小说女王，她在中国粉丝众多，被亲切地称为“阿婆”。

她的小说多次被搬上银幕，《东方快车谋杀案》《尼罗河惨案》《阳光下的罪恶》都是大家耳熟能详的故事，侦探波洛和马普尔小姐的形象深入人心。

一起进入推理女王的世界吧！

读选段、听故事、学英语，侦探迷千万别错过！

从今天起，我们会定期推送“阿加莎•克里斯蒂经典侦探作品集”的精彩选段，每期都配上朗读录音。

录音由英国本土人士录制，声情并茂，英式发音非常迷人。

“阿加莎•克里斯蒂经典侦探作品集”经英语专家改写，适当简化，既保留扣人心弦的故事，又使读者能轻松阅读，学习英语。

中文脚注，提示生词含义；文化注释，讲解背景知识。

扫描书中的二维码可跳转到音频链接，收听录音，还可搭配点读笔使用。

本期选段摘自《斯泰尔斯庄园奇案》。

故事简介：庄园的女主人英格尔索普太太掌管着财政大权。凌晨时分，她在房间里毒发身亡，而房间的三个门都从里面反锁。侦探波洛发现了一系列疑点，可最大的疑犯却有不在场证明。最让波洛头痛的是每个人似乎都隐瞒了什么……

Chaptor 3   The Night of the Tragedy①

To make this part of my story clear, here is a plan showing the first floor of Styles.

① tragedy n. 悲剧 

It was the middle of the night when Lawrence Cavendish woke me up, a candle in his hand. “Mother’s very ill! We can hear her calling but she’s locked the door!”

I jumped out of bed and followed Lawrence to the door of Mrs Inglethorp’s room. John Cavendish joined us, and tried to open the door, but it was locked or bolted① on the inside. Everyone in the house was now awake, and we could hear terrible sounds from inside the room. We had to do something!

“Go through Mr Inglethorp’s room, sir,” said Dorcas the maid. “Oh, my poor mistress!”

Suddenly I realized that Alfred Inglethorp was not with us. When John opened the door of his room we saw that his bed had not been slept in. But the door from his room to Mrs Inglethorp’s was also locked or bolted on the inside.

“Go and get Dr Wilkins, at once!” said John. “I’ll try the door from Cynthia’s room.”

He ran quickly to Cynthia’s room. Mary Cavendish was there, shaking Cynthia – who seemed to be sleeping very deeply – and trying to wake her up. In a moment he returned. “Mary says that door is bolted too. The door in Inglethorp’s room is the thinnest – we’ll break it down.”

After some effort the door finally broke open and we fell into the room, Lawrence still holding his candle. Mrs Inglethorp was lying on the bed, her whole body shaking and twisting② violently. She had knocked over the table by the bed. John lit the gaslight, while I unbolted the door to the corridor③.

① bolt v. 把（门窗等）闩上

② twist v. 扭动

③ corridor n. 走廊

I looked at Lawrence. His face was white, his eyes were terrified and his hand, that held the candle, was shaking so much that candlewax① fell on the carpet. He was staring at something on the wall behind me, but when I turned I didn’t see anything strange. Ashes② were burning quietly in the fireplace, and on the mantelpiece③ there were vases full of pieces of paper used to light the fire, and some ornaments④.

Mrs Inglethorp seemed to be a little better, and she gasped⑤, “Better now – very sudden – stupid to lock myself in.”

I looked up and saw Mary Cavendish standing near the door with her arm around Cynthia. Cynthia looked confused and very sleepy. “Poor Cynthia is frightened,” said Mary. I noticed that Mary was dressed in her white land army uniform, ready for work. So it must be early – indeed, the clock said it was five in the morning.

Suddenly Mrs Inglethorp gave another cry of pain, and again her body shook and twisted violently. John and Mary tried to give her a drink of strong brandy, but we could do nothing to help.

Just then Dr Bauerstein entered the room. When Mrs Inglethorp saw him she gasped, “Alfred – Alfred –” and then she fell back and lay still. Dr Bauerstein tried to bring her back to life, but I think we all knew it was too late. Finally he stopped and shook his head.

Then Dr Wilkins, the family doctor, rushed in. “Very sad,” he said quietly, looking at the bed. “Poor dear lady. She must have had a heart attack⑥.”

① candlewax n. 蜡烛蜡 

② ash n. 灰烬

③ mantelpiece n. 壁炉架

④ ornaments n. 饰品

⑤ gasp v. 喘着气说话

⑥ heart attack 心脏病发作

“But you didn’t see how violently her body shook and twisted before she died,” said Dr Bauerstein, watching Dr Wilkins closely. “I’d like to speak to you in private.” We left the two doctors alone, and I heard them lock the door to Mrs Inglethorp’s room

as we went downstairs.

Dr Bauerstein’s behaviour had given me an idea. Speaking quietly so no one else could hear, I said to Mary, “I believe Mrs Inglethorp has been poisoned! I’m certain Dr Bauerstein thinks so.”

“No, that can’t be true!” gasped Mary, her eyes wide and her face pale. She looked as if she might faint①. “Please leave me,” she said, when I tried to help her. “I want to be alone for a moment.”

Although I didn’t want to leave her, I joined John and Lawrence in the dining-room, and after a short silence I asked, “Where is Mr Inglethorp?”

“I don’t know,” said John. “He’s not in the house.”

Where was Alfred Inglethorp? I wondered. What did Mrs Inglethorp’s dying words mean? What else did she want to tell us before she died?

At last the two doctors came downstairs. Dr Wilkins looked excited, but was trying to hide it, while Dr Bauerstein’s bearded face was serious. “Mr Cavendish,” said Dr Wilkins, “there needs to be a post mortem②.”

“Is that necessary?” asked John.

“Absolutely,” said Dr Bauerstein. “Neither of us knows why Mrs Inglethorp died. And there will have to be an inquest③.” There was a pause, and then Dr Bauerstein gave John the two keys that locked the doors to Mrs Inglethorp’s room. “It’s best to keep them locked,” he said, as he and Dr Wilkins left.

① faint v. 昏倒

② post mortem 死后验尸

③ inquest n. 死因审理

All this time I had been thinking. “John,” I said, “do you remember my friend Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective? Let him investigate, to find out if your mother was poisoned.”

“Rubbish!” said Lawrence angrily. “Bauerstein is wrong. Wilkins didn’t think anything was wrong until Bauerstein said so. Because Bauerstein is an expert on poisons, he sees them everywhere. Mother died of a heart attack!” Lawrence didn’t usually speak so strongly.

John hesitated. “I can’t agree with you, Lawrence,” he said at last, “I think Hastings is right. I know we all suspect the same person, but we may be wrong.”

My watch said it was now six o’clock. Before I went to see my friend Poirot I looked in the library downstairs, where I discovered a medical book that described strychnine① poisoning.

① strychnine n. 士的宁（一种毒药，参见文化注释）

Strychnine

Agatha worked as a pharmacist during the First and Second World War, and therefore had considerable knowledge of drugs and poisons. Strychnine is a particularly unpleasant poison that works very quickly, and causes a very painful death. In the stroy, the victim suffers a painful death, moving violently and uncontrollably. Strychnine comes from a plant and was used mainly to kill rats. It has a very bitter taste. At the time the story was written, it was possible to buy certain poisons from pharmacists, but the person buying the poison had to sign a record of the sale in the "poison book".

士的宁

在一战和二战期间，阿加莎•克里斯蒂曾是一名药剂师，因此对各种药品和毒药相当了解。士的宁是一种味道尤其难闻的毒药，药效非常快，会造成非常痛苦的死亡。在本故事里，受害人的死相很惨，曾剧烈地、无法控制地挣扎过。士的宁来源于一种植物，味苦，主要用来灭鼠。在本故事写作的年代，某些毒药是可以从药店买到的，不过买毒药的人须在“毒药簿”里的销售记录单上签字。

《怪屋》（Crooked House）

《密码》（N or M？）

《魔手》（The Moving Finger）

《地狱之旅》（Destination Unknown）

《古屋疑云》（Peril at End House）

《借镜杀人》（They Do It with Mirrors）

《罗杰疑案》（The Murder of Roger Ackroyd）

《寓所谜案》（The Murder at the Vicarage）

《云中奇案》（Death in the Cloud）

《死亡约会》（Appointment with Death）

《葬礼之后》（After the Funeral）

《鸽群中的猫》（Cat among the Pigeons）

《命案目睹记》（4.50 from Paddington）

《闪光的氰化物》（Sparkling Cyanide）

《穿棕色套装的人》（The Man in the Brown Suit）

《国际学舍谋杀案》（Hickory Dickory Dock）

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