16 Blackmail2.docx

1、16 Blackmail2Lesson 6Blackmail Arthur Hailey Arthur Hailey (1920-2004) was born in England and began his writing career during the Second World War. After the war he lived and wrote in Canada, becoming a Canadian citizen as well as British; he also lived briefly in the United States. Most of his boo

2、ks have been made into films or TV series. Novels by Arthur Hailey:The Final Diagnosis (1959)In High Places (1960)Hotel (1965)Airport (1968)Wheels (1971)The Moneychangers (1975)Strong Medicine (1975)Overload (1978)The Evening News (1990)Detective (1997)BlackmailThe chief house officer, Ogilvie, who

3、had declared he would appear at the Croydons suite an hour after his cryptic telephone call actually took twice that time. As a result the nerves of both the Duke and Duchess were excessively frayed when the muted buzzer of the outer door eventually sounded.The Duchess went to the door herself. Earl

4、ier she had dispatched her maid on an invented errand and, cruelly, instructed the moon-faced male secretary who was terrified of dogs to exercise the Bedlington terriers. Her own tension was not lessened by the knowledge that both might return at any moment.A wave of cigar smoke accompanied Ogilvie

5、 in. When he had followed her to the living room, the Duchess looked pointedly at the half-burned cigar in the fat mans mouth. “My husband and I find strong smoke offensive. Would you kindly put that out.The house detectives piggy eyes surveyed her sardonically from his gross jowled face. His gaze m

6、oved on to sweep the spacious, well-appointed room, encompassing the Duke who faced them uncertainly, his back to a window. Pretty neat set-up you folks got.” Taking his time, Ogilvie removed the offending cigar, knocked off the ash and flipped the butt toward an ornamental fireplace on his right. H

7、e missed, and the butt fell upon the carpet where he ignored it.The Duchesss lips tightened. She said sharply, “I imagine you did not come here to discuss dcor”. The obese body shook in an appreciative chuckle. No, maam, cant say I did. I like nice things, though. He lowered the level of his incongr

8、uous falsetto voice. Like that car of yours. The one you keep here in the hotel. Jaguar, aint it?blackmail ( n.) the obtaining of money by threatening to make known unpleasant facts about a person敲诈；勒索 chief house officer: chief detective in charge of hotel securitysuite swi:t ( n.) a group of conne

9、cted rooms used as a unit一套房间 cryptic kriptik ( adj.) having a hidden or ambiguous meaning；mysterious隐蔽的，秘密的；神秘的 duke a nobleman with the highest hereditary rank 公爵：具有最高世袭身份的贵族fray ( v) make or become weakened or strained (使)变弱；(使)紧张 dispatch ( v) send off promptly，usually on a specific errand or of

10、ficial business (迅速地)派遣，派出(常指特别差事或公事) errand ( n.) a trip to carry a message or do a definite thing，esp. for someone else差事(尤指为别人送信或办事) piggy ( adj. ) like a pig； piggish猪一般的；贪婪的 sardonic s:dnik ( adj.) bitter，scornful, disdainfully or bitterly sneering，ironic or sarcastic讥讽的；嘲笑的gross grus ( adj.) b

11、ig or fat and coarse-looking；corpulent；burly肥胖的，臃肿的；粗壮的 jowl daul ( n.) the fleshy，hanging part under the lower jaw下颚的下垂部分 encompass inkmps ( v) surround；encircle 围绕，环绕 flip ( v) toss or move with a quick jerk；flick 轻弹；轻拂 dcor deik: / deik:r ( n.) Fr. decoration 法语装饰，装潢 obese ubi:s ( adj. ) very fat

12、；stout；corpulent过度肥胖的；肥大的 appreciative ( adj.) feeling or showing appreciation欣赏的；有眼力的；有鉴赏力的 incongruous inkgrus ( adj.) lacking harmony or agreement 不和谐的；不相容的；自相矛盾的 falsetto f:lsetunan artificial way of singing or speaking，in which the voice is placed in a register much higher than that of the natu

13、ral voice假声(说、唱)adj.假声的；用假声唱的 dcorAah! It was not a spoken word, but an emission of breath from the Duke of Croydon. His wife shot him a swift, warning glance.In what conceivable way does our car concern you?”As if the question from the Duchess had been a signal, the house detectives manner changed.

14、 He inquired abruptly, Who else is in this place?It was the Duke who answered, No one. We sent them out.Theres things it pays to check. Moving with surprising speed, the fat man walked around the suite, opening doors and inspecting the space behind them. Obviously he knew the room arrangement well.

15、After reopening and closing the outer door, he returned, apparently satisfied, to the living room.The Duchess had seated herself in a straight-backed chair. Ogilvie remained standing. Now then, he said. You two was in the hit-n-run.She met his eyes directly. What are you talking about?Dont play game

16、s, lady. This is for real. He took out a fresh cigar and bit off the end, You saw the papers. Theres been plenty on radio, too.Two high points of color appeared in the paleness of the Duchess of Croydons cheeks. What you are suggesting is the most disgusting, ridiculous.I told you Cut it out!”The wo

17、rds spat forth with sudden savagery, all pretense of blandness gone. Ignoring the Duke, Ogilvie waved the unlighted cigar under his adversarys nose. You listen to me, your high-an-mightiness. This citys burnin mad cops, mayor, everybody else. When they find who done that last night, who killed that

18、kid an its mother, then high-tailed it, theyll throw the book, and never mind who it hits, or whether they got fancy titles neither. Now I know what I know, and if I do what by rights I should, therell be a squad of cops in here so fast youll hardly see em. But I come to you first, in fairness, sos

19、you could tell your side of it to me. The piggy eyes blinked, then hardened. f you want it the other way, just say so.The Duchess of Croydon three centuries and a half of inbred arrogance behind her did not yield easily. Springing to her feet, her face wrathful, gray-green eyes blazing, she faced th

20、e grossness of the house detective squarely. Her tone would have withered anyone who knew her well. “You unspeakable blackguard! How dare you!”Even the self-assurance of Ogilvie flickered for an instant. But it was the Duke of Croydon who interjected, Its no go, old girl. Im afraid. It was a good tr

21、y. Facing Ogilvie, he said, What you accuse us of is true. I am to blame. I was driving the car and killed the little girl.Thats more like it, Ogilvie said. He lit the fresh cigar. Now were getting somewhere.Wearily, in a gesture of surrender, the Duchess of Croydon sank back into her chair. Claspin

22、g her hands to conceal their trembling, she asked. What is it you know?Well now, Ill spell it out. The house detective took his time, leisurely puffing a cloud of blue cigar smoke, his eyes sardonically on the Duchess as if challenging her objection. But beyond wrinkling her nose in distaste, she ma

23、de no comment. Ogilvie pointed to the Duke. Last night, early on, you went to Lindys Place (a nightclub) in Irish Bayou baiu:. You drove there in your fancy Jaguar, and you took a lady friend. Leastways, I guess youd call her that if youre not too fussy. 捷豹牌汽车JAGUAR emission ( n.) the act of sending

24、 out or giving forth (heat，light，smell)；the action of uttering (sound) (热、光、气味等的)散发，(声音等的)发出 pay intransitive verb if a particular action pays, it brings a good result or advantage for you, e.g. Crime doesnt pay. It pays to get some professional advice before you make a decision.hit-n-runA hit-and-r

25、un motor vehicle accident is a violation in which one party leaves the scene without rendering aid or identifying themselves.cut outstop; cease停止spit ( v) eject，throw (out)，emit，or utter explosively喷出，吐出；激烈地说出 savagery ( n.) savage act 暴行pretense pritens false appearance or action intended to deceiv

26、e虚假,伪装blandness ( n.) being mild and pleasant in manner温和，和蔼adversary dvsri ( n.) person who opposes or fights against another；opponent敌手；敌方；对手 high-an-mightinessthe correct way to address a duke or a duchess is “your Grace” (Grace is a title and form of address for a duke, a duchess, or an archbish

27、op. 大人，夫人：作为公爵，公爵夫人或大主教的头衔或称谓的形式) Highness is a title and form of address for a prince or princess: Highness用来称呼王子（亲王）或公主（王妃）,殿下high-tail ( v.) colloq leave in a hurry (chiefly used in “high-tail it” ) 口匆忙离开，迅速逃走(主要用于high-tail it) throw the book to make all possible charges against (a lawbreaker) 对（

28、被告）做出所有可能的指控to reprimand or punish severely.严厉申斥：严厉指责或惩罚blink ( v) wink (the eyes) rapidly 眨(眼) inbred ( adj.) innate or deeply instilled天生的，先天的 unspeakable beyond description 无法描绘的 Inexpressibly bad or objectionable无法形容地糟糕的或令人讨厌的blackguard old use a man who treats other people very badlyflicker ( v

29、) move with a quick，light，wavering motion摇曳(y)，摇动，晃动 interject ( v) throw in between；interrupt with打断；插话 no go : to no avail : uselessThats more like itThats more acceptable.Now were getting somewhere.Now were making some progress.surrender give up放弃clasp ( v) hold tightly；grasp firmly握住；紧握 conceal

30、( v) put out of sight；hide把藏起来，隐藏，隐匿 spell out make perfectly clear讲清楚, 清楚地说明puff ( v) blow with short, forceful exhalation of breath 一阵阵地吹；喷出 sardonic scornfully or cynically mocking讥讽的或嘲笑的jaguar dgw: a large feline (fi:lain猫科的) mammal of Central and South America, closely related to the leopard an

31、d having a tawny (t:ni黄褐色的) coat spotted with black rosettes (ruzet玫瑰形圆花饰) 美洲虎：一种产自中美及南美地区的大型猫科哺乳动物，与豹有很近的血缘关系，长有黄褐色带黑色花斑的皮毛leastways ( adv) (chiefly dial)leastwise；anyway(多用于口语)至少；无论如何fussy easily upset; given to（惯于）bouts（发作）of ill temper:易激怒的：易发脾气的As Ogilvie glanced, grinning, at the Duchess, the Duke said sharply, Get on with it!Well the smug fat face swung back the way I hear it, you won a hundred at the tables, then lost it at the bar. You were into a second hundred with a real swinging party when your wife here