爱的回忆: 《闪光的氰化物》选读
万灵节前夜，一场聚会上突发命案——Rosemary死于氰化物中毒。一年后，为了纪念妻子，也为了找出杀人凶手，Rosemary的丈夫George再次邀请同一批朋友、在同一间餐厅聚会。然而，同样的悲剧再次发生。
Rosemary既是人名，也是迭迭香的名字。迭迭香的花语是“留住回忆”，书中人物Rosemary恰好与此花同名，这就注定了这个人物令人难以忘怀。
这本书是阿加莎·克里斯蒂的经典作品《闪光的氰化物》（Sparkling Cyanide），日本评论家霜月苍曾写道：“在完美融合‘找凶手’和‘找方法’这一点上，除了《东方快车谋杀案》（点击蓝色字体回顾），克里斯蒂没再留下可与《闪光的氰化物》比肩的作品。”
本书原型为阿加莎的短篇小说《黄色鸢尾花》，叙述手法与《罗杰疑案》、《穿棕色套装的人》有异曲同工之妙，即透过表象去揭示事物的原貌。在本书中单独登场的侦探是大侦探波洛的好朋友Race上校，他将为大家揭开真相。
Chapter 1 Iris Marle
Iris had not seen much of her sister in those days. Rosemary was always out shopping, or going to parties. But she had seemed happy enough until that day, a week before it happened, when Iris had entered Rosemary’s sitting room to find her sitting at her desk and weeping bitterly. Iris had never seen Rosemary cry before. It frightened her, although Rosemary had been ill with influenza and she knew that it could leave you depressed.
weep v. 哭泣
bitterly adv. 伤心地
influenza n. 流行性感冒
‘Rosemary, what’s wrong?’ she cried.
Rosemary wiped her tear-stained face. ‘Nothing!’ she said, angrily. Then she stood up and ran out of the room. Puzzled, Iris walked over to the table, and saw her own name on a page of notepaper. Rosemary had been writing to her! She read the note.
tear-stained adj. 有泪痕的
Darling Iris,
There isn’t any point in making a will because my money goes to you anyway, but I’d like some of my things to be given to particular people.
will n. 遗嘱
To George, the jewellery he’s given me.
To Gloria King, my cigarette case.
To Maisie...
The note stopped there. What did it mean? Rosemary wasn’t going to die. She had been very ill, but she was better now.
‘... my money goes to you anyway ...’
Iris had always thought Uncle Paul’s fortune would go to George if Rosemary died, but it said here that the money would come to her instead. That did make things rather less unfair... She was surprised by the thought. Had she felt it was unfair for Rosemary to get all Uncle Paul’s money? Perhaps, deep in her heart, she had. Rosemary always had everything! Parties, pretty dresses, young men in love with her and an adoring husband.
Iris picked up the unfinished letter, and put it safely away in one of the drawers in the desk. After the fatal birthday panty, it was used to prove that Rosemary had been depressed after her illness, and might have been considering suicide. Depression after influenza was the verdict given at the inquest.
Now, Iris wondered how she had not been able to see the truth.
fatal adj. 致命的
suicide n. 自杀
verdict n. 裁决
inquest n. 死因审理
文化注释
Cyanide poison
Agatha Christie worked as a pharmacist during the First and Second World Wars, and therefore had considerable knowledge of drugs and poisons. The cyanide which is referred to in the story is a white powder, similar in appearance to sugar, which dissolves easily in water or other liquids. It is very poisonous, and if a person swallows it, they are likely to die quickly. At he time Agatha Christie was writing, it was normal for people in the country to keep a form of cyanide in the garden shed to put on insect nests to kill them all quickly. Now it is against the law to possess such poisons.
剧毒氰化物
阿加莎·克里斯蒂在第一次和第二次世界大战期间做过药剂师，所以非常了解药品和毒药。故事中提到的氰化物是一种白色粉末，外观与糖近似，可以轻易地在水或其他液体中溶解。此物质毒性极强，如果人吞下的话，很有可能迅速死亡。在阿加沙·克里斯蒂写作的年代，住在乡下的人通常会在花园的棚屋中保存某种形式的氧化物，需要时投放于昆虫巢穴，将其快速清除。而现在，私藏这种毒药则是违法行为。
Wills and inheritance
A will is a legal document that describes how the money and property left when someone dies is distributed to relatives and others. Many people from the upper classes (though by the 1950s this was changing significantly) did not have jobs, and lived from investments and inherited wealth. Women in particular were dependent on financial support from their husbands.
Property and land, on the death of the owner, would usually pass to the eldest son, but if a person did not have any children, such as Paul Bennett, he or she could choose who to leave their money to. In this story, Paul leaves all his money to Rosemary, but also makes special conditions about what should happen to his money if Rosemary also dies without having children. In this case it would go to her sister Iris.
遗嘱与继承
遗嘱是一种法律文件，其中说明某人死后金钱和财产如何分配给亲属或其他人。很多来自上层阶级的人没有工作（这一情况在 20 世纪 50年代发生了巨大改变），通过投资和继承的财富过活。女子尤其需要依靠丈夫的经济支持。
财产和土地在所有人去世后通常会由长子继承，但如果所有人没有子嗣，就像 Paul Bennet 那样，他或她就可以选择由谁来继承自己的钱财。在本书中，Paul将全部钱财都留给了Rosemary，但设置了特殊条款，规定如果 Rosemary 也在没有子嗣的情况下去世，他的钱财将属于何人。在这种情况下，将由 Rosemary的妹妹 Iris 继承。
Inquests
In cases of sudden, violent or suspicious death, it is common to hold a public inquiry called an inquest to find out why the person died. The coroner is the person in charge of the inquest, and the official cause of death is decided by a jury – a group of twelve ordinary people from the local area.
At the inquest the coroner and the jury hear medical evidence, as well as evidence from any other people that may be relevant. The family of the person who died, and members of the public can also attend the inquest.
Once all the evidence has been heard, the jury gives its verdict – for example, natural death, accidental death, suicide or murder.
死因审理
发生突然、暴力或可疑的命案时，通常要进行公开的调查，这称为“死因审理”，目的是查明遇害者的死因。验尸官是负责死因审理的人。而官方公布的死因则由 12 人陪审团裁决，其成员均是从当地社区选出的普通人。
进行死因审理时，验尸官和陪审团听取医生提供的证据，同时还有其他相关人士的证词。受害者的家人和公众也可以参加死因审理。
一旦听取完全部证据，陪审团会做出裁决——例如：自然死亡、意外死亡、自杀或谋杀。
《闪光的氰化物》是“阿加莎·克里斯蒂经典侦探作品集”丛书之一。
阿加莎·克里斯蒂：100年前的英伦传奇
用中国人看得懂的英语带您进入阿加莎·克里斯蒂的世界
语言：英语专家精心改写，适合中高级英语学习者阅读 文化：人物表和历史文化背景注释 词汇：难词注释帮助学习和阅读 听力：优美英音全文朗读（附二维码音频下载和点读功能）
长按识别二维码购买精装本☟
长按识别二维码购买平装本☟
《斯泰尔斯庄园奇案》（The Mysterious Affair at Styles）《鸽群中的猫》（Cat among the Pigeons）《云中奇案》（Death in the Cloud）《命案目睹记》（4.50 from Paddington）《死亡约会》（Appointment with Death）《国际学舍谋杀案》（Hickory Dickory Dock）《古屋疑云》（Peril at End House）《罗杰疑案》（The Murder of Roger Ackroyd）《东方快车谋杀案》（Murder on the Orient Express）《控方证人及其他》（The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories）《尼罗河上的惨案》（Death on the Nile）《穿棕色套装的人》（The Man in the Brown Suit）《黑麦奇案》（A Pocket Full of Rye）《悬崖上的谋杀》（Why Didn't They Ask Evans）《书房命案》（The Body in the Library）《魔手》（The Moving Finger）《寓所谜案》（The Murder at the Vicarage）《怪屋》（Crooked House）《弄假成真》（Dead Man's Folly）《密码》（N or M？）《地狱之旅》（Destination Unknown）《借镜杀人》（They Do It with Mirrors）《葬礼之后》（After the Funeral）《闪光的氰化物》（Sparkling Cyanide）
商务印书馆英语编辑室
微信号：CP-English
长按识别二维码关注