又读了阿婆经典著作，即《无人生还》，无剧透。
这是一个荒岛杀人案件，杀人手法如何呢？从一首儿歌看起：
Ten little soldier boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were Nine.
Nine little soldier boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were Eight.
Eight little soldier boys travelling in Devon;
One said he’d stay there and then there were Seven.
Seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were Six.
Six little soldier boys playing with a hive;
A bumble bee stung one and then there were Five.
Five little soldier boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery and then there were Four.
Four little soldier boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were Three.
Three little soldier boys walking in the Zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were Two.
Two little soldier boys sitting in the sun;
One got frizzled up and then there was One.
One little soldier boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were None
10个人被Mr. U. N. Owen邀请到岛上做客，到了后发现除了他们再无旁人。他们的房间墙上都能看到上面这首儿歌，他们的命运也和10个小兵人一样。在令人窒息的气氛中，他们一个个死去，客厅中摆的小兵人也随之减少，到最后无人生还。证据表明凶手就是他们当中的一个，但调查却毫无头绪。直到警局收到了一个漂流瓶，自诩为犯罪艺术家的凶手，在里面交待了案件的来龙去脉。可能是看多了柯南，我感觉这个案件缺乏新意。不过考虑到此书写于1939年，这种手法应该是开创性的，是当之无愧的经典之作。
情节不再多说，整理一些书中的英语知识。
keep his nose to the grindstone 鼻子对着磨刀石，指埋头苦干
Pull yourself together 振作起来
get to the bottom of this 弄清真相
Got a bee in his bonnet 帽子里有只蜜蜂，指胡思乱想
Got hold of the wrong end of the stick all round 完全搞错了
cook one’s goose 毁掉某人前途
turn up one's nose at 嗤之以鼻
keep a stiff upper lip 绷紧上唇保持不动，指坚定不移
spill the beans 豆子撒了，指泄露秘密
like a cat on hot bricks 热砖上的猫，指热锅上的蚂蚁
taken alone 单独来看
bring home to sb 使某人深切地感到/清楚地认识到
Now we’re getting down to it 着手做某事
……， by any chance？(用以询问某事是否属实) 会不会，可能; 万一;
beat up and down 来回奔走
feel it in my bones 深切体会到
keep your head 镇静
We’re all in the same boat. We’ve got to pull together 我们同在一条船，需要齐心协力
He is holding out on me. 他在对我有所隐瞒
I was hard up 手头有点紧
I’ll take my oath on that！我发誓
Rogers seems pretty well ruled out. rule out 排除
on grounds of 根据
have it your own way 随你的便
“I protest—this is absolutely uncalled for”. uncalled for 不公允的; 不适当的;
forewarned is forearmed 凡事预则立;
Sleeping the clock round 夜以继日地睡觉
take my hat off to 钦佩
make no odds 没有多大区别
red herring 红鲱鱼，以前人们把鲱鱼放到真正有狐狸出没的地方来测试猎犬的搜寻能力，看它是否能够抵抗其他的味道，继续寻找狐狸的踪迹。指为分散注意力而提出的不相干事实或论点。
Make rings round sb 大大胜过某人
We went over the place with a fine-tooth comb. fine-tooth comb 细齿梳，指非常仔细地
Aeons passed. 千万年过去了 Aeon n. 万古
she had turned the tables on her would-be destroyer. turn the tables 反败为胜
strip to the skin 被剥得精光，被抢光
smell a rat 闻到老鼠，指有所警觉
coping stone 盖顶石
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