双语对照 | 书虫二级《神秘女人——阿加莎·克里斯蒂》：5.出色的侦探小说家

5.A good detective-story writer

5．出色的侦探小说家

Agatha's first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published in 1920. But before this, she began writing another book.

1920年，阿加莎的第一本书《斯泰尔斯的神秘案件》出版了。但在此之前，她已经着手写另一本书了。

It was Archie's idea.

这是阿奇的主意。

'Mother is finding it difficult to pay all the bills at Ashfield,' Agatha told him.

“妈妈觉得越来越难对付阿什菲尔德的一大堆账单了。”阿加莎对他说。

'Why doesn't she sell Ashfield?' Archie said to Agatha. 'The house is too big for just one person. Then she can buy something smaller.'

“她为什么不把阿什菲尔德卖掉呢？”阿奇对阿加莎说，“那所房子只住一个人未免显得太空荡了些。她可以买一所小点的房子。”

'Sell Ashfield?' said Agatha. 'Oh, no! She can't! I love it—and it's our family home.'

“卖掉阿什菲尔德？”阿加莎说，“哦，不行！她可不能那么做！我爱它——那是我们家族的房子。”

'Then why don't you do something about it?' said Archie.

“那你为什么不为它做点什么呢？”阿奇说。

'Do something? What do you mean?'

“做点什么？你指的是什么？”

'Why don't you write another book?' said Archie. 'Perhaps it will make a lot of money.'

“你为什么不再写一本书呢？”阿奇说，“这可能会赚一大笔钱。”

Agatha thought about it. Ashfield was her family home, and it must stay in the family. Could she do anything to help?

阿加莎考虑了一下。阿什菲尔德是她家族的房子，必须留下来。她能帮上什么忙呢？

'Perhaps I could write another book,' she thought. 'But what can it be about?'

“或许我可以再写一本书。”她想，“但写什么好呢？”

The answer came one day when she was having tea in a tea-shop. Two people were talking at a table near her. Agatha heard a name—and began to listen. They were talking about somebody called Jane Fish.

一天在茶馆喝茶时她突然有了灵感。有两个人坐在邻桌聊天。阿加莎无意中听见了一个名字——便开始听了下去。他们在聊一个叫做简·菲什的人。

'What a strange name,' thought Agatha. 'But what a good beginning for a story! Somebody hears a strange name in a tea-shop. And then...? Wait, perhaps "Jane Finn" will be better. Yes! Now, let me think...'

“好奇怪的名字啊，”阿加莎想，“但作为故事的开端多好！某个人在茶馆无意间听到一个很奇怪的名字。然后……？等等，可能‘简·芬恩’更好一些。对！现在让我想想……”

And before Agatha left the tea-shop, an idea for a story was running around inside her head. She went home and began it immediately.

在阿加莎离开茶馆之前，关于故事的构思已经在她的头脑中迅速地成形了。她回到家立刻动手写了起来。

She called it The Secret Adversary, and the book was published in 1922.

她把它叫做《神秘对手》，这本书于1922年出版。

The story did not have the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in it, but her next book, Murder on the Links , did. Readers loved Poirot. He was a very short, tidy little man, with green eyes, black hair, and a beautiful black moustache. And, like another famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, he was very, very clever. He was not shy about this, and was always telling other characters in the story just how clever he was.

这个故事里没有比利时侦探赫尔克里·波洛，可他在她的下一本书《高尔夫球场命案》中又出现了。读者们喜欢波洛。他身材矮小，穿着整洁，有着绿色的眼睛，黑色的头发和漂亮的黑胡子，并且就像另外一个著名侦探舍洛克·福尔摩斯一样，他聪明至极。对这一点他并没有感到不好意思，反而总是告诉故事里其他的人物他有多么聪明。

Other books followed, some with Poirot, some without—The Man in the Brown Suit, Poirot Investigates, and The Secret of Chimneys.

更多的书陆续出版了，有些里面有波洛，有些则没有——像《棕衣男子》、《波洛出击》和《烟囱里的秘密》。

Hughes Massie, the agent, was helping Agatha now. 'You need another publisher,' he told her. 'A publisher who will pay you more than The Bodley Head. You're a good detective-story writer, Agatha, and your books are beginning to sell well.'

休斯·马西现在是阿加莎的经纪人。“你需要重新找一家出版社，”他告诉她，“一家比博德利·黑德付酬更高的出版社。阿加莎，你是一名出色的侦探小说家，你的书开始变得很畅销了。”

So Massie sent Agatha's next book — The Murder of Roger Ackroyd — to William Collins' publishers. It was an important book for Agatha.

于是马西把阿加莎的另一本书——《罗杰·阿克罗伊德命案》——送到了威廉·柯林斯出版社。这本书对阿加莎来说至关重要。

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd came out in the spring of 1926—and people began to talk about it immediately. What did they talk about? The big surprise at the end of the book!

《罗杰·阿克罗伊德命案》于1926年春天出版——书一出版，立刻便成为人们争论的对象。他们在争论什么呢？书中出乎意料的结局！

'That's cheating!' some people said, when they got to the end and found out the name of the murderer.

“这是欺骗！”一些人读到书末发现凶手是谁后如是说。

'No, it's not,' said other readers. 'It's a very clever story.'

“不，这不是欺骗，”另外一些读者说，“这个故事写得极其高明。”

'What's the matter with everybody?' Agatha said to Archie. 'I didn't cheat. It's wrong to say that. People must read the story carefully.'

“大家这是怎么了？”阿加莎对阿奇说，“我没有欺骗，这样说是不对的。大家必须仔细读故事才行。”

And she was right. All the clues were there in the story, and a very clever reader could guess the name of the murderer. But most people couldn't.

她是正确的。所有的线索都在故事中，一个极其聪明的读者是能够猜出凶手的名字的。可惜大多数人都没能做到。

(So what was the surprise at the end, and who was the murderer? The only way to find out is to read the book!)

（所以这出人意料的故事结局是怎样的？凶手到底是谁？只有读了这本书才能知道！）

After The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was published, more and more people began to buy Agatha's books, and Agatha had more money to spend.

《罗杰·阿克罗伊德命案》出版后，越来越多的人开始买阿加莎的书了，她的手头变得宽绰起来。

The Christies bought a house at Sunningdale, about thirty miles from London.

克里斯蒂一家在离伦敦30英里的森尼达尔买了一所房子。

'What shall we call it?' said Agatha.

“我们叫它什么好呢？”阿加莎说。

'Styles,' said Archie, 'after your first book.'

“斯泰尔斯，”阿奇说，“以你的第一本书来命名。”

And they put a picture of the front cover of the book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, on the wall.

他们把一幅《斯泰尔斯的神秘案件》封面的照片挂在了墙上。

But not long after they moved to Sunningdale, something happened that put Agatha's name on the front pages of every newspaper in England.

然而就在他们移居森尼达尔不久，一件事情发生了，阿加莎的名字随之出现在英国大大小小的报纸的头版。

She disappeared.

她失踪了。

People think that it happened because she was very unhappy at this time. First, her mother died. And then Agatha found out that Archie was in love with a young woman called Nancy Neele.

人们认为她的失踪源于她这段时间的不快。先是她母亲的去世。然后是阿加莎发现阿奇竟然爱着一个叫南希·内莱的年轻女人。

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bill n. written statement of money owed for goods or services supplied. 账单。

tea-shop n. (usu. small) restaurant where tea and light meals are served. 茶馆。

moustache n. hair allowed to grow on the upper lip. 髭，（嘴唇上面的）胡子。

pay vt. give money. 付钱。

cheat vi. act dishonestly or unfairly in order to win an advantage or profit. 欺骗。

clue n. fact or piece of evidence that helps to solve a problem or reveal the truth in an investigation. 线索；端倪。

after prep. in the style of; in imitation of. 依照；仿照。

front page 头版。

disappear vi. no longer be visible; vanish. 消失；失踪。