小鎮疑雲:《寓所謎案》選讀(英音朗讀)

一天，牧師Clement發現Protheroe上校被人槍殺於自己家中。案發後，畫家Lawrence和上校夫人Anne相繼自首卻被證明無罪；考古學家Stone從火車站去了倫敦，而他的的女秘書Cram半夜提著手提箱進了森林；助理牧師Hawes自殺未遂，現場還留下了紙條。

不動聲色地觀察這一連串的事件以後，馬普爾小姐推理出案發過程，並設下圈套讓真兇自投羅網，還原事件真相。

本書就是《寓所謎案》，首次發表於1930年，是阿加莎以馬普爾小姐為主角的第一部長篇小說。小說發表至今，更有戲劇、電影、電視劇、電視電影和漫畫等多種形式改編。商務印書館出版的這本《寓所謎案》，語言簡明地道，情節精彩有趣，一起來看看吧。

It is difficult to know where to begin this story, but I have chosen a particular Wednesday at the vicarage. This is because the conversation around the table contained details which affected later developments.I had just finished cutting some meat, which was very tough, and said, waving the knife in a way that was not at all appropriate for a vicar, that anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe would be doing the world a favour.

vicarage n. 教區牧師住宅 

tough adj.（肉）煮老的 

vicar n. 教區牧師

My young nephew, Dennis, said, 『We』ll all remember that when the old man is found covered in blood. And Mary will describe how you waved the knife in a violent manner, won’t you, Mary?』But Mary, who is a servant at the vicarage, just put a dish of unpleasant-looking cabbage on the table and left the room. 『I am sorry that I am so useless at taking care of the house,』 said my wife, whose name is Griselda. She is twenty years younger than I am, very pretty, and unable to take anything seriously.『My dear,』 I said, 『if you would only try...』『But when I’m trying things just get worse. So it is better to leave things to Mary, who gives us awful things to eat. Now, tell me more about Colonel Protheroe.』『Unpleasant man,』 said Dennis. 『It is not surprising that his first wife left him.』『Darling,』 said Griselda, 『Why were you so angry with Colonel Protheroe? Was it anything to do with Mr Hawes?』Hawes is our new curate, whom Colonel Protheroe dislikes.『No, it was because of Mrs Price Ridley’s pound note.』
Mrs Price Ridley, a member of my church, had put a pound note in the collection bag. Later, when she was reading the amount collected on the church notice-board, she saw that no pound note had been received. So she complained to Colonel Protheroe, who is a churchwarden.『He wants to look at all the Church accounts,』 I said. 『He’s coming here tomorrow evening so we can do it together. Does he think I have stolen Church money? But now I must get on with preparing my sermon. What are you doing this afternoon, Griselda?』

curate n. 助理牧師

collction bag 募捐袋

churchwarden n. 教會委員 

sermon n.（禮拜儀式上的）布道

『My duty as the wife of a vicar. Tea and talk at four-thirty.』『Mrs Price Ridley, Miss Wetherby, Miss Hartnell, and that terrible Miss Marple.』『I rather like Miss Marple,』 I said. 『She has a sense of humour.』『And she always knows every single thing that happens in the village,』 said Griselda. 『And explains them in the worst possible way.』『Well, don’t expect me in for tea,』 said Dennis. 『The Protheroes have invited me to play tennis today. What luck.』 He quickly left the room and Griselda and I went into my study.『I wonder what we will talk about at tea,』 said Griselda.『Mrs Lestrange, I suppose. It’s so mysterious, isn’t it, the way she suddenly rented a house here, and hardly ever goes outside it? It’s like a detective story. You know – 「Who is she, the mysterious woman with the pale, beautiful face? Nobody knows.」』『You read too many detective stories,』 I said. 『Now, I must start my sermon.』『Do you know,』 said Griselda, 『I could have married a politician, a lord, a rich businessman, but instead I chose you? Didn’t that surprise you?』『Yes. I often wondered why.』Griselda laughed. 『It made me feel powerful. The other men all thought I was wonderful. But I am the sort of woman you most dislike, and yet you adore me, don’t you?』『I do care about you, my dear.』『Oh! Len, you adore me,』 Griselda said. 『But you don’t deserve me. So I will have a love affair with the artist who is painting my picture. I will. Just think of the talk in the village.』 She kissed me, and stepped through the open glass door into the garden.

Many English villages have a church belonging to the Church of England.The administrative area of the church and the surrounding villages is calld a parish. Each parish is looked after by a vicar – the name for a priest in the Church of England. The vicar is paid by the Church and lives in a house called a vicarage. This belongs to the Church. Vicars in the Church of England are allowed to marry.The vicar leads church services, during which he gives a sermon – a talk about spiritual and religious matters. The vicar is responsible for taking care of the spiritual needs of the people of the village, so often visits those who are ill or have other worries. The vicar will carry out baptisms, marriage ceremonies and funerals and is generally a very respected person in the local area. People will often ask the vicar for advice regarding personal matters. In the story, the vicar, Leonard Clement, often has to visit local people to help solve their problems, or to support relatives when illness or death occurs. He would also be asked to advise on other personal or moral problems. The vicar is sometimes assisted by a curate, who is a less experienced priest – in the story this is Mr Hawes. The vicar is also helped by people in the parish called churchwardens – Colonel Protheroe is one of them. Churchwardens are not paid but give their time to support the vicar with practical matters, such as handling the church’s money and maintaining the church buildings.The people of the village help the Church to do its work by putting money in a collection bag, which is passed around those attending church services.The story begins with a dispute about a £1 note that has gone missing. One pound in those days was a considerable sum of money – approximately 50 pounds today.教堂的行政管理區域及其周邊村莊稱作教區。每個教區由一名教區牧師（即英格蘭教會的牧師）照管。教區牧師由教會支付薪酬，他就住在教區教堂裡，這是屬於教會的財產。英格蘭教會的教區牧師是可以結婚的。教區牧師主持教堂的禮拜儀式，儀式期間，他要進行布道，宣講精神和宗教方面的內容。牧師要負責處理好村裡人的精神需求，所以要經常去拜訪生病的人或有其他煩惱的人。牧師還要執行施洗，主持婚禮、葬禮，他通常是本地很受尊敬的人物。
人們在個人事務方面也經常向牧師徵詢意見。在本故事裡，教區牧師Leonard Clement必須經常去拜訪本地人，幫助他們解決問題，或者在親屬生病或死亡時提供幫助。他也會就其他個人問題或道德問題給人提供建議。有時，教區牧師手下有一名不是那麼富有經驗的助理牧師協助——本故事裡的Hawes先生便是這樣的助理。教區牧師也會得到教區裡一種叫做教會委員的人的幫助——Protheroe上校便是這樣的人。教會委員不領取薪酬，但會抽出時間支持牧師做一些實際事務，比如處置教堂的收入、維修教堂的建築物等。村裡的人在參加教堂的禮拜儀式時把錢放進一個傳來傳去的募捐袋裡，他們以這種方式支持教會開展工作。本故事開始時，人們為丟失的一英鎊鈔票而發生爭執。在當時，一英鎊是相當大的一筆錢，差不多值今天的 50 英鎊。

《寓所謎案》是「阿加莎·克裡斯蒂經典偵探作品集」叢書之一。用中國人看得懂的英語帶您進入阿加莎·克裡斯蒂的世界
聽力：優美英音全文朗讀（附二維碼音頻下載和點讀功能）

長按識別二維碼購買精裝本☟

長按識別二維碼購買平裝本☟

《地獄之旅》（Destination Unknown）《借鏡殺人》（They Do It with Mirrors）《寓所謎案》（The Murder at the Vicarage）《葬禮之後》（After the Funeral）《閃光的氰化物》（Sparkling Cyanide）