《新概念英语》第二册第87集：A perfect alibi

Lesson 87 A perfect alibi

First listen and then answer the question.

What was wrong with the man's story?

'At the time the murder was committed, I was travelling on the 8 o'clock train to London,' said the man.

'Do you always catch such an early train?' asked the inspector.

'Of course I do,' answered the man. 'I must be at work at 10 o'clock. My employer will confirm that I was there on time.'

'Would a later train get you to work on time?' asked the inspector.

'I suppose it would, but I never catch a later train.'

'At what time did you arrive at the station?'

'At ten to eight. I bought a paper and waited for the train.'

'And you didn't notice anything unusual?'

'Of course not.'

'I suggest,' said the inspector, 'that you are not telling the truth. I suggest that you did not catch the 8 o'clock train, but that you caught the 8.25 which would still get you to work on time. You see, on the morning of the murder, the 8 o'clock train did not run at all. It broke down at Ferngreen station and was taken off the line.'

New words and expressions

生词和短语

alibi [ˈæləbaɪ]  n.托辞;借口;托词;不在犯罪现场证明

词源：18世纪时，英语单词alibi是一个法律术语，意为“以犯罪发生时身处其他地方为由进行无罪辩解”。它源自拉丁语alibi，字面意思是somewhere else（在其他地方），是拉丁语alius（other）的位置格。英语单词alias（别名）、alien（外国的）都源自拉丁语alius。后来，alibi的词义得到扩展，用来泛指任何的借口、托辞。

来源：钱博士英语

The suspects all had alibis for the day of the robbery.

嫌疑人均有证据证明抢劫当天不在犯罪现场。

commit  v. 犯（罪、错）

inspector  n. 探长

employer  n. 雇主

confirm  v. 确认，证实

suggest  v. 提醒

truth  n. 真相

参考译文

“在凶杀发生的时候，我正坐在8点钟开往伦敦的火车上。”那人说。

“您总是赶这样早的火车？”探长问。

“当然是的，”那人回答。“我必须在10点钟上班，我的雇主会证明我是按时到了那儿的。”

“晚一点儿的车也能送您按时上班吗？”

“我认为可以，但我从来不乘晚一点儿的车。”

“您几点钟到的火车站？”

“7点50分。我买了张报纸，等着车来。”

“您没有注意到有什么异常情况发生吗？”

“当然没有。”

“我提醒您，”探长说，“您讲的不是实话。您乘的不是8点钟的火车，而是8点25分的，这次车同样能使您按时上班。您看，在凶杀发生的那天早晨，8点钟的那次车根本没有发。它在芬格林车站出了故障而被取消了。” 

长按识别二维码可关注该微信公众平台

往期回顾