'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 生詞和短語
alibi n. 不在犯罪現(xiàn)場
commit v. 犯(罪、錯)
inspector n. 探長
employer n. 雇主
confirm v. 確認,證實
suggest v. 提醒
truth n. 真相
“在兇殺發(fā)生的時候,我正坐在8點鐘開往倫敦的火車上。”那人說。 “您總是趕這樣早的火車?”探長問。 “當然是的,”那人回答。“我必須在10點鐘上班,我的雇主會證明我是按時到了那兒的。” “晚一點兒的車也能送您按時上班嗎?” “我認為可以,但我從來不乘晚一點兒的車。” “您幾點鐘到的火車站?” “7點50分。我買了張報紙,等著車來。” “您沒有注意到有什么異常情況發(fā)生嗎?” “當然沒有。” “我提醒您,”探長說,“您講的不是實話。您乘的不是8點鐘的火車,而是8點25分的,這次車同樣能使您按時上班。您看,在兇殺發(fā)生的那天早晨,8點鐘的那次車根本沒有發(fā)。它在芬格林車站出了故障而被取消了。”