录音：http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/SW7TSlT8Lz8/

        "Silence!" Her voice was a whiplash. Eyes bored into him. Swallowing, sullenly, he complied.

        What came next, the Duchess of Croydon knew, could be the most significant thing she had ever done. 24.（There must be no mistake, no vacillation or dallying because of her own smallness of mind）. 25.（When you were playing for the highest stakes, you made the highest bid）. 26.（She intended to gamble on the fat man's greed）. 27.（She must do so in such a way as to place the outcome beyond any doubt）.

She declared decisively, "We will not pay you ten thousand dollars. But we will pay you twenty-five thousand dollars. "The house detective's eyes bulged.

"In return for that," she continued evenly, "You will drive our car north.”

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*whiplash：hit with a whip鞭绳（合成词）；厉声呵斥道

*bore into：1. 盯着看；2. 钻穿（文：死死盯住）

*24：vacillation：hesitation；hard to make decision（Vacillation is the main reason of his failure. 优柔寡断是他失败的主要因素）；dally：delay or waste time（1. Dally with：He dallied with the idea他没认真对待这个事情；2. They dallied in the store.她们在商店闲逛）；smallness of mind：通常说small mind意思是小气：He is a man with a small mind.他非常小气；smallness还有贫乏之意（文：smallness of mind见识短浅 He failed because of his smallness of mind.他因见识短浅而失败）

*25：舍不得孩子套不住狼（不入虎穴焉得虎子）；bid：（命令，竞标，出价bid bade bidden）1. vt.出价，投标How much do you bid?你出价多少

2. vt. 命令，吩咐The mother bade the child behave himself.母亲要孩子守规矩

3. 问候We bade him farewell.我们向他告别；bid up竞高价，哄抬物价，biddable顺从的，听话的a gentle and biddable soul一颗温柔顺从的心

*26：She would take a chance on this fat man’s greed.  gamble on：在..上打赌，指望，在..上碰运气（Don’t gamble on him, he shall not succeed all his life别指望他了，他一辈子都不会有出息的）

*27：so指代的must take on chance on his greed；as to关于，至于about；outcome结局（所以place=reign[Duchess tight rein on her racing mind公爵夫人极力控制住她那如脱缰野马一般的思绪]，dominate，掌控或control；dominate the market掌控市场）

*bulge：鼓起，膨胀He bulged his cheeks roundly to make a face.他把双颊鼓得圆圆的来扮鬼脸

　　Ogilvie continued to stare.

　　"Twenty-five thousand dollars," she repeated. “Ten thousand now. Fifteen thousand more when you meet us in Chicago. "Still without speaking, the fat man licked his lips. His beady eyes, as if unbelieving, were focused upon her own. The silence hung.

　　Then, as she watched intently, he gave the slightest of nods.

　　The silence remained. At length Ogilvie spoke. "This cigar bother in' you, Duchess?"

As she nodded, he put it out.

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*beady：bead1. 小珠子She was wearing a string of green beads round her neck；2. 汗珠His face was covered with beads of sweat.他满脸都是汗珠；beady（眼睛）像珠子一样小而亮的The snake has a pair of beady eyes.蛇有小而亮的眼珠子

*intently：专心地，仔细地，密切地

*Summarize：

1. 本文主要叙述了侦探长奥格尔维知道了克罗伊顿公爵夫妇开车肇事后逃逸的内情并借此对他们进行敲诈的故事。 文中，作者充分利用讽刺的手法为读者刻画了很多生动的人物形象。比如，The house detective’s piggy eyes surveyed her sardonically from his gross jowled face. （“侦探”的猪眼睛轻蔑地朝她打量了一番，满脸的肥肉直垂到下颚）作者把侦探的眼睛比作猪眼睛，讽刺了他的丑恶奸诈，诡计多端。文章中作者多次通过对话和冲突的描写，刻画了公爵夫人和探长等人物的鲜明形象。

2. 文章语言时而深沉，时而滑稽，处处可见人物内心精妙的思维：当克罗伊顿公爵夫人见到奥格尔维的时候，她明知道自己犯了法，却说“My husband and I find strong smoke offensive. Would you kindly put that out.”目的是先发制人，在气势上压倒奥格尔维，以掩饰她的心虚和紧张；当奥格尔维说明来意时，详细地告诉他们自己所目睹的一切时，她又歇斯底里地吼道“You don’t know! You don’t know anything for sure! You can’t possibly prove..”（你什么也不知道！什么也不敢肯定！你拿不出证据！），用这种几乎无赖的方式来推脱责任；而当奥格尔维拿出铁一般的证据时，她的语气随即软下来：“You’d accept money to keep silent about what you know?”（你是不是收了我的钱就会守口如瓶?）至此，公爵夫人的心虚，无赖，傲慢等性格特点背表现得淋漓尽致。

3. 所以Blackmail不仅是我们学习英语语言点知识点的好作品，也是告诉大家怎样深刻剖析人物性格，分析人物特征的佳作；同时也告诉我们一个做人的基本准则criteria：勿以善小而不为，勿以恶小而为之，希望大家可以在以后的学习上，工作时，生活中端正人生观和价值观，严以律己宽以待人。

4. Never fail to do anything good which you deem as petty; never dare to do anything evil which you consider as trivial.

We must do good rather than evil, on however humble a scale.（2008年湖北赛区翻译大赛原题）

   【参考翻译】：

      “住口!”她眼睛死死地盯住他，厉声呵斥道。他忍气吞声，满脸不高兴地住口了。　　

克罗伊敦公爵夫人知道，接下来的行动也许会是她一生中所作出的最重大的决定。决不能因自己的见识有限而出半点差错，决不能优柔寡断或举棋不定。要想赢大钱，就得下大注。她想利用这大肥佬的贪心大赌一场，而且恰到好处，使结果能保证万元一失。

　　她果断地宣布，“我们不会付给你一万美元，但我们会付给你二万五千美元。”

　　探长的眼珠子都鼓起来了。

　　“作为回报，”她不动声色地继续说道，“你得将我们的汽车开到北方。” 　　欧吉维依然是一副目瞪口呆的样子。

　　“二万五千美元，”她重复道。“现在先付一万，等你到芝加哥与我们碰面时再付一万五。”

　　大胖子舔了舔自己的嘴唇，依然一言未发，那双圆圆的小眼睛似乎不相信似的直盯住她的双眼。一阵沉默。

　　后来，在她目不转睛的逼视下，他微微点了一下头。

　　场面还是一片寂静。最后还是欧吉维开了腔：“这支雪茄让您讨厌了吧， 公爵夫人?” 　　她点了点头，他随即将它掐灭了。