Hercule Poirot: The Case of the Careless Victim — Scenes 1 and 2 POIROT: Gently, gently, Mam'selle. All is not lost. Fortunately, you deal with Hercule Poirot who goes one step beyond the obvious. [Photo: CC BY Jose Camões Silva]   Apartment Hunting Hercule Poirot is the famous French-speaking detective from Belgium. As the story opens, he has just moved to New York and is looking for an apartment. He's told he'll be lucky to find one. But Poirot doesn't believe in luck. He believes in "employing the little gray cells" -- that is to say, he believes in using his brain to solve problems. While apartment hunting, he ends up helping a woman with her door. It is stuck. She cannot open it. Well, one thing leads to another, and he is soon involved in solving a murder.   Agatha Christie, the author Poirot is the fictional detective created by Agatha Christie. She was fond of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writings about Sherlock Holmes and patterned her detective after his. There are many differences of course, but both are intellectuals who use their heads, not their muscles, to solve crimes. The genre has come to be known as the classical detective story. Christie wrote 33 novels and 37 short stories about Poirot. Most of these stories were set in the mid- to late-1930s. Poirot moved from Belgium to England, but in the story that we are about to hear, The Case of the Careless Victim, he has just moved to the United States. This is the first of his American adventures. Poirot is a language learner too! Poirot's French-Belgian accent and grammar comes through. He may not be the best model of English, but at the same time, it is important to be able to understand people of different accents. English is such a global language that there are many different accents to get used to. The interesting thing about Agatha Christie’s development of Poirot as a character is that his English did improve the longer he lived in England. That’s an encouragement for all of us as language learners! We are frequently reminded that Poirot is a foreigner in England and America. Everyone stumbles over his name. No one seems to care to pronounce his name correctly. It is a constant frustration to him. Poirot and Miss Marple TV Series Agatha Christie’s Poirot stories became a British TV series that ran for 24 years, from 1989-2013. Her Miss Marple stories also became a TV series. Many of these episodes can be found on YouTube.   Key Words Mademoiselle: French for ‘Miss’ 小姐 Mademoiselle, would you like to dance? jest: to joke; a joke 開玩笑;笑話 Don’t mind him. He likes to jest. dossier: a file containing detailed information about someone or something 卷宗，檔案 He pulled the dosser out of his briefcase and handed it to his boss. employing the little gray cells: using your brain 動腦筋 It is simply a matter of employing the little grey cells. Think hard and you will figure it out. apology: a statement saying that you are sorry; an expression of regret 歉意 Please accept my apologies for stepping on your toes. Madame: French for ‘Mrs’ 太太 Madame, you forgot your purse! fault: responsibility for a problem, mistake, or bad situation 過錯，罪過；責任 It was my all fault that he drove off the road. I was distracting him. troubled: upset 懊惱 She looked troubled, very worried about something. obstinate: stubborn 頑固，倔強 He is very obstinate. I doubt that you will be able to persuade him to go now that he’s already made up his mind to stay home. corridor: hallway 走廊 It looks like we are neighbors. My room is just down the corridor from yours. budge: move when forced 微微移動 This window is stuck. I can’t get it to budge. If only I could open it, there would be a nice breeze. precisely: exactly 正是，恰恰，真真 You think he is stubborn? That is precisely what I meant when I said he was obstinate. give: to yield to physical force or strain 讓步 I tried to open the window, but there