They went through the rooms, being careful to touch nothing, as they did not want to hinder the police in their search for fingerprints.

go through sth. ^{to search sth. in order to find sth. in particular 搜寻}

• The Officer went through the case with great care. 
• Let's go through the arguments again. ^{咱们再详细研究一下这些论据吧。}
• Go through each file one by one. ^{逐一审查每一个文件。}

search for … ^搜寻目标

• Bad weather is hampering the search for survivors.  
• It is mainly about Sophie's search for her father. ^{它主要讲的是苏菲寻找父亲的故事。}
• Sandy, search for some information about the topic. ^{桑迪，搜索一些关于这个话题的信息。}

in search of … = searching for … ^{（相当于非谓语动词）}

• Soon the hobby leads to travel, perhaps to a meeting in another town, possibly a trip abroad in search of a rare specimen, for collectors are not confined to any one country.
• He ranges far and wide in search of inspiration for his paintings. ^{他四处漫步，寻找绘画的灵感。}
• Refugees run hither and thither in search of safety. ^{难民为寻找安全四处逃奔。}
• The film is a drama about a woman searching for her children. ^{这部电影是关于一个女人寻找她孩子的戏。}

The chaos was inconceivable.

 The chaos was incredible / unbelievable / unimaginable / unthinkable / beyond belief. ^{课文写法替换}

She had lived in the flat for 30 years and was a veritable magpie at hoarding; and it seemed as though everything she possessed had been tossed out and turned over and over.

toss out ^{扔出来、翻出来}

• Toss out as much as possible a relatively small amount. 扔掉尽可能多的量比较少的东西。
• She tossed out my old chair. ^{她把我的旧椅子扔了。}
• What if you tossed out your goals? ^{如果你扔掉所谓的人生目标，又怎么样？}

At least sorting out the things she should have discarded years ago was now being made easier for her.

sort out ^{含义1：to separate one type of thing from another 从…中挑出来}

• I've sorted out the papers that can be thrown away.
• Could you sort out the toys that can be thrown away? ^{你把可以扔掉的玩具挑出来，好吗？}
• How can you sort out the order from the chaos? ^{如何才能从混沌世界中理出头绪来呢？}
• He also offers to "sort out" the deputy's legal problems. ^{他还提议“挑出”对方议员的法律问题。}

sort out ^{含义2：to arrange or organize sth. that is mixed up or untidy, so that it is ready to be used 将…分类整理好}

• We need to sort out our camping gear before we go away. 
• Let's try to sort out the mess. ^{我们来收拾一下残局吧。}
• Davina was sorting out scraps of material. ^{戴维娜正在整理零碎的材料。}

should have done ^{应该做的却没有做}

• You should have declared that. Perfume is not exempt from import duty. 
• Somebody should have told me. ^{应该有人告诉我才是。}
• We should have had a proper discussion before voting. ^{我们本应在表决之前好好讨论一下才是。}

Then a police inspector arrived with a constable and she told them of her discovery of the ransacked flat.

police inspector ^{n. a police officer of middle rank 巡官}

• Boko Haram gunmen also shot a police inspector. ^{武装分子还袭击了一名警察巡查员。}
• She was stopped by a police inspector in a flat hat . ^{一位戴平顶帽的警察巡长挡住了她。}
• Clock time is our bank manager, taxcollector, police inspector; ^{钟面的时间是我们的银行经理，收税人，巡警;}

constable ^{n. a British police officer of the lowest rank  警察}

• Courts and magistrates may be set up but they cannot function without sheriffs and constables. ^{法院和地方法院可以设立，但没有县治安官和乡镇治安官它们便无法运作。}
• By-and-by the constable arrived at a deserted market-square, and proceeded to cross it. ^{后来，警官来到一个空无一人的市集广场，打算穿过它。}
• Perhaps the constable was right.^{也许那个警员是对的。}
• The constable stopped a speeding driver. ^{警察拦住了一个超速行驶的司机。}

tell sb. of sth. ^{(fml.)  describe an event to sb. 向某人讲述某事}

• He told us of his extraordinary childhood.
• He told us of his desire for success. ^{他向我们讲述对成功的期望。}
• He told her of the Sun God and the Rain God, too. ^{他还给她讲太阳神和雨神的故事。}

ransack ^{v. to search a place, making it untidy and causing damage, usually because you are looking for sth. 洗劫}

• The house had been ransacked by burglars.
•  Demonstrators ransacked and burned the house where he was staying. ^{示威者们洗劫并焚烧了他住的那所房子。}
• She ransack my apartment for the bankbook. ^{她在我公寓里到处搜索寻找存折。}

The inspector began to look for fingerprints, while the constable checked that the front door locks had not been forced, thereby proving that the burglars had either used skeleton keys or entered over the balcony.

while ^{conj. 而(用于从句之首，引出与主句内容相对比的信息)}

• One man stayed at the wheel while two others with black stockings over their faces jumped out and smashed the window of the shop with iron bars.
• Most digital camera owners are male, while women prefer film. ^{大部分数码相机的主人都是男性，而女性偏爱用胶卷。}

check ^{v. make sure of sth. by examining or investigating it （用检查或调查的方法）印证、确认某事物}

• It's down to you to check the door. ^{检查门是否关好是你的事。}
• He held up a hypodermic to check the dosage. ^{他举起皮下注射器检查药剂量。}
• Check that your size is in stock. ^{查查你的尺码是不是有货。}

force / pick / break a lock ^撬锁

• The thief forced the lock to get into the house. ^{小偷强行撬开锁进入了房子。}
• He learned how to pick a lock with simple tools. ^{他学会了如何用简单工具撬锁。}
• They had to break the lock when they lost the key. ^{他们丢了钥匙，只好把锁弄坏了。}

thereby ^{adv. (fml.) with the result that sth. else happens 因此，由此（文气的书面语）}

• Regular exercise strengthens the heart, thereby reducing the risk of heart attack. 
• This had been dismantled in 1933, thereby breaking the link. ^{这一设施于1933年被拆除，从而切断了（运河间的）联系。}
• This gives you the opportunity to pray for and bless the other, thereby blessing yourself. ^{这给你了一个机会去为他人祈祷和祝福，从而赐福给你自己。}

skeleton key / passkey ^万能钥匙

• The old mansion’s doors could be opened with a skeleton key. ^{这座古老宅子的门可以用万能钥匙打开。}
• They have your passkey number embedded in them. ^{他们使你的总钥匙数字在他们里面埋入。}

There was no trace of fingerprints, but the inspector found a dirty red bundle that contained jewellery which the old lady said was not hers.

trace ^{n. a small sign that shows that sb. or sth. was present or existed 痕迹，踪迹，迹象}

• One day he left, disappeared without a trace. ^{有一天他离开了，消失得无影无踪。}
• I leave no trace and have no friends. ^{我不会留下任何痕迹，而且我也没有朋友。}
• Indeed, Mr. Prance's new device can pick up the trace of a heartbeat from a metre away. ^{事实上，Prance 先生的新设备可以在一米之外捕捉到心跳的痕迹。}

bundle ^{n. parcel, package 包裹}

• She tied the newspapers in a bundle. ^{她把报纸扎成一捆。}
• "Bring me a bundle of sticks," he asked his servant. ^{他对仆人说：“给我拿一捆树枝来。”}
• Aunt Deta has left a bundle for you. ^{迪蒂阿姨给你留了一个包裹。}

【嵌入式定语从句 (Embedded Attributive Clause) 】 ^{既是先行词的后置定语，又是另一个分句结构的宾语。}

• …, but which I did not think I should need on the last stage.

造句：She has an adopted son who she says is an orphan. ^{她有一个养子，这个养子据她讲是个孤儿。}
造句：Aleko suddenly acquired a new lamb which he claimed was bought.  ^{Aleko 突然得到了一只新的羊羔，这只羊羔他声称是买来的。}

• In this part of the cave, they could hear an insistent booming sound which they found was caused by a small waterspout shooting down into a pool from the roof of the cave.
• Turning back down the main street, we quickened our pace and made our way rapidly towards the stream where we hoped the boatman was waiting.
• I hired a car the day after landing and bought a comprehensive book of maps, which I found most helpful on the cross-country journey, but which I did not think I should need on the last stage.

备注：嵌入式定语从句和插入语的区别；插入语去掉之后应对语法没有影响，也对句子含义也没影响

• He’s just published an article which I don’t think is interesting at all. ^{（如果去掉“I don’t think ”对句子含义有影响）}
• I met a man whom I thought was a lunatic. ^{（如果去掉“I thought”对语法有影响）}

So their entry into this flat was apparently not the burglars' first job that day and they must have been disturbed.

entry (into …) ^{进入（…）}

• The children were surprised by the sudden entry of their teacher. ^{老师突然进来把孩子们吓了一跳。}
• It was dark and their entry into the camp had gone unnoticed. ^{夜色昏暗，谁也没有注意到他们进入了军营。}
• He made his triumphal entry into Mexico City. ^{他胜利进入了墨西哥城。}

job ^{n. (infml.) a crime, esp. stealing 作案，罪行}

• an inside job ^内鬼做案
• He got six months for that last job he did.
• The police believe the jewelry heist was an inside job. ^{警方认为这次珠宝盗窃是内部人员作案。}
• They planned the bank job for months before making their move. ^{他们策划了这次银行抢劫好几个月才行动。}
• The gang pulled off a big job last night, stealing millions worth of art. ^{那帮匪徒昨晚成功作案，偷走了价值数百万的艺术品。}

The inspector then asked the old lady to try to check what was missing by the next day, and advised her not to stay alone in the flat for a few nights.

stay alone ^独处

• Mother pandas often let baby pandas stay alone for two days. ^{熊猫妈妈经常让小熊猫单独待两天。}
• He would rather stay alone than gossip with his co-workers in his spare time. ^{他宁愿一个人呆着，也不愿在业余时间和同事们闲聊。}
• Let me not stay alone here, please. ^{请不让我一个人留在这。}

The old lady thought he was a fussy creature, but since the porter agreed with him, she rang up her daughter and asked for her help in what she described as a little spot of bother.

creature ^{(esp. following an adjective) a person, considered in a particular way（尤其用于形容词后）有某种特点的人}

• She was an exotic creature with long red hair and brilliant green eyes. ^{她长着红色长发、明亮碧眼，是个少见的大美人。}
• I am not a selfish creature. ^{我不是一个自私的人。}
• Unhappy creature that I am! ^{我真是个不幸的人！}
• Her mother was such a pretty creature. ^{她母亲是那么一个可爱的美人。}

ring sb. ⇔ up ^{给某人打电话}

• As the cry was repeated several times, she ran to tell the manager who promptly rang up the fire-brigade.
• I’ll ring you up later to confirm the meeting. ^{我稍后打电话给你确认会议。}

help in sth. ^{在某方面帮助}

• Local teachers provided invaluable help in developing the material. 
• He offered to help in organizing the event. ^{他提出帮忙组织活动。}

describe … as … ^描述为...

• He described it as 'a very agreeable situation located within two small hills in the midst of which flowed a great river.'
• She described him as a generous and caring person. ^{她形容他是一个慷慨且关心别人的人。}