Sherlock Holmes was the greatest detective in history. His astonishing power of observation and analysis meant that he was able to solve cases which left the real police completely perplexed. As a problem solver in the law forced business, he was a knowledgeable person equal to Superman, the comic book hero. Like Superman, of course, Holmes did not exist. He was the creation of a Scottish doctor and novelist Arthur Conan Doyle, and remains one of the most famous literary fiction characters of all time. Holmes’ general rule when trying to solve a case was as follows: completely get rid of the impossible. Then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. It’s said that Holmes’ powers of deduction (推断) were superhuman, particularly his ability to process information from what he observed. In a story called The Boscombe Valley Mystery, Holmes examines the area near a lake where a murder has been committed. The local police have already searched the area and found no clues. Holmes spends ten minutes in the area, and announces that the murderer “is a tall man, left-handed, limps with the right leg, wears thick-soled shooting boots and a gray coat, smokes Indian cigars, uses a cigar holder, and carries a penknife in his pocket. There are several other indications, but these may be enough to aid us in our search.” Needless to say, he has found evidence to support all of these statements. The fictional Holmes lived in an apartment at 221 Baker Street, a real street in Central London. When Conan Doyle wrote about Holmes, there was no 221 Baker Street, but after the street was extended northwards, there was. There is currently a bank at that address. The fact that Holmes didn’t actually exist doesn’t stop thousands of people writing to him for help every year.The bank kindly responds to every letter they receive with the following message: “Mr. Holmes thanks you for your letter. At the moment he is retired in Sussex, keeping bees, and does not undertake detective work nowadays.” 小题1:In the first paragraph the underlined word “perplexed” suggests that the police were _______
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