四签名 18秃头人的故事（1）

Chapter 4 The Story Of The Bald-headed Man

第四章 秃头人的故事

We followed the Indian down a sordid¹ and common passage, ill-lit and worse furnished,

我们随着印度人进去，经过了一条平平常常的、不整洁的、灯光不亮、陈设简陋的甬道，

until he came to a door upon the right, which he threw open.

走到靠右边的一个门。他把门推开了，

A blaze of yellow light streamed out upon us,

从屋内射出来黄色的灯光，

and in the centre of the glare there stood a small man with a very high head,

在灯光下站着一个身材不高的尖头顶的人，

a bristle² of red hair all round the fringe of it, and a bald,

他的头顶已秃，光亮非常，周围生着一圈红发，

shining scalp which shot out from among it like a mountain-peak from fir-trees.

象是枫树丛中冒出了一座秃光的山顶一样。

He writhed³ his hands together as he stood,

他站在那里搓着双手。

and his features were in a perpetual jerk–now smiling, now scowling⁴, but never for an instant in repose⁵.

他的神情不定，一会儿微笑，一会儿又愁盾苦脸，没有一时镇静，

Nature had given him a pendulous⁶ lip, and a too visible line of yellow and irregular teeth,

天生一副下垂的嘴唇，露出黄色不整齐的牙齿，

which he strove feebly to conceal⁷ by constantly passing his hand over the lower part of his face.

虽然他时常用手遮住脸的下半部，也不见得能够遮丑。

In spite of his obtrusive⁸ baldness he gave the impression of youth.

他虽然已经秃头，但是看来还很年轻，

In point of fact, he had just turned his thirtieth year.

实际上他也不过刚刚超过三十岁。

"Your servant, Miss Morstan," he kept repeating in a thin, high voice.

他不断高声重复地说："摩斯坦小姐，我愿为您效劳。"

"Your servant, gentlemen. Pray step into my little sanctum. A small place, miss, but furnished to my own liking⁹.

"先生们，我愿为你们效劳。请到我这间小屋子里来吧。房间很小，小姐，但是是按照我所喜欢的样式陈设的。

An oasis¹⁰ of art in the howling desert of South London."

这是在荒弃的伦敦南郊沙漠中的一个小小的文化绿洲。"

We were all astonished by the appearance of the apartment into which he invited us.

我们对这间屋子的景象都很感惊奇。

In that sorry house it looked as out of place as a diamond of the first water in a setting of brass¹¹.

屋子的建筑和陈设很不调和，好象一颗最出色的钻石镶在一个铜托子上。

The richest and glossiest¹² of curtains and tapestries¹³ draped the walls,

窗帘和挂毯都极华丽考究，

looped back here and there to expose some richly mounted painting or Oriental vase.

中间露出来精美的画镜和东方制的花漆。

The carpet was of amber¹⁴ and black, so soft and so thick that the foot sank pleasantly into it, as into a bed of moss¹⁵.

又厚又软的琥珀色和黑色的地毯，踏在上面舒适得很，好象走在绿草地上一样。

Two great tiger-skins thrown athwart it increased the suggestion of Eastern luxury, as did a huge hookah which stood upon a mat in the corner.

两张大虎皮横铺在上面，在屋角的席子上摆着一只印度大水烟壶，更显得富有东方风味的华丽。

A lamp in the fashion of a silver dove was hung from an almost invisible golden wire in the centre of the room.

屋顶当中隐隐有一根金色的线，悬挂着一盏银色的鸽子式的挂灯。

As it burned it filled the air with a subtle and aromatic¹⁶ odour.

灯火燃烧的时候，空气中发出了清香的气味。

1 sordid   

adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的

参考例句：

• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively.他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。
• They lived in a sordid apartment.他们住在肮脏的公寓房子里。

2 bristle   

v.（毛发）直立，气势汹汹，发怒；n.硬毛发

参考例句：

• It has a short stumpy tail covered with bristles.它粗短的尾巴上鬃毛浓密。
• He bristled with indignation at the suggestion that he was racist.有人暗示他是个种族主义者，他对此十分恼火。

3 writhed   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He writhed at the memory, revolted with himself for that temporary weakness. 他一想起来就痛悔不已，只恨自己当一时糊涂。
• The insect, writhed, and lay prostrate again. 昆虫折腾了几下，重又直挺挺地倒了下去。

4 scowling   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There she was, grey-suited, sweet-faced, demure, but scowling. 她就在那里，穿着灰色的衣服，漂亮的脸上显得严肃而忧郁。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Scowling, Chueh-hui bit his lips. 他马上把眉毛竖起来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

5 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

6 pendulous   

adj.下垂的；摆动的

参考例句：

• The oriole builds a pendulous nest.金莺鸟筑一个悬垂的巢。
• Her lip grew pendulous as she aged.由于老迈，她的嘴唇往下坠了。

7 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

8 obtrusive   

adj.显眼的；冒失的

参考例句：

• These heaters are less obtrusive and are easy to store away in the summer.这些加热器没那么碍眼，夏天收起来也很方便。
• The factory is an obtrusive eyesore.这工厂很刺眼。

9 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

10 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

11 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

12 glossiest   

光滑的( glossy的最高级 )； 虚有其表的； 浮华的

参考例句：

13 tapestries   

n.挂毯( tapestry的名词复数 )；绣帷，织锦v.用挂毯（或绣帷）装饰( tapestry的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The wall of the banqueting hall were hung with tapestries. 宴会厅的墙上挂有壁毯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rooms were hung with tapestries. 房间里都装饰着挂毯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

15 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

16 aromatic   

adj.芳香的，有香味的

参考例句：

• It has an agreeable aromatic smell.它有一种好闻的香味。
• It is light,fruity aromatic and a perfect choice for ending a meal.它是口感轻淡，圆润，芳香的，用于结束一顿饭完美的选择。