四签名 113琼诺赞·斯茂的奇异故事（23）

It is a dreary¹, fever-stricken place, and all beyond our little clearings was infested² with wild cannibal natives,

那岛上是可怕的热病流行的区域，离我们不远就有吃人的生番部落，

who were ready enough to blow a poisoned dart³ at us if they saw a chance.

生番们一有机会就向我们施放毒刺。

There was digging and ditching and yam-planting, and a dozen other things to be done, so we were busy enough all day;

在那里整天忙于开垦，挖沟和种薯蓣，还有许多其他杂差，

though in the evening we had a little time to ourselves.

到夜晚我们才能有些闲暇。

Among other things, I learned to dispense⁴ drugs for the surgeon, and picked up a smattering of his knowledge.

我还学会了为外科医师调剂配方，对外科的技术也学得一知半解了。

All the time I was on the lookout⁵ for a chance to escape;

我时时刻刻在寻找逃走的机会，

but it is hundreds of miles from any other land,

可是这里离任何大陆都有几百英里远，

and there is little or no wind in those seas: so it was a terribly difficult job to get away.

而且在附近一带海面上风很小，甚至没有风。因此，要想逃跑真是万难。

The surgeon, Dr. Somerton, was a fast, sporting young chap,

外科医师萨莫吞是一个活泼而喜欢玩乐的青年，

and the other young officers would meet in his rooms of an evening and play cards.

每天晚上常有驻军的青年军官们到他家去玩牌赌钱。

The surgery, where I used to make up my drugs, was next to his sitting-room⁶, with a small window between us.

我配药的外科手术室和他的客厅只有一墙之隔，有一个小窗相通。

Often, if I felt lonesome, I used to turn out the lamp in the surgery,

我在手术室里有时觉得苦闷，常常把手术室的灯熄灭了，

and then, standing⁷ there, I could hear their talk and watch their play.

站在窗前听他们谈话，看他们赌钱。

I am fond of a hand at cards myself, and it was almost as good as having one to watch the others.

我自己本来也好玩牌，在一旁看看也很过牌瘾。

There was Major Sholto, Captain Morstan, and Lieutenant⁸ Bromley Brown,

常常在一起的有舒尔托少校、摩斯坦上尉和布罗姆利·布劳恩中尉

who were in command of the native troops, and there was the surgeon himself,

他们负责带领土人军队，还有这位医师本人，

and two or three prison-officials, crafty⁹ old hands who played a nice sly safe game.

此外还有两三个司狱的官员。这几个官员是玩牌的老手，赌技很精。

A very snug¹⁰ little party they used to make.

他们几个人凑成一伙，玩起来倒也痛快。

1 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

2 infested   

adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于

参考例句：

• The kitchen was infested with ants. 厨房里到处是蚂蚁。
• The apartments were infested with rats and roaches. 公寓里面到处都是老鼠和蟑螂。

3 dart   

v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲

参考例句：

• The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
• Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。

4 dispense   

vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施

参考例句：

• Let us dispense the food.咱们来分发这食物。
• The charity has been given a large sum of money to dispense as it sees fit.这个慈善机构获得一大笔钱，可自行适当分配。

5 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

6 sitting-room   

n.（BrE）客厅，起居室

参考例句：

• The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
• Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

9 crafty   

adj.狡猾的，诡诈的

参考例句：

• He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。

10 snug   

adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房

参考例句：

• He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
• She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。