身份案 18进行初步推理(4)

I held the little printed slip to the light.

我把那一小张印刷的字条凑到灯前。

"Missing (it said) on the morning of the fourteenth, a gentleman named Hosmer Angel.

"（启事写道）：十四日晨，一个名叫霍斯默·安吉尔的先生失踪。

About five feet seven inches in height; strongly built, sallow complexion¹, black hair,

此人身高五英尺七英寸，体格健壮，肤色淡黄，头发乌黑，

a little bald in the centre, bushy, black side-whiskers and moustache; tinted² glasses, slight infirmity of speech.

头顶略秃，留有浓密漆黑的颊须和唇髭，戴浅色墨镜，讲话低声细语。

Was dressed, when last seen, in black frock-coat faced with silk, black waistcoat, gold Albert chain,

失踪前身穿丝镶边黑色大礼服，黑色背心，背心上挂一条艾伯特式金链。

and gray Harris tweed trousers, with brown gaiters over elastic-sided boots.

哈里斯花呢灰裤，褐色绑腿，两边有松紧带的皮靴。

Known to have been employed in an office in Leadenhall Street. Anybody bringing..."

此人曾在莱登霍尔街的一个事务所任职。若有人..."

"That will do," said Holmes. "As to the letters," he continued, glancing over them, "they are very commonplace³.

"行了，"福尔摩斯说，"至于那些信件，"他看了一眼，继续说："很一般。

Absolutely no clue in them to Mr. Angel, save that he quotes Balzac once.

除了一次引用过巴尔扎克的话以外，其中没有任何关系到霍斯默先生的线索。

There is one remarkable⁴ point, however, which will no doubt strike you."

不过有一点很值得注意，它无疑会使你大吃一惊。"

"They are typewritten," I remarked.

"这些信件是用打字机打的，"我说。

"Not only that, but the signature is typewritten.

"不仅如此，连签名也是打字的。

Look at the neat little 'Hosmer Angel' at the bottom.

请看信末打得工工整整的这几个小字：'霍斯默·安吉尔'。

There is a date, you see, but no superscription except Leadenhall Street, which is rather vague.

有日期，但是地址除了'莱登霍尔街'外，别无其他，这是十分含糊的。

The point about the signature is very suggestive–in fact, we may call it conclusive⁵."

这个签名很说明问题，事实上，我们可以说它是决定性的。"

"Of what?" "My dear fellow, is it possible you do not see how strongly it bears upon the case?"

"关于哪方面的？""我的好伙伴，难道你还没看出这个签名与本案的重要关系吗？"

1 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

2 tinted   

adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• a pair of glasses with tinted lenses 一副有色镜片眼镜
• a rose-tinted vision of the world 对世界的理想化看法

3 commonplace   

adj.平凡的，普通的；n.寻常的事物，常见的事

参考例句：

• Soon it will be commonplace for men to travel to the moon.人们去月球旅行很快就会成为常事。
• What he has said is a mere commonplace view.他所说的不过是尘俗之见而已。

4 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

5 conclusive   

adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的

参考例句：

• They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
• Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。