五个桔核 05年轻的委托人(3)

"My name," said he, "is John Openshaw,

他说：“我名叫约翰·奥彭肖。

but my own affairs have, as far as I can understand, little to do with this awful business.

据我的理解，我自己本身同这一可怕的事件没有多大关系。

It is a hereditary¹ matter; so in order to give you an idea of the facts, I must go back to the commencement of the affair.

那是上一代遗留下来的问题，因此，为了使您对这事有一个大概的了解，我必须从这一事件的开端谈起。

You must know that my grandfather had two sons–my uncle Elias and my father Joseph.

您要晓得，我的祖父有两个儿子--我的伯父伊莱亚斯和我的父亲约瑟夫。

My father had a small factory at Coventry, which he enlarged at the time of the invention of bicycling.

我父亲在康文特里开设一座小工厂，在发明自行车期间，他扩展了这个工厂，

He was a patentee of the Openshaw unbreakable tire,

并享有奥彭肖防破车胎的专利权，

and his business met with such success that he was able to sell it and to retire upon a handsome competence².

因而生意十分兴隆，这就使他后来能够将工厂出让，而依靠一笔巨款过着富裕的退休生活。

My uncle Elias emigrated to America when he was a young man and became a planter in Florida,

我的伯父伊莱亚斯年轻时侨居美国，成了佛罗里达州的一个种植园主。

where he was reported to have done very well.

据说他经营得很不错。

At the time of the war he fought in Jackson's army, and afterwards under Hood³, where he rose to be a colonel.

南北战争期间，他在杰克逊麾下作战，后来隶属胡德部下，升任上校。

When Lee laid down his arms my uncle returned to his plantation⁴, where he remained for three or four years.

南军统帅罗伯特·李投降后，他解甲归田，重返他的种植园，在那里又住了三、四年。

About 1869 or 1870 he came back to Europe and took a small estate in Sussex, near Horsham.

大约在1869或1870年，他回到欧洲，在苏塞克斯郡霍尔舍姆附近购置了一小块地产。

He had made a very considerable fortune in the States, and his reason for leaving them was his aversion to the negroes,

他在美国曾发过大财，他之所以离美返英，是因为他厌恶黑人，

and his dislike of the Republican policy in extending the franchise⁵ to them.

也不喜欢共和党给予黑人选举权的政策。

1 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

2 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

3 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

4 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

5 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。