五个桔核 09神秘来信(3)

The singular incident made, as you may think, the deepest impression upon me,

您可以想见，这件奇特的事给我的印象极为深刻，

and I pondered over it and turned it every way in my mind without being able to make anything of it.

我反复思量，多方揣摩，还是无法明白其中奥秘。

Yet I could not shake off the vague feeling of dread¹ which it left behind,

可是这件事留下来的模模糊糊的恐怖感觉却始终难于摆脱，

though the sensation grew less keen as the weeks passed,

虽然随着时光的流逝，不安之感逐渐缓和，

and nothing happened to disturb the usual routine of our lives.

而且也没有发生任何干扰我们日常生活的事。

I could see a change in my uncle, however.

尽管如此，我仍能看出我的伯父从此举止异常。

He drank more than ever, and he was less inclined for any sort of society.

他酗酒狂饮更甚于往日，并且更加不愿意置身于任何社交场所。

Most of his time he would spend in his room, with the door locked upon the inside,

他的大部分时间都消磨在他自己的深室之内，而且室内门上还上了锁；

but sometimes he would emerge in a sort of drunken frenzy² and would burst out of the house

但是他有时又象酒后发狂，从屋子里一冲而出，

and tear about the garden with a revolver in his hand, screaming out that he was afraid of no man,

手握左轮手枪，在花园中狂奔乱跑，尖声叫喊，说什么他谁也不怕，

and that he was not to be cooped up, like a sheep in a pen, by man or devil.

还说不管是人是鬼，谁也不能把他象绵羊似地圈禁起来。

When these hot fits were over, however, he would rush tumultuously in at the door and lock and bar it behind him,

等到这阵激烈的突然发作过去以后，他又心慌意乱地急急跑回房间里去，把门锁了起来，还插上门闩，

like a man who can brazen³ it out no longer against the terror which lies at the roots of his soul.

好象一个内心深处渗透了恐惧的人，无颜再虚张声势地装下去那样。

At such times I have seen his face, even on a cold day, glisten⁴ with moisture, as though it were new raised from a basin.

在这种时刻，我见到他的脸，即使在寒冬腊月，也是冷汗涔涔、湿漉漉的，似乎刚从洗脸盆里抬起头来。

1 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

2 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

3 brazen   

adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的

参考例句：

• The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
• Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承认失败，而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。

4 glisten   

vi.（光洁或湿润表面等）闪闪发光，闪闪发亮

参考例句：

• Dewdrops glisten in the morning sun.露珠在晨光下闪闪发光。
• His sunken eyes glistened with delight.他凹陷的眼睛闪现出喜悦的光芒。