歪唇男人 10烟馆巧遇福尔摩斯(4)

He flicked¹ the horse with his whip, and we dashed away through the endless succession of sombre and deserted² streets,

他轻轻抽了那马一鞭子，马车就疾驰起来，经过了一条条黑黝黝的寂静无人的街道，

which widened gradually, until we were flying across a broad balustraded bridge,

随后，路面渐渐宽阔起来，最后飞驰过一座两侧有栏杆的大桥，

with the murky³ river flowing sluggishly⁴ beneath us.

桥下黑沉沉的河水缓缓地流着。

Beyond lay another dull wilderness⁵ of bricks and mortar⁶,

向前望去，又是一片尽是砖堆和灰泥的单调的荒地，

its silence broken only by the heavy, regular footfall of the policeman,

四野阒然，只有巡逻警的沉重而有规律的脚步声，

or the songs and shouts of some belated party of revellers.

或者偶尔有某些留连忘返的狂欢作乐者在归途中纵歌滥喊，才间或打破寂静。

A dull wrack⁷ was drifting slowly across the sky,

一堆散乱的云缓缓地飘过天空，

and a star or two twinkled dimly here and there through the rifts⁸ of the clouds.

这儿那儿一两颗星星在云缝里闪烁着微弱的光芒。

Holmes drove in silence, with his head sunk upon his breast, and the air of a man who is lost in thought,

福尔摩斯在沉寂中驱车前进，他头垂胸前，仿佛深思入幻，

while I sat beside him, curious to learn what this new quest might be which seemed to tax his powers so sorely,

我坐在他身边，非常纳闷这件新案究竟是怎么一回事儿，竟使他耗费如此之大的精力，

and yet afraid to break in upon the current of his thoughts.

但又不敢打断他的思潮。

1 flicked   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
• I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。

2 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

3 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。

4 sluggishly   

adv.懒惰地；缓慢地

参考例句：

• The river is silted up and the water flows sluggishly. 河道淤塞，水流迟滞。
• Loaded with 870 gallons of gasoline and 40 gallons of oil, the ship moved sluggishly. 飞机载着八百七十加仑汽油和四十加仑机油，缓慢地前进了。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821

5 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

6 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

7 wrack   

v.折磨；n.海草

参考例句：

• Periodic crises wrack the capitalist system,and they grow in size and duration.周期性的危机破坏着资本主义制度，这种危机的规模在扩大，时间在延长。
• The wrack had begun to stink as it rotted in the sun.海草残骸在阳光下腐烂，开始变臭了。

8 rifts   

n.裂缝( rift的名词复数 )；裂隙；分裂；不和

参考例句：

• After that, through the rifts in the inky clouds sparkled redder and yet more luminous particles. 然后在几条墨蓝色云霞的隙缝里闪出几个更红更亮的小片。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• The Destinies mend rifts in time as man etches fate. 当人类想要再次亵渎命运的时候，命运及时修正了这些裂痕。 来自互联网