歪唇男人 12圣克莱尔的故事(1)

"Some years ago -- to be definite, in May, 1884 -- there came to Lee a gentleman, Neville St. Clair by name, who appeared to have plenty of money.

"几年前--说得更确切些，是在一八八四年五月里--有位绅士，名叫内维尔·圣克莱尔，来到李镇。这个人显然很有钱。

He took a large villa¹, laid out the grounds very nicely, and lived generally in good style.

他购置了一座大别墅，把庭园整治得很漂亮，生活得很豪华。

By degrees he made friends in the neighbourhood,

他逐渐和邻近许多人交上朋友，

and in 1887 he married the daughter of a local brewer², by whom he now has two children.

一八八七年，他娶了当地一家酿酒商的女儿为妻，生下两个孩子。

He had no occupation, but was interested in several companies

他没有职业，但在几家公司里有投资，

and went into town as a rule in the morning, returning by the 5:14 from Cannon³ Street every night.

他照例每天早晨进城，下午五点十四分从坎农街坐火车回来。

Mr. St. Clair is now thirty-seven years of age, is a man of temperate⁴ habits,

圣克莱尔先生现年三十七岁，没有什么不良癖好，

a good husband, a very affectionate father, and a man who is popular with all who know him.

堪称良夫慈父，与人无忤。

I may add that his whole debts at the present moment, as far as we have been able to ascertain⁵, amount to 88 pounds 10 shillings,

我可以再补充一句，目前他的全部债务，据我们查明，共计八十八镑十先令，

while he has 220 pounds standing⁶ to his credit in the Capital and Counties Bank.

而他在首都郡银行里就有存款二百二十镑。

There is no reason, therefore, to think that money troubles have been weighing upon his mind.

因此，没有理由认为他会为财务问题而苦恼。

1 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

2 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

3 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

4 temperate   

adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的

参考例句：

• Asia extends across the frigid,temperate and tropical zones.亚洲地跨寒、温、热三带。
• Great Britain has a temperate climate.英国气候温和。

5 ascertain   

vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清

参考例句：

• It's difficult to ascertain the coal deposits.煤储量很难探明。
• We must ascertain the responsibility in light of different situtations.我们必须根据不同情况判定责任。

6 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。