斑点带子案 02海伦小姐(2)

It was early in April in the year '83 that I woke one morning to find Sherlock Holmes standing¹, fully² dressed, by the side of my bed.

事情发生在一八八三年四月初的时候。一天早上，我一觉醒来，发现歇洛克·福尔摩斯穿得整整齐齐，站在我的床边。

He was a late riser, as a rule, and as the clock on the mantelpiece showed me that it was only a quarter-past seven,

一般来说，他是一个爱睡懒觉的人，而壁炉架上的时钟，才刚七点一刻，

I blinked up at him in some surprise, and perhaps just a little resentment³, for I was myself regular in my habits.

我有些诧异地朝他眨了眨眼睛，心里还有点不乐意，因为我自己的生活习惯是很有规律的。

"Very sorry to knock you up, Watson," said he, "but it's the common lot this morning.

"对不起，把你叫醒了，华生，"他说，"但是，你我今天早上都命该如此。

Mrs. Hudson has been knocked up, she retorted upon me, and I on you."

先是赫德森太太被敲门声吵醒，接着她报复似地来吵醒我，现在是我来把你叫醒。"

"What is it, then... a fire?"

"那么，什么事，失火了吗？"

"No; a client. It seems that a young lady has arrived in a considerable state of excitement, who insists upon seeing me.

"不，是一位委托人。好象是一位年轻的女士来临，她情绪相当激动，坚持非要见我不可。

She is waiting now in the sitting-room⁴.

现在她正在起居室里等候。

Now, when young ladies wander about the metropolis⁵ at this hour of the morning,

你瞧，如果有些年轻的女士这么一清早就徘徊于这个大都市，

and knock sleepy people up out of their beds,

甚至把还在梦乡的人从床上吵醒，

I presume that it is something very pressing which they have to communicate.

我认为那必定是一件紧急的事情，她们不得不找人商量。

Should it prove to be an interesting case, you would, I am sure, wish to follow it from the outset.

假如这件事将是一件有趣的案子，那么，我肯定你一定希望从一开始就能有所了解。

I thought, at any rate, that I should call you and give you the chance."

我认为无论如何应该把你叫醒，给予你这个机会。"

"My dear fellow, I would not miss it for anything."

"我的老兄，那我是无论如何也不肯失掉这个机会的。"

I had no keener pleasure than in following Holmes in his professional investigations⁶,

我最大的乐趣就是观察福尔摩斯进行专业性的调查工作，

and in admiring the rapid deductions⁷, as swift as intuitions, and yet always founded on a logical basis,

欣赏他迅速地做出推论，他推论之敏捷，犹如是单凭直觉而做出的，但却总是建立在逻辑的基础之上，

with which he unravelled⁸ the problems which were submitted to him.

他就是依靠这些解决了委托给他的疑难问题。

1 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。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

4 sitting-room   

n.（BrE）客厅，起居室

参考例句：

• The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
• Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。

5 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

6 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

7 deductions   

扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演

参考例句：

• Many of the older officers trusted agents sightings more than cryptanalysts'deductions. 许多年纪比较大的军官往往相信特务的发现，而不怎么相信密码分析员的推断。
• You know how you rush at things,jump to conclusions without proper deductions. 你知道你处理问题是多么仓促，毫无合适的演绎就仓促下结论。

8 unravelled   

解开，拆散，散开( unravel的过去式和过去分词 )； 阐明； 澄清； 弄清楚

参考例句：

• I unravelled the string and wound it into a ball. 我把绳子解开并绕成一个球。
• The legal tangle was never really unravelled. 这起法律纠葛从来没有真正解决。