工程师大拇指案 07向福尔摩斯叙述故事(1)

Sherlock Holmes was, as I expected, lounging about his sitting-room¹ in his dressing-gown,

正像我所预料的那样，歇洛克·福尔摩斯穿着晨衣正在他的起居室里一边踱步，

reading the agony column of The Times and smoking his before-breakfast pipe,

一边读着《泰晤士报》上刊载的寻人、离婚等启事的专栏，嘴上叼着早餐前抽的烟斗。

which was composed of all the plugs and dottles left from his smokes of the day before,

这个烟斗装的都是前一天抽剩下来的烟丝和烟草块，

all carefully dried and collected on the corner of the mantelpiece.

这些东西被小心地烘干了之后就堆积在壁炉架的角落上。

He received us in his quietly genial² fashion, ordered fresh rashers and eggs, and joined us in a hearty³ meal.

他和蔼可亲地接待了我们，吩咐拿来咸肉片和鸡蛋跟我们一起饱餐了一顿。

When it was concluded he settled our new acquaintance upon the sofa,

餐后，他把我们的新相识安顿在沙发上，

placed a pillow beneath his head, and laid a glass of brandy and water within his reach.

在他的脑后搁了一个枕头，并在他手边放了一杯掺水白兰地。

"It is easy to see that your experience has been no common one, Mr. Hatherley," said he.

"不难看出您的遭遇很不寻常，哈瑟利先生。"他说，

"Pray, lie down there and make yourself absolutely at home.

"请您就在这里随便躺躺，不要拘束。

Tell us what you can, but stop when you are tired and keep up your strength with a little stimulant⁴."

就您所能将经过告诉我们，累了就稍事休息，喝口酒提提神。"

"Thank you," said my patient, "but I have felt another man since the doctor bandaged me,

"谢谢，"我的病人说，"但是自从医生给我包扎以后，我就感到判若两人，

and I think that your breakfast has completed the cure.

而我认为您这顿早餐使得整个治疗过程臻于完满。

I shall take up as little of your valuable time as possible, so I shall start at once upon my peculiar⁵ experiences."

我尽可能少占用您的宝贵时间，因此，我就马上开始叙述我那奇怪的经历吧！"

Holmes sat in his big armchair with the weary, heavy-lidded expression which veiled his keen and eager nature,

福尔摩斯坐在他的大扶手椅里，脸上带着一副疲倦困乏的样子，掩饰了他那敏锐和热切的心情，

while I sat opposite to him, and we listened in silence to the strange story which our visitor detailed⁶ to us.

我坐在他的对面，我们静静地倾听着我们的客人细说他那桩稀奇的故事。

1 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。

2 genial   

adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的

参考例句：

• Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。
• He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友，也是友善待客的主人。

3 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

4 stimulant   

n.刺激物，兴奋剂

参考例句：

• It is used in medicine for its stimulant quality.由于它有兴奋剂的特性而被应用于医学。
• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。

5 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

6 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。