工程师大拇指案 30实地调查(1)

We both sat in silence for some little time after listening to this extraordinary narrative¹.

听完这段不寻常的叙述之后，我们两个人沉默地坐了好一会儿。

Then Sherlock Holmes pulled down from the shelf one of the ponderous² commonplace books in which he placed his cuttings.

然后，歇洛克·福尔摩斯从架子上取下一本贴剪报的笨重的大本子。

"Here is an advertisement which will interest you," said he. "It appeared in all the papers about a year ago.

"这里有一则会使你们感兴趣的广告，"他说，"大约一年以前所有的报纸都刊登过。

Listen to this: "Lost, on the 9th inst., Mr. Jeremiah Hayling, aged³ twenty-six, a hydraulic⁴ engineer.

您听我念念：'寻人。杰里迈亚·海林先生，现年二十六岁，职业水利工程师。

Left his lodgings⁵ at ten o'clock at night, and has not been heard of since. Was dressed in..."

于本月九日晚十时离寓所后下落不明。身穿...'

etc., etc. Ha! That represents the last time that the colonel needed to have his machine overhauled⁶, I fancy."

等等，等等。哈！我想，这表示上一次上校需要对他的机器进行大检修。"

"Good heavens!" cried my patient. "Then that explains what the girl said."

"天哪！"我的病人叫道。"那么这解释了那夫人所说的话。"

"Undoubtedly⁷. It is quite clear that the colonel was a cool and desperate man,

"毫无疑问。很清楚，上校是一个冷酷的亡命之徒，

who was absolutely determined⁸ that nothing should stand in the way of his little game,

他决不会让任何东西妨碍他的小行当，

like those out-and-out pirates who will leave no survivor⁹ from a captured ship.

就像那些彻头彻尾的海盗一样，他们决不会在被他们俘获的船上留下一个活人。

Well, every moment now is precious, so if you feel equal to it

好啦，现在每一分钟都十分宝贵，所以，如果您还能支持得住，

we shall go down to Scotland Yard at once as a preliminary to starting for Eyford."

我们得马上赶到苏格兰场报案去，这是我们去艾津的第一步措施。"

1 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

2 ponderous   

adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的

参考例句：

• His steps were heavy and ponderous.他的步伐沉重缓慢。
• It was easy to underestimate him because of his occasionally ponderous manner.由于他偶尔现出的沉闷的姿态，很容易使人小看了他。

3 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

4 hydraulic   

adj.水力的；水压的，液压的；水力学的

参考例句：

• The boat has no fewer than five hydraulic pumps.这艘船配有不少于5个液压泵。
• A group of apprentics were operating the hydraulic press.一群学徒正在开动水压机。

5 lodgings   

n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍

参考例句：

• When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时，太阳已下山了。
• I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。

6 overhauled   

v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• Within a year the party had drastically overhauled its structure. 一年内这个政党已大刀阔斧地整顿了结构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A mechanic overhauled the car's motor with some new parts. 一个修理工对那辆汽车的发动机进行了彻底的检修，换了一些新部件。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

9 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。