单身贵族案 01贵族来信(1)

The Noble Bachelor

单身贵族案

The Lord ST. SIMON marriage, and its curious termination,

圣西蒙勋爵的婚事及其奇怪的结局，

have long ceased to be a subject of interest in those exalted¹ circles in which the unfortunate bridegroom moves.

长久以来已不再是他这位不幸的新郎与之周旋的上流社会人士所感兴趣的话题了。

Fresh scandals have eclipsed it, and their more piquant² details have drawn³ the gossips away from this four-year-old drama.

新的丑闻已经使之黯然失色，它们那些更加妙趣横生的细情，已将四年前的这一戏剧性事件推向幕后。

As I have reason to believe, however, that the full facts have never been revealed to the general public,

然而，由于我有理由认为这件案子的全部真相从未向大众透露过，

and as my friend Sherlock Holmes had a considerable share in clearing the matter up,

而我的朋友歇洛克·福尔摩斯又曾为弄清这事件作出过重大贡献，

I feel that no memoir⁴ of him would be complete without some little sketch⁵ of this remarkable⁶ episode.

所以，我觉得如果不对这一很不寻常的事件作一简要的描述，那对他的业绩的记录将是不够完整的。

It was a few weeks before my own marriage, during the days when I was still sharing rooms with Holmes in Baker⁷ Street,

那还是我和福尔摩斯一起住在贝克街的时候，我结婚前几个星期的一天，

that he came home from an afternoon stroll to find a letter on the table waiting for him.

福尔摩斯午后散步回来，看到桌子上有他的一封信。

I had remained indoors all day, for the weather had taken a sudden turn to rain, with high autumnal winds,

我整天呆在家里，因为那天突然阴雨绵绵，加上秋风劲吹，

and the Jezail bullet which I had brought back in one of my limbs as a relic⁸ of my Afghan campaign throbbed⁹ with dull persistence¹⁰.

我的胳臂由于残留着作为我当年参加阿富汗战役的纪念品的那颗阿富汗步枪子弹，又隐隐作痛不止。

With my body in one easy-chair and my legs upon another, I had surrounded myself with a cloud of newspapers

我躺在一张安乐椅里，把双腿搭在另一张椅子上，埋头在摆满身边的报纸堆里，

until at last, saturated¹¹ with the news of the day, I tossed them all aside and lay listless,

直到最后，脑袋里装满了当天的新闻，我才把报纸丢开，无精打采地躺在那里，

watching the huge crest¹² and monogram¹³ upon the envelope upon the table

看着桌子上那封信的信封上端的巨大饰章和交织字母，

and wondering lazily who my friend's noble correspondent could be.

一面懒洋洋地揣度着是哪位贵族给我的朋友写了这封信。

1 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

2 piquant   

adj.辛辣的，开胃的，令人兴奋的

参考例句：

• Bland vegetables are often served with a piquant sauce.清淡的蔬菜常以辛辣的沙司调味。
• He heard of a piquant bit of news.他听到了一则令人兴奋的消息。

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

5 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

8 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。

9 throbbed   

抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 )； （心脏、脉搏等）跳动

参考例句：

• His head throbbed painfully. 他的头一抽一跳地痛。
• The pulse throbbed steadily. 脉搏跳得平稳。

10 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

11 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

12 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

13 monogram   

n.字母组合

参考例句：

• There was a monogram in the corner in which were the initials"R.K.B.".原来手帕角上有个图案，其中包含着RKB三个字母。
• When we get married I don't have to change the monogram on my luggage.当我们结婚后，我连皮箱上的字母也不用改。