单身贵族案 32真相大白(9)

"The case has been an interesting one," remarked Holmes when our visitors had left us,

"这是一件非常有趣的案子。"我们的客人走后福尔摩斯说，

"because it serves to show very clearly how simple the explanation may be of an affair which at first sight seems to be almost inexplicable¹.

"因为它非常清楚地说明，一件在开始时看起来几乎无法解释的事情，后来解释起来却又是多么的简单。

Nothing could be more natural than the sequence of events as narrated² by this lady,

没有任何事情比这位女士所叙述的事情发生的先后次序更自然的了。

and nothing stranger than the result when viewed, for instance, by Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard."

可是另一些人，比如说苏格兰场的雷斯垂德先生，依他看来，就没有什么事情比这事情的结局更奇怪的了。"

"You were not yourself at fault at all, then?"

"那么，你一直就一点都没有弄错吗？"

"From the first, two facts were very obvious to me,

"从一开始，对我来说就有两件事情非常清楚。

the one that the lady had been quite willing to undergo the wedding ceremony,

一件是那位女士原来非常愿意举行婚礼；

the other that she had repented³ of it within a few minutes of returning home.

另一件是但她在回家后还不到几分钟的时间就后悔了。

Obviously something had occurred during the morning, then, to cause her to change her mind.

那么很明显，一定是早上发生了点什么事，使得她改变了主意。

What could that something be?

这件事可能是什么呢？

She could not have spoken to anyone when she was out, for she had been in the company of the bridegroom.

出了门以后，她不可能同任何人说过话，因为新郎一直在陪着她。

Had she seen someone, then?

那么，她有没有看到什么熟人呢？

If she had, it must be someone from America because she had spent so short a time in this country

如果有的话，这个人必然是从美国来的。因为她来到这个国家的日子很短，

that she could hardly have allowed anyone to acquire so deep an influence over her

不可能会有什么人给她造成这么深刻的影响，

that the mere⁴ sight of him would induce her to change her plans so completely.

以致只是看了那么一眼，就会使她完全改变她的计划。

You see we have already arrived, by a process of exclusion⁵, at the idea that she might have seen an American.

你瞧，经过一系列的去伪存真，我们已经得到这样一个结论，就是她可能看到了一个美国人。

Then who could this American be, and why should he possess so much influence over her?

那么这个美国人又能是谁呢，他为什么对她具有那么大的影响呢？

It might be a lover; it might be a husband.

可能是个情人，也可能是她的丈夫。

Her young womanhood had, I knew, been spent in rough scenes and under strange conditions.

我知道，她年轻时是在艰难而奇特的环境中度过的。

So far I had got before I ever heard Lord St. Simon's narrative⁶.

在我听到圣西蒙勋爵的叙述之前，我只了解这么一些。

When he told us of a man in a pew, of the change in the bride's manner,

当他告诉我们以下这些情况：在一排座位里有一位男人，新娘的态度起了变化，

of so transparent⁷ a device for obtaining a note as the dropping of a bouquet⁸,

显然是为了取得字条而从手里掉下了花束的这么一个把戏，

of her resort to her confidential⁹ maid, and of her very significant allusion¹⁰ to claim-jumping

她求助于她的心腹女仆以及她提到的侵占土地，

which in miners' parlance¹¹ means taking possession of that which another person has a prior claim to

这在采矿者的行话中意味着占据别人原来已占有的探矿权

the whole situation became absolutely clear.

整个情况就十分清楚了。

She had gone off with a man, and the man was either a lover or was a previous husband

她跟一个男人走了，那么这个男人不是她的情人，就一定是她过去的丈夫，

the chances being in favour of the latter."

丈夫的可能性要大一些。"

1 inexplicable   

adj.无法解释的，难理解的

参考例句：

• It is now inexplicable how that development was misinterpreted.当时对这一事态发展的错误理解究竟是怎么产生的，现在已经无法说清楚了。
• There are many things which are inexplicable by science.有很多事科学还无法解释。

2 narrated   

v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 repented   

对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He repented his thoughtlessness. 他后悔自己的轻率。
• Darren repented having shot the bird. 达伦后悔射杀了那只鸟。

4 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

5 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

6 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。

7 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

8 bouquet   

n.花束，酒香

参考例句：

• This wine has a rich bouquet.这种葡萄酒有浓郁的香气。
• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。

9 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

10 allusion   

n.暗示，间接提示

参考例句：

• He made an allusion to a secret plan in his speech.在讲话中他暗示有一项秘密计划。
• She made no allusion to the incident.她没有提及那个事件。

11 parlance   

n.说法；语调

参考例句：

• The term "meta directory" came into industry parlance two years ago.两年前，商业界开始用“元目录”这个术语。
• The phrase is common diplomatic parlance for spying.这种说法是指代间谍行为的常用外交辞令。