绿玉皇冠案 11霍尔德先生的家庭情况(3)

"And now there is only she to be described.

"讲到这里，现在只剩下她一个人的情况需要说一说了。

She is my niece; but when my brother died five years ago and left her alone in the world I adopted her,

她是我的侄女；五年前我兄弟去世后，将她孤苦伶仃地遗留在这世界上。

and have looked upon her ever since as my daughter.

我收养了她并一向把她看作我的亲生女儿。

She is a sunbeam in my house -- sweet, loving, beautiful, a wonderful manager and housekeeper¹,

她是我家里的阳光——温柔，可爱，美丽，很会管理和操持家务，

yet as tender and quiet and gentle as a woman could be.

而且具有妇女应有的那种文雅恬静、极其温顺的气质。

She is my right hand. I do not know what I could do without her.

她是我的左右手，我不知道如果没有她我该怎么办。

In only one matter has she ever gone against my wishes.

只有一件事她违背了我的意愿。

Twice my boy has asked her to marry him, for he loves her devotedly², but each time she has refused him.

我的儿子两次向她求婚，因为他实在是诚心诚意地爱她，但是两次她都拒绝了。

I think that if anyone could have drawn³ him into the right path it would have been she,

我想如果说有谁能够把我儿子引导到正路上来，那只有她能做到，

and that his marriage might have changed his whole life;

我想他婚后的全部生活将会有所改变。

but now, alas⁴! it is too late -- forever too late!"

可是现在，哎呀！已经是无可挽回了，永远不可挽回了。

Now, Mr. Holmes, you know the people who live under my roof, and I shall continue with my miserable⁵ story."

福尔摩斯先生，现在你对我家里所有的人都了解了，下面我把这桩不幸的事继续讲给你听。"

1 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

2 devotedly   

专心地； 恩爱地； 忠实地； 一心一意地

参考例句：

• He loved his wife devotedly. 他真诚地爱他的妻子。
• Millions of fans follow the TV soap operas devotedly. 千百万观众非常着迷地收看这部电视连续剧。

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 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

5 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。