《巴斯克威尔猎犬》 28一封信件(1)

The Letter

一封信件

The following day was dull and foggy. The Hall was surrounded by heavy, low clouds, which opened now and then to show the grim¹, cold moor² and its wet, grey rocks. The weather made us miserable³. It was difficult to be cheerful⁴ when we felt danger all around us. I thougth of Sir Charles'death, and the awful sound of the hound⁵, which I had now heard twice. Holmes did not believe that there was a supernatural hound. But facts are facts, and I had heard a hound. Was there a huge hound living on the moor? If so, where could it hide? Where did it get its food? Why was it never seen by day? It was almost as difficult to accept a natural explanation as a supernatural explanation.

次日阴晦多雾。庄园被低沉的浓雾包围起来。它们时而散开，露出晦暗而又寒冷的沼地及其湿漉漉、灰蒙蒙的岩石。天气使得我们心情沉重。处于危险之中时很难高兴起来。我想起了查尔斯爵士的死，还有猎犬发出的可怕的吼声，这种声音我已听到过两次了。福尔摩斯不相信世上会有一只超乎自然的猎犬存在。但是，事实总归是事实，我本人也听到了猎犬的声音。沼地上确有一只巨大的猎犬吗？假如真有的话，那它藏在什么地方呢？它到哪里去找吃的呢？白天为何没人看到过它呢？合乎自然的解释几乎和超乎自然的解释一样难以叫人接受。

That morning Sir Henry and Barrymore argued about Selden, the escaped prisoner⁶. Barrymore said that it was wrong to try to catch Selden.

那天早晨，亨利爵士与白瑞摩就那个逃犯塞尔登而争辩了起来。白瑞摩说去抓塞尔登是件错事。

"But the man is dangerous, "said Sir Henry. "He'll do anything. Nobody is safe until he is in prison again. We must tell the police."

“可是此人很危险，”亨利说道。“他什么事情都干得出来。直到他被重新关押起来，大家才会获得安全。我们必须报告警方。”

"I promise he won't break into any house, "said Barrymore, "and he won't cause any trouble. In a few days he will catch a boat for South America. Please don't tell the police about him. If you tell the police, my wife and I will be in serious trouble. "

“我保证他不会闯进任何人家，”白瑞摩说道，“他也不会惹任何麻烦。几天之后他将乘船去南美。请别向警方告发他。您若报告了警方，我和我妻子就会有很大的麻烦。”

"What do you say, Watson? " asked Sir Henry, turning to me.

“华生，您有何高见？”亨利爵士转身向我问道。

1 grim   

adj.严酷的，令人害怕的，不愉快的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• I've had a grim day.我过了不愉快的一天。
• His expression was grim when he told them they had lost their jobs.当他告诉他们说他们已被解雇时，他的表情十分冷酷。

2 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

3 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。

4 cheerful   

adj.快活的，高兴的，兴高采烈

参考例句：

• Yellow is a cheerful colour.黄色是令人高兴的颜色。
• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。

5 hound   

n.猎狗，卑鄙的人；vt.用猎狗追，追逐

参考例句：

• The hound found the trail of the rabbit.猎狗发现了兔子的踪迹。
• The police have promised to hound down those responsible for the explosion.警方已保证要追查此次爆炸事件有责任的人员。

6 prisoner   

n.俘虏，囚犯，被监禁的人

参考例句：

• The soldier reported that a prisoner was at large.士兵报告说一名囚犯在逃。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。