身份案 04事件的开端(4)

Looking over his shoulder, I saw that on the pavement opposite there stood a large woman with a heavy fur boa round her neck,

我从他的肩上往外看去，对面人行道上站着一个高大的女人，颈上围着厚毛皮围脖，

and a large curling red feather in a broad-brimmed hat which was tilted¹ in a coquettish Duchess of Devonshire fashion over her ear.

插着一支大而卷曲的羽毛的宽边帽子，以德文郡公爵夫人卖弄风情的姿态，歪戴在一只耳朵上面。

From under this great panoply² she peeped up in a nervous, hesitating fashion at our windows,

在这样盛装之下，她神情紧张、迟疑不决地向上窥视着我们的窗子，

while her body oscillated backward and forward, and her fingers fidgeted with her glove buttons.

同时身体前后摇晃着，手指烦躁不安地拨弄着手套的钮扣。

Suddenly, with a plunge³, as of the swimmer who leaves the bank, she hurried across the road, and we heard the sharp clang of the bell.

突然，像游泳者从岸上一跃入水那样，她急遽地穿过马路，我们听到了一阵刺耳的门铃声。

"I have seen those symptoms before," said Holmes, throwing his cigarette into the fire.

福尔摩斯把烟头扔到壁炉里，说："这种征兆，我以前看见过。

"Oscillation upon the pavement always means an affaire de coeur.

在人行道上摇摇晃晃经常是意味着发生了色情事件。

She would like advice, but is not sure that the matter is not too delicate for communication.

她想要征询一下别人的意见，但是又拿不定主意是否应把这样微妙的事情告诉别人。

And yet even here we may discriminate⁴.

就在这点上也要加以区别。

When a woman has been seriously wronged by a man she no longer oscillates, and the usual symptom is a broken bell wire.

当一个女人觉得一个男人做了很对不起她的事的时候，她不再摇晃了，通常的征兆是急得把门铃线都给你拉断了。

Here we may take it that there is a love matter, but that the maiden⁵ is not so much angry as perplexed⁶, or grieved.

现在这个我们可以看作是一桩恋爱事件，不过这个女子并不怎么愤怒，而只是迷惘或忧伤。

But here she comes in person to resolve our doubts."

好在目前她亲自登门造访，我们的疑团也就可以迎刃而解了。"

As he spoke⁷ there was a tap at the door, and the boy in buttons entered to announce Miss Mary Sutherland,

他正说着，有人敲门，穿着号衣的男仆进来报告说玛丽·萨瑟兰小姐来访。

while the lady herself loomed⁸ behind his small black figure like a full-sailed merchant-man behind a tiny pilot boat.

话音未落，这位女客就出现在他那穿着黑色号衣的矮小身材后面，仿佛随着领港小船扬帆而来的一艘商船。

1 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

2 panoply   

n.全副甲胄，礼服

参考例句：

• But all they had added was the trappings and panoply of applied science.但是他们所增添的一切,不过是实用科学的装饰和甲胄罢了。
• The lakes were surrounded By a panoply of mountains.群湖为壮丽的群山所环抱。

3 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

4 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

5 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

6 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》