身份案 21玩弄感情的骗子(2)

The man who entered was a sturdy¹, middle-sized fellow, some thirty years of age,

进门的男人身体结实，中等身材，三十来岁，

clean-shaven, and sallow-skinned, with a bland², insinuating³ manner, and a pair of wonderfully sharp and penetrating⁴ gray eyes.

胡须刮得干干净净，肤色淡黄，一副殷勤的、曲意奉承的样子，一双锐利逼人的灰色眼睛。

He shot a questioning glance at each of us, placed his shiny top-hat upon the sideboard,

他询问地扫视了我们俩一眼，把那顶有光泽的圆式帽子搁在边架上，

and with a slight bow sidled down into the nearest chair.

微微鞠了个躬，侧身坐在就近的椅子上。

"Good-evening, Mr. James Windibank," said Holmes.

"晚安，詹姆斯·温迪班克先生，"福尔摩斯说道，

"I think that this typewritten letter is from you, in which you made an appointment with me for six o'clock?"

"我想这封打字的信是出自你手的吧，你在信中约定六点钟和我们见面，是吗？"

"Yes, sir. I am afraid that I am a little late, but I am not quite my own master, you know.

"是的，先生。我怕是稍微来迟了，不过我身不由己啊。

I am sorry that Miss Sutherland has troubled you about this little matter,

我很抱歉萨瑟兰小姐拿这种微不足道的事情来麻烦你，

for I think it is far better not to wash linen⁵ of the sort in public.

我觉得还是不要家丑外扬的好。

It was quite against my wishes that she came, but she is a very excitable, impulsive⁶ girl, as you may have noticed,

她来找你们，这是违背了我的意愿的。你们也已看到了，

and she is not easily controlled when she has made up her mind on a point.

她是个好发脾气、容易冲动的姑娘，她一旦决定干什么就难以自制。

Of course, I did not mind you so much, as you are not connected with the official police,

当然我对你们倒是不太介意，因为你们与官厅警察没有联系；

but it is not pleasant to have a family misfortune⁷ like this noised abroad.

不过让这种家庭的不幸张扬到社会上去却也不是令人高兴的事。

Besides, it is a useless expense, for how could you possibly find this Hosmer Angel?"

而且，这是徒劳无益的，因为你怎么可能找到霍斯默·安吉尔这个人呢？"

"On the contrary," said Holmes quietly; "I have every reason to believe that I will succeed in discovering Mr. Hosmer Angel."

"恰恰相反，"福尔摩斯平静地说，“我很有理由相信我会找到霍斯默·安吉尔先生。"

1 sturdy   

adj.强壮的，结实的，坚固的，坚定(强)的

参考例句：

• We need several sturdy men to push this car.我们需要几个强壮的人来推车。
• Children need sturdy shoes.孩子们需要结实的鞋子。

2 bland   

adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的

参考例句：

• He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。
• This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。

3 insinuating   

adj.曲意巴结的，暗示的v.暗示( insinuate的现在分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入

参考例句：

• Are you insinuating that I' m telling a lie ? 你这是意味着我是在说谎吗？ 来自辞典例句
• He is extremely insinuating, but it's a vulgar nature. 他好奉承拍马，那是种庸俗的品格。 来自辞典例句

4 penetrating   

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

• He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
• He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

5 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

6 impulsive   

adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的

参考例句：

• She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
• He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。

7 misfortune   

n.不幸，厄运，逆境，不幸事故，灾难

参考例句：

• It is said to be an omen of misfortune.那被认为是一种不幸的先兆。
• She had the misfortune to break her leg.她不幸摔断了腿。