波希米亚丑闻 10高贵的委托者（8）

"You will excuse this mask," continued our strange visitor.

"这面具你们不在意吧，"我们这位陌生的不速之客继续说，

"The august person who employs me wishes his agent to be unknown to you,

"派我来的贵人不愿意让你们知道他派来的代理人是谁，

and I may confess at once that the title by which I have just called myself is not exactly my own."

因此我可以立刻承认我刚才所说的并不是我自己真正的称号。"

"I was aware of it," said Holmes drily.

"这我知道"，福尔摩斯冷冰冰地答道。

"The circumstances are of great delicacy¹,

"情况十分微妙。

and every precaution has to be taken to quench² what might grow to be an immense scandal and seriously compromise one of the reigning³ families of Europe.

我们必须采取一切预防措施，尽力防止使事情发展成一个大丑闻，以免使一个欧洲王族遭到严重损害。

To speak plainly, the matter implicates⁴ the great House of Ormstein, hereditary⁵ kings of Bohemia."

坦率地说，这件事会使伟大的奥姆斯坦家族--波希米亚世袭国王--受到牵连。"

"I was also aware of that," murmured Holmes, settling himself down in his armchair and closing his eyes.

"这我也知道"，福尔摩斯喃喃地说道，随即坐到扶手椅里，阖上了眼睛。

Our visitor glanced with some apparent surprise at the languid,

这时我们的来客不禁对这个人倦怠的体态用一种明显的惊讶目光扫了一眼。

lounging figure of the man who had been no doubt depicted⁶ to him as the most incisive⁷ reasoner and most energetic agent in Europe.

他过去无疑是被刻画为欧洲分析问题最透彻的推理者和精力最充沛的侦探。

Holmes slowly reopened his eyes and looked impatiently at his gigantic client.

福尔摩斯慢条斯理地重新张开双眼，不耐烦地瞧着他那身躯魁伟的委托人。

"If your Majesty⁸ would condescend⁹ to state your case," he remarked, "I should be better able to advise you."

"要是陛下肯屈尊将案情阐明，"他说，"那我就会更好地为您效劳。"

The man sprang from his chair and paced up and down the room in uncontrollable agitation¹⁰.

这人从椅子里猛地站了起来，激动得无以自制地在屋子里踱来踱去。

Then, with a gesture of desperation, he tore the mask from his face and hurled¹¹ it upon the ground.

接着，他以一种绝望的姿态把脸上的面具扯掉扔到地下。

1 delicacy   

n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴

参考例句：

• We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
• He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。

2 quench   

vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制

参考例句：

• The firemen were unable to quench the fire.消防人员无法扑灭这场大火。
• Having a bottle of soft drink is not enough to quench my thirst.喝一瓶汽水不够解渴。

3 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

4 implicates   

n.牵涉，涉及（某人）( implicate的名词复数 )；表明（或意指）…是起因

参考例句：

• This confession implicates numerous officials in the bribery scandal. 这一供认会使许多官员牵连到受贿的丑事中。 来自辞典例句
• Did you tell him that the recording implicates President Logan in Palmer's assassination? 你有没有告诉他录音显示洛根总统跟帕尔默被杀有关？ 来自电影对白

5 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

6 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

7 incisive   

adj.敏锐的，机敏的，锋利的，切入的

参考例句：

• His incisive remarks made us see the problems in our plans.他的话切中要害，使我们看到了计划中的一些问题。
• He combined curious qualities of naivety with incisive wit and worldly sophistication.他集天真质朴的好奇、锐利的机智和老练的世故于一体。

8 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

9 condescend   

v.俯就，屈尊；堕落，丢丑

参考例句：

• Would you condescend to accompany me?你肯屈尊陪我吗？
• He did not condescend to answer.He turned his back on me.他不愿屈尊回答我的问题。他不理睬我。

10 agitation   

n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动

参考例句：

• Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。
• These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。

11 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》