斑点带子案 15离奇死亡(1)

"One moment," said Holmes; "are you sure about this whistle and metallic¹ sound? Could you swear to it?"

"等一等，"福尔摩斯说，"你敢十分肯定听到那口哨声和金属碰撞声了吗？你能保证吗？"

"That was what the county coroner asked me at the inquiry².

"本郡验尸官在调查时也正是这样问过我的。

It is my strong impression that I heard it,

我是听到的，它给我的印象非常深。

and yet, among the crash of the gale³ and the creaking of an old house, I may possibly have been deceived."

可是在猛烈的风暴声和老房子嘎嘎吱吱的一片响声中，我也有可能听错。"

"Was your sister dressed?" "No, she was in her night-dress.

"你姐姐还穿着白天的衣服吗？""没有，她穿着睡衣。

In her right hand was found the charred⁴ stump⁵ of a match, and in her left a match-box."

在她的右手中发现了一根烧焦了的火柴棍，左手里有个火柴盒。"

"Showing that she had struck a light and looked about her when the alarm took place.

"这说明在出事的时候，她划过火柴，并向周围看过。

That is important. And what conclusions did the coroner come to?"

这一点很重要。验尸官得出了什么结论？"

"He investigated the case with great care, for Dr. Roylott's conduct had long been notorious in the county,

"他非常认真地调查了这个案子，因为罗伊洛特医生的品行在郡里早已臭名昭著，

but he was unable to find any satisfactory cause of death.

但是他找不出任何能说服人的致死原因。

My evidence showed that the door had been fastened upon the inner side,

我证明，房门总是由室内的门锁锁住的，

and the windows were blocked by old-fashioned shutters⁶ with broad iron bars, which were secured every night.

窗子也是由带有宽铁杠的老式百叶窗护挡着，每天晚上都关得严严的。

The walls were carefully sounded, and were shown to be quite solid all round,

墙壁仔细地敲过，发现四面都很坚固，

and the flooring was also thoroughly⁷ examined, with the same result.

地板也经过了彻底检查，结果也是一样。

The chimney is wide, but is barred up by four large staples⁸.

烟囱倒是很宽阔，但也是用了四个大锁环闩上的。

It is certain, therefore, that my sister was quite alone when she met her end.

因此，可以肯定我姐姐在遭到不幸的时候，只有她一个人在房间里。

Besides, there were no marks of any violence upon her."

再说，她身上没有任何暴力的痕迹。"

1 metallic   

adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的

参考例句：

• A sharp metallic note coming from the outside frightened me.外面传来尖锐铿锵的声音吓了我一跳。
• He picked up a metallic ring last night.昨夜他捡了一个金属戒指。

2 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

3 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

4 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

6 shutters   

百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门

参考例句：

• The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
• The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。

7 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

8 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句