斑点带子案 43多行不义必自毙(2)

Suddenly there was the momentary¹ gleam of a light up in the direction of the ventilator, which vanished immediately,

突然，从通气孔那个方向闪现出一道瞬刻即逝的亮光，

but was succeeded by a strong smell of burning oil and heated metal.

随之而来的是一股燃烧煤油和加热金属的强烈气味。

Someone in the next room had lit a dark-lantern.

隔壁房间里有人点着了一盏遮光灯。

I heard a gentle sound of movement, and then all was silent once more, though the smell grew stronger.

我听到了轻轻挪动的声音，接着，一切又都沉寂下来，可是那气味却越来越浓。

For half an hour I sat with straining ears.

我竖起耳朵坐了足足半个小时。

Then suddenly another sound became audible -- a very gentle, soothing² sound,

突然，我听到另一种声音，一种非常柔和轻缓的声音，

like that of a small jet of steam escaping continually from a kettle.

就像烧开了的水壶嘶嘶地喷着气。

The instant that we heard it,

在我们听到这声音的一瞬间，

Holmes sprang from the bed, struck a match, and lashed³ furiously with his cane⁴ at the bell-pull.

福尔摩斯从床上跳了起来，划着了一根火柴，用他那根藤鞭猛烈地抽打那铃绳。

"You see it, Watson?" he yelled. "You see it?"

"你看见了没有，华生？"他大声地嚷着，"你看见了没有？"

But I saw nothing. At the moment when Holmes struck the light I heard a low, clear whistle,

可是我什么也没有看见。就在福尔摩斯划着火柴的时候，我听到一声低沉、清晰的口哨声，

but the sudden glare flashing into my weary eyes made it impossible for me to tell what it was at which my friend lashed so savagely⁵.

但是，突如其来的耀眼亮光照着我疲倦的眼睛，使我看不清我朋友正在拼命抽打的是什么东西。

I could, however, see that his face was deadly pale and filled with horror and loathing⁶.

可是我却看到，他的脸死一样地苍白，满脸恐怖和憎恶的表情。

1 momentary   

adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的

参考例句：

• We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
• I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

2 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

3 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

5 savagely   

adv. 野蛮地，残酷地

参考例句：

• The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。
• He snarled savagely at her. 他向她狂吼起来。

6 loathing   

n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢

参考例句：

• She looked at her attacker with fear and loathing . 她盯着襲擊她的歹徒，既害怕又憎恨。
• They looked upon the creature with a loathing undisguised. 他们流露出明显的厌恶看那动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》