工程师大拇指案 02奇怪的病人(2)

It was in the summer of '89, not long after my marriage, that the events occurred which I am now about to summarize.

我现在要扼要讲讲的故事发生在我结婚后不久的一八八九年的夏天。

I had returned to civil practice and had finally abandoned Holmes in his Baker¹ Street rooms,

我那时已重新开业行医，并且终于把福尔摩斯一个人舍弃在贝克街的寓所里，

although I continually visited him and occasionally even persuaded him to forego his Bohemian habits so far as to come and visit us.

虽然我还不时地探望他，甚至偶尔还劝说他去掉他那豪放不羁的习性来我家作客。

My practice had steadily² increased, and as I happened to live at no very great distance from Paddington Station,

我的业务蒸蒸日上，凑巧我的住处离帕丁顿车站不远，

I got a few patients from among the officials.

有几位铁路员工就到我这里来看病。

One of these, whom I had cured of a painful and lingering disease,

由于我治好了他们当中一位所患的痛苦缠绵的病，

was never weary of advertising³ my virtues⁴ and of endeavouring to send me on every sufferer over whom he might have any influence.

他就不厌其烦地到处大肆宣传我的医术，尽量将他能够对之施加影响的每一个病人都送到我这里来诊治。

One morning, at a little before seven o'clock,

一天早晨，将近七点钟的时候，

I was awakened⁵ by the maid tapping at the door to announce that two men had come from Paddington and were waiting in the consulting-room.

我被女佣人的敲门声吵醒。她对我说，从帕丁顿来了两个人，正在诊室里等候。

I dressed hurriedly, for I knew by experience that railway cases were seldom trivial, and hastened downstairs.

我急忙穿上衣服，匆匆下楼，因为经验告诉我，铁路上来的人，病情大都是相当严重的。

As I descended⁶, my old ally, the guard, came out of the room and closed the door tightly behind him.

我下楼后，我的老伙伴--那个铁路警察从诊室里走了出来，并随手把门紧紧地关上。

"I've got him here," he whispered, jerking his thumb over his shoulder; "he's all right."

"我把他带到这儿来了，"他把大拇指举到肩头朝后指指，悄悄地说："他现在问题不大了。"

"What is it, then?" I asked, for his manner suggested that it was some strange creature which he had caged up in my room.

"这是怎么回事？"我问道，因为他的举止使我感到似乎他把一个怪物关在我的房间里了。

"It's a new patient," he whispered. "I thought I'd bring him round myself; then he couldn't slip away.

"是一个新病人，"他悄悄地说，"我认为我最好还是亲自把他送来，这样他就溜不掉了。

There he is, all safe and sound. I must go now, Doctor; I have my dooties, just the same as you."

我现在就得走，大夫，我和你一样，还得值班去，他现在在里边安然无恙了。"

And off he went, this trusty tout⁷, without even giving me time to thank him.

说完，这位忠实的介绍人，甚至不让我有向他道谢的机会，就一下子走掉了。

1 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

2 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

3 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

4 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

5 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

7 tout   

v.推销，招徕；兜售；吹捧，劝诱

参考例句：

• They say it will let them tout progress in the war.他们称这将有助于鼓吹他们在战争中的成果。
• If your case studies just tout results,don't bother requiring registration to view them.如果你的案例研究只是吹捧结果，就别烦扰别人来注册访问了。