工程师大拇指案 31实地调查(2)

Some three hours or so afterwards we were all in the train together, bound from Reading to the little Berkshire village.

大约过了三个小时，我们一起上了火车，从雷丁出发前往伯克郡的小村子。

There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic¹ engineer, Inspector² Bradstreet, of Scotland Yard, a plain-clothes man, and myself.

一行数人有歇洛克·福尔摩斯、那个水利工程师、苏格兰场的布雷兹特里特巡官，还有一位便衣侦探和我。

Bradstreet had spread an ordnance³ map of the county out upon the seat

布雷兹特里特在座位上铺开一张本郡的军用地图，

and was busy with his compasses drawing a circle with Eyford for its centre.

忙着用圆规以艾津为中心画了一个圆圈。

"There you are," said he. "That circle is drawn⁴ at a radius⁵ of ten miles from the village.

"就在这儿，"他说，"这个圆圈是以这个车站为中心、十英里为半径画的。

The place we want must be somewhere near that line. You said ten miles, I think, sir."

我们要找的那个地方大约是在靠近这边线的某个地方。先生，我记得您说的是十英里。"

"It was an hour's good drive."

"马车足足跑了一小时。"

"And you think that they brought you back all that way when you were unconscious?"

"您以为他们是在您昏迷之中把您从那么老远送回来的吗？"

"They must have done so. I have a confused memory, too, of having been lifted and conveyed somewhere."

"想必他们是这样做的。我模模糊糊地有点记得似乎是被抬起来运到什么地方去过。"

"What I cannot understand," said I, "is why they should have spared you when they found you lying fainting in the garden.

"我不能理解的是，"我说，"为什么他们在发现您昏迷在花园里时会饶了您？

Perhaps the villain⁶ was softened⁷ by the woman's entreaties⁸."

可能那个坏蛋由于那个女人求情心软了？"

"I hardly think that likely. I never saw a more inexorable face in my life."

"我认为那不大可能。我一生中从来没有见到过比那更冷酷的面孔。"

1 hydraulic   

adj.水力的；水压的，液压的；水力学的

参考例句：

• The boat has no fewer than five hydraulic pumps.这艘船配有不少于5个液压泵。
• A group of apprentics were operating the hydraulic press.一群学徒正在开动水压机。

2 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

3 ordnance   

n.大炮，军械

参考例句：

• She worked in an ordnance factory during the war.战争期间她在一家兵工厂工作。
• Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce,ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer.军队很缺鞋和衣服，武器供应和药品就更少了。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

6 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

7 softened   

（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

8 entreaties   

n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He began with entreaties and ended with a threat. 他先是恳求，最后是威胁。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves. 暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。 来自《简明英汉词典》