单身贵族案 05贵族来信(5)

"Here is the first notice which I can find.

"这是我能找到的第一条消息。

It is in the personal column of the Morning Post, and dates, as you see, some weeks back:

登在《晨邮报》的起事栏里，日期是，你瞧，几周以前：

"A marriage has been arranged (it says) and will, if rumour¹ is correct, very shortly take place,

'如果传闻属实，（据说）一场婚礼已经安排就绪，最近即将举行，

between Lord Robert St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral,

是巴尔莫拉尔公爵的次子，罗伯特·圣西蒙勋爵，

and Miss Hatty Doran, the only daughter of Aloysius Doran, Esq., of San Francisco, Cal., U.S.A. That is all."

与美国加利福尼亚州旧金山阿洛伊修斯·多兰先生的独生女哈蒂·多兰小姐的婚事。'就这些。"

"Terse² and to the point," remarked Holmes, stretching his long, thin legs towards the fire.

"简明扼要，"福尔摩斯说。他把他那又瘦又长的腿伸向火炉旁边。

"There was a paragraph amplifying³ this in one of the society papers of the same week. Ah, here it is:

"同一周内一份社交界的报纸上对这件事有一段更详细的记载。啊，在这儿：

"There will soon be a call for protection in the marriage market,

'在婚姻市场上不久将会出现要求采取保护政策的呼声，

for the present free-trade principle appears to tell heavily against our home product.

因为目前这种自由贸易式的婚姻政策，看来对我们英国同胞极为不利。

One by one the management of the noble houses of Great Britain is passing into the hands of our fair cousins from across the Atlantic.

大不列颠名门望族大权旁落，一个接一个地为来自大西洋彼岸的女表亲所掌握。

An important addition has been made during the last week to the list of the prizes which have been borne away by these charming invaders⁴.

上周这些妩媚的入侵者在她们夺走的胜利品名单中，又添上了一位重要人物。

Lord St. Simon, who has shown himself for over twenty years proof against the little god's arrows,

圣西蒙勋爵二十多年来从未堕入情网，

has now definitely announced his approaching marriage with Miss Hatty Doran, the fascinating daughter of a California millionaire.

现在却明确地宣布即将与加利福尼亚百万富翁的令人一见倾心的女儿哈蒂·多兰小姐结婚。

Miss Doran, whose graceful⁵ figure and striking face attracted much attention at the Westbury House festivities, is an only child,

多兰小姐是一位独生女，她优雅的体态和惊人的美貌在韦斯特伯里宫的庆典欢宴上，引起了人们极大的注意，

and it is currently reported that her dowry will run to considerably⁶ over the six figures, with expectancies⁷ for the future.

最近传说，她的嫁妆将大大超过六位数字，预期将来还会有其它增益。

As it is an open secret that the Duke of Balmoral has been compelled to sell his pictures within the last few years,

由于巴尔莫拉尔公爵近年来不得不出卖自己的藏画，这已成为公开的秘密，

and as Lord St. Simon has no property of his own save the small estate of Birchmoor,

而圣西蒙勋爵除伯奇穆尔荒地那菲薄的产业之外，一无所有，

it is obvious that the Californian heiress is not the only gainer by an alliance

显然这不只是这位加利福尼亚的女继承人这一方面占了便宜，

which will enable her to make the easy and common transition from a Republican lady to a British peeress."

这一联烟使她由一位女共和党人轻而易举地一跃而成为不列颠的贵妇。'"

1 rumour   

n.谣言，谣传，传闻

参考例句：

• I should like to know who put that rumour about.我想知道是谁散布了那谣言。
• There has been a rumour mill on him for years.几年来，一直有谣言产生，对他进行中伤。

2 terse   

adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的

参考例句：

• Her reply about the matter was terse.她对此事的答复简明扼要。
• The president issued a terse statement denying the charges.总统发表了一份简短的声明，否认那些指控。

3 amplifying   

放大，扩大( amplify的现在分词 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• Often they use borrowed funds, amplifying their gains and losses. 他们通常会用借贷的资金交易，从而放大收益或损失。
• An amplifying type (or analog) device, as opposed to digital device. 放大器类（或模拟）器件，相对于数字器件而言的。

4 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

5 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

6 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

7 expectancies   

期待，期望( expectancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Each of us came with his own expectancies. 我们每个人都有自己的希望。
• In fact, modern lifestyles are actually exacerbating the gap between male and female life expectancies. 实际上，现代生活方式确实加大了男女寿命差别的鸿沟。