铜山毛榉案 04当事人到访(1)

As he spoke¹ the door opened and a young lady entered the room.

话音未落，房门开处只见一位年轻的小姐走进房间。

She was plainly but neatly² dressed, with a bright, quick face, freckled³ like a plover's egg,

她衣着朴素，但很整齐，面容生气勃勃、聪明伶俐，长着象鸻鸟蛋那样的雀斑，

and with the brisk manner of a woman who has had her own way to make in the world.

举动敏捷，像个为人处事很有主意的妇女。

"You will excuse my troubling you, I am sure," said she, as my companion rose to greet her,

"我肯定你会原谅我来打扰你的，"当我的同伴起身迎接她的时候，她说，

"but I have had a very strange experience, and as I have no parents or relations of any sort from whom I could ask advice,

"我磁上一件十分奇怪的事，由于我没有父母或任何其他亲属可以请教，

I thought that perhaps you would be kind enough to tell me what I should do."

我想也许你会好心告诉我该怎样办。"

"Pray take a seat, Miss Hunter. I shall be happy to do anything that I can to serve you."

"请坐，亨特小姐，我将会高兴地尽力为你服务。"

I could see that Holmes was favourably⁴ impressed by the manner and speech of his new client.

我看得出来福尔摩斯对这位新委托人的举止和谈吐有良好的印象。

He looked her over in his searching fashion,

他以探究的眼光打量了她一番，

and then composed himself, with his lids drooping⁵ and his finger-tips together, to listen to her story.

然后镇静下来，垂着眼皮，指尖顶着指尖，听她陈述事情的经过。

"I have been a governess for five years," said she, "in the family of Colonel Spence Munro,

"我在斯彭斯·芒罗上校的家里担任了五年的家庭女教师，"她说，

but two months ago the colonel received an appointment at Halifax, in Nova Scotia,

"但是两个月以前，上校奉命到新斯科舍的哈利法克斯去工作；

and took his children over to America with him, so that I found myself without a situation.

他带了他的几个孩子同往美洲，我便失了业。

I advertised, and I answered advertisements, but without success.

我登报寻找职业，并按报纸上的招聘广告前往应征，但都没有成功。

At last the little money which I had saved began to run short, and I was at my wit's end as to what I should do."

最后我积蓄的小小存款开始枯竭，我已到了毫无办法、不知道如何是好的地步。"

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

3 freckled   

adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her face was freckled all over. 她的脸长满雀斑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Her freckled skin glowed with health again. 她长有雀斑的皮肤又泛出了健康的红光。 来自辞典例句

4 favourably   

adv. 善意地，赞成地 =favorably

参考例句：

• The play has been favourably commented by the audience. 本剧得到了观众的好评。
• The open approach contrasts favourably with the exclusivity of some universities. 这种开放式的方法与一些大学的封闭排外形成了有利的对比。

5 drooping   

adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词

参考例句：

• The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
• The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。