住院的病人04

Sherlock Holmes sat down and lit his pipe. “You are very welcome to both,”  said he. “Pray let me have a detailed¹ account of what the circumstances are  which have disturbed you.”

“One or two of them are so trivial,” said Dr. Trevelyan, “that really I am  almost ashamed to mention them. But the matter is so inexplicable², and the  recent turn which it has taken is so elaborate, that I shall lay it all before  you, and you shall judge what is essential and what is not.

“I am compelled, to begin with, to say something of my own college career. I am  a London University man, you know, and I am sure that you will not think that I  am unduly³ singing my own praises if I say that my student career was considered  by my professors to be a very promising⁴ one. After I had graduated I continued  to devote myself to research, occupying a minor⁵ position in King's College  Hospital, and I was fortunate enough to excite considerable interest by my  research into the pathology of catalepsy, and finally to win the Bruce Pinkerton  prize and medal by the monograph⁶ on nervous lesions to which your friend has  just alluded⁷. I should not go too far if I were to say that there was a general  impression at that time that a distinguished⁸ career lay before me.

“But the one great stumbling-block lay in my want of capital. As you will  readily understand, a specialist who aims high is compelled to start in one of a  dozen streets in the Cavendish Square quarter, all of which entail⁹ enormous  rents and furnishing expenses. Besides this preliminary outlay¹⁰, he must be  prepared to keep himself for some years, and to hire a presentable carriage and  horse. To do this was quite beyond my power, and I could only hope that by  economy I might in ten years' time save enough to enable me to put up my plate.  Suddenly, however, an unexpected incident opened up quite a new prospect¹¹ to me.

歇洛克-福尔摩斯坐下来，点起了烟斗。

“你要我出主意、帮忙，我非常欢迎。”福尔摩斯说道，“请把那些使你感到不安的事情， 详细地讲给我听听。”

“其中有一两点是不值得说的，”特里维廉说道，“我提到这些，实在觉得惭愧。不过这件 事令人非常莫名其妙，而近来变得更加复杂，我只好把一切都摆在你面前，请你取其一精一 华，去其糟粕。

“首先，我不得不谈谈我大学生活中的某些事情。我曾是一个伦敦大学的学生，我相信，如 果我告诉你们，我的教授认为我是一个很有前途的学生，你们不会认为我是过于自吹自擂吧 。毕业以后，我在皇家大学附属医院担任了一个不甚重要的职务，继续致力于研究工作。我 很幸运，我对强直一性一昏厥病理的研究引起了人们极大的兴趣，我写了一篇你的朋友刚才 提到的关于神经损伤的专题论文，终于获得了布鲁斯-平克顿奖金和奖章。我毫不夸张地说 ，那时人们都认为我前程远大。

“可是我最大的障碍就是缺乏资金。你不难知道，一个专家要想出名的话，就必须在卡文迪 什广场区十二条大街中的一条街上开业。这就需要巨额房租和设备费。除了这笔创办费用， 他还必须准备能维持自己几年生活的钱款，还得租一辆象样的马车和马。要达到这些要求， 实在是我力所不及的。

我只能期望节衣缩食，用十年的时间积蓄，才能挂牌行医。然而，突然一件意料不到的事情 给我开辟了一个全新的境界。

1 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

2 inexplicable   

adj.无法解释的，难理解的

参考例句：

• It is now inexplicable how that development was misinterpreted.当时对这一事态发展的错误理解究竟是怎么产生的，现在已经无法说清楚了。
• There are many things which are inexplicable by science.有很多事科学还无法解释。

3 unduly   

adv.过度地，不适当地

参考例句：

• He did not sound unduly worried at the prospect.他的口气听上去对前景并不十分担忧。
• He argued that the law was unduly restrictive.他辩称法律的约束性有些过分了。

4 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

5 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

6 monograph   

n.专题文章，专题著作

参考例句：

• This monograph belongs to the category of serious popular books.这本专著是一本较高深的普及读物。
• It's a monograph you wrote six years ago.这是你六年前写的的专论。

7 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

8 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

9 entail   

vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要

参考例句：

• Such a decision would entail a huge political risk.这样的决定势必带来巨大的政治风险。
• This job would entail your learning how to use a computer.这工作将需要你学会怎样用计算机。

10 outlay   

n.费用，经费，支出；v.花费

参考例句：

• There was very little outlay on new machinery.添置新机器的开支微乎其微。
• The outlay seems to bear no relation to the object aimed at.这费用似乎和预期目的完全不相称。

11 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。