住院的病人05

“This was a visit from a gentleman of the name of Blessington, who was a  complete stranger to me. He came up to my room one morning, and plunged¹ into  business in an instant.

“‘You are the same Percy Trevelyan who has had so distinguished² a career and  won a great prize lately?’ said he.

“I bowed.

“‘Answer me frankly,’ he continued, ‘for you will find it to your interest  to do so. You have all the cleverness which makes a successful man. Have you the  tact³?’

“I could not help smiling at the abruptness⁴ of the question.

“‘I trust that I have my share,’ I said.

“‘Any bad habits? Not drawn⁵ towards drink, eh?’

“‘Really, sir!’ I cried.

“‘Quite right! That's all right! But I was bound to ask. With all these  qualities, why are you not in practice?’

“I shrugged⁶ my shoulders.

“‘Come, come!’ said he, in his bustling⁷ way. ‘It's the old story. More in  your brains than in your pocket, eh? What would you say if I were to start you  in Brook⁸ Street?’

“I stared at him in astonishment⁹.

“‘Oh, it's for my sake, not for yours,’ he cried. ‘I'll be perfectly¹⁰ frank  with you, and if it suits you it will suit me very well. I have a few thousands  to invest, d'ye see, and I think I'll sink them in you.’

“‘But why?’ I gasped¹¹.

“‘Well, it's just like any other speculation¹², and safer than most.’

“‘What am I to do, then?’

“‘I'll tell you. I'll take the house, furnish it, pay the maids, and run the  whole place. All you have to do is just to wear out your chair in the  consulting-room. I'll let you have pocket-money and everything. Then you hand  over to me three quarters of what you earn, and you keep the other quarter for  yourself.’

“这就是一位名叫布莱星顿的绅士的来访。布莱星顿和我素不相识，一天早晨他突然走进我 房里，开门见山地谈到他的来意。

“‘你就是那位取得卓越成就，最近获奖的珀西-特里维廉先生吗？’他说道。

“我点了点头。

“‘请坦率地回答我的问题，’他继续说道，‘你会看到这样做对你是有好处的。你非常有 才华，会成为一个有造就的人。你明白吗？’“听到这样突如其来的问题，我不由得笑了起 来。

“‘我相信我会尽力而为的，’我说道。

“‘你有不一良嗜好吗？不酗酒吗？’“‘没有，先生！’我大声说道。

“‘太好了！这太好了！不过我必须问问，你既然有这些本事，为什么不开业行医呢？’“ 我耸了耸肩。

“‘是啊，是啊！’他赶忙说，‘这是毫不足怪的。虽然你脑子里装的东西很多，可是口袋 里却一无所有，对不对？要是我帮你在布鲁克街开业，你的意见如何？’

“我惊异地两眼盯着他。

“‘啊，这是为了我自己的利益，并不是为了你，’他大声说道，‘我对你十分坦率，如果 这对你合适的话，那对我就更加合适了。我有几千镑准备投资，你知道，我认为我可以投资 给你。”

“‘那为什么呢？’我忙问道。

“‘啊，这正象别的投机事业一样，不过比较更保险一些。’

“‘那么，我该做些什么事呢？’

“‘我自然要告诉你的。我要替你租房子，置家具，雇女仆，管理一切。你要做的只是坐在 诊室里看病。我给你零用钱和一切需用的东西。然后你把你赚的钱一交一给我四分之三，剩 下的四分之一，你自己留着。’

1 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

2 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。

3 tact   

n.机敏，圆滑，得体

参考例句：

• She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
• Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。

4 abruptness   

n. 突然，唐突

参考例句：

• He hid his feelings behind a gruff abruptness. 他把自己的感情隐藏在生硬鲁莽之中。
• Suddenly Vanamee returned to himself with the abruptness of a blow. 伐那米猛地清醒过来，象挨到了当头一拳似的。

5 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。

6 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

8 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

9 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

10 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

11 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。