住院的病人07

“What happened was this. Two days ago I received the letter which I now read to  you. Neither address nor date is attached to it.

“‘A Russian nobleman who is now resident in England,’ it runs, ‘would be  glad to avail himself of the professional assistance of Dr. Percy Trevelyan. He  has been for some years a victim to cataleptic attacks, on which, as is well  known, Dr. Trevelyan is an authority. He proposes to call at about quarter past  six to-morrow evening, if Dr. Trevelyan will make it convenient to be at home.’

“This letter interested me deeply, because the chief difficulty in the study of  catalepsy is the rareness of the disease. You may believe, than, that I was in  my consulting-room when, at the appointed hour, the page showed in the patient.

He was an elderly man, thin, demure¹, and common-place—by no means the  conception one forms of a Russian nobleman. I was much more struck by the  appearance of his companion. This was a tall young man, surprisingly handsome,  with a dark, fierce face, and the limbs and chest of a Hercules. He had his hand  under the other's arm as they entered, and helped him to a chair with a  tenderness which one would hardly have expected from his appearance.

“‘You will excuse my coming in, doctor,’ said he to me, speaking English with  a slight lisp. ‘This is my father, and his health is a matter of the most  overwhelming importance to me.’

“I was touched by this filial anxiety. ‘You would, perhaps, care to remain  during the consultation²?’ said I.

“‘Not for the world,’ he cried with a gesture of horror. ‘It is more painful  to me than I can express. If I were to see my father in one of these dreadful  seizures³ I am convinced that I should never survive it. My own nervous system is  an exceptionally sensitive one. With your permission, I will remain in the  waiting-room while you go into my father's case.’

“To this, of course, I assented⁴, and the young man withdrew. The patient and I  then plunged⁵ into a discussion of his case, of which I took exhaustive notes. He  was not remarkable⁶ for intelligence, and his answers were frequently obscure,  which I attributed to his limited acquaintance with our language. Suddenly,  however, as I sat writing, he ceased to give any answer at all to my inquiries,  and on my turning towards him I was shocked to see that he was sitting bolt  upright in his chair, staring at me with a perfectly⁷ blank and rigid⁸ face. He  was again in the grip of his mysterious malady⁹.

“事情是这样的：两天以前，我收到一封信，我现在就把它读给你听，信上既没有地址，也 没有日期。

“一位侨居在英国的俄罗斯贵族（信上这样写着），亟愿到珀西-特里维廉医生处就医。几 年来他深受强直一性一昏厥病的折磨，而特里维廉医生在医治这种病症方面是人所共知的权 威。他准备明晚六点一刻左右前往就诊，如果特里维廉医生方便，请在家等候。’

“这封信使我深感兴趣。因为对强直症进行研究的主要困难在于这种疾病是罕见的。你可以 相信，当小听差在指定的时间领进病人时，我正等候在我的诊室里。

“他是一位身材瘦小的老人，异常拘谨，而且很平凡——不象是一个人们想象中的俄罗斯贵 族。他同伴的相貌给我的印象却很深。这是一个高大的年轻人，面色黝一黑，漂亮得惊人， 却带着一副凶相，有一副赫拉克勒斯［赫拉克勒斯：希腊神话中主神宙斯之子，力大无穷— —译者注］的肢一体和胸膛。他们进来时，他用手搀着老人的一只胳膊，把老人扶到椅子跟 前，表现得那样体贴入微，从他的外表你是很难料到他会这样作的。

“‘医生，请原谅我冒昧前来，’他用英语对我说道，说时有些口齿不清，‘这是我父亲， 他的健康，对我来说，是极为重要的事。’

“我见他这样孝顺，深受感动。‘或许，在诊治时，你愿意留在诊室里吧？’我说。

“‘绝对不行，’他惊叫起来，‘我受不了这种痛苦。如果我看到我父亲疾病发作时那种可 怕的样子，我相信我是忍受不了的。我自己的神经官能也十分敏一感。你如允许，在你给我 父亲诊治时，我可以在候诊室里等候。’

“我当然同意这样做，年轻人便离开了。我和病人便开始研究他的病情，我把它详尽无遗地 记了下来。他的智力很一般，回答问题常常含糊其词，我认为这是由于他不大懂我们的语言 。然而，正当我坐着写病历的时候，他对我的询问，突然停止了回答，当我转身向他时，我 非常惊诧地望到他笔直地坐在椅子上，面部毫无表情，肌肉强直，眼睛直盯着我。他的疾病 又发作了。

1 demure   

adj.严肃的；端庄的

参考例句：

• She's very demure and sweet.她非常娴静可爱。
• The luscious Miss Wharton gave me a demure but knowing smile.性感迷人的沃顿小姐对我羞涩地会心一笑。

2 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

3 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

4 assented   

同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
• "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对，”汤姆表示赞同地说，“他们不杀女人——真伟大！

5 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。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 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。

8 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

9 malady   

n.病，疾病(通常做比喻)

参考例句：

• There is no specific remedy for the malady.没有医治这种病的特效药。
• They are managing to control the malady into a small range.他们设法将疾病控制在小范围之内。