巴斯克威尔的猎犬 巴斯克维尔的诅咒（12）

 

"It was at my advice that Sir Charles was about to go to London. His heart was, I knew,affected, and the constant anxiety in which he lived, however chimerical¹ the cause of it might be,was evidently having a serious effect upon his health. I thought that a few months among thedistractions of town would send him back a new man. Mr. Stapleton, a mutual² friend who wasmuch concerned at his state of health, was of the same opinion. At the last instant came thisterrible catastrophe³.

“还是听从了我的劝告， 查尔兹爵士才打算到伦敦去。 我知道， 他的心脏已经受了 影响，他经常处于焦虑之中， 不管其缘由是如何的虚幻， 显然已严重地影响了 他的健康。 我想， 几个月的都市生活就能把他变成一个新人了。我们共同的朋友斯台普吞先生非常关心他的健康状况， 他和我的意见相同。 可是， 这可怕的灾祸竟在临行前的最后一刻发生了。

"On the night of Sir Charles's death Barrymore the butler who made the discovery, sentPerkins the groom⁴ on horseback to me, and as I was sitting up late I was able to reach BaskervilleHall within an hour of the event. I checked and corroborated⁵ all the facts which were mentioned atthe inquest. I followed the footsteps down the yew⁶ alley⁷, I saw the spot at the moor-gate where heseemed to have waited, I remarked the change in the shape of the prints after that point, I notedthat there were no other footsteps save those of Barrymore on the soft gravel⁸, and finally Icarefully examined the body, which had not been touched until my arrival. Sir Charles lay on hisface, his arms out, his fingers dug into the ground, and his features convulsed with some strongemotion to such an extent that I could hardly have sworn to his identity. TheFe was certainly nophysical injury of any kind. But one false statement was made by Barrymore at the inquest. Hesaid that there were no traces upon the ground round the body. He did not observe any. But I did --some little distance off, but fresh and clear."“在查尔兹爵士暴死的当晚， 总管白瑞摩发现以后， 立刻就派了 马夫波金斯骑着马来找我， 因为我就寝很晚， 所以在出事后一小时之内我就来到了巴斯克维尔庄园。 我验证了所有在验尸过程中提到过的事实。 我顺着水松夹道往前观察了他的脚印， 看过了对着沼地的那扇栅门的地方， 看来他曾在那儿等过人， 我注意到由那一点以下的足迹形状的变化。 我还发现了， 除了白瑞摩在软土地上留下的那些足迹之外没有其他足迹。最后我又细心地检查了尸体，在我到达以前还没有人动过它。 查尔兹爵士趴在地上， 两臂伸出， 他的手指插在泥土里； 他的面部肌肉因强烈的情感而紧缩起来， 甚至使我无法辨认， 确实没有任何伤痕。 可是在验尸的时候白瑞摩曾提供了一个不真实的证明。 他说在尸体周围的地上没有任何痕迹， 他什么也没有看到。 可是， 我倒看到了——就在相距不远的地方， 不仅清晰而且是痕迹犹新。”

"Footprints?"

“足迹？ ”

"Footprints. "

“足迹。”

"A man's or a woman's?"

“是男人的还是女人的？ ”

Dr. Mortimer looked strangely at us for an instant, and his voice sank almost to a whisper ashe answered:

摩梯末奇怪地望了我们一会儿， 在回答的时候， 声音低得几乎象耳语一样：

"Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!"“福尔摩斯先生， 是个极大的猎狗的爪印！”

1 chimerical   

adj.荒诞不经的，梦幻的

参考例句：

• His Utopia is not a chimerical commonwealth but a practical improvement on what already exists.他的乌托邦不是空想的联邦，而是对那些已经存在的联邦事实上的改进。
• Most interpret the information from the victims as chimerical thinking.大多数来自于受害者的解释是被当作空想。

2 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

3 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

4 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

5 corroborated   

v.证实，支持（某种说法、信仰、理论等）( corroborate的过去式 )

参考例句：

• The evidence was corroborated by two independent witnesses. 此证据由两名独立证人提供。
• Experiments have corroborated her predictions. 实验证实了她的预言。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 yew   

n.紫杉属树木

参考例句：

• The leaves of yew trees are poisonous to cattle.紫杉树叶会令牛中毒。
• All parts of the yew tree are poisonous,including the berries.紫杉的各个部分都有毒，包括浆果。

7 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

8 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。