巴斯克威尔的猎犬 梅利琵宅邸的主人斯台普吞（17）

 

　　"You have introduced yourselves, I can see."“我看得出来， 你们已经自我介绍过了。”

　　"Yes. I was telling Sir Henry that it was rather late for him to see the true beauties of the moor¹."

　　“是啊， 我正和亨利爵士说， 他来得太晚了， 已经看不到沼地的真正美丽之处了 。”

　　"Why, who do you think this is?"

　　“啊， 你以为这位是谁呀？ ”

　　"I imagine that it must be Sir Henry Baskerville."“我想象一定是亨利· 巴斯克维尔爵士。”

　　"No, no," said I. "Only a humble² commoner, but his friend. My name is Dr. Watson."“不， 不对， ” 我说道，“我不过是个卑微的普通人， 是爵士的朋友， 我是华生医生。”

　　A flush of vexation passed over her expressive³ face. "We have been talking at cross purposes," said she.

　　她那富于表情的面孔因懊恼而泛起了红晕。 “我们竟然在误会之中谈起天来了 。”她说道。

　　"Why, you had not very much time for talk," her brother remarked with the same question in geyes.

　　“啊， 没关系， 你们谈话的时间并不长啊。” 她哥哥说话时仍以怀疑的眼光看着我们。

　　"I talked as if Dr. Watson were a resident instead of being merely a visitor," said she. "Itcannot much matter to him whether it is early or late for the orchids⁴. But you will come on, will you not, and see Merrip it House?"

　　“我没有把华生医生当作客人， 而是把他当作本地住户似地和他谈话，” 她说道，“对他说来， 兰花的早晚是没多大关系的。 可是来吧， 您不看一看我们在梅利琵的房子吗？ ”

　　A short walk brought us to it, a bleak⁵ moorland house, once the farm of some grazier in theold prosperous days, but now put into repair and turned into a modern dwelling⁶. An orchard⁷ surrounded it, but the trees, as is usual upon the moor, were stunted⁸ and nipped, and the effect ofthe whole place was mean and melancholy⁹. We were admitted by a strange, wizened¹⁰, rusty-coated old manservant, who seemed in keeping with the house. Inside, however, there were large rooms furnished with an elegance¹¹ in which I seemed to recognize the taste of the lady. As I looked from their windows at the interminable granite-flecked moor rolling unbroken to the farthest horizon I could not but marvel¹² at what could have brought this highly educated man and this beautiful woman to live in such a place.

　　走了不多的路就到了 ， 是一所沼地上的荒凉孤独的房子， 在从前这里还繁荣的时候是个牧人的农舍， 可是现在经过了修理以后， 已经变成一幢新式的住宅了。 四周被果园环绕着，可是那些树就象沼地里的一般的树似的， 都是矮小的和发育很坏的， 这地方整个都显出一种阴郁之色。 一个怪异、 干瘦、 看来和这所房子很相配的、 衣着陈旧褪色的老男仆把我们让了进去。 面的屋子很大， 室内布置得整洁而高雅， 由此也能看出那位女士的爱好来。 我从窗口向外望着， 那绵延无际的、 散布着花岗岩的沼地， 毫无间断地向着远方地平线的方向起伏着。我不禁感到奇怪， 什么原因使得这位受过高深教育的男子和这位美丽的女士到这样的地方来住呢？

1 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

2 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

3 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

4 orchids   

n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She breeds orchids in her greenhouse. 她在温室里培育兰花。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

6 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

7 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

8 stunted   

adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• the stunted lives of children deprived of education 未受教育的孩子所过的局限生活
• But the landed oligarchy had stunted the country's democratic development for generations. 但是好几代以来土地寡头的统治阻碍了这个国家民主的发展。

9 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

10 wizened   

adj.凋谢的；枯槁的

参考例句：

• That wizened and grotesque little old man is a notorious miser.那个干瘪难看的小老头是个臭名远扬的吝啬鬼。
• Mr solomon was a wizened little man with frizzy gray hair.所罗门先生是一个干瘪矮小的人，头发鬈曲灰白。

11 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

12 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。