斑点带子案 09来龙去脉(3)

"But a terrible change came over our stepfather about this time.

"但是，大约在这段时间里，我们的继父发生了可怕的变化。

Instead of making friends and exchanging visits with our neighbours,

他一反与邻居们交朋友或互相往来的常态，

who had at first been overjoyed to see a Roylott of Stoke Moran back in the old family seat,

而起初，邻居们看到斯托克莫兰的罗伊洛特的后裔回到这古老家族的邸宅都十分高兴，

he shut himself up in his house and seldom came out save to indulge in ferocious¹ quarrels with whoever might cross his path.

他把自己关在房子里，深居简出，不管碰到什么人，都一味穷凶极恶地与之争吵。

Violence of temper approaching to mania² has been hereditary³ in the men of the family,

这种近乎癫狂的暴戾脾气，在这个家族中，是有遗传性的，

and in my stepfather's case it had, I believe, been intensified⁴ by his long residence in the tropics.

我相信我的继父是由于长期旅居于热带地方，致使这种脾气变本加厉。

A series of disgraceful brawls⁵ took place, two of which ended in the police-court,

一系列使人丢脸的争吵发生了，其中两次，一直吵到违警罪法庭才算罢休，

until at last he became the terror of the village, and the folks would fly at his approach,

结果，他成了村里人人望而生畏的人，人们一看到他，无不敬而远之，赶紧躲开，

for he is a man of immense strength, and absolutely uncontrollable in his anger.

因为他是一个力大无穷的人，当他发怒的时候，简直是什么人也控制不了他。

Last week he hurled⁶ the local blacksmith over a parapet into a stream,

上星期他把村里的铁匠从栏杆上扔进了小河，

and it was only by paying over all the money which I could gather together that I was able to avert⁷ another public exposure.

只是在我花掉了尽我所能收罗到的钱以后，才避免了又一次当众出丑。

He had no friends at all save the wandering gypsies,

除了那些到处流浪的吉卜赛人以外，他没有任何朋友，

and he would give these vagabonds leave to encamp upon the few acres of bramble-covered land which represent the family estate,

他允许那些流浪者在那一块象征着家族地位的几亩荆棘丛生的土地上扎营，

and would accept in return the hospitality of their tents, wandering away with them sometimes for weeks on end.

他会到他们帐篷里去接受他们作为报答的殷勤款待，有时候随同他们出去流浪长达数周之久。

He has a passion also for Indian animals, which are sent over to him by a correspondent,

他还对印度的动物有着强烈的爱好，这些动物是一个记者送给他的。

and he has at this moment a cheetah⁸ and a baboon⁹,

目前，他有一只印度猎豹和一只狒狒，

which wander freely over his grounds and are feared by the villagers almost as much as their master.

这两只动物就在他的土地上自由自在地跑来跑去，村里人就象害怕它们的主人一样害怕它们。

1 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

2 mania   

n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好

参考例句：

• Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。
• Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。

3 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

4 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 brawls   

吵架，打架( brawl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Whatever brawls disturb the street, there should be peace at home. 街上无论多么喧闹，家中应有宁静。
• I got into brawls in the country saloons near my farm. 我在离我农场不远的乡下沙龙里和别人大吵大闹。

6 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

8 cheetah   

n.(动物)猎豹

参考例句：

• The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal.猎豹被公认是世界上跑得最快的动物。
• The distribution of the cheetah ranges from Africa to Central Asia.印度豹的足迹遍及从非洲到中亚的广大地区。

9 baboon   

n.狒狒

参考例句：

• A baboon is a large monkey that lives in Africa.狒狒是一种生活在非洲的大猴子。
• As long as the baboon holds on to what it wants,it's trapped.只要狒狒紧抓住想要的东西不放手，它就会被牢牢困住。