巴斯克维尔的猎犬 华生医生的第一份报告（5）

　　The other day -- Thursday, to be more exact -- Dr. Mortimer lunched with us. He has beenexcavating a barrow at Long Down and has got a prehistoric¹ skull² which fills him with great joy.

　　Never was there such a single-minded enthusiast³ as he! The Stapletons came in afterwards, andthe good doctor took us all to the yew⁴ alley⁵ at Sir Henry's request to show us exactly howeverything occurred upon that fatal night. It is a long, dismal⁶ walk, the yew alley, between twohigh walls of clipped hedge, with a narrow band of grass upon either side. At the far end is an oldtumble-down summer-house. Halfway⁷ down is the moorgate, where the old gentleman left hiscigar-ash. It is a white wooden gate with a latch⁹. Beyond it lies the wide moor⁸. I remembered yourtheory of the affair and tried to picture all that had occurred. As the old man stood there he sawsomething coming across the moor, something which terrified him so that he lost his wits and ranand ran until he died of sheer horror and exhaustion¹⁰. There was the long, gloomy tunnel downwhich he fled. And from what? A sheep-dog of the moor? Or a spectral¹¹ hound, black, silent, andmonstrous? Was there a human agency in the matter? Did the pale, watchful¹² Barrymore knowmore than he cared to say? It was all dim and vague, but always there is the dark shadow of crimebehind it.

　　那一天——更准确地说是星期四——摩梯末和我们一起吃饭， 他在长岗地方发掘了一座古坟， 弄到了一具史前人的颅骨， 他为之喜出望外。 真没有见过象他这样一心一意的热心人！

　　后来斯台普吞兄妹也来了， 在亨利爵士的请求之下， 这位好心肠的医生就领我们到水松夹道去了， 给我们说明了在查尔兹爵士丧命的那天晚上， 事情发生的全部经过。 这次散步既漫长而又沉闷， 那条水松夹道被夹在两行高高的剪齐的树篱中间， 小路两旁各有一条狭长的草地，尽头处有一栋破烂的旧凉亭。 那扇开向沼地的小门正在中间， 老绅士曾在那儿留下了雪茄烟灰， 是一扇装有门闩的白色木门， 外面就是广阔的沼地。 我还记得你对这件事的看法， 我在心中试着想象出全部发生过的事情的实况。 大概是当老人站在那里的时候， 他看见有什么东西穿过沼地向他跑了 过来， 那东西把他吓得惊慌失措地奔跑起来， 一直跑到因恐惧和力竭而死为止。 他就是顺着那条长而阴森的夹道奔跑的。 可是， 他为什么要跑呢？ 只因为沼地上的一只看羊狗吗？ 还是看到了 一只不出声的鬼怪似的黑色大猎狗呢？ 是有人在其中捣鬼吗？ 是不是那白皙而警觉的白瑞摩对他所知道的情况还有所隐瞒呢？ 这一切都显得扑朔迷离， 可是我总觉得幕后有着罪恶的阴影。

 

1 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

2 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

3 enthusiast   

n.热心人，热衷者

参考例句：

• He is an enthusiast about politics.他是个热衷于政治的人。
• He was an enthusiast and loved to evoke enthusiasm in others.他是一个激情昂扬的人，也热中于唤起他人心中的激情。

4 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。

5 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。

6 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

7 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

8 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。

9 latch   

n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁

参考例句：

• She laid her hand on the latch of the door.她把手放在门闩上。
• The repairman installed an iron latch on the door.修理工在门上安了铁门闩。

10 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

11 spectral   

adj.幽灵的，鬼魂的

参考例句：

• At times he seems rather ordinary.At other times ethereal,perhaps even spectral.有时他好像很正常，有时又难以捉摸，甚至像个幽灵。
• She is compelling,spectral fascinating,an unforgettably unique performer.她极具吸引力，清幽如鬼魅，令人着迷，令人难忘，是个独具特色的演员。

12 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。