福尔摩斯：巴斯克维尔猎犬-第3课

前情提要  

摩梯末医生为福尔摩斯读了查尔斯·巴斯克维尔爵士托付给他的手稿，查尔斯爵士于三个月前突然逝去。这份手稿是巴斯克维尔家族的祖先威廉·巴斯克维尔于1742年写下的，里面记载了发生在1640年的一桩可怕往事——当时家族里的头面人物雨果·巴斯克维尔爵士强抢了民女……

故事原文  

The Hound of the Baskervilles L3

巴斯克维尔猎犬 L3

Hugo's friends fetched their horses and followed him. There were thirteen of them. After a mile or two they passed an old farmer and asked him if he had seen Sir Hugo and the hounds. The man looked half mad with fear and spoke with difficulty.(1) He said that he had seen the girl and the hounds running close behind her. Sir Hugo had been riding just behind the hounds. 'But I have seen more than that,' the old man said. 'Behind Sir Hugo I saw a huge and terrible hound running silently. May God keep me safe from that hound of hell.'

雨果的朋友们找到了自己的马匹，跟着他追去了。他们一共是13个人。在他们跑了一两英里路之后，遇到了一位老农夫，便问他看到了雨果爵士与他的那群猎狗没有。这个人看上去被吓得有些发疯，几乎都说不出话来。他说他曾看到过那位少女以及一群紧追她不放的猎犬。雨果爵士就骑着马跟在这些猎犬后面。“但是我看到的还不止这些，”这位老人说道。“我看到一条硕大而可怕的猎犬正一声不吭地跟在他的后面。但愿上帝别让这条地狱之犬伤害我！”

The thirteen men laughed at the old man and rode on. But their laughter soon stopped when they saw Sir Hugo's horse running wildly towards them without a rider.

这13个人对这位老人嘲笑了一番，接着又策马前往。但是当他们不久看到雨果爵士的那匹马独自朝他们狂奔而来时就笑不出声来了。

The thirteen men moved closer together as they rode on. They were suddenly afraid. Over the moor they went until, at last, they caught up with the hounds.(2)

这13个人骑着马，同时往一起靠了靠。他们突然间感到很害怕。他们在这片沼地上一直朝前骑着，直到最终赶上了那群猎狗。

Everyone in the county knew that the Baskerville hounds were brave and strong. But now they were standing at the head of a deep valley in the moor with their ears and tails down. They were very frightened. Hugo's friends stopped. Most of them would not go on, but three were brave enough to go down into the valley.

巴斯克维尔家的猎犬骁勇而又强壮，在郡里是家喻户晓的。但它们这时却耷拉着双耳和尾巴站在沼地里的一条深谷的尽头。它们十分惊恐。雨果的这帮朋友们停了下来。他们大多数人都不愿意再往前骑了，但有三人比较胆大，朝山谷里走了过去。

The valley had a wide flat floor. In the middle of the flat ground stood two great stones. They had stood there for thousands of years. The moon was shining brightly on the great stones, and between them, on the flat ground, lay the girl. She had fallen there, dead of fear and exhaustion.(3) Sir Hugo's body was lying near her. But it was not the sight of Sir Hugo or the girl that filled the men with fear. It was the sight of the huge animal that was standing over Sir Hugo. Its teeth were at his throat. It was a great black creature that looked like a hound. But it was larger than any hound they had ever seen.

这个山谷的底部是一片宽阔的平地。在平地的中央立着两块大岩石。它们已经在那儿竖立了几千年之久。月光明朗地照在这两块大岩石上，而那位少女就躺在它们之间的平地上。她已因惊恐和疲惫倒地而死。雨果爵士的尸体躺在她旁边。但是，使这些人毛骨悚然的不是那位少女或雨果爵士的那幅景象，而是站在雨果爵士身上的一只形体硕大的畜生。它的牙齿撕扯着他的喉咙。它是一个样子像猎狗的又大又黑的畜生。可是他们谁也没见过这么大的猎犬。

As they watched, it tore out Hugo Baskerville's throat.(4) Then it turned towards them. Its eyes were burning brightly. Its body shone with a strange light. Blood ran from its mouth. The men screamed and kicked their horses. They rode back up the valley as fast as they could go. Later that night one died from the horror he had seen.(5) The other two were mad for the rest of their lives.

在他们注视的时侯，它撕扯断了雨果·巴斯克维尔的喉咙。然后，它转过身来面朝着他们。它的眼睛冒着火。身体也闪烁着一种奇特的光芒。鲜血从它的嘴里淌了出来。这几个人大叫起来并且踢了踢马。他们调转马头以最快的速度跑出了山谷。在这之后，其中的一个人就在当天夜里因自己所看到的恐怖景象而吓死了，另外两个则终身精神失常。

That was the first time the Hound appeared, my sons. It has been seen many times since then, and many of the Baskervilles have died in strange and terrible ways. Because of this I warn you not to cross the moors at night. The Devil finds it easy to do his work when the world is dark.

那就是那只猎犬初次露面的经过，我的孩子们。从那以后，人们曾多次目睹过它的踪迹，而且巴斯克维尔家族里有许多人都以蹊跷和恐怖的方式死去。因此，我警告你们不要在黑夜里走过沼地。魔鬼发现夜幕正易于它嚣张一番。

（原文中出现高光标示内容请见核心语言点）

核心语言点  

1. half 半，半……（用于形容词前，表示强调或夸张非常，极其）

    half the price 半价

    and a half 强调

例句：

That was a meal and a half!

那顿饭很好吃！

He was half dead with exhaustion.

他累得半死。

He was only half aware of what was happening.

他对现在的状况一知半解。

2. catch up (with) 赶上，达到（标准、水平等）

    catch up with/on 补做，赶做

例句：

If you miss a lot of classes, it’s very difficult to catch up.

如果你错过很多课，赶上来是很困难的。

At the moment our technology is more advanced, but other countries are catching up with us.

目前我国的技术更先进，但是其他国家正在赶上。

Students seize every minute to catch up on some sleep.

学生党争分夺秒地补觉。

3. exhaustion 精疲力竭，疲惫不堪

    exhaust 使精疲力竭

    exhausted 极其精疲力竭的

例句：

I’ve exhausted myself with all that cleaning.

打扫卫生把我搞得精疲力尽。

People suffer from heat exhaustion in the summer.

夏天，人容易中暑。

4. tear out 撕开，撕掉

    tear 眼泪

    tear 撕开，扯破

    split 裂开

例句：

The children were all in tears.

孩子们都哭了。

A couple of pages had been torn out of the book.

这本书有几页被人撕掉了。

He bent down and split his trousers.

他弯了下腰，裤子就裂开了。

5. die from/of... 死于……

    pass away 死亡（euphemism 委婉语）

    ...not with sb. 不在了

拓展：

die of natural causes

自然死亡/寿终正寝

例句：

He died from/of a heart attack.

他死于心脏病。

Michael Jackson passed away long ago.

迈克尔·杰克逊很早以前就去世了。

Michael Jackson is not with us anymore.

迈克尔·杰克逊已经不在了。