福尔摩斯：巴斯克维尔猎犬-第6课

前情提要  

这份报道中还提到一些案情细节：心脏本就虚弱的查尔斯爵士正是死于心脏衰竭；他已故弟弟的儿子亨利将继承他的巨额遗产。此外，摩梯末医生向福尔摩斯透露了些报道里没有写到的细节：查尔斯爵士相信传说中的猎犬是存在的，在去世前几个月里为此焦虑不安，濒临崩溃；摩梯末医生还在尸体附近发现了巨型猎犬的一些爪印……

故事原文  

The Hound of the Baskervilles L6

巴斯克维尔猎犬 L6

I felt a moment of fear as Mortimer spoke these words. Holmes sat forward in his excitement, and his eyes showed he was very interested indeed.

摩梯末说出这些话时我感到一阵恐惧。福尔摩斯向前探着身子，他的两眼也表明他对这件事真的很感兴趣。

'Why did nobody else see these footprints?' he asked.

“为什么没有别人看到这些爪印呢？”他问道。

'The footprints were about twenty metres from the body, and nobody thought of looking so far away,' Mortimer replied.

“这些爪印距尸体约20米之远，也没有人想到要查看这么远的地方，”摩梯末回答道。

'Are there many sheep dogs on the moor?' asked Holmes.

“沼地里有许多牧羊犬吗？”福尔摩斯问道。

'Yes, but this was no sheep dog. The footprints were very large indeed—enormous,' Mortimer answered.(1)

“有，但是这绝不是牧羊犬。爪印的确很大——极大。”摩梯末回答道。

'But it had not gone near the body?'

“但是它并没有在尸体附近吧？”

'No.'

“没有。”

'What kind of night was it?' Holmes asked.

“那是个什么样的夜晚？”福尔摩斯问道。

'It was wet and cold, though it wasn't actually raining.'

“又潮又冷，尽管并没真正下雨。”

'Describe the Alley to me.'(2)

“把那个小道描述给我听听。”

'The Alley is a path between two long yew hedges. The hedges are small trees that were planted very close together. They are about four metres high. The distance between the two yew hedges is about seven metres.(3) Down the middle is a path of small stones. The path is about three metres wide, with grass on each side of it.'

“那个小道是位于两排长长的水松树篱之间。树篱是种得很密的矮小的树种。它们大约有4米高。两排水松树篱之间的距离大约为7米。在树篱中间是一条由小石子铺就的小道。这条小道大约为3米宽，两旁都种着草。”

'I understand there is a gate through the hedge in one place,' said Holmes.

“我想树篱的某处有一个栅门通道吧，”福尔摩斯说道。

'Yes, there is a small gate, which leads to the moor.'(4)

“是的，有一个小门，它通向沼地。”

'Is there any other opening through the hedge?'

“树篱之中还有其他的通道吗？”

'No.'

“没有。”

'So you can enter or leave the Yew Alley only from the Hall, or through the moor gate?' asked Holmes.

“因此，要想进出水松小道就只能经由庄园或是由开向沼地的栅门？”福尔摩斯问道。

'There is a way out through a summer house at the far end.'

“穿过另一头的凉亭还有一个出口。”

'Had Sir Charles reached the summer house?'

“查尔斯爵士走到那里了吗？”

'No. He lay about fifty metres from it,' said Mortimer.

“没有。他倒下的地方距那里约五十米，”摩梯末说道。

'Now, Dr Mortimer, this is important. You say that the footprints you saw were on the path and not on the grass?'

“我说，摩梯末医生，这点是很重要的。您说您所看到爪印是在小道上而不是在草地上吧？”

'No footprints could show on the grass,' said Mortimer.

“草地上看不到爪印，”摩梯末道。

'Were they on the same side of the path as the moor gate?'

“是在与开向沼地的栅门同一边的路上吗？”

'Yes. They were.'

“是的。是在与栅门同一边的路上。”

'I find that very interesting indeed. Another question: was the moor gate closed?'

“我发现这确实有趣。还有一个问题：栅门是关着的吗？”

'Yes. It was closed and locked.'

“是的。它关着，还锁上了。”

'How high is it?' asked Holmes.

“门有多高？”福尔摩斯问道。

'It is just over a metre high.'

“刚1米出头高。”

'Then anyone could climb over it?'

“那么说，任何人都能爬过去啰？”

'Yes.'

“是的。”

'What prints did you see by the moor gate?'

“你在栅门处看到了什么痕迹？”

'Sir Charles seems to have stood there for five or ten minutes,' said Mortimer. 'I know that because his cigar had burned down and the ash had dropped twice off the end of it.'

“查尔斯爵士似乎在那里站了5至10分钟，”摩梯末说道。“我之所以知道这个，是因为他抽的那支雪茄是点着的，还曾两次掉下烟灰。”

'Excellent,' said Holmes. 'This man is a very good detective, Watson.'

“太妙了，”福尔摩斯道。“此人是位好侦探，华生。”

'Sir Charles had left his footprints all over that little bit of the path where he was standing. I couldn't see any other prints.'

“查尔斯爵士在他所站的那一小片路面上到处都留下了自己的脚印。我看不出其他痕迹。”

Sherlock Holmes hit his knee with his hand angrily.

歇洛克·福尔摩斯生气地用手一拍膝盖。

'I like to look closely at these things myself,' he said.(5) 'Oh, Dr Mortimer, why didn't you call me immediately?'

“我想亲自去仔细查看一番这些事情，”他说道。“唉，摩梯末医生，你当时为何不马上叫我去呢？”

（原文中出现高光标示内容请见核心语言点）

核心语言点  

1. enormous 巨大的（extremely large）   

    massive 巨大的

    giant adj. 巨大的 n. 巨人；巨兽

拓展：

an enormous car 一辆大轿车

an enormous/a massive house 一栋大房子

a giant company/corporation 大公司

He earns an enormous salary.  他工资极高。 

2. describe v.（详细地）描述

    description n. 描述

    beyond description 言语无法描述的

例句：

He described the painting in detail.

他详细地描述了这幅油画的内容。

Her beauty is beyond description.

她的美无与伦比。

The view is beyond description.

这景色无与伦比。 

3. distance 距离，路程

    long-distance 长途的

    distant 遥远的

拓展：

within walking distance

步行就能到

Does she live within walking distance of her parents? 

从她的住处到父母家可以走着去吗？

long-distance call

长途电话

distance learning

远程学习

Her holiday seemed a distant memory.

她的度假似乎成了遥远的回忆。 

4. lead 带领，领导；引领

    leader 领导

    lead to 引起，导致（= cause）

拓展：

He has led the party for over twenty years.

他领导这个党已经二十多年了。

Beckham led his team to victory.

贝克汉姆带领他的球队取得了胜利。

lead the way

领路；示范

lead the world

全球领先

Chinese companies lead the world in online shopping.

中国公司在网上购物领域领先世界。

What you do leads to the person you are today.

你所做的一切造就了今天的你。 

5. look at 看；思考（= think/consider sth.）；检查；评阅

例句：

look at the picture/computer

看图片/电脑

Just look at how successful she's been.

看看她有多成功。

You can make changes in your life. Just look at Tim. 

你可以改变你的生活。看看蒂姆。

I need to look at the weather forecast.

我得去查一下天气预报。

Sorry, I haven’t had time to look at it yet.

不好意思，我还没时间看呢。