The Adventure of the Speckled Band花斑带之谜 （七）

时间：2020-04-26 05:47:39

（单词翻译:单击）

 
I took a step forward. In an instant his strange headgear began
to move, and there reared itself from among his hair the squat1
diamond-shaped head and puffed2 neck of a loathsome3 serpent.
 
"It is a swamp adder4!" cried Holmes; "the deadliest snake in
India. He has died within ten seconds of being bitten. Violence
does, in truth, recoil5 upon the violent, and the schemer falls
into the pit which he digs for another. Let us thrust this
creature back into its den6, and we can then remove Miss Stoner to
some place of shelter and let the county police know what has
happened."
 
As he spoke7 he drew the dog-whip swiftly from the dead man's lap,
and throwing the noose8 round the reptile's neck he drew it from
its horrid9 perch10 and, carrying it at arm's length, threw it into
the iron safe, which he closed upon it.
 
Such are the true facts of the death of Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of
Stoke Moran. It is not necessary that I should prolong a
narrative11 which has already run to too great a length by telling
how we broke the sad news to the terrified girl, how we conveyed
her by the morning train to the care of her good aunt at Harrow,
of how the slow process of official inquiry12 came to the
conclusion that the doctor met his fate while indiscreetly
playing with a dangerous pet. The little which I had yet to learn
of the case was told me by Sherlock Holmes as we travelled back
next day.
 
"I had," said he, "come to an entirely13 erroneous conclusion which
shows, my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from
insufficient14 data. The presence of the gypsies, and the use of
the word 'band,' which was used by the poor girl, no doubt to
explain the appearance which she had caught a hurried glimpse of
by the light of her match, were sufficient to put me upon an
entirely wrong scent15. I can only claim the merit that I instantly
reconsidered my position when, however, it became clear to me
that whatever danger threatened an occupant of the room could not
come either from the window or the door. My attention was
speedily drawn16, as I have already remarked to you, to this
ventilator, and to the bell-rope which hung down to the bed. The
discovery that this was a dummy17, and that the bed was clamped to
the floor, instantly gave rise to the suspicion that the rope was
there as a bridge for something passing through the hole and
coming to the bed. The idea of a snake instantly occurred to me,
and when I coupled it with my knowledge that the doctor was
furnished with a supply of creatures from India, I felt that I
was probably on the right track. The idea of using a form of
poison which could not possibly be discovered by any chemical
test was just such a one as would occur to a clever and ruthless
man who had had an Eastern training. The rapidity with which such
a poison would take effect would also, from his point of view, be
an advantage. It would be a sharp-eyed coroner, indeed, who could
distinguish the two little dark punctures18 which would show where
the poison fangs19 had done their work. Then I thought of the
whistle. Of course he must recall the snake before the morning
light revealed it to the victim. He had trained it, probably by
the use of the milk which we saw, to return to him when summoned.
He would put it through this ventilator at the hour that he
thought best, with the certainty that it would crawl down the
rope and land on the bed. It might or might not bite the
occupant, perhaps she might escape every night for a week, but
sooner or later she must fall a victim.
 
"I had come to these conclusions before ever I had entered his
room. An inspection20 of his chair showed me that he had been in
the habit of standing21 on it, which of course would be necessary
in order that he should reach the ventilator. The sight of the
safe, the saucer of milk, and the loop of whipcord were enough to
finally dispel22 any doubts which may have remained. The metallic23
clang heard by Miss Stoner was obviously caused by her stepfather
hastily closing the door of his safe upon its terrible occupant.
Having once made up my mind, you know the steps which I took in
order to put the matter to the proof. I heard the creature hiss24
as I have no doubt that you did also, and I instantly lit the
light and attacked it."
 
"With the result of driving it through the ventilator."
 
"And also with the result of causing it to turn upon its master
at the other side. Some of the blows of my cane25 came home and
roused its snakish temper, so that it flew upon the first person
it saw. In this way I am no doubt indirectly26 responsible for Dr.
Grimesby Roylott's death, and I cannot say that it is likely to
weigh very heavily upon my conscience."

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1 squat 2GRzp     
v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的
参考例句：
  • For this exercise you need to get into a squat.在这次练习中你需要蹲下来。
  • He is a squat man.他是一个矮胖的男人。
2 puffed 72b91de7f5a5b3f6bdcac0d30e24f8ca     
adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧
参考例句：
  • He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 loathsome Vx5yX     
adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的
参考例句：
  • The witch hid her loathsome face with her hands.巫婆用手掩住她那张令人恶心的脸。
  • Some people think that snakes are loathsome creatures.有些人觉得蛇是令人憎恶的动物。
4 adder izOzmL     
n.蝰蛇；小毒蛇
参考例句：
  • The adder is Britain's only venomous snake.蝰蛇是英国唯一的一种毒蛇。
  • An adder attacked my father.一条小毒蛇攻击了我父亲。
5 recoil GA4zL     
vi.退却，退缩，畏缩
参考例句：
  • Most people would recoil at the sight of the snake.许多人看见蛇都会向后退缩。
  • Revenge may recoil upon the person who takes it.报复者常会受到报应。
6 den 5w9xk     
n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室
参考例句：
  • There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
  • The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。
7 spoke XryyC     
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
8 noose 65Zzd     
n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑
参考例句：
  • They tied a noose round her neck.他们在她脖子上系了一个活扣。
  • A hangman's noose had already been placed around his neck.一个绞刑的绳圈已经套在他的脖子上。
9 horrid arozZj     
adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的
参考例句：
  • I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
  • The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。
10 perch 5u1yp     
n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于
参考例句：
  • The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
  • Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。
11 narrative CFmxS     
n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的
参考例句：
  • He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
  • Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。
12 inquiry nbgzF     
n.打听，询问，调查，查问
参考例句：
  • Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
  • The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。
13 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
参考例句：
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
14 insufficient L5vxu     
adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的
参考例句：
  • There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
  • In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。
15 scent WThzs     
n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉
参考例句：
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
16 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
17 dummy Jrgx7     
n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头
参考例句：
  • The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹，只是一个假货。
  • The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。
18 punctures f7bc2c2e87b7ff3e7e37325147106408     
n.（尖物刺成的）小孔( puncture的名词复数 )；（尤指）轮胎穿孔；（尤指皮肤上被刺破的）扎孔；刺伤v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的第三人称单数 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气
参考例句：
  • My car has had two punctures this week. 这个星期我的汽车轮胎被戳破两次。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • SCULLY: Needle punctures, maybe. An animal bite. Electrocution of some kind. 针刺的，也许。动物的咬伤。某种电击。 来自互联网
19 fangs d8ad5a608d5413636d95dfb00a6e7ac4     
n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座
参考例句：
  • The dog fleshed his fangs in the deer's leg. 狗用尖牙咬住了鹿腿。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Dogs came lunging forward with their fangs bared. 狗龇牙咧嘴地扑过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
20 inspection y6TxG     
n.检查，审查，检阅
参考例句：
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
  • The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。
21 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
22 dispel XtQx0     
vt.驱走，驱散，消除
参考例句：
  • I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
  • We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。
23 metallic LCuxO     
adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的
参考例句：
  • A sharp metallic note coming from the outside frightened me.外面传来尖锐铿锵的声音吓了我一跳。
  • He picked up a metallic ring last night.昨夜他捡了一个金属戒指。
24 hiss 2yJy9     
v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满
参考例句：
  • We can hear the hiss of air escaping from a tire.我们能听到一只轮胎的嘶嘶漏气声。
  • Don't hiss at the speaker.不要嘘演讲人。
25 cane RsNzT     
n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的
参考例句：
  • This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
  • English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。
26 indirectly a8UxR     
adv.间接地，不直接了当地
参考例句：
  • I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
  • They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

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