歪唇男人 05瘾君子(5)

At the farther end was a small brazier of burning charcoal¹,

在远处一头，有一个小炭火盆，炭火熊熊。

beside which on a three-legged wooden stool there sat a tall, thin old man,

盆旁一只三足木板凳上坐着一个瘦高的老头，

with his jaw² resting upon his two fists, and his elbows upon his knees, staring into the fire.

双拳托腮，两肘支在膝盖上，双目凝视着炭火。

As I entered, a sallow Malay attendant had hurried up with a pipe for me and a supply of the drug, beckoning³ me to an empty berth⁴.

当我进屋时，一个面无血色的马来人伙计兴冲冲地走上前来，递给我一杆烟枪和一份烟剂，招呼我到一张空榻上去。

"Thank you. I have not come to stay," said I.

"谢谢你。我不是来久呆的，"我说，

"There is a friend of mine here, Mr. Isa Whitney, and I wish to speak with him."

"我有一位朋友艾萨·惠特尼先生在这里。我要找他说话。"

There was a movement and an exclamation⁵ from my right,

在我右边有人蠕动并发出喊声。

and peering through the gloom I saw Whitney, pale, haggard, and unkempt, staring out at me.

我透过暗淡的灯光瞧见惠特尼面色苍白，憔悴不堪，邋里邋遢，睁大眼睛盯着我。

"My God! It's Watson," said he. He was in a pitiable state of reaction, with every nerve in a twitter.

"天哪！原来是华生！"他说，他答话的样子显得既可怜又可鄙，他的每条神经似乎都处于紧张状态。

"I say, Watson, what o'clock is it?" "Nearly eleven."

"嘿，华生，几点钟了？""快十一点钟了。"

"Of what day?" "Of Friday, June 19th."

"哪天的十一点钟？""星期五，六月十九日。"

"Good heavens! I thought it was Wednesday. It is Wednesday. What d'you want to frighten the chap for?"

"我的天！我一直认为是星期三。今天是星期三，你吓唬人干什么？"

He sank his face onto his arms and began to sob⁶ in a high treble key.

他低下头，把脸埋在双臂之间，开始放声痛哭起来。

1 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

2 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

3 beckoning   

adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• An even more beautiful future is beckoning us on. 一个更加美好的未来在召唤我们继续前进。 来自辞典例句
• He saw a youth of great radiance beckoning to him. 他看见一个丰神飘逸的少年向他招手。 来自辞典例句

4 berth   

n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊

参考例句：

• She booked a berth on the train from London to Aberdeen.她订了一张由伦敦开往阿伯丁的火车卧铺票。
• They took up a berth near the harbor.他们在港口附近找了个位置下锚。

5 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

6 sob   

n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣

参考例句：

• The child started to sob when he couldn't find his mother.孩子因找不到他妈妈哭了起来。
• The girl didn't answer,but continued to sob with her head on the table.那个女孩不回答，也不抬起头来。她只顾低声哭着。