My Friend, Sherlock Holmes

My Friend, Sherlock Holmes

 

Thank you. It's a great ¹⁾privilege to be invited to address such an ²⁾august body. I only wish that Holmes could be here too, but, as you may know, he has now retired¹ to the country to study the art of ³⁾apiary² - ⁴⁾beekeeping, as it's more commonly known. Now, my memory has never been entirely³ reliable but I will do my best to answer the question, which I think is on everybody's lips, "What was he like to know?" Sherlock Holmes.

Well, of course, we have the case histories. Holmes, very kindly⁴, allowed me to retell our adventures in a series of late ⁵⁾Victorian ⁶⁾publications, of which Strand⁵ Magazine in London and Colliers in the United States of America, are the best known. 

We lived, of course, in Baker⁶ Street, in west London. Ahh, happy days. Two twenty-one B was the ⁷⁾epitome⁷ of a comfortable late Victorian residence, and around him, Holmes kept those items essential to his profession and to our relaxation⁸. 

He recognized his amazing powers of ⁸⁾deduction⁹ when he pointed¹⁰ out that I had just returned from Afghanistan. How did he know? Well, he explained later: I'd been introduced to him as a doctor, but I also had the air of a military man. My skin was ⁹⁾tanned, but my face was ¹⁰⁾haggard, clearly the result of a ¹¹⁾tropical disease. He also noticed that I carried my left arm in an unnatural¹¹ manner, which he deduced, quite correctly, was the result of a recent injury.  Afghanistan, he concluded was the only place in the tropics where an English army doctor at that time could recently have sustained such an injury. ¹²⁾Elementary! 

And he, himself, was most interested in the origins of his own ability. In The Greek Interpreter, for example, he attributed it to heredity on the grounds that his brother, Mycroft, ¹³⁾possessed it to an even greater degree than he did. In A Study in Scarlet¹², on the other hand, he refers to "Long habit", which, he said, enabled him to reach his ¹⁴⁾lightning conclusions. In acknowledging the roles both of inherited and ¹⁵⁾acquired learning, he was well ahead of today's research into the origins of intelligence.

No biography of Holmes would be complete without an examination of his greatest triumph, in The Hound of the Baskervilles. My friends, his life was packed full of adventure and ¹⁶⁾intrigue¹³ and it has been my pleasure to act as his ¹⁷⁾Boswell. 

 

我的朋友 歇洛克·福尔摩斯

 

非常感谢。能给各位德高望重的人士讲话，我倍感荣幸。我十分希望福尔摩斯本人也能到场，可是大家也知道，他正在乡下隐居研究养蜂术。我的记忆并不完全牢靠，但我会竭尽所能吐露一切所知，而我想，人人最想问的一个问题就是：“他了解的有多少？” 歇洛克·福尔摩斯。

当然了，我们接手的案子都有记录。福尔摩斯很慷慨地允许我将我们的历险记发表在维多利亚时代晚期的一系列刊物上，其中以英国的《线索》杂志和美国的《科利尔》杂志最为人熟知。

我们住在伦敦西部的贝克街。啊，那段时光太愉快了。贝克街221B号是维多利亚时代晚期的典型建筑，福尔摩斯在房间里摆放着他的职业必需品和我们休闲放松的物件。

他在指出我刚从阿富汗回来时，承认了自己有推理天赋。他是怎么知道的呢？事后他对我进行了一番解释∶尽管我是以医生的身份介绍给他认识的，但我身上有一股军人气质。我的皮肤给晒得黧黑，面容憔悴，显然是因某种热带病而起。他还注意到我的左臂姿势不自然，并准确地推断出那是近伤所致。能让一名英国军医在近期内受伤的热带地区，在当时就只有阿富汗，这是他得出的结论。太容易了！

他对自身拥有这样能力的来由甚感兴趣。例如，在《希腊翻译员》故事中，他将之归功于遗传，因为他哥哥麦克罗夫特在这方面的才能还更高。但是在《血字的研究》中，他又称他能以闪电速度推论出结果是“长期习惯”使然。是遗传因素也好，是习惯造成也好，他对智力起源的研究已遥遥领先于当今一流水准。

如果不提及他最伟大的胜利--《巴斯克维尔庄园的猎犬》，福尔摩斯的传记就称不上完整。朋友们，他的一生中充满了惊心动魄的故事和阴谋诡计，我能成为他的忠实代笔人，真是三生有幸。

 

注释:

1) privilege [5privilidV] n. 特权，特别待遇

2) august [C:5^Qst] a. 威严的

3) apiary [5eipjEri] n. 养蜂房，养蜂场

4) beekeeping [5bi:7ki:pIN] n. 养蜂

5) Victorian [vik5tC:riEn] a. 维多利亚女王时代的

6) publication [7pQbli5keiFEn] n. 出版物

7) epitome [i5pitEmi] n. 典型

8) deduction [di5dQkFEn] n. 演绎，推论

9) tan [tAn] v. 晒黑

10) haggard [5hA^Ed] a. 形容憔悴的

11) tropical [5trCpikl] a. 热带的

12) elementary [7eli5mentEri] a. 简单的，基本的

13) possess [pE5zes] v. 拥有，占有

14) lightning [5laitniN] a. 闪电的

15) acquired [E5kwaiEd] a. 已成习惯的，后天通过自己的努力得到的

16) intrigue [in5tri:^] n. 阴谋，诡计

17) Boswell [5bCzwEl] n. 为密友写传记的人

 

 

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 apiary   

n.养蜂场，蜂房

参考例句：

• My sister was put in charge of the apiary.我姐姐被派去负责养蜂场。
• He keeps an apiary.他有一个养蜂场。

3 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。

4 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

5 strand   

vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）

参考例句：

• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
• The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。

6 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

7 epitome   

n.典型，梗概

参考例句：

• He is the epitome of goodness.他是善良的典范。
• This handbook is a neat epitome of everyday hygiene.这本手册概括了日常卫生的要点。

8 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

9 deduction   

n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎

参考例句：

• No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
• His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

11 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

12 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

13 intrigue   

vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋

参考例句：

• Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
• The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。