ADVENTURE II. THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE

gave a bob屈膝禮of greeting

settee有靠背的長椅, 中(小)型沙發

humdrum單調的;無聊的routine of everyday life

relish喜愛,愛好

chronicle記事,敘述

embellish美化;裝飾 so many of my own little adventures

portly肥胖的;個頭大的

bore every mark of being an average commonplace British
tradesman, obese肥胖的;過胖的, pompous愛炫耀的;浮誇的;自負的, and slow.

black frock(女式)服裝;連衣裙-coat

drab黃褐色;灰黃色;淺褐色 waistcoat背心;馬夾 with a heavy brassy黃銅的
Albert chain

chagrin懊惱;悔恨;苦惱

will suffer shipwreck if I am so candid

On account of因為;由於 the bequest遺贈;遺產 o

A salary of 4 pounds a week for purely nominal名義上的,有名無實的 services

eligible有資格當選的;法律上合格的

pawnbroker典當商;當舖老板

you share my love of all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum單調的;無聊的 routine of everyday life

embellish美化;裝飾 so many of my own little adventures

The portly肥胖的人,胖子,大個兒 client

from the inside pocket of his greatcoat

'Omne ignotum pro magnifico

my poor little reputation will suffer shipwreck毀滅;失敗 if I am so candid

above the age of twenty-one years

crib糧倉;貯藏箱

I am a very stay-at-home man

prick up豎起(耳朵)[(+up)] my ears

berths差事;職位

wedged楔入,擠入,插入 in

a deal松木,樅木 table, behind which sat a small man with a head that
was even redder than mine

He has every requirement

cocked豎起;翹起 his head on one side

bashful害羞的,羞怯的;侷促不安的

precaution預防;警惕;謹慎

cobbler補鞋匠;製鞋匠's wax
And the workIs purely nominal.

if you budge微微移動 from the office during that time

"'No excuse will avail,' said Mr. Duncan Ross; 'neither sickness
nor business nor anything else. There you must stay, or you lose
your billet職位,工作,地位.'

foolscap【印】大裁,大頁紙 paper

planked down【美】【口】當場支付[(+down/out/up)] four golden sovereigns for my
week's work

curt簡慢的;唐突草率的 announcement and the rueful悲傷的;可憐的 face behind it, until the comical side of the affair so completely overtopped every other consideration

shoving強使

graver雕刻刀

prank胡鬧;惡作劇

poky無生氣的;緩慢的

gilt鍍金的;金色的

puckered皺起;縮攏;摺疊 lids

abutted鄰接;毗連;緊靠 on the other side

conundrums謎語;難題;機智問答

wrapped in the most perfect happiness

sleuth-hound【美】【口】偵探

In his singular character the dual nature alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and astuteness機敏;伶俐;精明 represented, as I have often thought, the reaction against the poetic and contemplative 沈思的;冥想的 mood which occasionally predominated in him.

look askance懷疑地;不讚許地 at him as on a man whose knowledge was not that of other mortals

I trust that I am not more dense愚鈍的 than my neighbours, but I was
always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my dealings
with Sherlock Holmes.

the stake賭金,賭注 will be some 30,000 pounds

smasher擊碎者

crack破解(密碼),解開(難題等) a crib糧倉;貯藏箱 in Scotland one week

he is at the head首腦;首長,頭目 of his profession

rattled使發出咯咯聲

He is not a bad fellow, though an absolute imbecile in his profession.

He is as brave as a bulldog and as tenacious堅持的,頑強的,固執的 as a lobster

thoroughfare大街,大道;幹線道路

imperilled使陷於危險,危及

crate條板箱

bullion金塊,金條;銀塊,銀條

have had misgivings擔憂,不安,疑慮 upon the subject

compunction良心的責備;悔恨;內疚

I placed my revolver, cocked扳起(槍)的扳機

glint閃閃發光;閃爍 of a light

lurid火紅的 spark

marked a chink裂縫,裂隙;縫隙

gaping張開;裂開 hole

hauling拖,拉,曳;拖運,搬運 after him a companion

lithe易彎的,柔軟的;輕盈的

chisel鑿子

rending撕碎,扯破 cloth

clutched抓住;攫取 at his skirts

blandly溫柔地;和藹地

I must compliment you.

"And I you," Holmes answered.

derbies圓頂窄邊禮帽

snigger竊笑;暗笑

serenely安詳地;沈著地;寧靜地

I am amply充足地;廣闊地;詳細地 repaid by having had an experience which is in many ways unique

incites激勵;激起;煽動 the man to apply for it

secure弄到,獲得;替...弄到 his absence every morning

had some strong motive for securing the situation

tangled紊亂的,混亂的,雜亂的 clue

We have had some skirmishes小規模戰鬥,小衝突

Suburban Bank abutted鄰接;毗連;緊靠[(+on/upon/against)] on our friend's premises

unfeigned不虛偽的,不假裝的;真誠的 admiration

It saved me from ennui倦怠;無聊

My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence.

"'L'homme c'est rien--l'oeuvre c'est tout,' as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand."