領(lǐng)略原汁原味漢英對照經(jīng)典名作
暗紅習(xí)作
? ? ? In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through the course prescribed for surgeons in the army . Having completed my studies there, I was duly attached to the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers as Assistant Surgeon. The regiment was stationed in India at the time, and before I could join it, the second Afghan war had broken out. On landing at Bombay, I learned that my corps had advanced through the passes, and was already deep in the enemy’s country. I followed, however, with many other officers who were in the same situation as myself , and succeeded in reaching Candahar in safety , where I found my regiment, and at once entered upon my new duties.
? ? ? The campaign brought honours and promotion to many, but for me it had nothing but misfortune and disaster. I was removed from my brigade and attached to the Berkshires, with whom I served at the fatal battle of Maiwand. There I was struck on the shoulder by a Jezail bullet, which shattered the bone and grazed the subclavian artery. I should have fallen into the hands of the murderous Ghazis had it not been for the devotion and courage shown by Murray, my orderly, who threw me across a pack-horse, and succeeded in bringing me safely to the British lines.
? ? ? Worn with pain, and weak from the prolonged hardships which I had undergone, I was removed, with a great train of wounded sufferers, to the base hospital at Peshawar. Here I rallied, and had already improved so far as to be able to walk about the wards, and even to bask a little upon the veranda, when I was struck down by enteric fever,that curse of our Indian possessions. For months my life was despaired of, and when at last I came to myself and became convalescent, I was so weak and emaciated that a medical board determined that not a day should be lost in sending me back to England. I was dispatched, accordingly , in the troopship Orontes, and landed a month later on Portsmouth jetty, with my health irretrievably ruined, but with permission from a paternal government to spend the next nine months in attempting to improve it.
? ? ? I had neither kith nor kin in England, and was therefore as free as air—or as free as an income of eleven shillings and sixpence a day will permit a man to be. Under such circumstances, I naturally gravitated to London, that great cesspool into which all the loungers and idlers of the Empire are irresistibly drained. There I stayed for some time at a private hotel in the Strand, leading a comfortless, meaningless existence, and spending such money as I had, considerably more freely than I ought. So alarming did the state of my finances become, that I soon realized that I must either leave the metropolis and rusticate somewhere in the country , or that I must make a complete alteration in my style of living.
? ? ? Choosing the latter alternative, I began by making up my mind to leave the hotel, and to take up my quarters in some less pretentious and less expensive domicile.
? ? ? On the very day that I had come to this conclusion, I was standing at the Criterion Bar, when someone tapped me on the shoulder, and turning round I recognized young Stamford,who had been a dresser under me at Barts. The sight of a friendly face in the great wilderness of London is a pleasant thing indeed to a lonely man. In old days Stamford had never been a particular crony of mine, but now I hailed him with enthusiasm, and he, in his turn, appeared to be delighted to see me. In the exuberance of my joy, I asked him to lunch with me at the Holborn, and we started off together in a hansom.
? ? ? “Whatever have you been doing with yourself, Watson?”
? ? ? he asked in undisguised wonder, as we rattled through the crowded London streets. “You are as thin as a lath and as brown as a nut.”
? ? ? I gave him a short sketch of my adventures, and had hardly concluded it by the time that we reached our destination.
? ? ? “Poor devil!” he said, commiseratingly, after he had listened to my misfortunes. “What are you up to now?”
? ? ? “Looking for lodgings,” I answered. “Trying to solve the problem as to whether it is possible to get comfortable rooms at a reasonable price.”
? ? ? “That’s a strange thing,” remarked my companion; “you are the second man today that has used that expression to me.”
? ? ? “And who was the first?” I asked.
? ? ? “A fellow who is working at the chemical laboratory up at the hospital. He was bemoaning himself this morning because he could not get someone to go halves with him in some nice rooms which he had found, and which were too much for his purse.”
? ? ? “By Jove!” I cried, “if he really wants someone to share the rooms and the expense, I am the very man for him. I should prefer having a partner to being alone.”
? ? ? Young Stamford looked rather strangely at me over his wineglass. “You don’t know Sherlock Holmes yet,” he said;“perhaps you would not care for him as a constant companion.”
? ? ? “Why, what is there against him?”
? ? ? “Oh, I didn’t say there was anything against him. He is a little queer in his ideas—an enthusiast in some branches of science. As far as I know he is a decent fellow enough.”
? ? ? “A medical student, I suppose?” said I.
? ? ? “No—I have no idea what he intends to go in for. I believe he is well up in anatomy, and he is a first-class chemist; but, as far as I know, he has never taken out any systematic medical classes. His studies are very desultory and eccentric, but he has amassed a lot of out-of-the-way knowledge which would astonish his professors.”
? ? ? “Did you never ask him what he was going in for?” I asked.
? ? ? “No; he is not a man that it is easy to draw out, though he can be communicative enough when the fancy seizes him.”
? ? ? “I should like to meet him,” I said. “If I am to lodge with anyone, I should prefer a man of studious and quiet habits. I am not strong enough yet to stand much noise or excitement. I had enough of both in Afghanistan to last me for the remainder of my natural existence. How could I meet this friend of yours?”
? ? ? “He is sure to be at the laboratory,” returned my companion.
? ? ? “He either avoids the place for weeks, or else he works there from morning to night. If you like, we shall drive round together after luncheon.”
? ? ? “Certainly,” I answered, and the conversation drifted away into other channels.
? ? ? As we made our way to the hospital after leaving the Holborn, Stamford gave me a few more particulars about the gentleman whom I proposed to take as a fellow-lodger.

中文翻譯
? ? ? 一八七八年，我拿到了倫敦大學(xué)的醫(yī)學(xué)博士學(xué)位，接著就到內(nèi)特雷醫(yī)院去進修軍醫(yī)課程。課程剛剛修完，我就奉命前往諾森伯蘭第五燧發(fā)槍團，充當(dāng)該團的軍醫(yī)助理。那個團當(dāng)時駐扎在印度，可我人還沒到，第二次阿富汗戰(zhàn)爭就打了起來。在孟買下船的時候，我聽說我那個團已經(jīng)穿越重重關(guān)隘，挺進到了敵境深處。即便如此，我還是和許多處境相似的軍官一起跟了上去，并且安全地抵達了坎大哈。我在那里找到了自己的團隊，立刻就投入了新的工作。
? ? ? 許多人都通過這場戰(zhàn)爭取得了榮譽和升遷，我的收獲卻只是霉運和災(zāi)難。當(dāng)時我奉命轉(zhuǎn)入伯克郡步兵團，跟那支部隊一起參加了傷亡慘重的邁萬德戰(zhàn)役。戰(zhàn)役當(dāng)中，我肩上中了一顆捷澤爾槍彈，肩胛骨被打碎，鎖骨下方的動脈也擦傷了。多虧了勤務(wù)兵穆雷的忠誠和勇氣，我才沒有落到回教士兵的手里。他把受傷的我扔到一匹馱馬的背上，帶著我安全地回到了英軍的陣地。
? ? ? 創(chuàng)痛令我形銷骨立，長期的艱苦生活又令我虛弱不堪，于是他們就讓我離開戰(zhàn)場，跟一大群傷員一起去了白沙瓦的后方醫(yī)院。我在那里休養(yǎng)生息，到后來已經(jīng)能夠在病床周圍走動走動，甚至能夠到陽臺上去曬曬太陽了。就在那時，我又遭遇了印度殖民地為我們特備的那種詛咒，染上了傷寒。幾個月的時間里，我一直都是命懸一線。等到我終于恢復(fù)神智、開始痊愈的時候，我已經(jīng)虛弱憔悴得不成樣子，以致醫(yī)生們決定立刻打發(fā)我回英格蘭，一天也不能耽擱。就這樣，我被他們遣送回國，坐上了“奧倫蒂斯號”運兵船。一個月之后，我在樸茨茅斯碼頭上了岸，健康已經(jīng)遭受了無法挽回的損害。還好，愛民如子的政府準了我九個月的假期，好讓我調(diào)養(yǎng)身體。
? ? ? 我在英格蘭無親無故，因此就擁有空氣一般的自由——換句話說，擁有一個每天收入十一先令零六便士的人所能擁有的最大自由。既然如此，我便順理成章地選擇了倫敦，因為它好比是一個巨大的污水池，大英帝國境內(nèi)所有的游民懶漢都會不由自主地流到那里去。我在斯特蘭街的一家出租公寓里住了一段時間，過著一種苦悶無聊的生活，而且大手大腳地花錢，遠遠超過了應(yīng)有的限度。到后來，我的經(jīng)濟狀況惡化到了讓人恐慌的地步，以致我很快就意識到，我要么選擇離開倫敦、到鄉(xiāng)下去過日子，要么就得徹底改變自己的生活方式。我選擇了后一種辦法，第一步便是打定主意，要離開那家公寓，另找一個不那么浮華也不那么昂貴的住處。
? ? ? 就在作出上述決定的當(dāng)天，我站在克萊蒂倫酒吧的門前，有人拍了拍我的肩膀。我轉(zhuǎn)過頭去，看見了年輕的斯坦福德，他是我在巴茨醫(yī)院求學(xué)時的一個助手。能在倫敦這樣的汪洋大海當(dāng)中看到一張友善的臉龐，對一個孤苦伶仃的人來說實在是一件值得高興的事情。照過去的情況來說，斯坦福德和我并沒有什么特別的交情，眼下呢，我卻興高采烈地跟他打起了招呼，而他也是一副很高興看到我的樣子。興奮之余，我便邀請他跟我一起去霍爾伯恩飯店吃午飯。再下來，我們就坐上馬車出發(fā)了。
? ? ? “華生，這陣子你都在干什么呢？”馬車轔轔地碾過擁擠的倫敦街道，斯坦福德突然問我，絲毫不掩飾自己的詫異?！翱茨闶莸孟癜巡窈蹋樢颤S得跟蠟一樣。”我大致說了說自己的經(jīng)歷，還沒來得及說完，目的地已經(jīng)到了。
? ? ? “真夠倒霉的！”聽完了我的種種不幸遭遇，他滿懷同情地說道?！把巯履阌惺裁创蛩隳兀俊?br> ? ? ? “我在找住處，”我回答道?！跋肟纯催@地方究竟有沒有條件舒適、價錢也合理的房子?！?br> ? ? ? “怪事，”我的同伴說道，“你這種說法，今天我已經(jīng)是第二次聽到了?！?br> ? ? ? “第一次是聽誰說的呢？”我問道。
? ? ? “一個在醫(yī)院實驗室工作的家伙說的。今天早上他還在唉聲嘆氣，說他找到了一處相當(dāng)不錯的房子，只可惜負擔(dān)不起房租，又找不到人來跟自己分攤?！?br> ? ? ? “我的天！”我叫道，“要是他真想找人合租房子的話，找我就再合適不過了。我喜歡有個伴兒，比一個人住強?！彼固垢５露酥票?，驚訝不已地看了看我?！澳氵@么說，是因為你還不了解歇洛克·福爾摩斯這個人，”他說道，“興許，你不會愿意與他長期為伴?！?br> ? ? ? “為什么，他有什么毛病嗎？”
? ? ? “呃，我并不是說他有毛病。他只是想法有點兒古怪，對某種科學(xué)特別熱衷。據(jù)我所知，他為人還是相當(dāng)正派的。”
? ? ? “他是個醫(yī)科學(xué)生，對吧？”我說道。
? ? ? “不是——我不知道他到底想研究什么。按我看，他對解剖學(xué)很是在行，還是個第一流的藥劑師。不過，據(jù)我所知，他從來也沒有接受過系統(tǒng)的醫(yī)學(xué)訓(xùn)練。他搞的都是些雜七雜八、古里古怪的研究，但卻積累了一大堆非常冷門的知識，能把他的教授們嚇一大跳。”
? ? ? “難道你從來沒問過他到底在研究什么嗎？”我問道。
? ? ? “沒問過。他這個人不會輕易吐露心事。話說回來，興致來了的時候，他也是滿健談的?！?br> ? ? ? “我想跟他見個面，”我說道?！叭绻撕献〉脑?，我倒希望對方是個勤勉好學(xué)、性格安靜的人。我這個人不夠強壯，承受不了太多噪音和刺激。那兩樣?xùn)|西，我在阿富汗的時候就已經(jīng)受夠了，這輩子也不想再受。我怎么才能見到你這位朋友呢？”
? ? ? “他這會兒肯定是在實驗室里，”我的同伴回答道。“他要么是連著幾個星期都不上那里去，要么就在那里沒日沒夜地工作。你要愿意的話，午飯之后我們可以一起去找他?！?br> ? ? ? “好的，”我滿口應(yīng)承。接下來，我們就聊起了別的一些事情。
? ? ? 從霍爾伯恩飯店去醫(yī)院的路上，斯坦福德又跟我談起了我打算引為室友的這位先生，對他的脾性作了幾點補充說明。

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