福尔摩斯原型.docx

The Real Sherlock HolmesIrving WallaceOne evening, about the turn of the century, after a weekend shoot in Scotland, a dozen guests sat around a dinner table discussing human monsters, famous murders, and unsolved crimes.1. One of the guests, Dr. Joseph Bell, the eminent surgeon and medical instructor, had the others wide-eyed with his detective acrobatics.“The trouble with most people,” he said, “is that they see, but do not observe. Any really good detective ought to be able to tell, before a stranger has2.fairlysat down, his occupation, habits, and past history through rapid observation and deduction.(1)Glance at a man and you find his nationality written on his face, his means of livelihood on his hands, and the rest of his story in his gait, mannerisms, tattoo marks, watch chain ornaments, shoelaces, and in the lint adhering to his clothes.The guests were fascinated but skeptical.3. One challenged Dr. Bell to give an example of applied observation. Happily, Dr. Bell obliged.“A patient walked into the room where I was instructing the students, and his case seemed to be very simple one. I was talking about what was wrong with him. Of course, gentlemen, I happened to say, he has been a soldier in a Highland regiment, and probably a bandsman. I pointed out the swagger in his walk, suggestive of the Highland piper; while his shortness told me that if he had been a soldier, it was probably as a bandsman. But the man insisted he was nothing but a shoemaker and had never been in the army in his life. This was rather a floorer, but being absolutely certain, I told two of the strongest clerks to remove the man to a side room and strip him.“Under his left breast I instantly detected a little blue D branded on his skin. He was an 4.army deserter. That was how they used to mark them in the Crimean days. You can understand his evasion. However, this proved my first observation correct. He confessed having played in the band of a Highland regiment in the war against the Russian. It was really elementary, gentlemen.”Most of the guests were impressed. But one listener chidingly remarked: “Why, Dr. Bell might almost be Sherlock Holmes.”To which Dr. Bell snapped. “My dear sir, I am Sherlock Holmes.”Dr. Bell was not jesting.5.He was, indeed, the original Sherlock Holmes, the real-life inspiration for the immortal detective of fiction. In fact, A. Conan Doyle, in a letter to Dr. Bell dated May 7. 1892, frankly acknowledged the source. He admitted that he owed the creation of Holmes to his old instructors teachings and to his demonstrations of deduction, inference, and observation.When Dr. Bell, in his correspondence with Doyle, once6.ventured to repeat the anecdote of the Highland regiment bandsman, the author gracefully accepted it for a future Sherlock Holmes mystery.(2)7.Though Doyle felt that the anecdote needed a secondary plot, as well as added character suspects to8.throw readers off the trail of the deserter-bandsman, he also felt that it contained the nucleus for an intriguing tale.Many of Dr. Bells views on the science of observation became household words when the character Sherlock Holmes mouthed them in sixty classic stories. “Let the inquirer begin,” advised Sherlock Holmes, “by mastering more elementary problems. Let him, on meeting a fellow9.mortal,learn at a glance to distinguish the history of the man, and the trade or profession to which he belongs. By a mans fingernails, by his coat sleeve, by his boots, by his trouser knees, by the callosities of his forefinger and thumb, by his expression, by his shirt cuffs- by each of these things a mans calling is plainly revealed.”In story after story, Sherlock Holmes reiterated his rules for deduction and analysis. “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts- You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of 10.trifles- It is a curious thing that a typewriter has really quite as much individuality as a mans handwriting-I have frequently gained my first real insight into the character of parents by studying their children.” These rules merely echoed the real-life gospel of Dr. Joseph Bell.What were some of the little factors Dr. Bell regarded as important to observation? “Nearly every handicraft writes its sign-manual on the hands, contended Dr. Bell. “The scars of the miner differ from those of the quarryman. The carpenters callosities are not those of the mason- The soldier and sailor differ In gait. Accent helps you to a district and, to cated ear, almost to a county-“Inside the spired Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, in the packed amphitheater beneath the flickering gaslight, Dr. Bell daily tried to prove to his pupils that observation was not a magic but a science.(3)His standard demonstration of this, given in a voice of dry humor before each new class of medical students, involved taking up a tumbler filled with an amber-colored liquid. “This, gentlemen, contains a very potent drug,” Dr. Bell would explain. “To the taste it is intensely bitter. Now I want to see how many of you have educated your powers of perception.(4)Of course, we might easily analyze this chemically, but I want you to test it by smell and taste, and, as I dont ask anything of my students which I wouldnt be willing to do myself, I will taste it before passing it around.”Dr. Bell would then dip a finger into the liquid, put his finger to his mouth, suck it, and grimace. He would then pass the tumbler around. Each student would dip a finger into the vile concoction, suck it, and made a sour face. When the tumbler had 12.made the rounds, Dr. Bell would gaze at the assembly and begin laughing. “Gentlemen, gentlemen,” he would say, “I am deeply grieved to find that not one of you has developed this power of perception, which I so often speak about. For, if you had watched me closely, you would have found that, while I placed my forefinger in the bitter medicine, it was the middle finger which found its way into my mouth!”Students of Dr. Bell would remember for years some of the masters deductive feats. One former student, Dr. Harold E. Jones, recalled that Dr. Bell would summon his charges up front to 13.try their own hands at observing. “What is the matter with this man, sir?” Dr. Bell once asked a quaking student. “No, you mustnt touch him. Use your eyes, sir, use your ears, use your brain, your bump of perception, and use your powers of deduction.” At sea, the confused student blurred:”Hip-joint disease, sir.” Dr. Bell scowled, shook his head. “14.Hip nothing! The mans limp is not from his hip, but from his foot. Were you to observe closely, you would see that there are slits, cut by a knife, in those parts of the shoe where the pressure of the shoe is greatest against the foot. The man is a sufferer from corns, gentlemen, and has no hip trouble at all.”But of all the Edinburgh undergraduates, it was Conan Doyle who was the most deeply impressed by his incredible mentor. One time when the young Doyle was working as Dr. Bells assistant, a patient entered and sat down. “Did you like your walk over the golf links today, as you came in from the south of the town?” inquired Dr. Bell. The patient replied: ”Why, yes, did Your Honor see me? Dr. Bell had not seen him.“Conan Doyle could not understand how I knew,” Dr. Bell related later, “but on a showery day such as that had been, the reddish clay at the bare parts of the golf links adheres to the boot, and a tiny part is bound to remain. There is no such clay anywhere else.” Years later, writing “The Five Orange Pips” Conan Doyle had Sherlock Holmes say to a visitor: “You have come up from the southwest, I see.” The visitor replied: “Yes, from Horsham.” And Holmes explained: “That clay and chalk mixture which I see upon your toe caps is quite distinctive.”(5)Thus, Conan Doyles five years as a struggling medical student-and his months serving his uncanny Scotch instructor-gave him both the idea for the character and much of the material that helped made him a world-famous author. But actually, when he graduated from Edinburgh University in 1881, Doyle intended to be a doctor. He nailed up his oculists shingle in a suburb of Portsmouth and waited for patients. Six years later he was still waiting. Lacking a practice, desperate for any kind of income, Doyle turned to writing. He declared to try a detective story. And for it he wanted a new kind of detective. Perhaps he looked at the photograph of Dr. Bell which he kept on the mantelpiece of his study. At any rate, he thought of Bell, and, thinking of him, hit upon his detective.He called him Sherlock Holmes after an English cricketer and Oliver Wendell Holmes.In describing the detective, Doyle again remembered his old instructor. Dr. Bell had been age forty-four when Doyle last saw him. “He was thin, wiry, dark, with a high-nosed acute face, penetrating grey eyes, angular shoulders, and a jerky way of walking. His voice was high and discordant.” With this as his model, Sherlock Holmes became the familiar, tall, stooped, hawk-faced, intense, and inscrutable human bloodhound. His first appearance, in Beetons Christmas Annual, with “A Study in Scarlet” in 1887, was inauspicious. But as a result, an American editor two years later ordered more Sherlock Holmes stories, Strand Magazine published the memorable “A Scandal in Bohemia,”15.and the detective was on his way to literary immortality.From The Fabulous Originals, by Irving Wallace, Alfred A Knopf.Inc., 1955.Words and expressions1. Scotland苏格兰2. eminent a. 非凡的；杰出的3. deductive a.推理的，演绎的4. acrobatics n.特技5. detective n.侦探6. gait n.步态7. tattoo n.纹身8. lint n.棉绒9. adhere vi.粘附，胶着eg. l He was trained to adhere to a strict ethical standard, and that was passed on to us. l But that means they must adhere to the international norms and standards expected of any legitimate government.10. oblige vi.答应-的请求eg. l Could you oblige me with 10 pounds?借我10英镑行吗?l She obliged us with another song.她又为我们唱了一支歌。11. Highland n.苏格兰高地12. regiment n.兵团13. bandsman n.乐队队员14. swagger n.昂首阔步15. piper n.风笛手16. floorer n.难题，难以置信的论据17. Crimean a.克里米亚战争的18. evasion n.躲闪，否认19. chidingly ad.斥责地，呵斥地20. inference n.推论21. anecdote n.轶闻22. suspect n.可疑者23. callosity n.老茧皮24. cuff n.袖口25. calling n.职业26. reiterate vt.重申synonym: ingeminate , restateeg. l I want to reiterate strongly the administrations strong support for the National Endowment for the Arts.l To reiterate: Safari on the iPhone will finally make the Web usable on a mobile phone.27. individuality n.个性28. gospel n.信条，准则29. handicraft n.手工艺品30. sign-manual n.特征31. contend vt.宣称synonym:maintain , submit , advocateeg. l Proponents contend the additional area is needed for new and advanced weaponry and maintaining combat readiness.contend vi. 竞争；奋斗；斗争词语辨析：contend, rival, contest, compete这组词都有“竞争”的意思，其区别是：l contend 指为战胜或击败对手进行不懈努力，强调拼搏。也可指口头上进行有对立情绪或严重分歧的争论。l rival 指在两方或多方的竞争或比赛中，谁都想战胜或比得上对手。l contest 指为争夺土地、阵地、权力或荣誉等而展开的竞争。l compete 普通用词，含义广泛。既可指体育活动等活动中争取优胜的相互竞争，也可指为了自己的利益与他人竞争。32. scar n.疤痕33. quarryman n.采石工，石匠34. carpenter n.木匠35. mason n.石匠36. spired a.尖塔形37. infirmary n.医院38. Edinburgh n.爱丁堡39. packed a.拥挤40. amphitheater n.阶梯教室41. dry humor冷幽默42. potent a.高效43. grimace vi.扮鬼脸，作苦相44. vile a.（口语）令人讨厌的45. concoction n.调和物46. grieve vt.使伤心eg. l We as a family have had our lives enriched with their presence and are now attempting to grieve their loss. l There was nothing to grieve about in her death, but she would like to see that he did not repeat her fate.词语辨析：mourn, grieve这组词都有“悲伤，伤心”的意思，其区别是：l mourn 正式用词，含义与grieve很相近，但侧重因某种原因而表现于外表的悲伤、哭泣。l grieve 通常指因死亡、损失或失败等所造成的内心痛苦。可以是公开表达的，也可以是压抑于内心的。47. charge n.主管的学生48. quake vi.发抖49. bump n.(口语)能力，才能50. corn n.鸡眼51. golf links n.高尔夫球场52. pip n.籽53. distinctive a.独特的，明显不同的54. uncanny a.不可思议的55. nail up钉住与nail相关的词组：l nail polish 指甲油，趾甲油l nail down 确定，明确；用钉钉住l tooth and nail 拼命，竭尽全力l nail file 指甲锉l nail art 指甲艺术；美甲（等于nail fashion）56. oculist n.眼科医生相关词语：aurist：耳科医生rhinologist: 鼻科医生surgeon：外科医生internist：内科医生57. shingle n.小招牌58. mantelpiece n.壁炉架59. wiry a.消瘦结实的60. angular a.瘦骨嶙峋的61. jerky a.急而不稳的62. discordant a.不协和63. inscrutable a.高深莫测的64. bloodhound n.大侦探犬65. inauspicious a.不详的，不大有希望的66. scandal n.丑闻，耻辱Paraphrases of Some Difficult Words and Sentences:1. One of the guests, Dr. Joseph Bell, the eminent surgeon and medical instructor, had the others wide-eyed with his deductive acrobatics.Paraphrase: Among the guests was Dr. Joseph Bell, the famous surgeon and medical teacher, who surprised and shocked the others into opening their eyes wide with his power of deduction.2. fairly: fully (This is to emphasize the sharp observation at first glance.)3. One Challenged Dr. Bell to give an example of applied observation.Paraphrase: One asked Dr. Bell to give an example of how he practiced observation in real life.4. army deserter: a soldier who has betrayed and escaped from the army (The blur D branded on his skin is the mark of punishment)5. He was, indeed, the original Sherlock Holmes, the real-life inspiration for the immortal detective of fiction.Paraphrase: Indeed, it was he who inspired Conan Doyle to create Sherlock Holmes, the famous and unforgettable detective in his fictions.6. ventured: express at the risk of denial (It is implied that Dr. Bell was afraid that Conan Doyle would not accept his recommendation.)7. Though Doyle felt that the anecdote needed a secondary plot, as well as added character suspects to throw readers off the trail of the deserter-bandsman, he also felt that it contained the nucleus for an intriguing tale.Paraphrase: Though Doyle felt that he should add a secondary plot together with character suspects so that the readers would not immediately recognize the deserter-bandsman as the real criminal, he also believed that it could be used as a main plot to a fascinating detective story.8. throw readers off the trail: confuse his readers so that they will not suspect the bandsman from the very beginning (Conan Doyle wanted to make of this anecdote a more complicated story.)9. mortal: a human being (Here the fellow mortal refers to the person who is being observed)10. trifles: sth. of little importance or value (Sherlock Holmes had the ability to learn the history of a man by his fingernails, sleeve, boots, trouser knees, shirt cuffs and so on, all of which seemed easy to be neglected as something unimportant.)11. educated ear: a person who has been well trained in a certain language. (A person who has been well trained in a certain language can even tell the slight difference of the accents of different countries.)12. made the rounds: the tumbler was passed on to everybody in the classroom (Dr. Bell concluded that all of them had made the mistake after they had received the tumbler and repeated his action.)13. try their hands at: practice their skills of observation(Dr. Bell asked his students to judge what was wrong with the patient by using the powers of observation and deduction.)14. hip-nothing: There was nothing wrong with the hip. It had nothing to do with his hip. (The following context reveals that the patient was suffering from the corns.)15. - and the detective was on his way to literary immortality.Paraphrase: -and the detective began his brilliant career and in due time he became an unforgettable figure in literary history. Translation of difficult sentences:(1). Glance at a man and you find his nationality written on his face, his means of livelihood on his hands, and the rest of his story in his gait, mannerisms, tattoo marks, watch chain ornaments, shoelaces, and in the lint adhering to his clothes.只要看一眼，你就能从一个人的脸上看出他的国籍，从他的手上看出他的职业，从他的步态、怪癖、纹身图案、表链饰物、鞋带以及粘在衣服上的棉绒中发现他的其他情况。(2). Though Doyle felt that the anecdote needed a secondary plot, as well as added character suspects to throw readers off the trail of the deserter-bandsman, he also felt that it contained the nucleus for an intriguing tale.尽管道尔觉得这件奇闻轶事在情节上还需要添加一条副线，在人物上还要加几个嫌疑人，不让读者一下子就看出逃兵乐手就是凶手；他还是觉得可以以这件事作为核心内容编造一个引人入胜的故事。(3).His standard demonstration of this, given in a voice of dry humor before each new class of medical students, involved taking up a tumbler filled with an amber-colored liquid.他说明这一点的通常做法包括，在每一班医科新生面前举起一个装满了琥珀色液体的大玻璃杯，一本正经地说笑话。(4).Of course, we might easily analyze this chemically, but I want you to test it by smell and taste, and, as I dont ask anything of my students which I wouldnt be willing to do myself, I will taste it before passing it around.”当然，我们可以轻而易举地给它做个化学分析，可是我想让你们根据气味和滋味来检验它。我不会让我的学生做我自己不愿意做的事情，所以在把杯子传下去之前我先来尝尝。(5).Thus, Conan Doyles five years as a struggling medical student-and his months serving his uncanny Scotch instructor-gave him both the idea for the character and much of the material that helped made him a world-famous author.就这样，柯南-道尔苦煞五年的医科学生生涯以及跟随他不可思议的苏格兰导师几个月的工作经历给了他这个人物的创意并为他提供了大量的创作素材，使他成为世界闻名的作家。Information Related to the Text:1. Irving Wallace (1916-1990)Irving Wallace was an American novelist, who started his career as a journalist at the age of fifteen. After he finished his study of creative writing at the Williams Institute of the Berkley, he became a freelance correspondent. During the 1950s, he wrote many screenplays for Hollywood films. His main works include The Chapman Report (1960), The Prize (1962), The Word (1964) and The Second Lady (1980). Although he was often scorned by serious critics, his bestsellers are quite popular among the readers. The essay selected here reveals how Conan Doyles medical teacher, Dr. Joseph Bell, inspired him to write the stories of She