Читаем Английский язык с Шерлоком Холмсом. Первый сборник рассказов (ASCII-IPA) полностью

"Last Monday I had finished for the day and was dressing in my room above the opium den when I looked out of my window and saw, to my horror and astonishment, that my wife was standing in the street, with her eyes fixed full upon me. I gave a cry of surprise, threw up my arms to cover my face, and, rushing to my confidant, the Lascar, entreated him to prevent anyone from coming up to me. I heard her voice downstairs, but I knew that she could not ascend. Swiftly I threw off my clothes, pulled on those of a beggar, and put on my pigments and wig. Even a wife's eyes could not pierce so complete a disguise. But then it occurred to me that there might be a search in the room, and that the clothes might betray me. I threw open the window, reopening by my violence a small cut which I had inflicted upon myself in the bedroom that morning. Then I seized my coat, which was weighted by the coppers which I had just transferred to it from the leather bag in which I carried my takings. I hurled it out of the window, and it disappeared into the Thames. The other clothes would have followed, but at that moment there was a rush of constables up the stair, and a few minutes after I found, rather, I confess, to my relief, that instead of being identified as Mr. Neville St. Clair, I was arrested as his murderer.

"I do not know that there is anything else for me to explain (я не знаю, чтобы здесь было что-то еще для меня, чтобы объяснить = больше мне нечего прибавить). I was determined to preserve (решил сохранить) my disguise as long as possible (мою маскировку так долго, как /только/ возможно), and hence my preference for a dirty face (и оттого мое предпочтение грязному лицу = поэтому не умывался). Knowing that my wife would be terribly anxious (зная, что моя жена будет ужасно обеспокоена), I slipped off my ring (снял кольцо; to slip — скользить) and confided it (доверил его) to the Lascar at a moment when no constable was watching me (в тот момент, когда никакой констебль не наблюдал за мной = тайком от полиции), together with a hurried scrawl (вместе с торопливой запиской), telling her that she had no cause to fear (говорящей ей, что у нее нет причины бояться)."

preserve [prI'z@:v], preference ['pref@r@ns], anxious ['&NkS@s], scrawl [skrO:l], cause [kO:z]

"That note only reached her yesterday (эта записка только вчера достигла ее)," said Holmes.

"Good God (о Боже)! What a week she must have spent (что за неделю она, должно быть, провела; to spend)!"

"I do not know that there is anything else for me to explain. I was determined to preserve my disguise as long as possible, and hence my preference for a dirty face. Knowing that my wife would be terribly anxious, I slipped off my ring and confided it to the Lascar at a moment when no constable was watching me, together with a hurried scrawl, telling her that she had no cause to fear."

"That note only reached her yesterday," said Holmes.

"Good God! What a week she must have spent!"

"The police have watched this Lascar (полиция следила за этим Ласкаром)," said Inspector Bradstreet, "and I can quite understand (вполне понимаю) that he might find it difficult (что ему было трудно) to post a letter unobserved (отправить письмо незамеченным). Probably he handed it to some sailor customer of his (возможно, он передал его какому-нибудь матросу, посетителю /притона/), who forgot all about it for some days (который забыл все = совершенно об этом на несколько дней; to forget — забывать)."

unobserved [Vn@b'z@:vd], sailor ['seIl@], customer ['kVst@m@]

"That was it (так и было)," said Holmes, nodding approvingly (кивая одобрительно; to approve — одобрять); "I have no doubt of it (я не имею сомнения насчет этого). But have you never been prosecuted for begging (но разве вас никогда не привлекали к суду за попрошайничество)?"

"The police have watched this Lascar," said Inspector Bradstreet, "and I can quite understand that he might find it difficult to post a letter unobserved. Probably he handed it to some sailor customer of his, who forgot all about it for some days."

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