It was 7 minutes after midnight. The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs Shears’ house.
午夜过了7分钟。那只狗躺在希尔斯太太家门前的草坪中间的草地上。
Its eyes were closed. It looked as if it was running on its side, the way dogs run when they think they are chasing a cat in a dream. But the dog was not running or asleep.
它的眼睛是闭着的。它看起来像是在侧身奔跑，就像狗在梦中追逐猫时的奔跑方式。但是狗没有跑，也没有睡着。
The dog was dead. There was a garden fork sticking out of the dog. The points of the fork must have gone all the way through the dog and into the ground because the fork had not fallen over.
那只狗死了。那只狗身上伸出了一把园艺叉。叉子的尖端肯定已经穿过了狗的身体，进入了地面，因为叉子没有掉下来。
I decided that the dog was probably killed with the fork because I could not see any other wounds in the dog and I do not think you would stick a garden fork into a dog after it had died for some other reason, like cancer for example, or a road accident. But I could not be certain about this.
我认为这只狗可能是用叉子杀死的，因为看不见其他伤口，而且我不认为你会因为其他原因（例如癌症）将叉子插入狗身上导致它死亡。或许也是因为交通事故但是我对此不确定。
I went through Mrs Shears’ gate, closing it behind me. I walked onto her lawn and knelt beside the dog. I put my hand on the muzzle of the dog. It was still warm.
我穿过了希尔斯太太的大门，随手把门关上。我走到她家的草坪上，跪在狗旁边。我把手放在狗的鼻子上。仍然很暖和。
The dog was called Wellington. It belonged to Mrs Shears who was our friend. She lived on the opposite side of the road, two houses to the left. Wellington was a poodle. Not one of the small poodles that have hairstyles, but a big poodle. It had curly black fur, but when you got close you could see that the skin underneath the fur was a very pale yellow, like chicken. I stroked Wellington and wondered who had killed him, and why.
这只狗叫惠灵顿。它属于我们的朋友谢尔斯夫人。她住在马路对面，左边有两所房子。惠灵顿是贵宾犬。不是一只有发型的小贵宾犬，而是一只大贵宾犬。它有卷曲的黑色皮毛，但是当你靠近时，你会看到皮毛下面的皮肤是非常浅的黄色，就像鸡一样。我抚摸着惠灵顿，想知道是谁杀了他，为什么。
I pulled the fork out of the dog and lifted him into my arms and hugged him. He was leaking blood from the fork-holes.
我把叉子从狗身上拉出来，将它抱在怀里。血从它身上的叉孔里漏出。
I like dogs. You always know what a dog is thinking. It has four moods. Happy, sad, cross and concentrating. Also, dogs are faithful, and they do not tell lies because they cannot talk.
我喜欢狗。你总是知道狗在想什么。它有四种情绪。快乐，悲伤，生气和专注。此外，狗是忠诚的，它们不会说谎，因为它们不会说话。
I had been hugging the dog for 4 minutes when I heard screaming. I looked up and saw Mrs Shears running towards me from the patio. She was wearing pyjamas and a housecoat. Her toenails were painted bright pink and she had no shoes on. She was shouting, ‘What in name have you done to my dog?’ I do not like people shouting at me. It makes me scared that they are going to hit me or touch me and I do not know what is going to happen.
听到尖叫时，我已经将狗抱了4分钟。我抬起头，看到希尔斯夫人从天井朝我跑来。她穿着睡衣和室内外套。她的脚趾甲被涂成鲜粉红色，没有穿鞋。她大喊：“你对我的狗做了什么？”我不喜欢有人高呼我。这让我担心他们会打我或碰我，我不知道会发生什么。
‘Let go of the dog,’ she shouted. ‘Let go of the dog for Christ’s sake.’ I put the dog down on the lawn and moved back 2 metres. She bent down.
“放开那只狗，”她喊道。“看在上帝的份上，把狗放开。“我把狗放在草坪上，往后退了两米。她弯下腰。
I thought she was going to pick the dog up herself, but she didn’t. Perhaps she noticed how much blood there was and didn’t want to get dirty. Instead, she started screaming again. I put my hands over my ears and closed my eyes and rolled forward till I was hunched up with my forehead pressed onto the grass. The grass was wet and cold. It was nice.
我以为她会自己把狗抱起来，但她没有。也许她注意到有这么多血，不想弄脏。相反，她又开始尖叫。我用手捂住耳朵，闭上眼睛，向前滚去，直到我弓起身子，额头贴在草地上。草地又湿又冷。很不错。
This is a murder mystery novel. Siobhan said that I should write something I would want to read myself. Mostly I read books about science and maths.
这是一本谋杀悬疑小说。Siobhan说我应该写一些我自己想读的东西。我主要读科学和数学方面的书。
I do not like proper novels. In proper novels people say things like, ‘I am veined with iron, with silver and with streaks of common mud. I cannot contract into the firm fist which those clenches who do not depend on stimulus. ’ What does this mean? I do not know. Nor does Father. Nor do Siobhan or Mr Jeavons. I have asked them.
我不喜欢正统的小说。在正规的小说里，人们会说这样的话:“我身上有铁丝、银丝，还有一道道普通的泥巴。我不能像那些不依赖刺激的人那样紧握拳头。”这是什么意思？我不知道。也没有父亲。Siobhan和Jeavons先生也没有。我问过他们。
Siobhan has long blonde hair and wears glasses which are made of green plastic. And Mr Jeavons smells of soap and wears brown shoes that have approximately 60 tiny circular holes in each of them. But I do like murder mystery novels. So, I am writing a murder mystery novel. In a murder mystery novel, someone has to work out who the murderer is and then catch them. It is a puzzle. If it is a good puzzle you can sometimes work out the answer before the end of the book. Siobhan said that the book should begin with something to grab people’s attention. That is why I started with the dog. I also started with the dog because it happened to me and I find it hard to imagine things which did not happen to me.
Siobhan有一头长长的金发，戴着绿色塑料眼镜。Jeavons先生闻起来有肥皂的味道，穿着棕色的鞋子，鞋子上有大约60个小圆洞。但我确实喜欢谋杀悬疑小说。所以，我正在写一本谋杀悬疑小说。在谋杀悬疑小说中，必须有人找出谁是凶手，然后抓住他们。这是个谜。如果这是一个很好的谜题，你有时可以在书的最后找出答案。Siobhan说，这本书应该以吸引人们注意力的东西开始。这就是为什么我从狗开始。我也从狗开始，因为它发生在我身上，我发现很难想象没有发生在我身上的事情。
那我们接下来, 将找出这篇文章有趣又有用的短语和句子！
Analysis – Page 1
1. Garden fork sticking out of dog =花园的叉子从狗身上伸出来
例句(illustrative sentences):
a) The garden fork was sticking out of the grass.
花园叉从草丛中伸出来。
b) You can use that big garden fork sticking out over there.
你可以使用那根伸出来的大花园叉。
2. Knelt beside =跪在旁边
例句(illustrative sentences):
a) The dog knelt beside its owner.
狗在其主人旁边跪下。
b) He knelt beside her and put her hand in his.
他跪在她旁边，把手放在他的身边。
3. Muzzle = 口鼻
例句(illustrative sentences):
a) The dog’s muzzle was wet.
狗的口鼻是湿的。
b) The muzzle is for detecting scents.
口鼻是用于检测气味的。
4. Poodle =贵宾犬
例句(illustrative sentences):
a) Poodles are one of the most popular house pets.
贵宾犬是最受欢迎的室内宠物之一。
b) This poodle is incredibly cute.
这只贵宾犬非常的可爱。
5
Analysis – Page 2
5. faithful =忠于
例句(illustrative sentences):
a) I’m a faithful reader of your blog.
我是您博客的忠实读者。
b) He’s been a faithful friend to me.
他是我的忠实朋友。
6. For Christ’s sake =看在上帝的份儿上
例句(illustrative sentences):
a) For Christ’s sake, why won’t you believe me?
看在上帝的份儿上, 你为什么不相信我？
b) For Christ’s sake, listen to me.
看在上帝的份儿上, 听我说。
Similar phrases:
For crying out loud = 看在上帝的份儿上
7. Hunched up =驼背
例句(illustrative sentences):
c) She sat hunched up by the fire.
她在火堆旁弯腰地坐着。
d) When you use a desk, your shoulders get hunched up.
当你使用办公桌时，你会驼背的。
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Analysis – Page 3
8. Murder mystery novel =谋杀神秘小说
例句(illustrative sentences):
a) My favourite book genre is murder mystery.
我最喜欢的书籍类型是谋杀之谜。
b) This is my favourite murder mystery film.
这是我最喜欢的谋杀神秘片。
9. Proper = 适当
例句(illustrative sentences):
a) We should have a proper discussion about this work.
我们应该对此工作进行适当的讨论。
b) She’s the only one in the family with a proper job.
她是家庭中唯一有适当工作的人。
10. Work out = 解决
例句(illustrative sentences):
a) We’ve been trying to work out the answer to this puzzle.
我们一直在努力解决这个难题的答案。
b) This maths question is too difficult for me to work out.
这个数学问题对我来说太难了。
Other meanings: 其他含义：
Work out = 锻炼
例句(illustrative sentences):
a) I try and work out once a week at the gym.
我尝试在健身房每周锻炼一次。
b) He usually works out after work.
他通常在下班后锻炼身体。
11. Grab people’s attention = 引起了人们的注意。
例句(illustrative sentences):
a) This newspaper headline will grab people’s attention.
该报纸头条将引起人们的注意。
b) He grabs people’s attention by being funny.
他通过幽默而引起了人们的注意。