福尔摩斯背后的故事

◎供稿：涂淑梅

夏洛克·福尔摩斯是我们耳熟能详的名字，不管是在文学还是影视作品中，他都是举世闻名的大侦探。不过，他是个虚构的人物，那这虚构人物的故事是怎样让人觉得如此真实的呢？

Every year, thousands of people visit one of the world's most famous addresses: 221B Baker Street, London.

The address is famous for being where the1)fictional detective Sherlock Holmes lived in the well-known stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

A lot of people are so taken with the stories that they forget Sherlock Holmes wasn't a real person and therefore didn't ever actually live at the address. In fact, there was no house there when Conan Doyle wrote the stories.

So, if Sherlock Holmes was a made up character, why do so many people think of him like a real person?

1）fictional [ˈfɪkʃənl] adj. 虚构的

词组加油站

be taken with 对……很喜爱；被迷住；被吸引make up 捏造

It is often said that the character Sherlock Holmes was based on a real person named Benjamin Bell, a forensic surgeon for whom Conan Doyle worked as a clerk at the Edinburɡh Royal infirmary.

Sherlock Holmes'problem-solving ability and powers of2)observation are based on the surgeon. Bell was even called on by the police to join several3)investigation, just as Sherlock Holmes did.

Conan Doyle found the4)inspiration for the name of his famous detective elsewhere, though. He was an expert cricket player and5)combined the names of to other well-known players, Shacklock and Sherwin, to make the name “Sherlock”.

词组加油站

be based on 以……为基础

forensic surgeon 法医

2）observation [ˌɒbzəˈveɪʃn] n.观察；评论；注意；遵守

3）investiɡation [ɪnˌvestɪˈɡeɪʃn] n.调查；调查研究

4）inspiration [ˌɪnspəˈreɪʃn] n.灵感；妙计；好办法

5）combine [kəmˈbaɪn] v.组合；结合

Another thing that makes the character seem like a real person is his6)distinctive habits. He rarely ate breakfast and had three pipes which he enjoyed smoking.

Althouɡh his famous methods for solvinɡ mysteries started in fiction, many of them became part of7)modern-day policing.

Although the character is made-up most of the8)locations are real. One of Conan Doyle's strengths as an author is describing a London that seems so real to the reader.

Most of the famous locations in the books are in London and Sherlock Holmes fans love to visit the locations in the books and those used later in the movies.

6）distinctive [dɪˈstɪŋktɪv] adj.有特色的；与众不同的

7）modern-day [ˌmɒdn ˈdeɪ] adj.当代的；当前的

8）location [ləʊˈkeɪʃən] n.地点；位置；定位

每年都有成千上万的人参观世界上最著名的地址之一：伦敦贝克街221B号。

阿瑟·柯南·道尔爵士著名小说中的侦探——夏洛克·福尔摩斯就住在这里。

很多人都被小说中的故事迷住了，以至于他们忘记了夏洛克·福尔摩斯其实并不是真人，所以他根本就没住过这个地方。事实上，柯南·道尔创作福尔摩斯的故事时，那里还没有房子。

那么，既然夏洛克·福尔摩斯是一个虚构的角色，为什么还有那么多人认为他真实存在呢?

人们常说，夏洛克·福尔摩斯这个人物是以一个名叫本杰明·贝尔的真实人物为原型创作的，他是一名法医，柯南·道尔曾与他在爱丁堡皇家医院共事。

福尔摩斯解决问题的能力和观察力都建立在外科医生的职业基础上。贝尔也像夏洛克·福尔摩斯一样，被警方召去参加过几项调查。

然而，柯南·道尔是在别处找到了创作这位著名侦探名字的灵感。柯南·道尔是一名板球高手，他把夏克洛克和舍温等著名板球运动员的名字结合在一起，取名为“夏洛克”。

让这个角色看起来像是真人的另一个因素是他与众不同的习惯。他很少吃早餐，却喜欢抽烟，有三支烟斗。

虽然他破解谜团的方法是写在小说里的，但其中许多方法后来被借鉴到现代警务工作当中。

尽管角色是虚构的，但大多数故事的场景却是真实的。柯南·道尔作为作家的一大优势就是描写了一个在读者看来真实无比的伦敦。

书中大多数著名的场景都在伦敦，而福尔摩斯的粉丝们也喜欢去参观书中故事发生的场景以及后来电影的拍摄地。