 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
课文30 幽灵之死
" u- j# L: k4 E552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
/ B0 L4 o$ s$ Z' ~" c( w4 p7 @ 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
; N G! {5 t6 Q" l& J553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.
" X6 l& ]8 b+ ?& @, Q) n 恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
1 G" h% y% A, R, q$ p h554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.9 t7 B- Q e5 C5 n& ~; W! Y
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
# G" ]& I* t( d! F+ G! H555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.; f& h) J! u. o4 g# \0 J
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。' X$ _- @9 E! ]( t* @7 G. Z: \
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.6 q- K5 w7 k7 Y3 k' }& u# D
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
% a( H8 k* q1 d1 n557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
# ?( V% N, M4 ]/ ?# ? 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
- V1 K9 U' X0 O$ P, C5 u6 P8 n558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.' N4 O5 a( `- r8 c
有一个彻夜未眠的雇工还声称他看见一个人影在月光下收割庄稼。
% C( `1 N" y5 i0 ?* S# k6 q0 ?559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.; |1 |1 c$ ]! G, I% t
随着时间的流逝,考科斯兄弟雇了一个尽心尽责的鬼,他们家的活大部分都让鬼给干了,这件事成了公认的事实。" |& e0 [3 F* H" ], B, E7 e
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
. @7 [: ~2 _+ C 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。& j- Z8 n) \2 e! Y
561. This was indeed the case.# `/ l; X7 N7 X2 s/ @7 f" f
但事实上确有此人。% ^9 {+ F6 `7 V `: o a
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.9 o( n3 i* @. u; f3 ]
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。: I3 r P* j! ~
563. Everyone went to the funeral, for the 'ghost' was none other than Eric Cox, a third brother who was supposed to have died as a young man.
# C! v* g7 C9 o6 r7 {; y5 [- K 大家都去参加了葬礼,因为那“鬼”不是别人,正是农场主的兄弟埃里克.考科斯。人们以为埃里克年轻时就死了。3 M1 J- b! H5 h2 s* t6 S/ y( P
564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
9 {8 c4 \+ H4 M6 N$ S 葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
8 F( H- u) @, e [2 B/ ~ n/ r565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.& M) @0 w8 G7 T8 S% ~9 }* z; x# H5 f
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,/ H; g3 z& R$ Q3 @
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War., \* \5 ~- L4 ?( A7 g
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。7 F/ L- a+ ^; O, ~/ g8 Y7 @
567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
. m! U/ e6 K1 w, }# r8 q+ e 他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。
( M) `: l) Q- j5 s568. When he learnt that he would be sent abroad, he returned to the farm and his father hid him until the end of the war.
% G; G" p. X3 ^( K. k' n3 o) ? 当他了解自己将被派遣出国时,他逃回农场,父亲把他藏了起来,直到战争结束。- P0 P+ @' L2 O
569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
e) F+ l5 }4 c- R9 O 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。# m4 _/ Z% E& N1 y
570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.% r o1 b2 C' k; |& x" Z
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。
" t8 |- H9 X% P: [, ^: M571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
4 F: J; s; j- j* W- g 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
6 M- {7 ]) l5 m+ R X572. They did not even tell their wives.
; `9 u+ x# A x$ m5 N; c" s 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
+ ^/ I p& r# O; d; e573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding., _4 M( D) m$ m. o& {0 `
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
5 G! h! ]6 D4 T3 h# l* z574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.
" M5 K$ h3 ?* t" |1 I( ~9 q 这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
. O- `2 Y9 I8 `# B5 m) y% H6 L2 L4 F+ ^% B575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.
2 d2 S! i' P; C! v& P+ e 白天睡觉,夜里出来干活,一点不知道自己已成了恩得利家场的活鬼。
- l3 U: U. h9 @576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.( Q& K0 y: x) _/ h9 |) Q+ R3 B
他死后,他的弟弟们才觉得无法再保守这个秘密了。 |
|