 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
课文30 幽灵之死 r! W' J: \( O
552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.4 B' B; H' s, ^2 _0 U
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
4 G4 x% p) ]2 v6 e553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.0 q& y: i( d5 @" p+ w+ b( e" ^
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。! O, h( c) e: \/ {: S8 _
554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.9 D2 H& N0 t0 F. w* Q. Q1 E% n
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
1 H& |$ o+ d$ ?3 l& E2 r2 W5 X' i555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.( L) T+ ^" ^$ |8 V2 u4 s* O3 y7 g
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
; d; S* Z1 I9 w5 }' G556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
% t* i2 Z2 P: V 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
3 x) |- A" i, z; p3 V6 {557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.+ e1 X8 V0 ?+ @" H- A0 ^) S: J
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。( j" w# a5 x; w" e" F$ s
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight./ {. z4 n* i! Y: R
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。' E0 `& c& u4 A6 P( `
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
5 e( L( V2 \! R8 g4 P 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。
% O/ [( `& ^2 G3 x- r+ T9 h560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
8 O# |* j D M" Y 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。
$ V! F5 o+ u8 C" v2 @3 x561. This was indeed the case.
3 Q$ F+ p, ^7 W. E( T/ p7 X 但事实上确有此人。8 G8 U: v" M o" g- T4 n
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
# Z! }1 |$ x5 f i! Y! q9 J/ E8 p 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
4 {3 U, N \+ s L+ ~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.5 k+ M b; r1 \* D- s1 r
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。9 V: D* Z+ W: p# }5 [
564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.% J; a& k% f/ p
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。0 @: J2 D3 k' f# r% D' W ?
565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
6 i ~. R. J! b2 L; R+ x) c, N 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,: f+ D, I6 G: l& `
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War./ Q i" [: f- a6 C" I6 D9 H7 }, K4 C
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
D$ U) E! m& a567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
6 l2 \/ N+ @& X c+ h 他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。- l( [6 O, L1 E, l
568. 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.3 O$ h( q. D9 R' K
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。6 d6 P2 n+ ^8 S2 p9 V
569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
. _% s& Y# m- v0 @4 I: \9 b6 u 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。( l+ I3 d: j( s" S% b% S7 {
570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.
' m4 ]5 ~# E- J 他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。, Y5 F, ^/ C+ {0 N! J& n9 y+ D
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.- E/ X" }' B, i2 G1 ^& [$ P& v0 c; G
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
/ V! W `$ S2 E. E' Y7 Z572. They did not even tell their wives.
0 n: r4 e; ^7 N+ R# C- f 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。9 q; v8 `$ p% ^- E1 U' ?/ Q
573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.: D" U) k( Y& |! j5 ]
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。! a1 T+ b9 h/ o4 \6 I
574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.6 O: |, k* U: J' Z0 S1 ~
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,, c/ x; Y) f. q& C3 [7 v D
575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.
. y. j( | F. L$ r 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。
' S) u, U& i% I! \7 \) x4 O" v576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
! X7 j8 c# o( ^ ~. V 他死后,他的弟弟们才觉得无法再保守这个秘密了。 |
|