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课文30 幽灵之死
9 f4 O; K" {7 U2 h* M4 ?' ^552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.- e2 l5 B9 A% i5 M/ }- c7 \+ B
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。0 @3 P# P) N2 j7 r4 ^2 Q
553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.
& ]$ B. t" g1 j0 b. U 恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
^. Y2 h$ E4 y$ h& D554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.$ Q; ]# {" ~2 [
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
" z& l7 q$ P" z+ B8 U7 t555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
5 u( i0 `+ {# w8 j, W 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。7 `5 \8 ? a2 e" M
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.' G6 g+ K0 ^" R8 X
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,0 ~' u7 D7 _0 D; w. c* J! w
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
1 `% h& }+ S' J" ? 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。! b: Y. u: i: i: I4 C" e9 Z
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
) @" }7 C2 A' 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。( R' `+ w5 a( z, A: E T' d* c% q
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.! Q( h$ ?/ t- p3 P# B
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。3 m# r4 f; i* s# J1 b1 R( v; U, l
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
' P C9 q0 C: a3 R) t 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。
+ V/ w3 G" [) d561. This was indeed the case.2 w) y/ ?5 ~ H/ w% {
但事实上确有此人。
1 T. q* b5 I6 |! N562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.% S5 z+ ~6 F& {8 b& }$ g, p
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。+ L" x6 L6 @2 J( c4 b8 ^
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.3 Q3 w1 @/ K+ m
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。% v2 \! C h- X o
564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.8 y6 C- [* K! s7 P2 L
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。9 g# k7 g3 T! W$ K/ l: A: P
565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
: m8 y" ^7 C4 |9 T 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,* {! M6 I+ ]; y# I, d
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
/ u8 _) x. P8 k. T) A8 c: m3 d( m; x) D 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
2 ^# L& U, P1 j) F567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
8 c# ~3 x# T* |$ k1 F 他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。
C$ I6 z" U( W2 H& o! c/ f; [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.* U k: V6 F. M6 A; J) j& K, ~: ~& p
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。) a1 ?4 w6 K% C8 Q% h
569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
K& M; R; k* j- Z$ b" Z 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。4 o+ l; |7 V- J! Q
570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.
" e. a( ^/ w4 ?- V7 m" z" V 他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。* i0 N2 O5 [$ t6 a3 o" T
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
& A4 N! q$ D8 u8 b 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
1 Z+ C9 L7 G% C5 w1 I; @572. They did not even tell their wives.( E. X2 P& }4 }9 u9 _ ?' A
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。' u3 P, m* l. A, H: n7 R+ {8 ]
573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.6 F7 K% m! A, S" d3 G! o, C
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。# i- N) \7 `9 w+ B$ l
574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse." [+ b$ |2 Z2 f* n
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
9 b, E* O6 k2 `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.
# v, P, _: w5 i) O 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。
. `5 y _8 D( ?0 O2 }, I- P576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
2 e: S- P# i* _9 ]- m 他死后,他的弟弟们才觉得无法再保守这个秘密了。 |
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