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课文30 幽灵之死" b4 D* L( L8 Y" H
552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
7 ]4 Q/ q' N, h& C 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
" ]# c. D& ~( w, ^553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox. q5 u" ?8 Q9 l7 f! K( F$ S
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。 O, w Z# X+ T' v* _; p c
554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
2 S" u+ f6 f Q 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
5 q) h, g$ i! o' r555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
`/ W6 w, ], |: o7 @& { 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
9 Z, M- I# Z7 U; j556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
' N8 O' [- v) j$ r9 h 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
8 }5 N! W' @5 P, H6 o557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned./ d1 @3 {: ?( Y, c
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
& p' u$ `; k- X- P" q. F558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.! ~# V: p/ W/ u3 i, x+ i
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。! `5 U8 P' p: O9 ^8 s
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
4 ~1 q( r; Y1 x 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。8 @6 S3 e4 d& Q5 R
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
2 @% X: x7 K: t0 i4 Y. D4 J9 W 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。
0 C- {9 c8 }( U8 [2 a z561. This was indeed the case.' y+ V5 w0 z9 {5 @6 B& j( v
但事实上确有此人。
6 x' r6 f) C& z8 i/ ?* W; f3 N5 |1 i562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
+ _+ @- M6 J: B# z2 k. a 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
; N/ K2 |/ u" ]" V563. 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.
* X9 F4 ?- @6 \% c S5 K3 N 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。* i4 L* L1 E8 k/ f, C) ^
564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.- ^. K5 W0 R/ _
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。4 ?2 K) L; i% j4 B4 u- C$ e# V
565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.. G2 S2 w% R+ y* a# s) D- h
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,- C9 L* Y% V9 I& B R
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
6 h) w) Z' u% s& G 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。$ n7 Y! _9 Z1 H6 e& H6 ?8 K( u6 _
567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment." ]3 Q4 u; m2 {" _
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。 ~" D5 r5 v0 a( n P
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.# E5 V: Y- g' K: Z* Q
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。& A/ L: s0 R O3 H
569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.; n# U* f8 Z" |9 T. ]' l' U
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
) t; N: i& e+ Z3 H570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.
- s- ]8 C0 ^4 k; o 他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。. E6 F* c2 W: a3 W0 R" }( Z# f& H
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.; ~" N9 i; }/ @( S* ^( j
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
8 l7 G. E" C2 e" ?9 q6 o572. They did not even tell their wives.
3 @& k) e" L8 e' R 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。6 ^2 w O6 \ M: {/ Q q7 V# P
573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.+ Q. |% c* X! y
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
, ]: W. R, I8 A( ]7 S# V574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.
: [( a X$ T( b0 {( R 这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
9 F* u. k) ]0 f. J4 g575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.. w" }* a& P3 _, y3 t
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。2 ^" x* a& {; R) H% N
576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer., E7 a P# L4 ?
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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