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课文30 幽灵之死
# N( h! g8 k" T6 J/ R4 [( @552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
1 u M4 |. P2 \: A! _# y 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。* M, u" _' Y7 J' B- s! L- @
553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.* x$ o5 j' j+ v8 c& n; p
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
" O, x; j# ^* t; i6 u% O* P1 ~. ^554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
4 U, u f, }% i0 k+ F; h9 t- k# [# F 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
" l: S* F+ o6 o555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
\" A9 c8 q: U$ J+ |/ H5 G0 M 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
6 F. Q! ^) N% j8 k, b2 N/ j) l2 V. \556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.9 P' Y( f* ~6 L9 w, N0 O- L! j2 M
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,9 p& V) h( O3 W2 o
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.7 _; M9 L* s+ Y# s5 k
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。$ V1 `$ T- H* b; D1 [$ A0 }
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.* F1 i8 x2 v5 X' B7 T, y: ^
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 X- W, L& i c, Q! i$ w* S559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.1 L W! h2 J9 Z7 x( I
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 U( z" d* ^: k1 w% ^2 J1 F, h560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.$ d, D6 [, }1 L0 t
谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。/ g2 k. k% N; |: F7 w/ N) B
561. This was indeed the case.
6 r8 T! i! [5 k. n 但事实上确有此人。
/ ]0 K* q6 W& ~ w- d; N/ @; x562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
7 j$ S: `1 t( `1 n 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。. x9 c+ f" 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.
" N' m/ `2 u6 N/ z 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。( I9 K6 D! G# {, `
564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.5 k- P2 h$ N* d% r' [. r6 R! [1 v
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
' J8 H" p8 E1 C2 l6 L565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.: v8 i: Q$ D9 s" }
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,' l( m1 O6 }0 C1 Q2 ~
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
6 j2 e& t9 L) u3 z4 ^. E7 C5 J 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
3 x% c& M$ o& [% W- W567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.6 a8 W. w+ f; X ~# C$ i
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。
( f9 M( d7 x# @" u2 O568. 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.
# M% F+ ]4 l" ^3 d- \, u7 y+ 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。0 _' a# n) J v0 f6 P: ^& Z
569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
/ Z8 p1 i( ~$ n# s5 y9 G y+ e 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。3 D, V6 M, E$ ~# D3 \
570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.1 \* L) i1 z' P* q
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。+ Z. n/ F5 }* O/ D
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
! P2 O1 t5 q, F 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。) C% N/ v8 t2 u
572. They did not even tell their wives.
$ ^ o; h# s/ N3 P/ n 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
! A9 C$ D; c" c0 [7 i$ @9 s573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
& \- [* H( p- f& G 父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
3 m' w/ N/ f6 c5 M574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.+ `6 @+ l1 Q8 U9 n
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
/ H; |9 n4 L. N; i! K575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.- H; K3 }8 ?/ c! b
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。
3 J0 D, W/ \1 B5 U3 j4 Q, I576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
: U* r8 R) S) i8 y- j) o 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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