 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
课文30 幽灵之死
+ O, R" x. r) I552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.. ^1 G; v" X! @+ V3 |4 ^3 p% }
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
! P, F2 k3 S4 K3 J4 u; z" d553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.6 @) V5 B$ w+ V+ ]- l; G/ x
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
* a, a! @5 x/ f554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.2 t& @6 I- o$ B: _& e8 T4 {
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。0 f! N& X; G5 O' g: D/ V
555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.$ R$ {: K# T. b& O3 M5 f# o
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。6 s6 g" x9 H) g7 R) O6 A# R
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.( |; J% ^* h [8 e B/ m
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
3 u o0 `! i' g0 ?0 T c0 K" s" Q# l557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
4 } x6 n! g6 e2 _) | 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
4 w" A# ^/ Z/ Q! P- e558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
& k8 g6 p" J9 k) N* w 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。; \# I/ \+ r* `+ i
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them." w: f/ i! ^1 Z7 F$ 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。
( [; I' c4 K* P' E560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
D; Y- R& c$ N8 K' ?- S8 m 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。
# F0 s! H; g$ _0 X' p! k561. This was indeed the case.6 S) h9 x. w- j8 C |! j
但事实上确有此人。7 ?$ g& O$ w/ ]: ~
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.3 z2 f+ E; z. e/ g- i6 u. W
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。+ t3 M& S+ p1 R( M( U( Y; Y* \3 _+ r
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.
2 c% w) ?& _3 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。6 d9 i$ D' j i F
564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
) N- Z: }: h7 W! F; g- I5 Q. \ 葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。* q1 ?/ N9 H# g: n' k: _
565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
$ E9 S+ N$ `) E* X$ N2 N 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,
0 b {6 O. ^0 n# Y5 }566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.. c- z: @4 j7 B' _
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。$ }: {& ~$ g: `" X0 v7 m* o
567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.) g" y" @0 N" K8 r( _5 H
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。
. ^+ |, _& W9 K( N+ Z568. 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.' a/ Q7 U8 Q: R, i6 v) ^" j
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。
, c' {6 m& p; l8 s569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
) g9 ]! g$ A% N# n0 ~! s 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。4 W0 M: z/ H/ N/ p) u2 S
570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.
( U0 d0 k ?1 Z8 [+ @ B 他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。& s3 r. s4 D- u( b+ Q7 M
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
; K$ j N: W6 p/ Z4 o& _ 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。: v/ u5 l8 E( Y, M- P
572. They did not even tell their wives.5 G: [0 a- b {
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
2 I1 z' ?. C8 A( r {6 ]573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.# z( T: P+ H0 z3 M: N
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。9 I9 e, N1 Y3 A" b! ~- O! `5 O
574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.( [9 |' T1 |1 l5 p
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
+ |8 Z& ~. P' t* z" [/ N1 u& D575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.
) d. R2 r0 w) q( C/ f 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。/ O: j5 |& m4 b% F. p5 y- I' j
576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.# N ?9 V+ Q2 `1 {
他死后,他的弟弟们才觉得无法再保守这个秘密了。 |
|