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课文30 幽灵之死& E( S' _( y" V; I/ K
552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
: S3 E- L! y+ X9 H 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
; Y- T+ Y( |' @6 h8 O( {6 G7 _) a553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.
0 g+ N5 a( o e; T3 F 恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。# U0 @( B+ X% W# I% V
554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
: L- v$ C/ u- K" K8 J* r 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
?! o, L7 w& K" g' l, X555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.8 u# ^9 V+ u; U$ v/ C
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。# u3 z! a d+ `- r7 ]0 c$ }! d
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.3 `% Q8 a8 F9 V' A: N: @5 E, }' V
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
1 {) \& s. {# t4 z% P557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
! T( A, b3 g, N$ [' J 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。; h% E" N# a2 h. i
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight., D4 x& _9 I! f/ g! u* y9 P& Z0 W- B$ W7 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。
, H/ V4 @: C6 g& G4 L559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.2 Z( R& |5 h/ t4 Q
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。" F# p& _( R o; K9 M
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
; ]- `/ b+ }+ o; i 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。+ s' m& L @$ I. E) A
561. This was indeed the case.
/ I! q0 i. u# w h H& K 但事实上确有此人。$ u- j2 {% B$ o% Z) _& h
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
9 `5 z9 J' u' V8 y% _. `' L 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
# c" B7 Z* o5 J563. 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.
8 p# F8 G3 j! {! 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。
8 F( \( q' O% `% }564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
: f- N. \7 i8 |! K: }0 L! D! C: F% h 葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
, z& c* C) d- w7 J/ |6 o S565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.- `2 z( P' h6 o' h. R9 g
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,
( F; s$ f* w5 J. ^566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
. C" O4 j4 C' Z& V7 @' P6 H- G 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
" ^. F) J: t9 Q8 I. ]567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
& O% m/ B- G* z, f 他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。* g _5 n1 E$ k l, J; s; z8 H
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.
' D# u. W& w. N. r4 d 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。
+ d: J9 m, S$ t( W569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.9 n* q$ {. m5 k# Q6 o0 z# D4 q P
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
0 ^" R" \$ j, ^! J' Z" f- H, \! H* w" n570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.
6 d6 o8 R$ \- e 他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。
$ [$ o1 }' }$ n* A571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
5 L+ m7 u: u7 [- ~ F* R6 O' b 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
5 u0 D+ z g; |$ F; R572. They did not even tell their wives.
& q% l: h m* Z3 G( W+ D5 L 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。: C( a. \! N! D' y! S$ ?1 d; U
573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
9 x0 j4 o& ~, {2 Z9 r; i2 Z 父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
6 ~; b" i) P6 S6 I, f; [( Q574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.
" w6 d! p' N- q6 r" g9 x 这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
! X. F: h; Z: ?: }/ o1 G" v575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.
) q/ v% \, U, D7 y' D! s0 ? 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。
$ U' y/ l; i# z3 y8 n/ H576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.% ?8 u" `# D( X- P" _3 l2 Y: L
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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