 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
课文30 幽灵之死
- R7 l2 E" N6 J# K; U552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
H! p' R: D0 T$ }/ @1 n( U! c 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
6 ?% W7 D& Q$ f/ \7 C8 J$ y: y8 v553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.1 ?, C! L9 c4 K' s& e; Q5 D
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
4 L# v9 q! e0 n6 |# L7 H( C- ?( F1 E554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long./ d2 O% B6 q/ e' z% q* j
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
' ~5 g3 ` \+ i555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
. {: D' o* v: O- N, M) N+ Q 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
1 e4 P3 J0 H; L0 b9 Q8 D( e5 N556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
3 N1 K6 i% B3 f4 ?) D$ ]: ? 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,! T+ \! U9 {2 ]9 h7 g- A
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.8 k8 ?3 @7 h+ V! B4 |
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。5 d9 v4 F! p: `: p9 O
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.+ N! m) f+ }0 H+ `" A
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。' G1 P. F$ s2 _9 ~
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
. d- L4 d4 d/ Z7 W' c2 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。1 p% ]. `4 k+ t3 K9 |: B2 ^: H, P
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.$ ? S- ^! V* M. n1 Z
谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。+ j. x* }* Z; _ _: b' T1 \
561. This was indeed the case.
( w: Z2 p2 g; V: a+ m7 p. t4 x; |. J% U 但事实上确有此人。
# Z! ]7 ?# F) a& R. @% w- U5 j: b562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
0 b% `5 E3 O0 K$ f, b; i 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
7 G/ U4 E4 K. t563. 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.# r& N7 R3 M/ u% O
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。
, q' G. H& M5 h% @# k564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
! h# M4 z. ^- n 葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
% |* j9 x, r3 G# y' q1 [) M565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
+ K/ L' a6 a8 P8 l6 Z& C/ w 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,* E' \, Q. I! d7 R! ~
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.. O4 u+ J9 I* g5 S, v, d$ H
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。' K% M, Y. U d; n" m
567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.! a# A/ W3 c W: Q9 a2 \) N
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。) A1 ~6 M! m; w3 }: ]2 ^2 C, P7 q
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.! Y b, O; j7 N% R, ~
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。
! \" ]$ }7 W5 V% W, G* J6 ?( U4 V569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.* J: ?/ @( D: l$ I
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
! n8 X; t; j+ c' M: D570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.
$ ~5 ^! ]9 d: D' }# k/ L+ f 他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。
: _2 r( w, C0 m B! y7 s571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
5 J' t/ i! l' ^ e8 a: } 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
3 l6 s: W; Z& |572. They did not even tell their wives.
% A( v, _9 g2 B! ~) y6 b% n# N1 m 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。/ { y9 N* h) E; d
573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
+ `8 {1 i2 L l3 _& y8 [ 父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
3 v9 h+ P, q9 b574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.. \# Z+ J3 a$ t2 U5 v \. G3 `
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
: }) K, }8 L" D9 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.' b/ ^* T7 g$ y) r* X# ]
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。
9 H. Q n) W$ z0 M576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.' w! ]; q' ]5 X# T7 s) C
他死后,他的弟弟们才觉得无法再保守这个秘密了。 |
|