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课文30 幽灵之死
2 d9 ^" B" ~" r- r \4 ]552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
" D& o$ W- w8 C) E& |$ l 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
# W! d4 y3 L" Q. h2 W( E9 u- I553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.
/ L1 u9 m7 ]6 }* U& T- Z 恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。% X0 ~2 b( F7 l* k
554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
: m& Z& V* F0 T( d: N 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。& h5 ]7 B8 Y4 E* \0 z' N+ e
555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.2 _7 O S* j8 @2 j
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。# I' u' Y1 j3 p0 ]4 B4 C
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
: G# [6 H9 [: J" ~7 c 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了," I' ]1 W v# [
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
) u; ?% B! d( G: ^ f 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
' g* k1 B4 A7 K+ Q% _( v# n558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
! m6 G, l0 r5 h$ m7 M7 g 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 f1 j! P4 O+ ]& J3 [% c$ u
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.; A* j. e' Z# @ g0 d
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。
: T$ j. G+ c J* @560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.3 k0 \( N4 K8 p2 ~, h! I/ z: F+ Y
谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。
: B0 ?7 }: O8 d! N) y561. This was indeed the case.. ]* Q) ^3 D) w5 W
但事实上确有此人。
7 l1 ?8 V. y- P% X& l2 {, p562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.6 N- [. O& u( X7 l" [6 g, y- y
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。/ S, d/ @9 v# j* p5 L5 ?, g
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.
- V* L. g E. S* a5 [6 r7 |5 \: [ 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。
: z" s5 ]% F4 g2 e2 D564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.5 D) l) c3 \0 L8 A. ^
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。7 F) x2 [$ |" a) g
565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers., \8 C; p$ O4 h! o, G
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多," z& l/ a2 N4 {0 O9 B3 m
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.+ ^* }9 E0 P/ O1 J8 d4 o' A
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。- w, f, h5 S [0 |) M: `" B
567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
0 b& Y Z" s9 p: N& w: O 他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。! ^' Z. w2 K8 C) t" U
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.9 g, w- o' l* H
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。
& r( b4 g" b# Y c5 N- v3 x569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
2 m6 U3 T9 J6 ?$ g8 t; y1 w) b 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。" E- l0 b7 b7 H, i/ Q8 J
570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.4 Q8 ~3 F) C; f5 m6 X
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。
& j7 C9 P `% l7 H571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
, a7 ~3 z' G: a7 {* K9 `9 g4 Y 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
( E" ~ M% }; Z5 p1 ]- b. r572. They did not even tell their wives.
4 X. B7 b! X# p0 E# ^) b 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。7 |: K5 ~" n8 t; o/ o$ o3 E: J
573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
0 Y% z, Z& X1 c; W; d& P' J" w 父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
2 U( z3 y {- x1 \0 V) G574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.# p ~! V, G S: U: H
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
5 n/ q# F2 c* F7 v( Q575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.* A$ K; K% P2 D& s5 i
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。
" z( \; Q( G8 L) R+ W" r/ B, }576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
8 l4 x; K5 O" d u 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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