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课文30 幽灵之死
|" ~2 o/ e/ ?; ?# x) s552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.+ U* v0 @5 c& y- o! ~3 N9 i
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
1 T& h4 m9 U: C$ J553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.7 A' Z3 C0 E+ Y! n# a$ V
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。; c" d0 m+ i+ b5 k
554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
~7 q5 e- Z% N) H 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。. r5 q1 h4 L) J$ `8 j- [
555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
% H2 o6 w4 Y4 l' k, J# m; x 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
U* Z i Y: v2 s' b556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
1 O; I! ?- x. @- H% y4 b3 | 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
2 F2 x+ Z* S5 ~! g( u. G; n557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
# e7 `# F" L ~5 Q% j' l" Z 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
t. Q! ]" ]* p# h" U5 |558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
3 J, v# v5 U7 h6 F. P$ q M1 g2 ? 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。8 n5 `7 s: |% A" D( K E! ~4 k
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
q, q+ w- {8 R! b1 X/ v 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。* S. s4 i; F# k4 s7 F- ]
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
~0 }- M2 y" @2 i9 x% f$ c R 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。 g* [/ [; e D2 | K% r' ]
561. This was indeed the case.
/ h8 w6 r, J5 G! w 但事实上确有此人。$ W9 r/ C$ k8 R
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.0 [) {/ G0 [0 h0 J+ j
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
6 {' c6 J5 }5 z& `- g" s563. 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 ]5 q/ j1 c( q. S
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。2 Q; @* v8 |% t5 K( W0 [2 D, ^
564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.8 U+ y. C) y6 i
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
% S3 w% D) x d4 M8 }565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
3 t E+ M8 L# G" o: I- r4 i+ s0 U 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,/ W$ X8 O1 [$ R8 `! N
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War./ N" b' |8 R. N% w8 P! a4 i- {
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。" h2 A2 E: s9 _5 o A- w4 P
567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
' Q) y9 f$ x: m( w/ e 他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。
' o" l5 r. y6 @, R" J; P$ l568. 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.3 x& i" N3 W! Y$ [; ]
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。9 s/ ^! {* s P- N; h
569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
, ], s. _+ @8 H( c( _5 A: g 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。$ @" C) l/ e/ O. m9 J# R1 {. b
570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.+ H! P) [5 ]4 W( j; r, N& H8 J& ]
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。' r8 W0 W r0 z6 S
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
& W$ Q* X9 i4 C0 l/ `1 d6 k 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
! ]6 B" [' z. _' K3 _572. They did not even tell their wives.
; ]: N" x. Y/ |* j8 ~2 i 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
$ Q& m, w8 Q# R4 H* Z* s573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
4 v1 e- Y0 `7 ?7 E1 [5 |7 c0 J/ `! t 父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
; Q+ g) N5 P- v% H z+ F574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.
" M5 x3 B% a( a2 a" B. O4 D8 | 这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,: T0 L' x. |3 z5 ]9 A2 T0 F) e$ U
575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.
: S( |- q) N8 N 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。& A# l4 R* s. S# h/ j$ W, j' S4 ~0 l1 I
576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
0 I) p/ w' x; t3 |# J 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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