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课文30 幽灵之死
" `! |# W: y( L( W552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.# u- V1 @: s; h& I; r
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
9 V! ~% z9 M0 L1 K+ _* p553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.; p$ N. x Q6 J3 x
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
* b& r( G" F* I q! c Z554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
/ |8 W O$ y9 X2 s4 V/ q `9 V 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。. `/ x% V3 k7 T/ h- f: d
555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.' w2 S i& s5 J, e' P: I* e
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。% h. E1 p4 K& o, X. o6 j
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
+ [3 H5 ^+ m" \8 ?% ] 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
( r$ a1 Q3 m, s) t557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
7 r5 M: J s5 o/ I 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。# f% E' f( d* ~ P* l
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
8 s8 U% f) c0 G& e' w' {0 p9 S 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。% y, P; i" ?1 U: A
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.6 w! R/ f" ~& [ p# X; ^( j
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。7 j; k; ]" r; ]. f% G6 m( \
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
I% W% W3 U) g5 |" X1 G 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。
" Q0 E1 F& Q8 ]6 L561. This was indeed the case.9 D/ \% i; s; P- ~+ V
但事实上确有此人。; ^7 w5 `, U# R$ L
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.0 h& ?7 L* a. f* L' E- l1 o
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。: k0 p D* k/ y Q A/ i
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.# I/ A- K) z0 e. W% h5 {3 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。
) g" e5 f5 Y9 l- s564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.6 r9 m* X! ?: r! ^ x# O1 ]
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
/ Q% U4 O3 A" F565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
* W# i. _# \; |8 V- B- {' C 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,
; }, G, @# U0 [, E0 k9 B4 V566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
4 q( u! a8 F) u: S- L 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
2 O* i& E& Q+ n, S8 N567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
# i/ T/ |+ S5 R# t9 S2 C 他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。4 S+ j. ? L6 P) L
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.
6 I! s% W: g9 t 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。
- S, E" m9 q/ L+ ^' z1 z. m4 b569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.9 v# ^; G' q$ q# P) r" ?/ |
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
) u9 G8 P2 d0 ? }. m/ L- g570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.
+ P. r2 w1 H) j( n 他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。+ I' C$ r8 O) U2 j1 `3 a9 T
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
* |8 r8 C* S6 ?: w7 M 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
1 _/ f, E1 ?- f2 X$ ?572. They did not even tell their wives.) X3 I% q3 `8 M3 \4 ]' M7 K* q
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
8 Q& H6 \4 j# E9 C! V$ x) e5 T573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
; g6 M* D0 C& G' B0 Z: w" {# b 父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
6 l/ M+ u6 [& Y- B574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.1 K+ \4 T1 v* m" V: ~; _
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
, @9 M' @, u: u" S% ?1 W- F575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.7 C9 I& j- i0 Q4 |7 j
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。
1 w" ]( B7 F' u' Y7 E# m5 m576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
+ T; X7 A" H# A, n0 o& @ 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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