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课文30 幽灵之死% D' j; C f9 C: M
552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.4 _& T/ K8 S* }
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。& L+ ?+ {8 r$ p" i8 W
553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox." i6 g8 ~! E/ z t
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。) E+ {& o* X. I: o/ u
554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.( C! D: A' j2 F
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
' j/ a( r. e1 F( K555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
2 Z1 Y! { l2 k+ B 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
) L/ ~6 f/ d( Y4 q0 f556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.8 X! x' p( E. M& Q* D' B: |
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,7 P; j. k) p! R, X$ L4 \
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
9 a3 C9 H5 w# J 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。# M; b, I+ N2 i' m2 a, x1 I
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
" k1 O+ F1 U) m6 S! @+ J: E% Z \0 ~ 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。& i1 n# I: _5 d9 T
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.# O7 u4 N. E1 D6 F8 }: R
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。
# E- B+ g8 D4 n/ T7 Q- G560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
3 b: \; O: I; g 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。4 l! q; C% w9 Z/ p: |; J0 n
561. This was indeed the case.
9 h/ E& y7 _- s' B( X$ g 但事实上确有此人。
% I L0 N2 j+ A* l! W8 K" j562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
: j7 p8 n% z* X+ j+ k 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
! y2 L* \+ _, u% H, h563. 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.
! ]; g% v4 x& u# u+ f 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 l6 j8 K0 r. Y1 K564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
- g8 q( _/ }! E0 ^' e2 q# ^+ O. Y 葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
! J. S" e3 T+ N2 C# C: r565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
. w) j" D9 k( b% [ 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,
8 d. f' }) W" x566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War./ `& ^( f( x( J
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
. Q) m" _- C( d3 i6 c567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
" |9 ^9 i& a' M$ x3 X 他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。
- H4 g! I& Y4 v4 i9 C568. 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.
, I! |. L8 D" {8 } 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 f7 c' y5 Y( Y+ ~& O7 b7 }: V569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.- z- R1 [; K( i' v$ v: A4 H7 w
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。- P- }8 F5 v0 k- M3 F1 Y+ s1 H
570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.
9 U o6 t, B6 f( h/ {7 p 他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。
5 i3 e% k# g: E+ V: v571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.$ E" o# m3 q7 ?) h. P! ]2 w4 ^
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。! N( s4 [% l7 ]: |
572. They did not even tell their wives.! U# x! B# Z& T. H0 o* V! P7 h+ A8 J
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
, q% D$ b! o1 m. n0 B) {573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.) E6 B" J1 X0 Q, M5 @% C$ v/ y
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。4 Z$ ^. h# R( w; I ^" J
574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse./ W8 H/ I8 b9 U& P
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
' E& D8 I2 E9 A& e575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.6 \ W/ W- |1 k9 s
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。
2 [# ~6 p H( B6 ]576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
/ I [, C( b: H 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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