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课文30 幽灵之死
( Z I* y- c9 F- e0 e& N( C! o. u552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
( W1 Y1 Z9 z( H0 } v1 U 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。* v I# L! H( L
553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.
0 P6 g1 C) V w% W9 z, T7 e 恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
3 l5 L4 m1 s1 P$ ]% v( f554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
: C! n0 @1 p& G4 C. @. M* k 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。; o" v" z( y( r2 S
555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
! M! I) i* y4 q# ^8 X$ f8 n; b 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
1 B: I' |7 s6 G" h1 c& s556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
# P( ~6 Q6 z# N 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
5 g0 O+ d9 s% T+ ]. h$ L+ S1 ^557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.1 `3 J! r$ g' @% U( o7 v% N
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
8 V" F: ]; |# O9 X558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
5 ~+ L0 W Z. _" X7 g5 p1 \ 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。6 N# Z7 O4 |/ k5 T2 J9 s" P
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.5 O- G/ r( n+ K
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。' p' }) h9 M8 w4 Y8 E& `9 D
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
4 H* ^4 J' [* P( `4 P6 n4 {+ [ 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。
5 \* V0 ~1 y; F! C- A6 H4 R/ x561. This was indeed the case.
8 s4 G; D8 r9 Y& J, m0 Q 但事实上确有此人。3 h( {: t c6 ^% |, H. b: v
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
$ h/ s. Z8 w. g; J4 f' q/ t 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
8 p. O, a/ U( X/ f2 j. ], 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.
, J+ M) a: d3 f, B% T4 G 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。
* Z9 ^# x& D5 }1 l0 P! R/ \- Z564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
: }7 [; a7 \( ?2 } 葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。, r# y1 }% s5 w$ o5 c% u
565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.3 L1 e+ o$ m+ U0 C3 Q& \1 @& X3 [
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,
+ Y3 Z2 x2 W* m( O566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
- P! R+ ~/ C* t4 D 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
0 o& h/ w2 ^$ c& R# P0 ?8 s567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.9 p% Y- T$ d0 H' b5 b9 M0 O4 F1 {# k
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。8 x; b9 b+ W4 M
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.
! K7 G) i$ R; c( l# B, s 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。
- i' Y$ a$ o1 R U6 N) |) P- c. f569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well., A! _( G3 O& U, j
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
" w5 Y: c+ {# n570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.1 u, s9 I( [3 j
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。
6 [4 {5 u& E) a8 W571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.; |5 L; M( s4 h) M
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。2 d' C7 N: c7 ~
572. They did not even tell their wives.3 \5 l( v9 ] B$ u4 ~' s( n3 ^
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
7 o5 i/ f* K5 j573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.& `" P9 V# n1 ]* A
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。8 N# X+ r- \% X
574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.8 k6 t- H, X# t2 A6 a! l1 H* X* i
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,/ t8 v. _3 J$ j; H
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.) e6 N3 d1 u* Y$ X 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 @6 y* @) ^8 V+ M/ \' A; `5 F x
576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
0 W( Q. m6 j% i: d4 g 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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