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课文30 幽灵之死9 Z! \6 {/ @# y, o
552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
" o6 I& s- F9 N7 T8 R x 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。! d. c0 l+ z5 d" L
553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.
4 N" E; K" v. ^4 ~% {7 F 恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
4 v* b7 y8 q+ ?+ {554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
) {& ?+ i a& P 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
$ B4 n& F& ~( [. i- p2 u% ^555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.* X' n' o" R# [9 V* \* ~1 i
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
& ~, R+ q- Q/ l1 q& d- ~556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.+ `% ?& M) |; I3 v {
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,( k9 z$ t1 f, w% w- {
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.: ]9 I3 T, N! j h
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
, ^" b. \% O3 k5 h5 P558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.: [3 D/ @" l" ^4 R' m
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。
+ [( s }3 o& {559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
, F5 c( p1 a) ~ i 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。& V1 a* r" F7 L3 f+ a$ M+ O
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.5 X# c' z G/ ]% P. w
谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。) x) ~( [ z$ u
561. This was indeed the case.+ a8 }, K) s8 p L5 Y. I
但事实上确有此人。5 W' ^. G8 f) b5 A
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.! }# S" f" @# R, A% w9 p
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
- y8 T- B$ T. { z( O- I: ?4 Z563. 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." B# _3 Q0 M# S4 O: X
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。
! p; n: K) ~% E* V: Y3 ]$ J) d564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
6 t; u. r/ A; h* V+ q 葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
- u5 {4 q' V# p3 d8 ]( G7 p. a- q565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
. j; ^7 g1 Q; m1 h0 o( ] 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,
& }1 ~ |- f& U! R5 N% l4 S/ P6 \566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.( t1 p: }) ~- A9 H, E2 t
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。8 d3 U0 w: s1 b _, |
567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.& r; N# ~- Q7 }# Q% v* @
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。( h6 C$ w2 `2 R
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 l& V# J! |8 D 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。
2 X: G# m4 G3 \5 ?569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.1 ?; Q j$ W3 z
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
# [% W4 O4 ~2 a: l' z8 h( r" z570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.4 x8 N: |- {( e) O
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。 D, W3 p) R$ L4 R
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob., [0 y! g1 Y2 X
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
5 X- [ s, J' a572. They did not even tell their wives.
' S; |2 i: \5 u- ~) x 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
. _% ]. Q' Z1 ^2 G1 q573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.$ J) v# v: L V+ V" l$ ]% O8 l! ?
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
. r% _. G) o" ^7 c* D- n& z/ j574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.& v3 b# _) o+ ]
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,5 F9 |* F9 b; E1 \2 L0 C0 [, ^
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.
2 k# M. n& L9 \ 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。
( U% S: u* H3 E- l& O9 P% q# J576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
" g0 b. v: Z. Z/ J1 x 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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