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课文30 幽灵之死; g5 o" P. }: t& y/ B: w
552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.7 K C( X& o) o; k3 F
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
; J' d) z$ V' n3 \4 P553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.% `4 o# K: O' z! o" m9 C6 L+ D
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。! v: X) }' t% [+ i0 a, S: B& l
554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
# Y) \. B4 G$ H1 j0 h7 Y3 {. e 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
5 C9 h. s5 t( [" T# ^0 @* ]/ o555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
3 _% c0 P- B0 C8 ~. p) d 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
( O8 D9 ~, n2 v3 g* f- R6 \% [556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
2 G8 t6 r! g# x& @; _+ n! {+ Q8 `4 s 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
" E2 l T4 z6 `& R' P$ {557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
- o4 D) G- e4 R1 v, i% W 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
$ L+ D5 X# T. s* \558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
* e7 a$ F2 y% s8 z7 o 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。
$ u$ ~! E# c, s0 A$ u559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.% A+ [" R' ^9 y: c) U# x& W4 u
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。
- v+ ]' C0 N2 Q560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
- W6 ]& q! j! K1 I; a. ? 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。# f% D" q0 z: `1 j/ o5 Y0 D
561. This was indeed the case.
3 S) B! t% D7 f 但事实上确有此人。
2 i; l2 q. m& d. H- x6 U562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.& z( J5 p( M( [; L; _ w% s
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
) C2 v6 ~' e% w0 p) T* W a) C/ v3 w5 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.% k# e# N' T- n% }* U) n: u
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。% j8 C; ? z: k) X1 K
564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.& Z% ^3 e' [/ V3 B' Y" p8 o# u9 @4 ^
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
* G% ?& ~% V. S/ w2 c+ ~565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
' ?* I) S! M! K$ R8 k6 W/ [ 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,6 K( K6 z, p* |! b/ @
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
8 }+ J( t8 t4 T9 b7 g' K 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
$ v' p" q Y/ V5 E) g: H567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
( D, |; t ?9 j$ A# _ 他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。, |+ l% Q( \* r% 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.
( }. R! W; O( z9 [; K3 b 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 A1 Y3 l* t6 h0 D0 M
569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
^' s# `& a& Q* |% r9 n 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
9 Q3 |5 ~7 H0 D9 k4 k570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.4 d! K4 v) _' _/ s- `
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。
( |6 R& ~4 e$ k3 H571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.% {5 A1 S1 q% K) e
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。- b1 l) B& ]1 f# C! t0 [/ ~
572. They did not even tell their wives.! \% }# O7 m( i
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
" j' c3 }+ J' e6 @9 K4 v' _' [5 M573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.# [6 H- P$ k9 B5 s- k3 z; e+ C! {7 W
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。0 c& P& x; Z& N1 Y% ]* R
574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.+ | e$ H1 A* P( W, i" Q& }
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
! j. u; k4 W$ M; E9 G575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.% B7 Y3 X F' I, c! W
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。! k+ z3 R: `! Q5 g+ F& L8 k- W
576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
' X0 N( d$ E: L: k: o$ e( H9 i 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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