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课文30 幽灵之死
) m) z9 F+ f+ w& l, a2 J552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted., A! F" M! _8 }6 ?
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
& `# h9 T5 [1 A9 M' W4 c$ e5 \553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.! _. i1 `& E6 K! K1 Q( m- P/ n
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
* x& I; o4 L" h* g554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.6 K! \( t' c, f2 @1 |- r
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
) U# g8 y' a- n8 m+ Y/ a: y7 Z555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
/ ]; a$ j* o/ Q2 C& L& ?( c 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
9 }' g5 t/ L& m6 b- r, j# p556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
. A: b% j% t' L* H5 q- ]- R 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,4 G+ m) [( x/ b, A8 b* L
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned." {1 s& @" G, Z1 s8 _) n6 H% d1 o
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
1 Y" M- k) B/ N9 ^ |' b) C558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.; s4 w& B* V7 d" {" w9 ^' o. F
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。
, P/ J5 A+ {# P9 l' `: Y( D' [7 ~559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them., P' h' F" {$ I* ]0 Z8 R8 Z ~* v1 p
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。 U% L$ u6 m* F( k, u
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.* \# p% w) j6 N
谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。& ]" O* }" Q; I2 Y2 S
561. This was indeed the case.6 S: R( @- n4 S) r
但事实上确有此人。
# K; E2 l/ C7 ]5 a9 v562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.: J, @- f7 F! I+ M N
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
y% \2 r* r# j8 R; [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.7 k& G! f& [1 R6 s) V
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。1 P( _, A3 r) c( R0 U: ?7 @- y
564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.- }. g) b7 a9 s8 U
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
. M7 b9 r" J3 c* F+ N7 d565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.9 L g" q+ x) @8 l& q1 n: l
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,
2 b2 T, z: z) n& Z566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
4 n5 G) r& Y* k |; M 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
, W! n+ ^2 K( i- c" m( k567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.) w4 R2 `8 f3 I' }
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。) B4 K9 Z6 N; V9 K
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.
. d9 \( O3 t3 W( ?" e- h4 Y& D% }) O X4 U 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。
, F7 [) H2 M, J! Y0 U# K6 H569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.& }, [7 _- g& ^+ m2 Z
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
5 f7 j) I% T# D/ r( C, q, }570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.8 D' U4 q4 }$ Y
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。) B, Z7 v7 D. H3 a% D" g
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.! \5 k ~2 i4 g
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
' j9 R/ i! j9 b2 C* J572. They did not even tell their wives.
8 [9 ? m: `$ `, {* \. B 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。! I# ? |- i0 W8 q
573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
/ { F9 k5 I* l* o$ M1 E8 J8 I8 P 父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
! S/ v' m o% g; |- A574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.
& w4 O1 [6 | O* u$ s. V$ m! v 这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,$ ?) L. i$ x( @ N9 x2 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.
2 g9 O3 J, j8 Z# G0 x: r7 Q, u 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。# S( F& }, f& q" r; J) n
576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.$ G2 {$ K; v U9 @* s' \
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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