 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
课文30 幽灵之死$ j* V' A4 V4 ^1 C6 W3 M
552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.( b. x8 x+ Z; p
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。9 s, t; W, }0 I
553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.% v0 C9 e7 A2 t
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
4 Y! Y5 P: }! c* t7 I1 N2 I$ I554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
2 @& K1 T5 n& I) a& | 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
% R3 P+ `) O4 T555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
. z0 T. e/ J; L, D 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。* e, J9 C$ n( }0 p
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight. N# e& N( R+ l3 O6 B
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
. h0 F8 D6 k$ A+ l5 }557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.5 g9 s4 W7 s+ y* {5 s
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
5 l' `+ ~8 f( s4 ?! p c5 H. c558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
5 A! ?; p' d( X7 B; z* l) k5 E% l 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。9 s) r' o2 S' i6 I
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
+ S5 |( Q$ {' ]% ], _ 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。
, q$ U( |" w6 x4 b560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
) O; m% s% h6 x( V1 i/ Y 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。' F, e$ i3 X# {
561. This was indeed the case.
' x' m8 ?/ W* C) @ 但事实上确有此人。
8 F1 s! Y/ Q0 F- k7 Q! K562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
8 Z7 i$ C p, a4 C 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。, J9 C j) {3 _% G$ y
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.
" d0 u1 t! m# I+ Y9 ` 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 d1 T& t M t# W- [) A+ U- H! {
564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.0 i; T" a) T @8 a4 r$ o: V! b
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。; r2 K9 l2 c8 e7 {0 ]
565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.4 _& x: ^# ~6 P# k: K8 b
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,* p+ N1 ^6 P. @2 T2 k& a
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.3 ]6 V- k1 S5 O" \2 ?' v$ Y
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。& r& S7 M* ?& U* h0 `' |$ f4 D
567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.* T3 Z) J6 l5 Z; C
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。5 @* X5 r; n# x
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.$ L- i- z- F5 c+ w3 w5 m+ @
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。
# u9 ^* K! D% i8 n/ s/ h( E569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
, L% L3 d! Y* g9 W! j 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
: D$ v0 p, L5 _, G+ P: v# |+ d. L5 r570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.
3 `% _8 u: g( ]( d$ w5 i7 V 他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。
" _$ r! ~1 |: v4 L571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
6 z2 D3 C! K% W* D3 \ 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
( q3 C7 D( ^! d9 p0 S572. They did not even tell their wives.
( Y1 c( {2 O% Z1 L. y: w% u( E 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。" R$ i, @4 z2 p
573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding., w) c# Q4 x9 q& b/ b
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。6 P0 }7 Z, e/ R0 _7 V
574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.1 N5 b6 E8 ^$ h* } {) s! A
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
7 @1 R5 [' s' b575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.
3 R/ A8 R- o& Y: 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。
& d3 F7 F, ]0 l) |) H# Q, s; b576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.9 Z( o2 v9 O( h4 @2 p7 y7 g
他死后,他的弟弟们才觉得无法再保守这个秘密了。 |
|