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课文30 幽灵之死
; h5 _: G/ T5 z# S552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.0 }/ v, J. b- r/ ?* G+ d
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
2 y0 W4 M# g1 C% w% k0 z553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.6 f! c$ ~& ~ @' Z5 H
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。& o1 ^4 e! l7 s, W% L% J3 \
554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.' ?, G5 { R& K6 ?0 i7 b' I7 r$ H/ R
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
: T7 g- N, B9 ~8 Z0 i555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
- q1 ^ ?( \) m. |1 f4 t 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
- _9 L9 ]: q5 @& j1 b& i% A$ ^556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
K4 {, L2 `7 P7 E 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,* {! Z/ z. ^4 E: P Z# n* ?8 z; k
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.' B% k' |0 P4 D3 ^
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
# m! v! U/ w8 c/ B+ Q& z558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
9 n7 X: J7 }- q& s& f" b7 [ 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。. ~' l+ i9 d" e! Z, R/ T
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
/ A' ~6 k$ f5 _- c% ~# u, 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。
) \3 w: Z \# F$ g! G560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
4 A) B! ~/ {, I. I 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。5 G( b: ?7 ^) K h
561. This was indeed the case.
/ J8 Y* v" K! p$ X: x; j6 y# u8 Y 但事实上确有此人。
8 F$ ?$ h; _3 h" A) K3 `562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
, P$ v: x9 H( } 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。$ u3 m# [* p9 [5 c: M$ i
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.8 R, s/ p8 C6 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。
. [7 i" {9 }; X, d5 h V2 N564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years., F0 g2 v. |; i" H
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。; L, L8 _" T! R* Y, f+ c1 k
565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.! R l! X. h5 Z X/ m4 h
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,. d# w4 G9 }3 j2 a
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
' S- ]: ]% q7 ]! \% Z1 n/ E 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
4 m& C, Z% l8 a$ d5 o b8 M567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
; r6 y, c7 Y2 t7 L, I9 c2 ~ 他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。
. _ A$ Y6 \# q; u568. 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 v5 v: _* p, R 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。8 k0 q' O( U" x) _
569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
; r# C Z) q0 R l 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
7 i7 q0 m% n0 d570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.
$ O: e; b" m2 ?0 R; ~ 他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。3 W9 K2 |! T: b) E
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.! g/ a8 ?3 f) c( C& @: e5 C9 p
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
6 {$ c% p5 o+ Y572. They did not even tell their wives./ R- o' y. m5 h E- [7 W
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
2 s# J4 u8 o& K- e573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
9 I- I) @1 @. |1 R& l 父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。$ E9 l' D' L1 w. K" l' F4 x
574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.+ c. T# {4 i( e" e$ ?
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,4 w7 V( A: s6 U1 _ B
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./ J, H# J" d2 M V6 K. Q; ^
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。
8 ~: x0 j5 n: D6 V576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
( r1 o- n7 S$ n8 k" q1 { 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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