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课文30 幽灵之死
0 m& Y7 y+ v" t: _& p. h, F* B552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
+ S) v( X/ m4 i( } O 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。/ G2 ^7 `- I/ ?; P! _) f
553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.
. F' }2 H6 r- ~5 \ 恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
+ D& W, T. i7 t, N554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.7 f3 h: P0 g+ A. _& n( H! H
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
1 R' t0 b" O& N: p555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
4 F+ E+ m1 I3 M$ D8 M7 N2 }: C 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
. c6 I, q4 L* v556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight./ t7 F4 r* E' W0 k. {" m& \( R
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
& `# @# `7 }* }( h0 d! b557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
A+ b6 y) ~& n 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
- ]9 ~0 C) k* T8 T, U' ?2 t558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.& r1 Z# U ?% U1 p c3 m4 P
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 u0 s$ G$ n* O& h d559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
' S- u r' Q* @5 e- u. ]0 g% Y% V7 P( J 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。, X+ Z) l7 l# \+ J" w* f2 P/ R, _
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
3 R6 y9 [1 y$ c/ }' F3 ~# D 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。# L" `5 \/ @0 \! [# L* s
561. This was indeed the case. L$ p y u M: q1 u/ Y/ T$ V# u
但事实上确有此人。
& {3 e5 V! V# ^562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
; h2 s5 x# p. h* d0 s, n& R- M. J 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
! i% ~9 D. z! x4 \2 P563. 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.* X/ |/ _! t3 R3 c
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 t; a$ X. W" C- q564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
) F' h/ Q. m. _9 y# w( T 葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。/ S0 G- P9 g. Z4 ?
565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
$ Z& \% Z6 f, U c$ l# q 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,2 q) \5 O$ W5 J
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
' F2 R! S, K* I+ B! V8 @ 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
9 s/ C4 F) B3 Z o( m! }: M567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.. p2 f& B, [1 j. Y
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。
1 @$ ]/ E, X$ a( x( \ G" {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.+ ]0 ^ A! h5 Y
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。
9 a- O& n- v, n569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.) t5 L' o/ c$ e& F* d2 F
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。- U) t" z" a" \$ b
570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.! h8 h! A! K, }0 q0 T X5 |
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。
, f7 K. m5 E9 N$ g+ e* \' x571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.* g" O( j: r; D) [) e) k& S
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
& H8 v/ E0 T7 b5 l+ }/ I572. They did not even tell their wives.% _" k" W# S5 N! p4 ]5 S6 A% C/ v
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。- B0 K: x# M$ c3 U7 t" U
573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.3 _& t i* c% m* s& N0 u; \
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
# i) K3 ]" l! m# p574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.* P3 |3 \) H7 e
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,9 A; n/ X0 _4 b9 p
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.
# j3 D- y+ [% z* @# i% { 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。
1 V- W5 G" |1 a: a: p. [6 e" h7 N576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
" t+ t' m0 e2 A/ R5 ~( ^ 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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