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课文30 幽灵之死- Q6 G0 Q I/ Q" l" K1 L8 t$ v1 G
552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.& x7 l; f9 F$ ]" H
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。# [: Q; D% I- P; n
553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.; g7 ^* \ s5 M7 B/ y4 S! l. W
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。/ U$ g* B: s0 B( F, V
554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
7 V- ~: v5 X6 R$ N5 p# i: u 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
. I7 I& R$ ~9 |2 f& i: T555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
, h8 q8 P* V7 h$ U7 X 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
3 b' a' h7 N9 m556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
+ R1 {7 G( ~8 L- _ 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
* U. ]5 o) D* e/ g: M557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.' I& r' r" A- o( ^. B0 r, W
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
y/ K$ g2 O5 {0 b) }8 e558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.1 b/ j* ?; [+ \3 h6 B
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。$ g' `. A" S* K6 `
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.6 W0 d; z" b- L4 D8 P2 F8 W
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。$ g: \+ s. Z# q9 @: S
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
! _. E. i; G( G: Z4 ^ ? 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。& `7 Z" `' r. l u" ~
561. This was indeed the case.' r9 A, I: v+ a1 T$ m' Z
但事实上确有此人。- i. w4 v! f+ a- Y- i
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
" i1 f) w: ~) t* R8 c! O8 x( E' d8 ` 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
. r8 }5 r8 C, q1 ^, d' a563. 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.4 H# s0 K8 x6 v5 ^( K, K1 B
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。/ [, a4 S0 S( t [# u0 _
564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
# w$ I' t3 q1 s, H5 D 葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
% }8 z$ Q& V. R N' j! c' G565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
7 [, p" u9 }- o$ x 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,& m0 h/ S; k6 j" x) A0 J
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
& \' v* t/ z3 K! W8 r p, d& _' s- W 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
) q+ H! a- A$ Y567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.5 L B1 K& ]+ Q: D' d
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。
, i, a3 l! S4 N) G# S568. 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.
5 ]' L) V$ U4 K8 V4 \ 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。
0 U5 k9 H+ @7 x6 v9 b) w; `. N569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.7 A& Z. [0 n5 J6 ~. T) j* L2 Y3 f
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。4 r% W4 I/ L& n( h$ k
570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.( Y% q% t* i) L8 e
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。+ e0 K/ X" e" f& m, c' v
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
2 t" f, \5 i+ K% Y8 q 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
5 C. D9 A6 j5 J3 ^- I/ f572. They did not even tell their wives.
! ?6 W6 U+ a0 G. }5 R 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
; F' j: D/ P) {* c573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.1 S) ~! z* X$ ~; |- @& H5 X( ~3 w+ A
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
5 m( j9 }1 t8 C1 n574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.3 d9 w6 g7 t/ j
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,2 S, U. q! U; J$ j
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.
0 u7 T5 q- D0 I" K0 j) |0 I8 G 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。
5 m) @& n0 N: \' {: v+ a576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
; q) g+ C o0 l4 y) j( o. @! Q 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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