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课文30 幽灵之死
& f4 Q. M: k8 _) w7 u! D4 o552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.. Q0 x! k( j& G8 ~
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
8 F+ G, z+ W% `9 d& i0 f553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.3 M; O7 K3 }1 y. i+ b' q, u
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。' W5 h; Q) Z) Y, D. Q! Y+ E
554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.$ t. T8 q5 ^* S+ }: J* T$ Q! q
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。# |9 G* u# e7 K) h/ ]
555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.8 m! Z1 t; \2 I7 ]
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。7 Z. }* F8 H C& g, G! u
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.% q9 {; r. }7 {9 ~) V# l% v1 x1 G
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
J0 j0 Y: p: c, R Z3 x% w557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
' \5 A5 `6 P% M+ O4 u) K* | 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。# s2 e; N+ { L! U% H5 v a
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.3 g J t6 Q$ }) X0 W
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。$ r# \7 ~1 S4 n* |* {# B
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
$ G7 O# @- P$ o2 q( j; V) D 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。7 U5 B* ^9 m; p6 h* p
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
: i7 F2 H' g. U% P& ^ 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。" @5 E/ V+ L3 p+ O* `
561. This was indeed the case.! u# O7 c: B7 A' R5 Y4 j, l
但事实上确有此人。' A* V1 Q9 y2 }* n9 u0 B9 m8 X3 j
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
& h# g! {8 A$ I* A' c9 c; m 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
' b9 w- n4 W( x; D563. 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.2 z# O. v" s( E. s
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 |$ f( S% ^, g6 T3 E# @& K( ]6 @
564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.2 l* G% P5 K: X# u( Z: W" F
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
& J# v5 |7 T" s! f7 s565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
* b6 u) O! `; B. S' l' f 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,
7 U$ I: c" F8 C8 a566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
8 o# n! c4 Z- H' @+ l 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
/ w# c3 q% d$ y2 i7 W, E/ C9 P# q567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
: T4 o) ?- i8 C4 t& K( F, | 他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。
9 r. k/ {% g9 k l9 V568. 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.
% I7 [8 c$ C: x5 s, u" i 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。
/ l% C# B& [2 q2 x+ B! F569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.$ ~ {% X& j+ s5 j1 M
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
/ S1 ~/ `! i4 \$ ^5 \ \/ }) I570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.# e4 C& O" c% t3 z, [) I3 p
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。$ J/ B8 H) H3 o0 ]4 [
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
1 G; C5 v' A% i8 t' p3 z 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
# G3 C0 Q$ l' j& \: |, j6 ]2 \! Q6 G572. They did not even tell their wives.
1 V! [# l7 `8 l& c+ X3 ~ 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
( Z- S: y+ @# s. {0 Q$ H573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
9 Z f- ~6 P6 d7 E$ [ 父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。3 \+ E# j" v& ~- o; x# E7 X/ c' c
574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.- o" K( z8 ~8 t/ S
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,4 D3 O, W- B2 r, x3 \, c8 V# k6 i
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.% o4 D( {5 \& J2 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。! M% v4 j# D: Y/ O
576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.- P, n) e* S; m' t; B( u, Q- h
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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