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课文30 幽灵之死 [- N7 J- y1 h W G
552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.1 N- Y7 ^/ f, B; J# }9 `
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
- g8 b/ H1 O. n4 R553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.
1 W. _& t! ]+ x# A$ s 恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。4 i$ x/ L$ `/ v$ x u
554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long. U& T5 g& V" m! T' D
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。5 a4 r% y3 F% W. q; _/ U }# v4 E
555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story./ e- H, ]0 V" @
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
% y; Y9 A* ]8 X! L7 b& N$ z556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.5 I0 y2 q7 e: T- J. v# _0 b
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,0 X; g. _+ K2 T) p4 B8 H0 I
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
3 g5 I& u& X' U9 D9 i3 T 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。( i$ X; L5 f) C7 f
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.( f6 L. E( \/ `8 f* ~* h }2 g
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。
1 c! `4 y: ]; N' K( {559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
& y, G7 r9 X' r* I 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。
8 b1 n8 _. \+ h* J- f3 z560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.9 M( `" b! o2 B2 G/ `: A# w! R* L3 R
谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。
3 x" b% b. O; K; R) @561. This was indeed the case.
% t7 P" @5 Y2 P2 q' S5 m3 r k 但事实上确有此人。
. l* l, |8 T! z; ?562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
3 n) y7 H. p! T& L" c- Y9 ?3 G 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
0 Q D( q2 s* g% ^$ 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.
9 T7 p# Y q# |; k- f8 V6 [# F 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。
" L" Y/ M. U3 r1 m7 }) u# K564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.6 q9 m z* x6 U
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
' G$ ]: S* x" N; c4 y5 g* q0 ^565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.. I* K$ D1 h L6 @2 L4 P+ l; u2 T
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,& m- P2 ^% L) n- x& n! Z2 W% T, ]8 |
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
1 O" O/ ]9 Y& }9 s* p 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。6 x' L4 j; f% D6 {
567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.1 k: a! g: o2 Y* ?! k
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。6 ~. D7 E1 ^( i* K" x. n, S0 T8 E
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.
8 O1 q c- n' t) L 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。* X5 k) z( D8 Z. `+ u! l* o) |& Y7 V
569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
1 B# q+ ]' V' e 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。- A+ ~' u8 O3 }1 v3 h i* T
570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.3 {6 S' `6 `6 @3 E+ o+ T# n/ J
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。- S" g' \; R; N" z% O
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.9 J. R( s5 N* U; @, {
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
0 B" F- ~1 B' r& z' r8 k2 s1 l572. They did not even tell their wives.# e. u2 b5 E( N5 T# s& {
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
9 G# P* t# d6 @9 Y) W9 x; ?573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
1 g6 ~6 g* e% P& X* { 父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。) ? r5 k8 t9 R" w2 G* s
574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse." x1 x& N% ]% t* o; i
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,$ Y" A) T; f" e
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./ N3 {6 |2 P. F! c( b9 B
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。: a, t: K1 r7 N% {& J0 b
576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
$ Z& ^8 X' C# n2 n 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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