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课文30 幽灵之死% w7 ^ e8 [9 j8 L: W4 E, G
552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.. K0 c) W$ V8 i
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。2 t6 h6 X' {. ^! G4 L0 V" {
553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.. O+ P/ v1 A" C. R! l( x8 k
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
4 u* Y& w; J& Y554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.0 K. V! N, e# O1 {" h# O
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。8 K/ [% d; _& z2 p) U6 X
555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
~/ o% t4 {# c* t 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
$ m; r( R1 I6 T F556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.! T ?' T5 R' O* h6 R$ p7 f
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,) H+ J* G5 M o5 Q8 X, B8 I
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.7 N" ]4 P3 }, m) Y) H/ Z
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。; R+ e5 S6 D3 r4 P
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.- z" X' [1 n2 ^
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。5 P% a; _8 g. t
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
1 J* U: O, F; ~4 ]& l- ? 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 z" C. r; [8 { d
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
! G" c2 o- \ r' z' D 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。
& @. c) w' \( e; }" _7 Z561. This was indeed the case.% Q* q# u- d5 f/ A% A& ~
但事实上确有此人。
9 ~! G' C/ J8 [. G. o! X4 P562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.- Z1 t6 h: p9 m9 i6 T7 |2 A- ~
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
9 m4 E2 l/ v" M9 Z% \, d' E563. 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.
0 u. f. g; v' Z- p C; P( M 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。" n* }* T" p' d2 p
564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.* v5 `. {" }: o2 R
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
& H8 |( o% L& Z' O V! E9 n5 }565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.6 V3 Y/ L5 H1 r8 C# c
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,
% s; D! N0 J w8 ~566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
' t6 w4 g: r# |7 e1 w1 c7 ~+ V 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
, N* u& H. E5 J2 j, W567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
; C3 U- H6 [8 u$ ]( _( y+ ? 他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。
9 X- r" @4 T: P0 `8 b568. 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# T( V2 n: c- T9 @
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。, B; R! y" l3 l
569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
3 f5 P% e8 ^+ v' q# e 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
/ V/ {" _7 |+ r570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.) P0 X7 k4 r" f# [
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。* R* o& o- ~9 k4 V2 J- L
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.9 c* A# S* o; P3 Q
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。6 r6 V. d- z) k
572. They did not even tell their wives.7 Z1 H* m' T: O' l2 B4 Q0 O4 e* B& H) \
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
. C! L/ K! Y/ z _! I# K573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
& ?) K/ ^1 L; M d$ ~2 O6 \" l 父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。+ x7 u/ g9 g( s/ \
574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.
+ X. E" Z, w5 z1 L; `/ C 这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,: F4 C6 }- {* P0 I: v
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.& O0 i: G+ Z/ ]9 M; r! N
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。" S+ r4 o4 a+ ^
576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.+ l7 j/ W1 Q0 |1 n4 s
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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