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课文30 幽灵之死
' V/ C8 H7 n/ @/ ~& f* b552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
6 ]7 w( w; ]1 \! a 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
) M! C0 n* Z. j+ y7 x553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.
! j2 ?: R$ P) [5 Z 恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
! z$ b' O: O0 u) m: K) E$ a554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
@) U5 N+ E: T$ ]0 i 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
: ] @+ I7 O. u555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
! V F0 l7 l S. j% p 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。 R. w8 h3 z4 E- F
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.. u& V$ F# t9 F( C* G
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,+ W" I/ U9 K7 T$ m @
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.) F- L: Y* L3 b `, S7 N- U) e
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
9 ]( P! l7 |, @$ c, M558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.* S' d T, Z" \" M+ y
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。" E4 m3 m- k. J3 b' ?, q1 u, x
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.& P0 P; e) Y0 V9 D, k. L: T
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。
* u+ }' l2 l% x9 @0 n9 c560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
& i' ~8 \2 i' o& r1 S 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。7 k$ m/ \- `% P0 V& x
561. This was indeed the case.# B7 X0 m, x3 e2 g( e! u% d; U
但事实上确有此人。/ Z1 F* P2 ~6 L g
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
5 Q2 E2 s4 f* D) @3 g7 s 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。0 V& D. J7 d) |( W# y) ?
563. 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." `8 d2 C4 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。
; D+ R3 i9 v: v5 X5 c7 q4 P% r7 r+ B564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
! r# ~" I0 c1 Y( I! w2 h* 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。
7 b. B7 {) L) W565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.3 v7 q% t4 Q8 K$ [% S3 A
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,
2 B1 j# t1 y# ~* E* N, H8 a566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.: N$ U4 u( N3 `$ u+ u
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。! ]0 g a, b+ P% H9 V1 [# \2 O
567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.6 N$ Q% @ c3 M! g% N+ S8 a4 w2 j
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。1 q1 s0 W! \4 X2 C& p
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., }& {$ n* x( G3 |
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。
- \( b9 ]+ R" x% r% u; f8 c& [- r569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
7 {% h- O9 R! U. t, n 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
1 B/ M; a- `2 e570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.! q" N0 ]; [$ J
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。; e- B' Y4 D) S& g3 c; u0 ?
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.7 p6 q5 n# N* ? s7 u9 R
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。8 |/ H! i0 d2 O2 d4 }% S5 a9 V0 `
572. They did not even tell their wives.
\! x4 y7 t4 |, ^' d# v7 H; J1 ? 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
. V, `6 }7 [; {! Q573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
8 ], x0 M" }5 r9 s9 n# A) m 父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。0 H3 {1 R, p4 Z6 v1 B
574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.
0 H$ b/ Y' P& W G% X 这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活," i: Z9 }+ Q2 G7 D' 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.
$ f y2 e# g3 i( q: w g% N' m7 t 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。
2 C; M5 {8 E4 E0 t; D- c8 d576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.3 u+ d! p! S9 `* |
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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