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课文30 幽灵之死
; g) m, q6 G: d/ _8 K8 G" l8 }552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.1 R' ^; y& z) H
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
. _6 {! b6 A: I3 T. U553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.) N5 D* B1 n$ e I
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
1 |, R1 {1 H! T1 O; r( x8 j554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.' n- V; k9 `% e( X
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
T6 s* L9 S& T5 e8 G555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
( D/ {+ y+ o" ]8 o6 b& e0 v( a 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
' S# k9 Y9 t. }% `556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.% c4 Q, T* ` J. ]! Y0 T& I
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,, x/ Y C' U' V! Z% z+ T
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.$ Z& T! S' @# H$ ?" k1 n
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。1 P8 l( ]+ Y9 s2 D% r. \
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.7 s' L. t; Y; ?+ @( |3 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。" V# g7 y+ S1 Q7 q
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
6 G( v& s& s3 [- `+ U4 N( M 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。
+ A+ r# w) [0 E" W. Z560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.! V! g( s6 E5 }* L: G" J
谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。- K+ ]% G- \) D- `0 u% Z: H
561. This was indeed the case./ v, G9 O( z" P, w0 D0 e
但事实上确有此人。. o% Y& W+ g3 b8 L
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.9 \; g! c, q! t( ^. m' x5 _
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
: R3 U& @) e1 ~& |/ O563. 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 x; }7 f9 G9 j8 A8 `# z4 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。0 h2 [6 a5 x0 ^; a) h
564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
8 M, ~* G1 d5 p( }7 m" g% B 葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
1 d# `+ h3 d( C4 R; c565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
, x0 N' t- j8 F% }: k+ |3 I 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,
& m" c( y/ l' @: }566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
: a& H. ~+ S; U* u: n- V 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
+ k6 \! F% v$ L2 V& d ^" W; i567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
# }) S Z$ r. r( w 他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。
: i, o9 q- S; B4 V$ 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.
2 S% |5 e" n& H3 r! [3 ^ 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。
# {$ g5 O( l5 j- @569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.0 ^7 R$ x5 `1 B0 d
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
9 z( b9 S7 [* Y% t, b) V0 y570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.1 [1 M* b5 o% ]/ k6 E, B
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。" g! ^. U2 k9 j$ l
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
9 e8 E6 @+ C% o$ h u 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
) I3 Q( D! w4 G5 _572. They did not even tell their wives.
, }+ ^( Q v$ ? 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
- ~( F( B! x% c6 U573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.6 z3 q8 c0 A9 Y* h. ~. `
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
4 C; l: n* f5 E( w; }574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.# f$ Q8 L: g" x- W5 k5 u
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
& v9 W; m8 `+ N$ O575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.; a \, N( O2 a; q1 [- _
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。
6 {2 J8 l% ?$ S1 s" C9 Q576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
s% e+ Q7 b1 b6 J% q* S' s# L5 j1 D 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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