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课文30 幽灵之死5 ~5 p! Z$ E" r
552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.! [" X0 ]. D' C
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。1 m& ^5 I8 O+ m+ N
553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.. J! A; h9 ?) m+ i$ g
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。3 ^1 n% ~3 x; ?
554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.6 \6 Z2 D# G) N
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
) L7 j6 t. b7 y7 ] U! ?555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
& y$ D% a" W/ ~) T) Q2 M 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
; @6 D. |' q$ [# E556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.9 J1 W3 p, w5 k6 l. ?0 Y
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
. r. K% o' m( }+ @/ s7 `557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
; y+ a9 r* u: r7 m n5 j 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。0 {9 t4 O' `( |$ R8 L4 H" j+ T
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.: e* W; Z# ~4 |& Q
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。
6 w ^# A4 E n1 B559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
, c# Z7 i2 |# f+ k) j+ e, z( h 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。
9 w9 d' k; h$ J6 {. q. G560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
' x( R& v( i! G" b 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。1 ?! U& ]2 c6 U" W/ t& Y' Z
561. This was indeed the case.
9 E0 K3 d3 @; W$ ] 但事实上确有此人。
5 Q! Z7 {* R* R# ?5 t* ^8 {562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.* N& E( S8 S2 ]/ D: S$ |
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
- F- H: `7 s; F3 r/ @8 A563. 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.+ G( K6 O1 @. _
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。
F* D) F) Q. \564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
, v- {2 a; `" `3 G( o& ]- j; 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。" q- L& c \: U, E. h+ z
565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.8 I- f7 i8 t1 w; D- m, X$ q
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,0 G# i9 L/ W, }1 Y: p
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
) w' f+ G" K8 X1 ~; X( z 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。- S) t# s: [2 ^ N* k% \
567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
2 J4 c7 [% y, ~# v7 x( Z 他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。, u1 C/ |1 L& ? s$ }) l% C
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.* O3 @7 L" e( D9 c, g
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。
4 k! H* e$ k3 }: f6 ^1 ]; _5 Y. |569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.$ _6 b8 a7 Z& O+ T. a
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
; v6 y5 V) k$ Y4 o4 Q/ z3 X2 p570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.' U) j+ X9 f: K5 }% K) p
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。4 L1 C6 p% T% ^3 u
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.3 F5 `2 k0 V/ j- l- k8 H* |2 [
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
) Q& ?* Z; I5 S2 ?+ ]% b/ j572. They did not even tell their wives.
! X9 ~# n8 ?7 g- V# k( S 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
3 c( c% O6 x5 P9 X! U+ `, J$ _6 Y573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
$ A" L+ X% T- s: K+ G! [0 J4 c; e 父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
) m# _. t5 j* u% u574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.
4 _/ W& L- f4 u$ q& G 这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,( B& B( j) a) y- E" o3 J* T
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.
. ]. q- B* y1 Y( C% V: q/ x8 J5 r 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。
' X6 ~# O- e- L: n8 y$ f576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
, _ M E# n/ i5 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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