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课文30 幽灵之死" L4 r' o. d) Z& J( J) ^8 s
552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
! R5 _1 T* C: }) O 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。) k* }' [' v$ }3 p$ J3 R7 O& ~) e- Y
553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.6 V, s- D3 y8 v, W1 p$ Y, A( k7 o2 A
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
: i8 |/ p G0 Y8 y' G- c) e# ^554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
7 ?) c3 I2 N$ u" C 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
5 I9 \ a$ `. d! R! @ D% t8 X555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
3 m8 h' J- ^+ K6 d( F4 l 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
0 R/ b( X* D" j556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.6 _/ L" J2 `+ j7 o# H
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,* n2 H% E% m3 b: i2 _' C: ]0 }4 K
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned." P6 h& X& J+ u2 U2 y
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。8 T: ]; a6 w+ b/ W9 B1 A" j
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight./ e% k& k1 _2 ^9 e8 |
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。
# \* n& T% f- r. o0 h2 z559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
% B& @8 b# Q9 E3 Q 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 p/ A# A6 f' D- m$ u. Y560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.4 X# Z. {3 S& |. Q. F! i
谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。; V e2 F5 O8 V, F/ A" E/ f3 v
561. This was indeed the case.$ p* ?* R7 Q7 {8 {
但事实上确有此人。
4 [8 a. a0 Z' l5 R562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.' L" g" J* J3 x1 X4 m% X) S: l
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。& A7 f0 I; x9 _# Z& w
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.2 R7 U, c. o+ A& N
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。
& H5 ~$ D- b! f) _3 N/ @564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
) s+ `. b0 k4 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。" }- i( H6 W7 V! b( f( x
565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.( [$ R, V" K: w2 J
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,
6 C. E0 X; r' U4 x566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.8 X# K) V. B' M/ L1 N8 k9 m- A6 O
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。1 t+ D, r) ^0 h5 F7 F _
567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.4 s: _" j: N# Y' G2 M2 o
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。
# `3 H& F$ C: i, x- H; E, l9 M. }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.
}$ `) W ?+ ` Q+ i1 [7 W3 e' N 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。
5 O+ P: j5 R, H; a6 T. c7 ~569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well. `! K* X7 E8 J- p# p. c$ d9 v: H# d, `
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
8 J4 w8 C; Z; O' F" x+ ?3 J/ k570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.
4 v0 n: s/ K( n, I- W D' e1 k 他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。
/ O4 l7 A: v( D, `+ u571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.. ~0 S p% g8 `, q V5 S
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。! E8 ~3 x1 h, ^, v/ {" p9 v
572. They did not even tell their wives.
5 G2 N: B; h E$ V( ]! m 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。5 F) `1 B! L0 t$ w
573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
4 Y- b% A6 ]3 p# n+ {0 I5 v 父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
6 [9 i2 |% _1 ~: O" h- G& y! R574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.3 a* D$ d) \' h% |5 u: C, [
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
; r6 j( M* `, ]* t575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.
2 x) I8 f2 \& s/ E0 ~( X0 O 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。
( B, z2 f; C" r: j; g, H8 k8 d576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.: |/ a" F5 e2 x# C# ^
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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