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课文30 幽灵之死
' b# q3 x8 f1 u) {3 B+ Q552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
! X# J$ N. B! F/ ~ 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
$ _. ^" r# B: g7 L' g553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.7 f+ z; |$ [' u# I9 z; t; m1 z
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
, | Y I! a0 E& y6 h) ]1 \7 M+ _554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
) V' I9 u8 Y) U& U 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。9 y/ q+ }5 f8 e9 G% |: x3 \
555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.+ Z+ e B# f7 h9 ~
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。4 Q$ v; }5 S# c }2 R. }2 J
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
' m2 C' V: K$ o0 `$ D( y: s* v/ e 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
7 T ?% F; L ~557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.* X4 c0 ~( {! h4 c1 A
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。$ c8 u, s4 m9 y
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.$ u. {6 |% A" d- ~6 f) T, G! d
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。
& q& [: h, l! v8 v% K; N& ]559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them. [7 i3 K+ M, b+ _5 _
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" s2 F3 F, r: x- ^. y# G s2 Q1 K1 W560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
, }& l( w5 I" J5 D& y. [4 p8 r$ u 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。
/ J5 l) w. G9 k- T561. This was indeed the case.1 \2 c* \6 o3 Y: h% [7 U
但事实上确有此人。, f3 z/ m9 w2 E. J
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
1 H9 b" ^9 @( a. [ _1 [. h 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
1 C" N& V b+ @* O; [4 o; e2 h563. 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 T: X$ f, e6 T1 P8 S" k* \ 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。
2 J7 g8 V1 q/ a0 x N0 c8 c564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
& j0 u8 V# s9 r: c 葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。% o3 Q5 o1 k7 Q h) O. R8 ^
565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
& Y5 ~0 K9 s& H9 B0 ~$ V 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,
# S* f- ]6 `# S1 A+ g566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
0 Q1 b+ ^: a# f+ k% X 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
' ~; }0 ?+ o& W6 ^. `567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
B# Y* [& }5 ]; ?! |9 D" } 他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。; E0 I [) l- P& X
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.7 I a% O0 b+ C) d! Y. l9 P
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。
; \1 _2 n& N2 Z* _569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
3 ]. [1 ?- y* \/ W 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
( i3 g8 @' `) G2 Z, B3 |. i570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.
, O: R6 ~% R1 p# C1 S 他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。4 ?" v( @7 X0 p0 M$ K
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
. i c5 x/ r- z# @9 b# I 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
2 Y9 \' q6 u, W7 O# o572. They did not even tell their wives.
1 S: I _6 q7 q3 N# k/ J) F/ k# l 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。4 a0 R( R6 V; A. M1 K: U# B
573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.& }6 G6 y" ~6 k" n' {
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
7 ^- v1 b8 ~9 X4 L( `4 @& W5 z6 H! B574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.! m) u. a1 M9 E/ f2 @) P
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,: E4 F0 F7 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.6 z) e# a' X# m2 S+ I3 }6 _3 g
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。
5 Z/ a3 l# i2 z576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.* s/ X! @$ p( _: @
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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