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课文30 幽灵之死
% e" W+ }. l; [, f; D6 g5 ~552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
* P" ?: i% c d 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
' z6 L% r% _* m5 k* L553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.
# _5 P# L' B( h G- u+ v, D 恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
: E: G, G" @1 x$ j) t0 Z0 i" I554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.3 n- ]8 \' \* Y
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
7 U- b+ S5 @9 z" {$ m555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.; L" J' n% z0 ]7 z6 f6 e. b
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。8 g2 a: ^( U; u, p- `' `; U
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
- e! T: c# |; I8 g" Y! M- x% p 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
& m! U/ e' i0 m557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
8 F, {7 q4 O& @7 d1 ]( L 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。- G" W6 S& a/ X3 w
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight./ s. _7 r6 R9 ^4 R0 F; }
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。
& N6 r/ d/ ?' T" K$ s1 U* }5 J559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
. c) d! A: T9 \8 B) D, w* u 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。% ~& t* B, x. t" c& @
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
. B6 }( m) T; U( S$ y4 x 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。3 @" }) \, \2 n- c1 r8 ^! X
561. This was indeed the case.0 M R: G/ |8 h0 R
但事实上确有此人。
/ j3 q& m$ c4 y! q, `4 i% E562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
% C/ T" Z; J& {% b o 不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。( j, l" L1 ?9 j [% n4 E9 K
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.9 n- K( l7 @- I- g$ ]% P1 p5 B8 J! W
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。
7 G+ W7 Y, H. ?# I" j8 w0 ~564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.8 y8 ?# ]: o2 a8 I/ G2 h
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
+ @4 s/ k. S [# L: A: D+ w- I565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.7 r4 b; _! }( [& O
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,3 S0 R' v" I/ F/ d
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.) R6 P: W) V8 z6 t4 I4 i& u! m/ b
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。+ d9 H: _4 T! ?- Z% r c5 y# J3 M
567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment., S6 N) ]' y6 |+ Z" b! r, C
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。/ g e: U. q, \+ M& w5 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.
2 l: w9 ]+ A. b0 ^ 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 s8 ?" g9 {9 N% x4 h569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.5 O' Z8 P7 g. a0 r
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。2 I; h5 a; ]: {: p$ ]
570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.+ @8 K: s3 z/ r: [$ H, s
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。; N% a6 Y* M' q6 I9 L5 R$ ~! `. x
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.9 z* \. h+ l+ i4 C P: z N
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
. }3 L; y. s$ L U) d6 _572. They did not even tell their wives.5 Z( l3 G1 r$ l4 w! Y$ c
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
( Q, w- A2 \- p& w$ L9 t, t9 {7 o573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.' x" h J4 p! v* V0 d3 }
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。# A5 ?, a. |' g v2 E# }
574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.
( `0 N3 f3 ~. w: A( d* b 这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,1 g1 p/ T8 k% O$ z
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.
8 d! a1 _3 S/ z5 D9 s- v 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 F# M- t4 l8 Z+ g# B. {
576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
$ S4 ]( }% m& f2 R* }! R: |7 x4 I U 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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