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课文30 幽灵之死
- s0 }- p* p) N8 z/ ]552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
- T4 I- y1 P! I6 Q 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
( a" u( T* v/ M- o- I/ U- P8 b553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.6 n1 R5 B3 ?) P
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。5 M7 z. O' v) B7 t
554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
v; X' s% |9 y! w6 L 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。) t6 n# U9 u& A
555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
* t ^, L1 C: D1 C7 c% J1 C4 o, | 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。8 I. H6 @+ W/ D; T# b! m6 W
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.2 E; z4 o8 g& U* a
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
' L/ ^2 B) D) b8 h5 r557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
+ [+ {: \: j' V8 G9 J+ ~ 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
6 C: L5 |8 S' | x9 l: ]558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
- K: _4 z. `* J, E4 C7 b% E 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。/ y! q3 p" z4 [( j- q9 U& \. \! @% ]
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
5 D& V4 | v/ H- x& t 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 {% ^! \, J( t
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.( O+ C$ n' X- t! ] Z+ v
谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。- X# M; m$ L9 I8 @" l% L( n0 h
561. This was indeed the case.
* G& `; ]3 i6 z) \ 但事实上确有此人。$ j" W7 V& m0 E: q' | V$ y
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.' t# e) R8 F& r4 o: t# N& A h t
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
8 |: y9 r( Q M& M( A+ e563. 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.
7 w1 T- x+ r/ t# L$ K* _; f! }$ y# y 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。. m; ?) J" z* j. S, z3 q, ?
564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.5 ^5 U$ v' o9 \* L' f
葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
! o% ]3 d% d8 M* B; h565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.$ h! w6 K, }. X5 i2 F8 s( F
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,
) V5 N! k* a- O8 {. o U( E& I566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.9 l$ u! {0 L2 K/ l
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
5 Y4 Y6 [! n' Z I567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.2 d7 G5 N+ K) k- i. h0 a
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。
* C" o/ N9 ?" b568. 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.; S" X* L& h' y" e6 L9 g: 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。% n9 B& C3 S$ _4 M7 G
569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
+ i" U- F1 v2 r 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
& Q( |7 X0 v2 V570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.
, i; e/ L, h) d/ @0 I5 B 他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。! E2 c. Y6 l: T. R- E
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.$ |' U8 s3 [$ Y- K
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
9 b7 z; |9 E* L" ?( M5 {- j; u572. They did not even tell their wives.
5 ?/ Y& z+ K- {+ v: c: H$ x 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
9 b6 t, y& F2 ^9 ~% y% V! N5 y573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.+ H+ ^5 } \# {( M# | }
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
5 g2 K4 b8 H) O4 r2 A9 ^7 _574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.
8 F2 [* x. ^+ L9 @* m$ C4 v7 ^ 这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
* K+ d v* ^, \/ T6 U575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.& z2 H3 c; i. H4 s O' l, b" f
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( f( ]2 u9 q4 Y3 W3 \576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
3 P' f% B) T W7 f 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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