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课文30 幽灵之死( Z0 {9 `. \" Y4 A
552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
6 _; A! d2 e5 ?( b: l 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
$ g# W9 P6 ?# @ h" w9 a553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.8 d* w. e6 n7 i* A0 W
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。, R1 Y I6 ~) Y8 [3 P
554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
' m2 @! u6 a4 F 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。' r3 l- {$ @; [/ |# D2 t
555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.0 s9 L) |. m: q9 m9 u
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。/ N4 m3 a/ v8 w
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
+ G" |, w6 i5 |2 ^ 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,
# N( m' M3 t$ f/ X5 _3 C557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned., F* S3 [0 m* @6 h* O n" o; p" E
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。1 g" @; A! I9 T4 m5 F+ G! i/ ]+ K- o
558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.) M% J% t: @. Y; e: n
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。
7 e: `/ m) Z8 v$ X8 h; K' B559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.. u3 T: z' G) B2 \) I
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。
, k5 _" S! X) J/ z560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.3 z( O; z& i: V& N2 z
谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。. A Z2 d+ D$ z8 x, m
561. This was indeed the case.$ h- ?4 A; `9 p; P0 G
但事实上确有此人。
: Y9 N5 D9 ?1 @# H4 Q562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.. Y' k6 \* W7 h. s2 ]
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
& e3 b1 n) {* I; X3 f2 y563. 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.
1 M* U% V; a1 P( {& R 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。
* Y# p- i5 S5 z2 A1 e7 x+ p564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
( a( b5 t7 T. `! I0 @+ r- w; v- { 葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。, G0 x" `# f5 e& e
565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
. l+ E* A" z9 } 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,% H1 H+ F1 v' l9 t6 w% \0 ?/ V
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
7 l) X* M( n2 i( Q 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
' r/ Y; j2 i9 Z" f6 c567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment./ \ D4 Y, v+ F j6 m7 H8 ]- U
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。. }: {' `, H" \0 q; i! 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.
8 r+ Z$ y. ^( r3 Q 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。6 Q, g# n# G0 Z" n7 y* w# ]
569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.8 @. i# z4 @0 q, A! m
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
, r# |7 r; |7 T7 y% d0 k570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.$ p! {, e! D, [3 o; Z/ I' d7 j1 \) o, [
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。
5 G' y, A; l& j1 ]571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
2 U3 f1 _# u* I; j( N 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。" E7 \* y4 E2 J4 f5 h: I" f
572. They did not even tell their wives.
7 ^$ o3 [% W. A; A" h 但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。; X: o# B: q! \& r: D" P5 Y
573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
5 m! Y! {. k3 i; s1 o e 父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。6 V0 B9 Y- s* y% I! V8 ^
574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.
" C- ~( U- a1 A, @3 j& d! B 这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
8 V0 e, o5 |- `, R0 S575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.
* `; d* ^& t' `7 Y Z9 ~" J# I 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。
- I S% V2 D4 u3 M6 c576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.% s5 ~' g6 Q6 q3 d O3 `
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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