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课文30 幽灵之死
) B9 D. u$ D, ?0 X552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted./ e% N0 ~5 y9 a3 |, k8 m* m
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
1 N' Q" Y0 W K+ D553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.: ^; X+ h: A0 i6 j F* s2 H5 ?" \
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
3 @9 i* ?0 u: p; B( W554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
& `( Y x9 z1 ^9 M) n) o 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。) O- c+ f; ^) y; f, l) j/ h
555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.4 [$ U$ b. A& |
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。: [6 H: m9 r1 w/ S G
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
5 Y& G) i; {3 U v 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,) @+ C1 V4 J. O4 G
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
' p+ ?3 Q( ], P 干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
+ C- a$ p1 L( l/ G0 A1 r558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.) F. h8 X. | C+ f' D( o
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。
" g7 P( V- G& F6 L; k4 U559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
1 u) }0 W) n# p 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。
$ E, v' I7 q, y/ J560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
& {+ E# F7 E* ~ 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。6 [: l5 j4 f* Q' P! H
561. This was indeed the case.0 v( Y6 d8 b9 t- m
但事实上确有此人。1 b) V" Q5 g7 a0 @
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.. a* U9 K2 v6 J6 c6 c
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
* Z3 F( y/ F6 C, _- n/ @1 M* H H' B563. 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 U1 P- r, M" E6 R6 q
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。
8 O9 T& V, A, u3 W" @; D0 S564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
" c1 T$ F& N# J; g$ O 葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。6 @) y$ D; X1 x+ d. [" b
565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
; Y0 q! I" X8 l6 ` ~( w( f 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,5 n2 A% x7 I% p D3 x1 G* ]
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
/ U ~) ^5 |, s 第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。$ `( h6 I5 K9 j! J) R* F7 k+ f# \$ Q: b
567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.1 m# e& K6 J. @) Z9 v5 ~
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。0 ?0 F g; o1 Y8 ^+ l
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.: Z$ t; F ^$ r# J' J/ s
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。
- n" v8 {0 w, ~6 x) Q569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
( j; z# h9 F1 U' V3 C7 J' Q 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。1 i& o4 y) v+ o+ Z
570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.3 `7 @. {( e+ u$ s+ `
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。
7 Y. Y; q% k9 K$ {! g3 F/ n571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
1 c4 \, W% { A 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。; G" ]* x" _1 h7 }7 x! w+ j
572. They did not even tell their wives.. U8 X" \& V! K& |
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。) ]% A% V8 N$ a8 m
573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.3 s# [* ~9 W' o R
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
# a4 U0 a6 a# i574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse." X0 j# z% o$ Z5 i9 m+ b
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
& B$ R* m' a2 f575. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.* i7 F/ r2 O( n* \ ]- w
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。
9 c) F$ l% f5 U8 _/ S576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
: G+ _$ b" n5 w' l. @( B( q 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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