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课文30 幽灵之死
, x, T1 ?; n" A! c% n' Y+ d552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
0 w. d7 ?5 U! S: E 多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
[! \% W; Z3 v553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.
+ J; F' s- C, A1 B# N 恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。: k' \: U, P7 O8 X& @5 f% m p; g
554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.- k; ?0 F/ }: f, J* `
他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。: B" p$ a- o: P0 _# C- _
555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.; K+ t& G/ V# m6 F
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。* t9 H( H( V6 K- \. y
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
7 ?- j0 k8 r) V) _, e1 y3 K& O 雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,5 ~% a+ [3 l4 W. s5 g2 V
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.! @: {( A( G& z- ~9 C; Z( u" E
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
# \$ k. t- ^/ c6 { q( Y0 I558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
" p' k& w. V8 Q- d' V0 O7 y 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 K3 [. f: S$ U" f9 Y) x. }( f559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.; K8 \" G+ p5 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。/ \) a) K5 f5 h$ Y
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
4 P$ J+ A% d' j 谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。# I: L/ A, Y3 c. n: a
561. This was indeed the case.
7 r+ T D4 E2 l1 {- H' | 但事实上确有此人。* U( a2 S# v% c
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.( ]; v) K Z6 A5 T
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。- b+ z1 ?- c0 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.$ ~% }( K1 U8 m2 V* 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。
9 W8 D7 c! ^$ @564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
" P/ E/ G& i6 H1 g) R 葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
. J4 J9 n/ `% N/ e. d565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
' Q2 w. a& @6 `5 _ 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,
: j$ M4 T9 c& x3 l566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.0 ^8 l9 O7 U; C2 o
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
! M" |0 N7 O) a567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.0 x% A" r6 ^" r; v: V' ]6 r1 A8 X
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。, p5 m" W& e! h2 h
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.$ w$ e% j$ F5 o, J- V! R
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* z5 L1 H9 A/ i- P
569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
7 E1 x, c/ b0 L" i- \0 g 由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。) t7 u) U; |$ H
570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.2 ]4 W; j" K+ N1 H
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。& f2 G7 {: M$ x1 M' @ W0 z" b
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.2 ^* l* R( i2 V4 n0 g4 q
除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
, L* Y. o+ `- C( l4 F8 Y. Q# _572. They did not even tell their wives.- O, T( G' p" D
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。, q! u2 l4 U2 ^: C: z9 |2 Q: K
573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.' r" M' ] Y( _# f, P& s
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
2 V5 \8 i0 x/ v+ \9 E574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.
' B0 [. Z0 l L2 N5 s6 l0 K6 e$ o3 M 这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,
% {, D3 K4 N) T! T3 n+ d2 w575. 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 j2 x$ f5 \- ~& W1 L
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。
: M3 |; t6 ?# ?+ G576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
- u2 s; U# E$ }- f9 Y3 b4 g1 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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