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课文30 幽灵之死) H& K9 d. l* j" s
552. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.7 p# N! U# {* V" _9 U. d2 y
多年来,村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。6 {* H9 ?3 ?+ i; m0 S9 G% e
553. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.) j8 t6 {( ?! x9 l5 J) c2 z' Q
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
2 q/ ]( c! p) f0 H2 U554. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
. U+ E! D+ U8 j( D) L: _' | 他们雇了几个农工,但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。6 t; x0 I& U; A& w
555. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
* w4 |+ } j( h" i 每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。: B, N' Q& D: ~9 S8 d3 F
556. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.1 E c2 h; k9 G4 X; s* n
雇工们说,常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了,% S7 U. J+ }; [1 _ {" b$ P
557. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.0 ?# j5 B% P& [. w% ^- z
干草已切好,牛棚也打扫干净了。
# c2 {: y1 b4 E6 F. Z( f558. A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
" s7 v& z3 q% N, v: J 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。* v; ?2 |9 ^9 o; v
559. In time, it became an accepted fact the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.5 \6 W- `! x+ j9 S# _8 W" A
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。7 t$ j4 U' N: E1 ~3 ? F }
560. No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.# i7 N; g6 y# T" u- [; u7 B+ j
谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。7 C5 @5 \$ U, R
561. This was indeed the case.7 U) d- q9 U Z" U; m! I+ ]
但事实上确有此人。* o `* o) K! Y/ }) X
562. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.# @7 C, W0 E* I* K
不久之前,村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。% V& l' j1 v( X6 ]# k: j, a8 h+ ]
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.( c# o% n- X5 x j6 Q7 H
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。
5 B& b* S! f; s$ J564. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
% N& ~! B; r: E; {# {6 Q 葬礼之后,乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
0 T) L% e0 m! q565. Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
7 S0 s$ [7 V5 a+ J2 x2 ` 埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多,% e6 C" }' }& [
566. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.( p- r' g. c5 [) d3 S5 |
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
* R% M' U) H# e o567. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.8 A% ^; C9 p, n6 s
他讨厌军旅生活,决定逃离所在部队。' I8 j _9 K0 b/ V9 |. }# |- k
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.
' P$ R5 ]" _$ A6 F 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。
. Y9 d: _- B4 O8 i S569. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.4 Q4 T. Q) n! L" e: {+ F+ F( I/ |
由于害怕当局,埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
) @9 D7 m" J% `570. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.8 Z. l, O6 W h- Z0 H& N- r% }
他的父亲告诉大家,埃里克在战争中被打死了。" x& }, a6 o/ u- y
571. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
/ V0 s/ O4 a% Q. l: T3 r 除此之外,只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。- L) u! i: O- q8 x/ M
572. They did not even tell their wives. L8 V( u L! Q% W3 S+ _
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。5 R8 f4 \' d# u7 r
573. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.2 T, _' |) w2 B, H. `
父亲死后,他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
! Y/ p; s3 o$ P7 V574. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.- s% L2 {: R( }% V0 `3 c
这些年来,埃里克过着隐士生活,# d, [; C4 o9 Y" [. u/ V; L3 W
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.
* [- j5 Z& x& A 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。
( |/ D+ ^: K+ \) H576. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
" L" |6 F! _) ]/ I! O) N: K 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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