新概念英语美音版第三册:Lesson 30 The death of a ghost

Lesson 30 The death of a ghost
幽灵之死
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
Why did the two brothers keep the secret?
For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.
多年来，村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。
The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有。
They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.
他们雇了几个农工，但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。
Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。
Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
雇工们说，常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了，
Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
干草已切好，牛棚也打扫干净了。
A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
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。
In time, it became an accepted fact that the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
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。
No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。
This was indeed the case.
但事实上确有此人。
A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died.
不久之前，村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。
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.
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。
After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
葬礼之后，乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.
埃里克是这家长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多，
He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。
As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
他讨厌军旅生活，决定逃离所在部队。
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.
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。
Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
由于害怕当局，埃里克战后继续深藏不露。
His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.
他的父亲告诉大家，埃里克在战争中被打死了。
The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
除此之外，只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密。
They did not even tell their wives.
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。
When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
父亲死后，他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。
All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.
这些年来，埃里克过着隐士生活，
He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.
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。
When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
他死后，他的弟弟们才觉得无法再保守这个秘密了。