精读30：The death of a ghost||幽灵之死（一）
第30篇精读
1：精读原文和译文摘自新概念英语；英英释义来自牛津、朗文及柯林斯词典；
2：新概念英语精读系列旨在通过精读经典教材，夯实英语基础（词汇、长难句、语法点），积攒原汁原味的表达；
3：关注本公众号“transhare翻译”，后台回复“新概念”，可得到新概念电子书及相关音频的获取方式。
新概念精读系列分享模式有所变动，目的有二：
- 每次阅文时间控制在15分钟之内
- 设置每日小打卡共学圈（加入方式见文末）
变动如下：
- 第一天：原文+译文+音频+语篇导读
- 第二天及之后：根据内容划分精读量
- 一周一篇
阅读方法建议：
- 第一遍纯英文式阅读，遇到不懂的地方不要暂停，一气呵成
- 第二遍阅读英语原文，记下不清楚的地方（单词、短语、长难句和理解难点等），然后带着这些问题阅读随后的精读注解
- 如果随后的精读笔记不足以解决难点，可以将问题发送至后台等待解答
*精读笔记尽可能详细，让读有所获
语篇导读：这是一篇记叙文。长年以来，恩得利农场的雇工都不愿意呆很长时间，因为农活都在夜里被干完了。因此，村民认为农场有鬼。随着“鬼”的逝世，真相浮出水面，原来是农场主的兄弟埃里克•考科斯。当年在二战期间被迫参军，因厌恶军旅生活逃回农场。父亲将儿子藏起来，战争结束后因害怕当局而对外称儿子战亡，此后一直深藏不露，因此，埃里克在有生之年过着隐士生活。 短文趣味无比，值得好好阅读。文章的结构和句法都非常简洁，值得学习和模拟。
精读原文
For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was haunted. The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long. Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned. A farm worker, who stayed up all night, claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight. In time, it became an accepted fact that Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen. This was indeed the case. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died. 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. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over fifty years.
Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers. He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment. 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. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob. They did not even tell their wives. When their father died, they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley. When he died, however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
精读译文
多年来，村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼。恩得利农场属于乔•考科斯和鲍勃•考科斯兄弟俩所有。他们雇了几个农工，但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去。每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事。雇工们说，常常一早起来发现有人在夜里把活干了，干草已切好，牛棚也打扫干净了。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。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。
谁也没想到农场竟会有一个从未露面的人。但事实上确有此人。不久之前，村民们惊悉恩得利农场的鬼死了。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。葬礼之后，乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密。
埃里克是这家的长子。年龄比他两个弟弟大很多，第二次世界大战期间被迫参军。他讨厌军旅生活，决定逃离所在部队。当他了解到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。由于害怕当局，埃里克战后继续深藏不露。他的父亲告诉大家，埃里克在战争中被打死了。除此之外，只有乔与鲍勃知道这个秘密。但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉。父亲死后，他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。这些年来，埃里克过着隐士生活，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。他死后，他的弟弟们才觉得无法再保守这个秘密了。
未完待续
感谢阅读
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