The Death of a Ghost 幽靈之死
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人 cutting corn in the moonlight. In time, it became an accepted fact that the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
No one suspectedthat 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 borthers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
4.Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
每次雇工辭職后都敘述著同樣的故事。
語言點:句子結構分析:every time在句首,引導時間狀語從句。
5.Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.
雇工們說,常常一早起來發現有人在夜里把活干了。
語言點:句子結構分析:that引導賓語從句,交代said的內容。The work had been done overnight是省去了引導詞that的賓語從句,作find的賓語。
6.Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
干草已切好,牛棚也打掃干凈了。
語言點:句子結構分析:had been cut和had been cleaned均為過去完成時的被動語態,強調在過去的過去事情已經做完了。