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.
7. A farm worker, who stayed up all night, claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
有一個徹夜未眠的雇工還聲稱他看見一個人影在月光下收割莊稼。
語言點:句子結構分析:who引導一個非限制性定語從句,對這個farm worker作進一步的補充修飾。
8. In time, it became an accepted fact that the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
隨著時間的流逝,考科斯兄弟雇了一個盡心盡責的鬼,他們家的活大部分都讓鬼給干了,這件事成了公認的事實。
語言點:句子結構分析:第一個that引導同位語從句,對fact進行充分的解釋說明,即“事實是什么”。第二個that引導定語從句,修飾ghost,說明這個ghost做了什么。
9. No one suspectedthat there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.
誰也沒想到農場竟會有一個從未露面的人。
語言點:句子結構分析:that引導賓語從句,交代suspected的內容。