# 第三册 Lesson 30 The death of a ghost 幽灵之死

## 一、课文原文

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 the 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.

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| labourer | /'leibərə/ | n. | 劳动者 | labour n. 劳动；labor（美式拼写） |
| overnight | /'əuvənait/ | adv. | 一夜期间 | over + night |
| hay | /hei/ | n. | 干草 | make hay while the sun shines |
| corn | /kɔ:n/ | n. | 谷物 | 英式英语指小麦，美式指玉米 |
| moonlight | /'mu:nlain/ | n. | 月光 | by moonlight在月光下 |
| conscientious | /'kɔnʃi'enʃəs/ | adj. | 认真的 | conscience n. 良心 |
| suspect | /sə'spekt/ | v. | 怀疑 | suspect sb. of (doing) sth. 怀疑某人 |
| desert | /di'zə:t/ | v. | （军队中）开小差 | 注意名词desert /'dezət/沙漠 |
| regiment | /'redʒimənt/ | n. | （军队）团 | 军队编制单位 |
| action | /'ækʃən/ | n. | 战斗 | killed in action阵亡 |
| recluse | /ri'klu:s/ | n. | 隐士 | live as a recluse过隐居生活 |
| haunt | /hɔ:nt/ | v. | 闹鬼 | haunted adj. 闹鬼的 |
| oblige | /ə'blaidʒ/ | v. | 迫使 | be obliged to do被迫做某事 |
| funeral | /'fju:nərəl/ | n. | 葬礼 | attend a funeral参加葬礼 |

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. every time引导时间状语从句
- **Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.**
- every time = whenever，作"每当……"解
- 引导时间状语从句

### 2. stay up——熬夜，不睡觉
- **A farm worker, who stayed up all night...**
- =remain awake / not go to bed

### 3. In time——终于，最后
- **In time, it became an accepted fact that...**
- 此处不指"及时"，而指"经过一段时间后/终于"
- that引导的从句作fact的同位语

### 4. none other than——不是别人正是……
- **the 'ghost' was none other than Eric Cox**
- 用于强调身份出人意料
- =no one else but

### 5. be supposed to have done——本应该做过（但实际上没有）
- **who was supposed to have died as a young man**
- 人们以为他年轻时已经死了（实际上没有）
- be supposed to = 被认为/应该

### 6. quite unaware of the fact that...
- **quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley**
- that引导同位语从句，解释fact的内容
- 形容词短语作伴随状语

### 7. find it impossible to do sth.
- **his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer**
- it为形式宾语，真正宾语是to keep the secret
- impossible为宾语补足语

## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was haunted.
- 开篇设置悬念：农场闹鬼
- for years = 多年来

### 2. a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them
- "尽忠职守的鬼"——用反常搭配制造幽默效果
- 鬼通常是恐怖的，但这个鬼是"勤劳的"

### 3. none other than Eric Cox, a third brother who was supposed to have died as a young man
- **none other than** 强调出人意料
- **a third brother** 另一个兄弟（不是第三，而是"还有一个"）
- **be supposed to have died** 被认为已经死了

### 4. They did not even tell their wives.
- 短句，强调秘密的严格程度
- 连妻子都不告诉

### 5. He used to sleep during the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.
- **used to do** 过去常常做
- **quite unaware of** 完全不知道
- 讽刺：Eric不知道自己就是"鬼"

## 五、课文翻译

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。

谁也没想到农场里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农场的活鬼。他死后，他的弟弟们才觉得无法再保守这个秘密了。

## 六、语言点精讲

### 写作手法
- **悬念设置**：开篇"闹鬼"，结尾揭示"鬼"是真人
- **层层揭开**：闹鬼传言→无人怀疑→鬼死了→真相大白
- **反讽效果**：Eric不知道自己就是"鬼"，而他正是"鬼"本身
- **情感深度**：不仅仅是鬼故事，更是关于家庭责任、战争创伤的故事

### 文化背景
- **二战逃兵**：在战争期间，逃兵是严重犯罪，会被军事法庭审判
- **killed in action**：军事术语，指在战斗中阵亡
- 英国乡村文化：小村庄中消息传播迅速，但也能保守惊人秘密
- 隐居生活：Eric白天睡觉、夜里干活的方式，使他从未被发现

## 七、课后练习要点

1. 词汇：掌握haunt, conscientious, suspect, desert, oblige, recluse, funeral等重点词
2. 语法：every time引导时间状语从句；none other than；be supposed to have done；find it impossible to do
3. 句型：in time; stay up; be obliged to do; quite unaware of; used to do
4. 理解：为什么两兄弟保守秘密？——Eric是逃兵，他们有责任保护他

## 八、本课小结

- 核心词汇：haunt, conscientious, suspect, desert, oblige, recluse, funeral
- 核心语法：every time时间状语从句、none other than、be supposed to have done、find it impossible to
- 核心句型：in time, stay up, be obliged to do, quite unaware of, used to do
- 写作特色：悬念设置、层层揭开、反讽效果、情感深度