---
url: https://gaojian.site/new-concept/book-3/30-the-death-of-a-ghost.md
description: 新概念英语第三册：The Death of a Ghost。精读、词块回忆、双向译练、句法、逻辑与FSRS复习。
---

# 30 · 幽灵之死

### 第1段

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.
Persistence can produce a miracle! Unfortunately, very few people can persist long enough to see a miracle happen.

中文理解：多年来，村民们一直相信恩德利农场闹鬼。农场属于乔·考克斯和鲍勃·考克斯两兄弟，他们雇过几个帮工，却没人愿意长干。每个辞工的人，都讲过同样的怪事：早晨醒来，发现有些活竟在夜里就干完了，草割好了，牛棚也清扫干净了。一名整夜未睡的帮工还声称，看见过一个人影在月光下收割庄稼。渐渐地，大家都认定，考克斯兄弟雇了一只勤勤恳恳的鬼，大部分农活都是它替他们做的。
没有人想到，农场里也许还住着一个从未露面的人，而事实恰恰如此。不久前，村民们惊讶地听说，恩德利的“鬼”死了。大家都去参加了葬礼，因为这个“鬼”不是别人，正是乔和鲍勃的哥哥埃里克·考克斯——人们一直以为，他年轻时就已去世。葬礼后，两兄弟说出了一个隐瞒了五十多年的秘密。
埃里克是家里的长子，比两个弟弟年长许多。第二次世界大战期间，他被迫入伍，却因厌恶军营生活，决定逃离部队。得知自己将被派往海外后，他回到了农场，父亲把他藏起来，直到战争结束。战后，他仍害怕当局追究，便继续躲藏。父亲对外宣称，埃里克已经阵亡。除父亲之外，只有乔和鲍勃知道真相，他们甚至连自己的妻子都没有告诉。父亲去世后，两人觉得自己有责任继续把哥哥藏好。这些年来，埃里克过着与世隔绝的生活，白天睡觉，夜里干活，根本不知道自己已经成了人们口中的“恩德利之鬼”。他去世后，两个弟弟才发现，这个秘密再也瞒不住了。
坚持可以创造奇迹！可惜，极少有人能坚持到亲眼见证奇迹发生的那一天。

* **was owned by**：归……所有；物 + be owned by + 主人，把归属关系说清。

* **Every time**：每次；每当；可直接接事件，不需再加when。

* **gave up his job**：辞掉工作；give up one's job 与 give up doing 对照，说明停止对象。

* **woke up**：醒来；叫醒；可表示自己醒来，也可表示叫醒别人；代词宾语通常放中间。

* **stayed up all night**：熬了一整夜；up 强调不睡觉，不是站立。

* **claimed to have seen**：声称曾经见过；claim to have done 表示声称此前做过，并不自动证实属实。

* **This was indeed the case**：事实的确如此；the case 回指刚才那种情形，用于证实而非另开一个案件。

* **A short time**：很短一段时间；in 常说短时间内完成；for 常说持续了一小段时间。

* **none other than**：正是；不是别人而是；常用于揭晓身份。

* **was supposed to**：据认为；原本应当；本课 supposed to have died 是据称已死，非要求他应当死。

* **revealed a secret**：揭开了一个秘密；reveal 与 conceal / keep 对照，标记信息揭晓点。

* **join the army**：参军；join 表加入组织，不用 join in the army。

* **in hiding**：躲藏着；强调持续隐匿，不是一次躲避动作。

* **in action**：在行动中；在作战中；本课 killed in action 指阵亡，语境决定义项。

* **thought it their duty**：认为这是自己的责任；think + it + 名词评价 + to do，it 指后面的行为。

* **unaware of**：没有意识到；un-是否定前缀，理解时不能丢掉。

* **keep the secret**：保守这个秘密；keep the secret 与 reveal the secret 对照，the 回指已知秘密。

* **persist long enough**：坚持足够久；persist + long enough + to do，解释持续多久才能达到后果。

#### 原文注释 · For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was haunted.

注释：\[原课文单词haunted 拼写有误，感谢读者微博@Archergy 同学指出20170523] ①was willing = wanted, was prepared。②labourers = workers。 ③claimed = said that, maintained that。④In time = Finally。 ⑤an accepted fact = a general, undisputed truth。⑥conscientious = extremely careful。

#### 原文注释 · No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen.

注释：①astonished = surprised。②none other than = not anyone else, it's。 ③revealed = made known, told。

#### 原文注释 · Eric had been the eldest son of the family, very much older than his two brothers.

注释：①action = war，另外action 也有“诉讼”的意思。②unaware of = unconscious。

#### Summary 摘要

Eric joined the army during the Second World War, but hated army life, so he deserted. He returned to the farm where his father hid him until the end of the war, and he remained in hiding after the war. His father told everyone that he had been killed in action. Joe and Bob kept the secret, so Eric lived as a recluse. He slept during the day and worked at night, so he became the "ghost of Endley". (79 words)

#### Composition 作文 The Ghost of Endley 恩得利的鬼

\[1]When I came in to work one morning I noticed that work had been done overnight-some hay had been cut and the cowsheds and other buildings had been cleaned, so I decided to stay up all the next night to try to solve the mystery. (I didn't tell Joe and Bob, of course.) I hid in the barn and waited.

\[2]Obviously I fell asleep because I suddenly woke up to find that it was dark. I went straight to the cowshed and found that it had already been cleaned. Then I went out to the Felds where I could just see a figure working; I couldn't see whether it was a man, or a woman, or perhaps a ghost. I was scared, so I rushed back to the farmhouse and woke up the others. We all went out to the fields to see who it was, but when we got there, there was no one there.

\[3]When I was in the fields before, I didn't know what or who the figure was. But now I was sure it was a ghost so I immediately decided not to work at Endley Farm any longer and handed in my resignation. When I told my story to the villagers, many of them still didn't believe me, even though they knew that something strange had been going on at Endley Farm for years. (230 words)

## 学完这一课

用 woke up to find that… had been done 讲一个醒后发现的变化。

[Nce · 本册复习台](/new-concept/book-3/review) · [三册选择地图](/new-concept/)

*译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时、何景霖整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第100—102页，2022年2月第3版。*