The death of a ghost

原文

For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted. 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 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.

译文

多年来，村民们一直相信恩德利农场闹鬼。农场由乔和鲍勃·考克斯两兄弟拥有。他们雇了几个农场工人，但没有人愿意在那里干长。每次一个工人辞职时，他都讲同一个故事。农场工人说，他们总是醒来发现夜间有人干了活。干草已被割掉，牛棚已被打扫干净。一个整夜未睡的农场工人声称在月光下看见一个身影在割谷物。渐渐地，人们公认考克斯兄弟雇了一个尽职的鬼魂，为他们做了大部分工作。

没有人怀疑农场里可能还有一个从未露面的人。这的确是事实。不久前，村民们惊奇地得知恩德利的“鬼魂”已经死了。大家都去参加了葬礼，因为这个“鬼魂”不是别人，正是埃里克·考克斯，三兄弟中的老三，据说他在青年时代就死了。葬礼之后，乔和鲍勃透露了一个他们保守了五十多年的秘密。

埃里克是家里的长子，比他的两个兄弟大很多。在第二次世界大战期间，他被迫参军。由于他痛恨军旅生活，他决定开小差。当他得知将被派往国外时，他逃回了农场，他的父亲把他藏起来直到战争结束。战后，由于害怕当局，埃里克继续藏匿。他的父亲告诉大家埃里克已阵亡。知道这个秘密的只有乔和鲍勃。他们甚至没有告诉他们的妻子。当他们的父亲去世后，他们认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来。这些年来，埃里克一直过着隐居的生活。他常常白天睡觉，晚上干活，完全不知道自己已成为恩德利的“鬼魂”。然而，当他死后，他的兄弟们发现再也无法保守这个秘密了。

词汇表

haunted

形容词

英:/ˈhɔːntɪd/

美:/ˈhɔːntɪd/

定义

1. 闹鬼的；幽灵出没的 - Frequented or inhabited by ghosts or spirits.

例子: The old house was haunted, and no one dared to live there.

例子: People avoided the haunted farm after hearing the stories.

2. 萦绕心头的；困扰的 - Preoccupied or troubled by persistent thoughts or memories.

例子: He was haunted by memories of the war.

例子: The accident left her haunted for years.

近义词

ghostly: 强调更神秘或超自然的氛围，与 'haunted' 类似，但更侧重于鬼魂般的样子。

eerie: 暗示一种诡异或不舒服的感觉，'haunted' 更具体地涉及鬼魂，而 'eerie' 更泛指氛围。

spooky: 更口语化，常用于非正式语境，'haunted' 更正式地描述实际的鬼魂存在。

反义词:

peaceful, serene, untroubled

用法

常用于描述被鬼魂或回忆困扰的地方或人，常见于故事或超自然语境中，如 'a haunted house'，在正式和非正式场合均可使用。

形式:

过去分词: haunted, 副词形式: hauntingly

深入解析：关键句型 "The farm was owned by two brothers."

定义

这个句型是典型被动语态的表达形式，用于描述某事被他人或事物所影响，而非主动执行者。结构为：主语 + be 动词 + 过去分词 + by + 施动者。例如，在权威教材如《新概念英语》或《剑桥英语语法》中，它被定义为被动语态的基本句型，强调动作的接受者而非执行者。在这个句型中，was owned 表示过去某个时间点的状态，核心含义是突出结果或状态，而非谁在主动做这件事。

用法

此句型常用于正式描述、新闻报道或故事叙述中，当焦点在事件的结果上而非施动者时。例如，文章中如 "Hay had been cut"，它用于表示过去发生的动作影响了现在或后续事件。规则包括：be 动词根据主语人称和时态变化（如 is, was, has been），过去分词保持不变；by 短语可选，用于指定施动者。在语法体系中，它链接到主动语态的转换，帮助学生理解主被动之间的关系。跨语法点联系：它与过去时（Past Simple）相关，因为 "was" 是过去时形式；同时，与完成时结合时（如 "had been done"），可以扩展到过去完成时，展示时间序列的复杂性。

注意事项

学生易犯的错误包括：混淆主动和被动，导致句子逻辑混乱，例如说 "Two brothers owned the farm" 时忘记了需要强调结果；另一个常见偏误是遗漏 be 动词，如说 "The farm owned by two brothers"，这会使句子不完整。纠正建议：总是检查句子是否需要突出接受者，如果是，就使用被动语态；练习时，注意时态一致性，避免在被动句中错误使用现在分词。还需注意，在口语中，被动语态有时显得正式，如果语境是 casual 的，最好用主动语态替换。此外，学生可能忘记 by 短语的省略，例如在 "The book was written" 中，不必总是加 by someone，以免句子冗长。

练习

一个额外的例子：在文章灵感下，你可以说："The secret was kept by the brothers for over fifty years." 这帮助学生练习被动语态的过去时。通过这个例子，学生可以尝试替换主语和过去分词，如 "The farm was sold by the family."，并在上下文中应用，强化对句型的掌握。

额外内容

背景知识：被动语态起源于拉丁语语法，在英语中发展为表达客观性的工具。对比分析：与主动语态相比，被动语态更侧重于动作的结果，常用于科学或新闻写作中。例如，在中文中类似结构如 "农场被两个兄弟拥有"，但英语更强调时态变化。补充信息：掌握这个句型后，学生能更好地处理复杂叙述，如历史事件描述，进而提升阅读和写作技能，如在描述社会现象时说 "The policy was implemented by the government."，这有助于建立更全面的语法网络。

深入解析：关键句型 "A farm worker who stayed up all night claimed to have seen a figure."

定义

这个句型包含定语从句，用于修饰主句中的名词，提供额外描述。结构为：主句 + who/which + 从句，其中 who 引导定语从句修饰人。权威教材如《新概念英语》定义它为关系从句的基本形式，强调用 who 连接主从句，核心含义是扩展名词的细节，使句子更丰富和连贯。

用法

此句型常用于描述人物或事件，提供背景信息，常出现在叙述性文章中。例如，文章中 "A farm worker, who stayed up all night claimed..." 用于添加细节。规则是：who 用于指人，从句必须是完整的句子；从句的位置通常紧跟被修饰词。在语法体系中，它链接到从句结构，帮助学生从简单句过渡到复合句。跨语法点联系：它与动词时态相关，如 "claimed to have seen" 涉及不定式完成时；同时，与主从句连接器（如 that, which）相关，形成更复杂的句子，如与时间状语结合。

注意事项

学生易犯的错误包括：误用 who 和 which，如用 which 修饰人，或在从句中遗漏动词，使句子不完整，例如说 "A farm worker who stayed up all night" 而不接主句。另一个偏误是逗号的使用，文章中用了逗号隔开非限制性定语从句，但学生可能忽略，导致歧义。纠正建议：记住 who 专用于人，并练习区分限制性和非限制性从句；写作时，确保从句逻辑完整，避免悬垂修饰。还需注意文化语境，在英语中，这种句型常用于故事增强悬念，但 overuse 可能使句子过于复杂。

练习

一个额外的例子：基于文章，你可以说："Eric, who had been hiding for years, was finally revealed." 这让学生练习定语从句的运用。通过这个例子，学生可以修改为 "The brothers who knew the secret kept it hidden."，并在对话或写作中应用，强化句型灵活性。

额外内容

背景知识：定语从句源于古英语的从句结构，在现代英语中是复合句的核心。对比分析：与简单句相比，它更能表达复杂信息，如中文的 "一个整夜未睡的农场工人声称看到一个身影"，英语通过 who 使其更精炼。补充信息：学习此句型后，学生能提升阅读效率，尤其在长篇故事中识别关键细节，并扩展到高级语法，如使用 whom 或 whose，从而丰富表达方式。