LYRICS
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.
大家好。这里是 BBC 学习英语栏目的六分钟英语。我是内尔。
And I'm Georgina.
我是乔治娜。
Let me tell you a story, Georgina.
我给你讲个故事，乔治娜。
Are you ready?
你准备好了吗？
Yes!
准备好了！
Grandma had always warned me not to look into the mirror at midnight.
祖母总是警告我午夜的时候不要看镜子。
There was something strange about that mirror, she said.
她说那面镜子有古怪。
How childish - to believe silly stories!
真是幼稚——竟然相信这种蠢故事！
Later that night I heard a noise.
后来那天晚上我听到了一阵声响。
I woke up, dark and alone.
我起床了，周围黑黢黢，只有我一个人。
A clock chimed midnight.
闹钟在午夜报时。
The floorboards were creaking as I walked towards the mirror.
我走向那面镜子的时候地板发出吱呀声。
I looked into my face reflecting in the glass, when suddenly - my eye winked!
我看向镜子里我的倒影，突然——我的眼睛眨了一下！
Agh, stop, Neil!
啊，别说了，内尔！
You're scaring me!
你吓到我了！
Oh, sorry, Georgina!
哦，对不起，乔治娜！
OK, let's try another story: Once upon a time, there was a beautiful servant girl who lived with her wicked stepmother and two jealous stepsisters...
好的，我们换个故事：很久很久以前，有一个美丽的女仆和她恶毒的继母以及两个嫉妒心很强的姐姐住在一起......
Ah, that's better, Neil, and I know this story - Cinderella - more romantic and much less scary!
啊，这个好多了，内尔，我知道这个故事——灰姑娘——这个故事浪漫多了，一点都不吓人！
As you can see from Georgina's reaction, telling stories is a powerful way to connect and communicate with people - and the topic of this programme.
从乔治娜的反应可以看出来，讲故事是一个跟人联系和沟通的强有力的方式——这也是今天节目的话题。
Stories help us make sense of the world, which is why we've been telling them to each other for millennia - and why some of the earliest folk tales - stories that parents have told and passed on to their children over many years - are still being told today.
故事帮助我们理解世界，这也是为什么我们千百年来一直在互相讲故事——也是为什么一些最早的民间故事——多年来家长讲述的并传给下一代的故事——在今天仍然在被讲述着。
According to the novelist Sandra Newman, and other academics, there are seven classic plotlines which are constantly being recycled into new stories.
根据小说家桑德拉·纽曼和其他学者的说法，有七种经典的故事线在不断地在新故事反复使用。
They include 'rags to riches' plots, like Cinderella...
其中包括“白手起家”的剧情，例如灰姑娘......
'Defeating the monster' plots, like Dracula...
“打败怪兽”的剧情，例如德古拉......
...and other plots such as 'comedies', 'adventures' and 'tragedies'.
......还有其它的剧情，例如“喜剧”，“冒险”和“悲剧”。
So, my quiz question is this: which of the following well-known folk tales is a 'defeating the monster' story?
所以我今天的问题是：以下哪个知名的民间故事是一个“打败怪兽”的故事？
Is it a) Beowulf, b) Beauty and the Beast or, c) Goldilocks and the Three Bears?
是 A. 《贝奥武夫》，B. 《美女与野兽》，还是 C. 《金凤花和三只小熊》？
Well, they all have beasts, bears or wolves in the title, so I'll guess b) Beauty and the Beast.
嗯，它们的标题里都有野兽，熊或狼，所以我要猜 B. 《美女与野兽》。
OK, Georgina, we'll come back to that later.
好的，乔治娜，我们稍后会说回这个问题。
It's interesting to ask how we can explain the lasting appeal of these classic plotlines.
探寻我们如何解释这些经典故事情节为何如此吸引人很有趣。
Someone who might know is anthropologist and writer, Professor Jamie Tarani.
人类学家兼作家的杰米·塔拉尼教授可能知道为什么。
Here he is talking to BBC World Service's, The Why Factor.
以下是他对话 BBC 的世界服务节目《The Why Factor》。
See if you can spot his answer.
看看你能不能听出他的答案。
Often the reason why we feel so motivated to pass on stories is because the stories do tap into certain universal human fantasies and fears that will often transcend the concerns of particular times and places.
通常我们如此积极地想要把故事流传下去的原因是这个故事确实激发了某种特定的人类共有的幻想和恐惧，它们常常超越了某个特定时代或地点的问题。
We are intensely moralistic - most of the time, the bad guys have unhappy endings and the good guys have happy endings.
我们具有坚定的是非观——大部分时候坏人的结局不好，而好人会有好的结局。
We know that in the real world it doesn't actually work like that, so there's an element of wish-fulfillment that somehow satisfies our moral appetite.
我们知道在现实世界中其实并不是这样的，所以其中那种愿望实现的元素在某种程度上满足了我们的道德追求。
Stories from very different cultures often have plots with similar fantasies and fears.
不同文化的故事常常会有相似的想象和恐惧。
These human emotions are universal, meaning they exist everywhere and relate to everyone in the world.
这些人类的情感是共通的，意味着它们无处不在，并且世界上每个人都能够感同身受。
Classic stories work because they tap into basic human emotions - they understand and express what it means to be human.
经典的故事能够起作用是因为它们激发了基础的人类情绪——它们理解并表达出了生而为人的意义。
Unlike in the real world, stories can reinforce our sense of morality - evil stepmothers get punished, Cinderella marries her prince and everyone lives happily ever after.
跟现实世界中不同，故事可以加强我们的道德感——恶毒的继母得到了惩罚，灰姑娘和王子结婚，然后大家从此都过上了幸福快乐的日子。
In this way they create wish-fulfillment - the achievement of what we really want and desire.
通过这种方式它们创造出了愿望实现的感觉——达成了他们真正想要的。
Well, so much for plotlines, Neil, but that still doesn't explain how stories have the power to catch and hold our attention.
嗯，讲了很多故事线的内容，内尔，但是还是没有解释故事如何拥有抓住并保有我们注意力的能力。
Let's hear from novelist Sandra Newman, author of How Not To Write a Novel - a handbook of over 200 common mistakes.
我们来听一下小说家桑德拉·纽曼的说法，她是《如何写不出小说》的作者，这本书是一本包含了 200 多种常见错误的手册。
Here she tells BBC World Service's, The Why Factor, that her absolute number one storytelling rule is comprehensibility - people need to understand your story.
以下是她告诉 BBC 世界服务节目《The Why Factor》她讲故事的首要法则是可理解性——人们需要理解你的故事。
There are some people who actually are so unfortunately bad at communicating that even when they tell a story to another person it becomes incomprehensible.
很不幸，有些人其实很不擅长沟通，以至于连他们讲故事的时候，别人都听不懂。
And gradually as they stop making sense and ramble and digress and don't know where they're going, you see everybody not only lose interest but become hostile - people become very frustrated when someone is not getting to the point.
渐渐地当他们说的话不再有意义并且开始胡言乱语，离题，不知道自己说到哪里的时候，你会看到大家不仅会失去兴趣，还会变得充满敌意——当某个人说不到点子上的时候，人们会变得非常沮丧。
According to Sandra, the biggest mistake is incomprehensibility or not understanding the plot because the storyteller is rambling - talking in a confused way, going off the subject or not making sense.
根据桑德拉的说法，最大的错误就是无法理解或者说不理解情节，因为讲故事的人在胡言乱语——说话的方式令人困惑，跟主题无关或说不通。
When listeners give a story their time and attention, they want the storyteller to get to the point - start talking about the most important and relevant information.
当听众花时间和精力听故事的时候，他们希望讲故事的人能够说到点子上——谈论最重要和最相关的信息。
But to cut a long story short, Georgina, it's time to return to the quiz question.
但是长话短说，乔治娜，现在该回到我们的题目上了。
Remember I asked you which famous folk tale had a 'defeating the monster' plot.
还记得吗，我问你哪个著名的民间故事有一个“打败怪兽”的情节。
What did you say?
你说的是什么？
I said the answer was b) Beauty and the Beast.
我说答案是 B. 美女和野兽。
Was I right?
我答对了吗？
Your answer was...
你的答案是......
Oh, do get to the point, Neil!
哦，说重点，内尔！
...wrong!
......错误的！
In fact, the answer is, a) Beowulf - an Old English epic about the hero, Beowulf, who defeats dragons and beasts.
事实上，答案应该是 A. 《贝奥武夫》——一个古老的英国史诗，讲述了英雄贝奥武夫击败了龙和野兽的故事。
Well, Neil, there are two sides to every story, as the saying goes.
好的，内尔，老话说得好，任何故事都有两面。
So, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned, starting with folk tales - popular stories that have been told and passed down over generations.
我们来回顾我们学过的词汇吧，从民间故事开始——一直被讲述并代代相传的流行故事。
Many folk tales contain universal ideas - ideas which exist everywhere, in every age and culture.
很多民间故事都有共通的想法——各个年龄和文化中都存在的想法。
Stories tap into these ideas, meaning they understand, connect to and express them.
故事激发了这些想法——意味着它们理解，联系这些想法并表达了出来。
Wish-fulfillment means the achievement or realisation of things you really want and desire.
实现愿望意味着达成或实现了你想要的东西。
A good storyteller will never ramble - talk in a confused way, often going off the subject or not making much sense.
一个好的故事讲述着从不会胡言乱语——说话的方式令人困惑，常常离题或说不通。
And instead will get to the point - start talking about what is most important and relevant.
与之相反的是说到点子上——谈论最重要和最相关的内容。
That's all we have time for, but remember to join us again soon for the inside story on trending English topics and vocabulary, here at 6 Minute English.
这就是我们今天所有的内容，但是请记得再次收听我们的节目，在六分钟英语收获流行的英语话题和词汇背后的故事。
Bye for now!
再见！
Goodbye!
再见！
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