2023年02月10日 VOA慢速英语：从此幸福快乐：童话故事中的场景、动作和教训

 

Recently, we discussed traditional stories called fairy tales. These stories are passed down through the generations.
最近，我们讨论了称为童话的传统故事。这些故事代代相传。
 
We learned that these tales take place at an inexact time in the past: once upon a time or long ago. They include wonderful characters and magical elements like special numbers and talking animals!
我们了解到这些故事发生在过去的一个不准确的时间：从前或很久以前。它们包括奇妙的角色和神奇的元素，如特殊数字和会说话的动物！
 
But that was just the start of these special stories. In today's Everyday Grammar, we will consider how fairy tales end. We also will talk about the setting, the action of the story, and the life lessons a reader might learn.
但这只是这些特殊故事的开始。在今天的日常语法中，我们将考虑童话故事的结局。我们还将讨论背景、故事情节以及读者可能学到的人生教训。
 
Settings
设置
The setting of a story answers questions about "where" it takes place. Since most fairy tales are very old stories, they take place in settings like forests, castles, villages, small countryside houses, or farms.
故事的背景回答了关于它发生在“哪里”的问题。由于大多数童话都是非常古老的故事，它们发生在森林、城堡、村庄、乡间小房子或农场等环境中。
 
Readers need to create a picture of these places in their minds. Fairy tales use adjectives to describe the wonderous settings.
读者需要在脑海中描绘出这些地方的画面。童话故事使用形容词来描述奇妙的场景。
 
Let's look at a few examples:
让我们看几个例子：
 
In the fairy tale, Puss in Boots, the hero, is a cat (which wears boots) that enters the "stately castle" of an ogre. There, the cat tricks the giant creature into turning himself into a mouse which the cat immediately eats. In the castle, there are "spacious halls," which the cat will later walk through with the king.
在童话故事中，主人公穿靴子的猫是一只猫（穿靴子），它进入了食人魔的“庄严城堡” 。在那里，猫欺骗了这个巨大的生物，让它把自己变成了一只老鼠，猫立即吃了它。在城堡里，有“宽敞的大厅”，猫后来会和国王一起穿过这些大厅。
 
The adjective "stately" means something that is impressive in appearance, behavior or size.
形容词“stately”是指在外观、行为或大小方面令人印象深刻的事物。
 
"Spacious" is another adjective meaning wide, open and with a lot of room or space. The use of special adjectives in fairy tales is meant to paint a picture in the mind that makes the story come to life.
“宽敞”是另一个形容词，意思是宽阔、开放和有很多房间或空间。在童话故事中使用特殊形容词是为了在脑海中描绘一幅使故事栩栩如生的图画。
 
In the Grimm Brothers' telling of Snow White, the opening setting helps describe something else … Snow White, herself:
在格林兄弟对白雪公主的讲述中，开场设置有助于描述其他东西……白雪公主，她自己：
 
White snow was falling, and the cruel queen was sitting by a window surrounded by black material. She stuck her finger with her sewing needle, creating red drops of blood. The Queen asked for a child with these colors. Pale, or snow-white skin, black hair, and rosy, red cheeks and lips.
白雪飘落，残酷的女王坐在被黑色材料包围的窗边。她用缝纫针扎手指，留下红色的血滴。女王想要一个拥有这些颜色的孩子。苍白或雪白的皮肤，黑色的头发，红润的脸颊和嘴唇。
 
In this telling, the setting creates a magical picture of our main character even before she appears in the story.
在这个故事中，场景甚至在她出现在故事​​中之前就为我们的主角创造了一幅神奇的画面。
 
Let's move onto "actions" in the fairy tales
让我们进入童话故事中的“动作”
 
Actions
动作
 
A hero or heroine might meet other important characters, fight an evil villain, complete a magical task, or adventure, or do something three times. There are many possibilities!
男女主角可能会遇到其他重要角色，与邪恶的恶棍战斗，完成魔法任务或冒险，或者做三遍。有很多可能性！
 
The action of the story answers the question: "What is happening?" It describes the events or plot of the story. We can look at the verbs and adverbs in the fairy tale to see how the plot develops and where the conflict comes in.
故事的情节回答了这个问题：“发生了什么事？” 它描述了故事的事件或情节。我们可以看看童话故事中的动词和副词，看看情节是如何发展的，冲突是从哪里来的。
 
Here is an example from The Snow Maiden:
这是雪少女中的一个例子：
 
"She grew very rapidly – not only daily but hourly – into a tall, beautiful, and graceful girl…"
“她长得非常快——不仅每天而且每小时——变成一个高大、美丽、优雅的女孩……”
 
We see that the writer uses "grew" as the verb and "rapidly," "daily," and "hourly" to intensify the reader's understanding of the Snow Maiden's growth.
我们看到作者使用“成长”作为动词，并使用“迅速”、“每天”和“每小时”来加深读者对雪姑娘成长的理解。
 
After a time, spring comes and so does conflict. Because the weather is warm, the Snow Maiden is sad, and she does not want to play with her friends in the forest. After a while, she finally agrees, but something happens…
过了一段时间，春天来了，冲突也来了。因为天气暖和，雪姑娘很伤心，她不想和她的朋友们去森林里玩了。过了一会儿，她终于同意了，但是发生了一些事情……
 
As the Snow Maiden "was jumping over the flames after her companions, she evaporated into a thin cloud…"
当雪姑娘“在她的同伴们身后跳过火焰时，她蒸发成了薄薄的云……”
 
Here we see the phrasal verb "to jump over" in the past progressive form. And we see the verb "evaporate," which is a highly descriptive verb meaning "to disappear into nothing."
在这里，我们看到了过去进行时形式的短语动词“to jump over”。我们看到动词“evaporate”，这是一个高度描述性的动词，意思是“消失得无影无踪”。
 
And this brings us to lessons and closings.
这给我们带来了教训和闭幕。
 
Lessons and closings
教训和关闭
 
Not all fairy tales teach morals or lessons for our daily lives, but many do. Fables are such stories. They often use animals that behave like humans to teach lessons about life. These tales often end with a moral.
并非所有的童话故事都在为我们的日常生活教授道德或教训，但很多童话故事确实如此。寓言就是这样的故事。他们经常使用行为像人类的动物来教授有关生活的课程。这些故事通常以寓意结尾。
 
For example, in the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, the country mouse visits his cousin, the town mouse. In the busy town, their fancy dinner is interrupted by two large dogs.
例如，在《城里老鼠》和《乡下老鼠》中，乡下老鼠拜访了他的堂兄城里老鼠。在繁忙的小镇上，他们的丰盛晚餐被两条大狗打断了。
 
The moral of the story is: It is better to live in peace and quiet and have a simple life, than to live in fear surrounded by comfortable objects.
这个故事的寓意是：与其生活在被安逸之物包围的恐惧中，不如安居乐业，过着简单的生活。
 
The final words in many fairy tales are well known. After the hero or heroine succeeds or there is a marriage, "they all lived happily ever after."
许多童话故事的最后一句话是众所周知的。男女主人公成功或结婚后，“从此过上了幸福的生活”。
 
This phrase provides a summary to finish the story and leave readers with good thoughts. We often expect "happy endings" to many of our stories, not just fairy tales.
这句话提供了一个总结来完成这个故事，并给读者留下美好的想法。我们经常期望我们的许多故事都有“幸福的结局”，而不仅仅是童话故事。
 
Although many fairy tales do end this way, others might not. For example, the Snow Maiden ends sadly for the old husband and wife who wanted a child. The Snow Maiden evaporates while jumping over a fire.
虽然许多童话故事确实以这种方式结束，但其他童话故事可能不会。比如《雪女》，为了想要孩子的老夫老妻，悲情收场。雪姑娘在跳过火堆时蒸发了。
 
Final thoughts
最后的想法
 
Today, we talked about fairy tale endings, which do not always end "happily ever after." We answered the question of "where" when we talked about settings. We learned how adjectives can describe those places. We also considered the actions and plots of some fairy tales. By using verbs and adverbs, writers develop stories or create interesting conflict. And, we gave some thought to the morals or lessons of the tales, especially with fables.
今天，我们谈到了童话故事的结局，结局并不总是“从此幸福快乐”。我们在谈到设置时回答了“在哪里”的问题。我们了解了形容词如何描述这些地方。我们还考虑了一些童话故事的动作和情节。通过使用动词和副词，作家可以展开故事或制造有趣的冲突。而且，我们对故事的道德或教训进行了一些思考，尤其是寓言。
 
Let's close with some homework. Do you remember the fairy tale you chose a few weeks ago? Answer the following questions: Where does the fairy tale take place? What verbs and adverbs are used to talk about the action or plot of the tale? Is there a moral or lesson? What is it?
让我们做一些家庭作业。你还记得你几周前选择的童话故事吗？回答下列问题：童话故事发生在哪里？哪些动词和副词用于谈论故事的动作或情节？有道德或教训吗？它是什么？
 
After that, consider: How does the fairy tale end? Is there a "happily ever after" ending? Or is it sad?
之后，考虑：童话故事如何结束？有“从此幸福快乐”的结局吗？还是难过？