托福听力TPO05精听讲义 | 讲座4:Folk Tales and Fairy Tales

Part I

Professor: Now we can't really talk about fairy tales without first talking about folktales because there's a strong connection between these two genres, these two types of stories. In fact, many fairy tales started out as folktales. So, what's a folktale? How would you characterize them? Jeff?

Student: Well, they are old stories, traditional stories. They were passed down orally within cultures from generation to generation, so they changed a lot over time. I mean, every storyteller, or, maybe every town, might have had a slightly different version of the same folktale.

我们不能在不先讨论民间故事的前提下去真正讨论童话故事，因为这两种类型，这两种类型的故事之间有很强的联系。

1. genre|ˈʒɑ:nrə|

noun. a particular type or style of literature, art, film or music that you can recognize because of its special features （文学、艺术、电影或音乐的）体裁，类型

E.g.: his love of films and novels in the horror genre

        他对恐怖电影和恐怖小说的热衷

2. characterize|ˈkærəktəraɪz|

verb. to describe or show the qualities of sb/sth in a particular way 描述，刻画，表现（…的特征、特点）

E.g.: activities that are characterized as ‘male ’ or ‘female ’ work

被描述为“男性”或“女性”工作的各种活动

3. pass down

to give or teach sth to your children or people younger than you, who will then give or teach it to those who live after them, and so on 使世代相传；流传

E.g.: It's a family recipe passed down [=handed down] from my great-grandmother.

 这是我们家从祖奶奶那辈传下来的秘方食谱。

Part II

Professor: That's right. There's local difference. And that's why we say folktales are communal. By communal, we mean they reflect the traits and the concerns of a particular community at a particular time. So essentially the same tale could be told in different communities, with certain aspects of the tale adapted to fit the specific community. Um, not the plot, the details of what happens in the story would remain constant. That was the thread that held the tale together. But all the other elements, like the location orcharacters, might be modified for each audience.

Okay, so what about fairy tales? They also are found in most cultures, but how are they different from folktales? I guess the first question is: what is a fairy tale? And don't anyone say “a story with a fairy in it”, because we all know that very few fairy tales actually have those tiny magical creatures in them. But, what else can we say about them? Mary.

所以基本上相同的故事可以在不同的社区讲述，但故事的某些方面会为适应某些特定的社区而作改编。

1. communal |kəˈmju:nl|

adj. communal means relating to particular groups in a country or society. 群体的;社区的;团体的

E.g.: Communal violence broke out in different parts of the country.

        在该国不同的地区发生了群体暴力事件。

2. trait |treɪt|

noun. a trait is a particular characteristic, quality, or tendency that someone or something has. 特征；特点；特性

E.g.: Creativity is a human trait.

       创造力是人类的一种特性。

3. plot|plɒt|

noun. the series of events which form the story of a novel, play, film/movie, etc. 故事情节；布局

E.g.: The book is well organized in terms of plot.

这本书的故事布局十分严谨。

4. constant|ˈkɒnstənt|

adj. that does not change 不变的；固定的；恒定的

E.g.: The average speed of the winds remained constant.

 平均风速保持不变。

5. thread|θred|

noun. an idea or a feature that is part of sth greater; an idea that connects the different parts of sth 线索；脉络；思绪；思路；贯穿的主线

E.g.: The author skilfully draws together the different threads of the plot.

 作者娴熟地把情节的各种线索串联在一起。

Part III

Student: Well, they seem to be less realistic than folktales... like they have something improbable happening - a frog turning into a prince, say. Oh, that's another common element, royalty - a prince or princess. And fairy tales all seem to take place in a location that's nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

Professor: What's the line-up? How do all those stories start? Once upon a time, in a faraway land... oh, in the case of folktales, each storyteller would specify a particular location and time, though the time and location would differ for different storytellers. With fairy tales, however, the location is generally unspecified, no matter who the storyteller is. That land far away... We'll come back to this point in a few minutes.

Student: Um... I thought that a fairy tale was just a written version of an oral folktale.

童话故事似乎都同时发生在一个无处所寻又无处不在的地方。

1. improbable |ɪmˈprɒbəbl|

adj. not likely to be true or to happen 不大可能真实的（或发生的）；不大可能的

E.g.: It seems improbable that the current situation will continue.

        王室成员和政坛要人参加了这个晚会。

2. royalty |ˈrɔɪəlti|

noun. one or more members of a royal family 王室成员

E.g.: The gala evening was attended by royalty and politicians.

生活在这个地区的一些罕见物种

3. line-up

noun. a set of items, events etc. arranged to follow one another 节目安排；项目安排

E.g.: A horror movie completes this evening's TV line-up.

        今晚电视节目最后安排了一部恐怖影片。

4. specify |ˈspesɪfaɪ|

verb. to state sth, especially by giving an exact measurement, time, exact instructions, etc. 具体说明；明确规定；详述；详列

E.g.: The contract clearly specifies who can operate the machinery.

合同明确规定谁可以操作机器。

Part IV

Professor: Well, not exactly, though that is how many fairy tales developed. For example, in the late 18th century, the Grimm Brothers traveled throughout what's now Germany, recording local folktales. These were eventually published as fairy tales, but not before undergoing a process of evolution.Now, a number of things happen when an oral tale gets written down. 

First, the language changes. It becomes more formal, more standard - some might say, "less colorful". It's like the difference in your language depending on whether you are talking to someone, or writing them a letter. Second, when an orally transmitted story is written down, an authoritative version with a recognized author is created. The communal aspect gets lost. The tale no longer belongs to the community. It belongs to the world, so to speak. Because of this, elements like place and time can no longer be tailored to suit a particular audience. So they become less identifiable, more generalizable to any audience.

这些民间故事最终以童话故事的形式出版，当然是在经历一番进化和改进之后。

1. Grimm Brothers

格林兄弟是指雅各布·格林和威廉·格林兄弟两人，他们是德国19世纪著名的童话搜集家、语言文化研究者。两人因兴趣相近，经历相似，合作研究语言学、搜集和整理民间童话与传说，故称“格林兄弟”。格林兄弟的许多作品流传甚广，如《白雪公主》、《睡美人》、《长发姑娘》、《灰姑娘》、《糖果屋》、《名字古怪的小矮人儿》和《青蛙王子》等故事。  

2. undergo |ˌʌndərˈgoʊ|

verb. to experience sth, especially a change or sth unpleasant 经历，经受（变化、不快的事等）

E.g.: Some children undergo a complete transformation when they become teenagers.

一些儿童进入少年期会完全变成另一个人。

3. transmit|trænsˈmɪt|

verb. If you transmit an idea or feeling to someone else, you make them understand and share the idea or feeling 传达，传输(思想、感情)

E.g.:The message they are transmitting to their daughters is very different from that of previous generations.

 他们向女儿传输的信息与上几代人截然不同。

4. authoritative |ɔ:ˈθɒrətətɪv|

adj. that you can trust and respect as true and correct 权威性的

E.g.: the most authoritative book on the subject

       这个学科最具权威的著作

5. so to speak

used to emphasize that you are expressing sth in an unusual or amusing way 可以说；可谓

E.g.: They were all very similar. All cut from the same cloth, so to speak.

        他们都十分相像。可以说就跟一块布上剪下来似的。

6. tailor |ˈteɪlə(r)|

verb. to make or adapt sth for a particular purpose, a particular person, etc. 专门制作；订做 

E.g.: Most travel agents are prepared to tailor travel arrangements to meet individual requirements.

       为了满足个别需要，大多数旅行社都愿意做出专门的旅游安排。

Part V

On the other hand, descriptions of characters and settings can be developed more completely. In folktales, characters might be identified by a name, but you wouldn't know anything more about them. But in fairy tales, people no longer have to remember plots. They're written down, right? So more energy can be put into other elements of the story like character and setting. So you get more details about the characters, about where the action takes place, what people's houses were like, er, whether they're small cabins or grand palaces. And it's worth investing that energy because the story, now in book form, isn't in danger of being lost. Those details won't be forgotten. If a folktale isn't repeated by each generation, it may be lost for all time. But with a fairy tale, it's always there in a book, waiting to be discovered, again and again.

Another interesting difference involves the change in audience. Who the stories are meantfor? Contrary to what many people believe today, folktales were originally intended for adults, not for children. So, why is it that fairy tales seem targeted toward children nowadays?

因此可以将更多的精力投入到故事的其他元素中，例如角色和背景。你就可以得到更多关于角色的细节，关于行为事件发生的地方，人们住的房子是什么样的，是小木屋还是大宫殿。

1. setting |ˈsetɪŋ|

noun. the place and time at which the action of a play, novel, etc. takes place （戏剧、小说等的）情节背景

E.g.: short stories with a contemporary setting

以当代生活为背景的短篇小说

2. invest|ɪnˈvest|

verb. to spend time, energy, effort, etc. on sth that you think is good or useful 投入（时间、精力等）

E.g.: She had invested all her adult life in the relationship.

 她把成年后的时间全用于维护那一关系。

3. mean|mi:n|

verb. to have sth as a purpose or intention 打算；意欲；有…的目的

E.g.: The chair was clearly meant for a child.

 这椅子显然是专为儿童预备的。

4. target |ˈtɑ:gɪt|

verb. to try to have an effect on a particular group of people 面向，把…对准（某群体）

E.g.: The campaign is clearly targeted at the young.

        这个宣传计划显然是针对青年人的。