BBC六分钟英语听力精选：美人鱼：是真实还是虚幻？

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[00:10.00]Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English  大家好，欢迎收听六分钟英语，我是凯瑟琳。
[00:11.80]C the show that brings you an interesting topic, authentic listening practice and vocabulary to help you improve your language skills.  该节目会奉上有趣的话题，纯正的听力练习和单词，帮助你提高语言技能。
[00:17.50]I’m Dan…  我是丹。
[00:18.20]And I’m Catherine.  我是凯瑟琳。
[00:19.30]In this programme we’ll be discussing mermaids, as well as teaching you 6 new items of vocabulary, of course…  在今天的节目中我们将讨论美人鱼，同时教你六个新单词。
[00:26.00]How would you like to be a mermaid?  你觉得美人鱼是什么样子的？
[00:27.50]A half-human and half-fish?   半人半鱼？
[00:29.80]Well, Dan, I think it’s all a myth.  丹，我觉得这只是神话。
[00:31.90]Well, then you’ll find this week’s question a bit of a difficult one to answer.  那你会发现今天的问题有点难回答。
[00:36.00]I suppose I will. Go on then.  我猜也许是吧。继续说吧。
[00:37.50]When did the most recent alleged mermaid sighting take place?   最近人们宣称看到美人鱼是什么时候？
[00:41.10]Was it a) the 1400s b) 1800s or c) 2000s?   a)15世纪， b) 19世纪， 还是 c) 20世纪？
[00:45.50]Ok, and by alleged, you mean said or believed to be true but not proven.  宣称的，是指说或相信某事是真的，但并未证明。
[00:52.50]I don’t believe in mermaids, but I think there’s a lot of people who do, so I will say c) the 2000s.  我不相信美人鱼，但我想有很多人都相信，所以我选 c) 20世纪。
[00:59.00]Well, we’ll find out if you’re right a bit later on.  我们之后再看你回答得是否正确。
[01:01.80]So, what do you know about mermaids, Catherine?  凯瑟琳，关于美人鱼你知道什么呢？
[01:04.00]Well, a mermaid is a creature that’s similar in appearance to a woman but instead of legs, a mermaid has the tail of a fish.   美人鱼是指外表和女性类似，但是没有腿，而是有鱼尾。
[01:13.20]The males are called mermen, and they live in the ocean.  男性的美人鱼叫做男性人鱼，他们生活在海洋。
[01:17.40]I thought they were a myth.  我认为他们都是神话。
[01:19.10]They certainly appear to be mythical.  他们当然是神话中的人物。
[01:21.30]They feature in legends and stories from all over the world.   全世界都有关于他们的传说和故事。
[01:24.20] The earliest known one in a story dates from ancient Assyria, around 1000 BC.  最早为人知的美人鱼故事可以追溯至约公元前1000年的古亚述。
[01:29.90]Can you think of a more modern example?  你能想到一个更现代的例子吗？
[01:32.00]Many people will be familiar with the Disney story, The Little Mermaid.  很多人都很熟悉迪斯尼的《小美人鱼》。
[01:35.80]Yes. But before it was an animated movie, it was a renowned fairy-tale written by Hans Christian Andersen, first published in 1837.  是的。但在制作成动画电影前，它是汉斯?克里斯蒂安?安徒生创作的著名的童话故事，于1837年初次出版。
[01:43.80]Interestingly, a small bronze statue of the little mermaid has been sitting in Copenhagen in Denmark since 1913.  有意思的是，自1913年起，丹麦哥本哈根就伫立了一座小美人鱼的青铜雕塑。
[01:50.80]There you go! There’s no real evidence.  你又来这一套！没有真的证据证明有美人鱼的存在。
[01:53.40]What if I told you that over 200 mermaids have recently gathered in Greensboro, North Carolina in the USA?  如果我告诉你，美国北卡罗来纳州最近聚集了200名美人鱼呢？
[02:00.40]You’re telling me fish tales, Dan.  你在讲故事吧，尼尔。
[02:02.70]Ok. I’ll confess. They aren’t real mermaids.  好吧，我承认。他们都不是真的美人鱼。
[02:05.90]Each person is a normal human wearing a waist-high latex tail.  每一个都是人穿着齐腰高的乳胶鱼尾。
[02:10.20]They meet to share an interest in aquatic mythology, take underwater photos, and swim.  他们都对水生神话感兴趣，他们共同在水下拍照、游泳。
[02:15.20] For many of them, it’s a source of income too! Listen to Daniel Craig, five year merman, explain.  对于很多人来说，这也是他们的收入来源。让我们听听当了五年人鱼的丹尼尔・克雷格的解释。
[02:20.80]A lot of the mermaids we have attending here are professional mermaids.   很多在此的美人鱼都是专业扮演人鱼的。
[02:24.30]They will entertain at birthday parties, social events, company events.  他们会在生日派对、社会活动或公司活动中助兴。
[02:29.60]I stumbled across the mermaiding community merely by accident.  我也是偶然加入人鱼社团的。
[02:34.40]So it’s a job too! A professional merman.  这也是一种工作！专业的人鱼！
[02:37.00]And Daniel said that he stumbled across it, or found it by accident.   丹尼尔说他也是偶然发现的。
[02:41.30]So, it doesn’t really count then though, does it Dan?  这不算是真的人鱼，不是吗丹？
[02:44.00]A real, real mermaid?   真的人鱼？
[02:45.70]That’s a different kettle of fish, which is an idiomatic phrase that means a completely different matter or issue.  那是截然不同的事， different kettle of fish是指完全不同的事情或问题。
[02:51.10]Well, while we have no hard evidence, such as a photo of a real mermaid, there have been several sightings.  我们没有十足的证据，例如真的美人鱼的照片，还是有很多人表示看到过美人鱼。
[02:57.00]One of the more recent ones was in 2009 in Haifa Bay.  最近的一次是2009年在海法港。
[03:00.80]Hang on now, that rings a bell!  等等，这听起来很熟。
[03:02.80]That’s in Israel, isn’t it?   那是在以色列，对不对？
[03:04.60]And it allegedly appeared at sunset.  人们宣称美人鱼出现在日落时。
[03:07.20]Apparently the mermaid was doing tricks.  显然美人鱼在耍把戏。
[03:09.50]There you go then!  你又来了！
[03:10.20]But there is no reason, Dan, to believe that it was anything other than a hoax,  但没有理由去相信一个骗局啊，
[03:15.70]which means a deception or lie C often done for humour or sometimes cruelty.   hoax是指为了幽默感，有时是为残忍行为而做出的欺骗和谎言。
[03:20.70]Well, real or not, it could be fun to be a mermaid.  不管真假，做一只美人鱼也很有意思。
[03:24.40]I wonder what it would be like?  我很好奇那是什么感觉。
[03:26.00]Well, that I can help with.   这一点我可以帮上忙。
[03:27.90]Let Daniel Craig explain why he likes it so much.  让丹尼尔解释他为什么如此喜爱美人鱼。
[03:30.80]It’s just serene. It’s the perfect place for a temporary getaway.  很平静。是短暂逃离现实的完美去处。
[03:35.90]So he likes it because it’s serene, which means calm and peaceful.  他喜欢美人鱼是因为它很平静，静谧而祥和。
[03:40.70]Yes and he says it’s the perfect getaway, which is a place you go in order to escape from normal life.  没错，他还说那是绝佳逃离现实的方式，也就是一个可以让你逃离现实生活的去处。
[03:45.80]Well, I still don’t believe in mermaids, but I do believe, Dan, that you asked me a question.  我仍然不相信美人鱼，但我相信你问过我一个问题。
[03:50.80]I definitely did.  确实如此。
[03:52.00]I asked, when did the most recent alleged mermaid sighting take place?   我问你最近人们宣称看到美人鱼是什么时候？
[03:56.00]Was it a) the 1400s b) 1800s or c) 2000s?   a)15世纪， b) 19世纪， 还是 c) 20世纪？
[04:00.50]And I said I think it was the 2000s.  我觉得是20世纪。
[04:02.70]And you have hit the nail on the head. Well done.  你回答正确！做得好！
[04:05.10]Thank you.  谢谢。
[04:05.80]You’re right. It was the 2000s.   你答对了，是在20世纪。
[04:07.20]It was in 2012 in Zimbabwe and it was reported by the water resource minister.   2012年，津巴布韦的水资源部长报道的。
[04:12.90]Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this programme.   现在我们看看今天节目中的单词。
[04:15.10]Our first word was alleged or allege.   第一个词是宣称的，或宣称。
[04:17.40]If something is alleged it is said or believed be true but not proven to be true.  是指说过或相信某事是真的，但该事情并未得到证实。
[04:22.20]Can you think of a recent example, Catherine?  你能举一个最近的例子吗，凯瑟琳？
[04:24.10]US President Donald Trump has alleged that newspapers have been printing fake news, but apparently there’s no proof.  美国总统特朗普宣称报纸上说的都是假新闻，但显然没有证据。
[04:31.30]And our next one was stumbled across.  下一个单词是偶然发现。
[04:34.00]So, if you stumble across something you encounter or find it by accident.  是指你偶然遇到或偶然发现某事。
[04:38.10]It’s a phrasal verb and you could also say come across.   这是一个动词词组，你也可以用come across表达相同的意思。
[04:41.40]So, Dan, have you ever stumbled across anything unusual?  但你有没有偶然碰到什么不同寻常的事？
[04:44.90]Well, there was a time when I was going to a party in Holborn and I got completely lost.   有一次，我去霍尔本参加派对，但我完全迷路了。
[04:48.80]And there on the floor in front of me I stumbled across a map of London.  然后在我前方的地上，我发现了一张伦敦地图。
[04:53.20]It got me straight to the party.  地图引导我到了派对。
[04:54.80]Spooky.  有点令人毛骨悚然的。
[04:55.60]The next one after that was a different kettle of fish.  下一个单词是截然不同的事。
[04:58.00]A different kettle of fish is an idiomatic phrase which means a completely different matter or issue.  这个习语是指完全不同的事情或问题。
[05:03.20]You could also use the phrase a horse of a different colour.   你也可以用a horse of a different colour表达相同的意思。
[05:06.20]Next up, we had hoax. And a hoax is a deception or lie C which is often done for humour or cruelty.   下一个是hoax，是指欺骗或谎言，通常是为了幽默或者是残忍的行为。
[05:13.30]What was the last hoax you did, Dan?  你上一个谎言是什么？
[05:15.80]One Christmas I wrapped a broken lightbulb in a box and gave it to mother as a present.  一个圣诞节，我把一个破碎的电灯泡装进盒子里，作为礼物送给了我的母亲。
[05:20.50]I pretended to drop it and the broken lightbulb made a glass shattering noise and she thought that I had broken her present.  我假装把它掉到了地上，破碎的灯泡发出玻璃破碎的声音，我母亲以为我摔碎了她的礼物。
[05:26.80]After that we heard serene.   之后我们还有serene这个单词。
[05:28.40]Serene means calm and peaceful.   该词是指安静的，祥和的。
[05:30.50]The noun is serenity.   名词形式是serenity。
[05:32.20]What’s your idea of serene, Catherine?  你认为的静谧祥和是什么样子的？
[05:34.10]Two weeks, lying on the beach, drinking lemonade, listening to the sound of the sea.   两周的时间，躺在沙滩上，喝着柠檬汁，聆听大海的声音。
[05:38.50]Fabulous. And finally we had a getaway.   很奇妙。最后一个单词是逃离。
[05:41.70]A getaway is an informal word meaning a place you go in order to escape from normal life, such as a holiday.  这是一个非正式的表达，是指可以逃离正常生活的去处，例如假期。
[05:48.60]So, where’s your favourite getaway, Dan?  你最喜欢的逃离方式是什么？
[05:50.70]My favourite getaway is my yoga class.  我最喜欢的方式是瑜伽课。
[05:52.60]I find it really, really refreshing.   我觉得愈加真的很提神。
[05:54.50]Well, that’s the end of today’s 6 Minute English.  今天的六分钟英语就到这里。
[05:56.50]Please join us again soon!  我们下期再会！
[05:57.70]And we are on social media too, so make sure to visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.  我们也有社交媒体，记得访问我们的Twitter, Facebook, Instagram 和 YouTube。
[06:03.40]Bye!  再见！

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BBC六分钟英语听力精选：美人鱼：是真实还是虚幻？