永不磨灭的奇幻小说

Thousands of years ago， girls and boys would gather round the fire ready to lose themselves in a fantasy[虚幻的] story world filled with epic songs of love lost， blood-curdling[令人毛骨悚然的] warfare， trials[考验] of bravery and courage and vengeful[复仇心重的] gods and goddesses. They would be both entertained and educated and would pass on what they heard from one generation to the next.

Eventually， the oral epic tradition， home to Homers注1 Iliad and Odyssey， gave way to written manuscripts， begun in Britain by the 11th century Anglo-Saxon注2 poem Beowulf. Then came printed texts， widening the audience， and finally todays e-books.

The presentation[呈现] may have changed， but the fantasy epic still holds its appeal for young UK readers. It is a genre[体裁，流派] within which the imagination can truly run wild， taking readers to amazing places where anything can happen.

Children still delight in C.S.Lewis Chronicles of Narnia， written between 1949 and 1954， and buy J.K.Rowlings Harry Potter books in their millions. （Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows， sold 11 million copies in its first 24 hours across the UK and US.） Add to that the continued success of epic trilogies[三部曲] like J.R.R.Tolkiens Lord of the Rings and Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials and you have all the proof you need that fantasy fiction is likely to be around for thousands more years to come.

数千年前，男孩女孩们会围坐在火堆旁，做好准备让自己迷失在充满史诗的奇幻世界中，体会失去爱人的滋味和残酷的战争，接受勇气、胆量和睚眦必报的众神们的试练考验。这些奇幻小说兼具娱乐性与教育性，从上一代人那里听来的故事又会传给下一代人。

传统的口传史诗是荷马的《伊利亚特》和《奥德赛》的来源。最终，口口相传让步于手稿记录。这一过程始于11世纪的英国盎格鲁-撒克逊诗歌《贝奥武夫》。然后又出现了印刷文本，扩大了读者范围，最终演变成今天的电子书。

尽管呈现方式或许已经改变，但奇幻史诗对英国的年轻读者的吸引力依然不减。这是一种能让想象力真正肆意奔跑、把读者带到任何事情都可能发生的奇妙土地上的文学体裁。

孩子们依旧喜爱C.S.路易斯写于1949年到1954年间的《纳尼亚传奇》。数百万的孩子们也会购买J.K.罗琳的《哈利·波特》丛书（《哈利·波特与死亡圣器》发行24小时内就在英美两国卖了1100万本。）还有取得持续成功的史诗三部曲，比如J.R.R.托尔金的《魔戒三部曲》和菲利普·普尔曼的《黑暗物质三部曲》，而你手上握有的所有证据，都在证明奇幻小说很可能在接下来的数千年里依然陪伴在你左右。

Word of the day： Epic （n. / a.）

An epic is traditionally a story about the adventures of a brave and legendary[传奇的] hero. Epic can also be used as an adjective to describe something heroic or extraordinary. Nowadays it is often over-used， for example， teenagers may talk about “an epic party，”meaning a party that will never be forgotten.

Activity 1 True or False

1. Tales of bravery and adventure have been popular for thousands of years.

2. Society used to pass on knowledge through telling stories.

3. The Iliad is the name of an ancient written manuscript.

4. Fantasy fiction is loved because it captures peoples imaginations.

5. 11 million British people bought Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on the first day it was released.

Activity 2

Put these forms of stories in the correct order from earliest to latest.

1. written manuscripts

2. oral stories

3. e-books

4. printed texts

Activity 3

Find words in the text for the following： 1. violent battles

2. increasing the number of readers

3. to really enjoy something

4. a set of three books