『新东方在线托福听力』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 5 Lec 4听力练习：What is the lecture mainly about?原文题目答案解析，TPO/Official 5 Lec 4听力原文范文音频翻译。

托福TPO/Official 5 Lec 4听力原文What is the lecture mainly about?-新东方托福官方网校手机版

独白：请听文学课上一段演讲辞

Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a literature class.

教授：在讲童话之前我们要讲一下民谣，因为这两种不同类型的故事之间有很紧密的关联。

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.

事实上，很多童话故事都是以民谣的形式开始的。

In fact, many fairy tales started out as folktales.

民谣又有什么特征呢？Jeff你觉得呢？

Jeff：嗯，民谣是古老的故事，传统的故事。

Jeff: Well, they are old stories, traditional stories.

他们是在某一文化领域内代代口头相传下来的。因此他们随着时代的变迁而改变。

They were passed down orally within cultures from generation to generation, so they changed a lot over time.

我的意思是，每一个讲民谣的人，抑或在每一个不同的城镇，都有对同一个故事不同的描述。

I mean, every storyteller, or, maybe every town, might have had a slightly different version of the same folktale.

教授：你说得对。这就是当地的不同之处。

Professor: That's right. There's local difference.

也是为什么我们说民谣是公共的。

And that's why we say folktales are communal.

说他们是公共的，我们指的是他们反映了在某一特定时段某一群体的特征和重要的事。

By communal, we mean they reflect the traits and the concerns of a particular community at a particular time.

因此本质上说，同一个故事在不同的群体中会有不同的版本，而故事的某一方面符合当地群体的某一方面特征。

So essentially the same tale could be told in different communities, with certain aspects of the tale adapted to fit the specific community.

嗯，故事中的情节和细节都不会一成不变。

Um, not the plot, the details of what happens in the story would remain constant.

That was the thread that held the tale together.

而其他因素，比如故事发生的地点人物的特征，每一个听众都有可能有所修改。

But all the other elements, like the location or characters, might be modified for each audience.

童话也产生于大多数文化，但他们与民谣相比有什么不同呢？

They also are found in most cultures, but how are they different from folktales?

我想第一个问题就是：什么是童话？

I guess the first question is: what is a fairy tale?

不要说故事中有仙女出现就是童话，因为我们都知道童话里面真的很少会出现这些小型的魔法精灵。

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.

那么，还有什么其他的因素呢？Mary你来说说。

But, what else can we say about them? Mary.

Mary：嗯，童话似乎没有比民谣真实。童话中有一些事是不可能发生的，比如青蛙变王子。

Mary: Well, they seem to be less realistic than folktales, like they have something improbable happening - a frog turning into a prince, say.

哦，还有另一个一般的因素：王室，王子和公主的故事。

Oh, that's another common element, royalty - a prince or princess.

还有，童话故事发生的地点不是可以不存在，也可以同时在任何一个地方。

And fairy tales all seem to take place in a location that's nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

教授：童话故事是怎么进展的呢？

很久以前，在一个遥远的地方……哦，民谣中，讲故事的人都会说到事件发生的时间和地点，尽管这两者对不同的人来说有所不同。

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.

然而，童话中的地点通常是不具体的，不管是谁讲的故事。

With fairy tales, however, the location is generally unspecified, no matter who the storyteller is.

遥远的地方……过后我们在回过头来说这点。

That land far away... We'll come back to this point in a few minutes.

学生：嗯，我，我想童话故事就是口头民谣的书面版本。

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

教授：嗯，不一定。尽管有多少民谣就有多少童话。

Professor: Well, not exactly, though that is how many fairy tales developed.

比如，十八世纪晚期，格林兄弟周游现在的德国境内，记录下当地的民谣。

For example, in the late 18th century, the Grimm Brothers traveled throughout what's now Germany, recording local folktales.

这些记录最后都被当做童话故事出版，但是在经历了改革的浪潮之后才出版的。

These were eventually published as fairy tales, but not before undergoing a process of evolution.

当口头故事被记录下来的时候相伴着会有很多东西改变。

Now, a number of things happen when an oral tale gets written down.

语言变得更为正式，更为标准，一些人可能会说，逊色了不少。

It becomes more formal, more standard - some might say, “Less colorful”.

这种不同之处就像你使用语言时一样，看你是跟某人说话还是给某人写信。

It's like the difference in your language depending on whether you are talking to someone, or writing them a letter.

其次，当口头相传的故事写下来的时候，就诞生知名作家的权威版本。

Second, when an orally transmitted story is written down, an authoritative version with a recognized author is created.

The tale no longer belongs to the community.

因此，故事发生的地点和时间不再适合某一特定的听众。

Because of this, elements like place and time can no longer be tailored to suit a particular audience.

因此故事的特征变得不明显，而是很普遍。

So they become less identifiable, more generalizable to any audience.

换句话说，人物特征和故事场景的描述发展得更为完善。

On the other hand, descriptions of characters and settings can be developed more completely.

民谣中的人物可以通过名字来识别，但你会知道更多信息。

In folktales, characters might be identified by a name, but you wouldn't know anything more about them.

而在童话中，人们不在需要记住情节，

But in fairy tales, people no longer have to remember plots.

那么读者能把更多精力放在其他因素上，像人物和场景描述。

So more energy can be put into other elements of the story like character and setting.

这样你得到更多人物的细节信息，故事发生的地点，人物所住的房子什么样，额，他们是否住在小平房中还是宏伟的宫殿。

So you get more details about the characters, about where the action takes place, what people's houses were like, ur, whether they're small cabins or grand palaces.

把精力投入到这些上是值得的，因为以书本形式呈现出来的故事不会有丢失的风险。

And it's worth investing that energy because the story, now in book form, isn't in danger of being lost.

如果民谣没有通过每一代人反复陈述，也可能会永远消失。

If a folktale isn't repeated by each generation, it may be lost for all time.

但是童话故事却安逸得待在书本中，等待一次又一次的发现。

But with a fairy tale, it's always there in a book, waiting to be discovered, again and again.

另外一个有趣的不同是关于听众的改变。

Another interesting difference involves the change in audience.

和现在人们所想不同的是，民谣一开始是面向成人的，而不是儿童的。

Contrary to what many people believe today, folktales were originally intended for adults, not for children.

那么为什么现在似乎童话的目标读者是儿童呢？

So, why is it that fairy tales seem targeted toward children nowadays?

What does the professor mean when he says that folktales are communal?

Why does the professor clarify the concept of a "fairy"?

What does the professor say about the setting of fairy tales?

In the lecture, the professor discusses characteristics of folktales and fairy tales, indicate the characteristics of each type of the tale (fairy tales)

Narrator 
Listen to part of a lecture in a literature class. 
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? 
Jeff: 
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. 
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 or characters, might be modified for each audience. 
Okay. So what about fairy tales? Th…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. 
Mary: 
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. 
So, what's a folktale? How would you characterize them? Jeff? 
Jeff: 
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. 
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 or characters, might be modified for each audience. 
Okay. So what about fairy tales? Th…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. 
Mary: 
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, I thought that a fairy tale was just a written version of an oral folktale. 
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. 
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, ur, 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 meant for? 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? 
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.