Level 4-Day 65.Romance Novels
高效磨耳朵 | 最好的英语听力资源
词汇提示
1.tales 故事
2.plot 构思
3.essence 本质
4.sworn 发誓
5.nanny 保姆
6.widower 鳏夫
7.proper 得体的
8.dubious 可疑的
9.pirate 海岛
10.spinster 老处女
11.traits 特点
12.feisty 易怒的
13.fiery 暴躁的
14.addictive 沉迷的
原文
Romance Novels
Novels are imaginary stories about people and events.
They are written to entertain and amuse.
Two thousand years ago, Greek writers told tales of young lovers.
Usually the lovers were separated by terrible events and were reunited only after much hardship and suffering
This plot idea is still in use today.
The most popular books for women today in North America are romance novels.
This means that romance publishing is big business and very competitive.
Companies survey their readers to determine the kinds of stories they like.
One survey asked readers whether or not they would like more references to sex in their novels.
Usually,romances are about love, not sex.
The essence of the romance is to create suspense by putting obstacles in the way of the lovers.
One simple obstacle is to make the hero and the heroine as different as possible.
For example, an Eastern school teacher meets a Western cowboy.
Of course, at first they don't like each other at all; but in time, they fall in love.
Quite often the heroine is a spinster who has sworn never to marry.
Or perhaps she has a special dislike for the hero and his family.
The romance writer must come up with a plausible way to bring the two together.
Sometimes,the heroine - out of a sense of duty – will move in with the hero to help him raise his children.
Or she may be a professional nanny who moves in with a widower.
A favorite plot is the marriage of convenience.
Two people who don't like each other get married for financial or political reasons, or for the sake of the children.
Later,of course, they fall in love.
Inmost cases, there is some particular obstacle to marriage.
Often either the hero or the heroine already has children, and he or she doesn't expect that anyone will want to take on their ready-made family.
Sometimes,one or the other has a physical disability, or is of a different race, class,or background.
For example, the heroine may come from a very strict and proper family, while the hero may have a dubious reputation, or even be a criminal.
The interest of the story lies in how these very different people come together.
Usually,the hero is a very masculine type – a cow boy, engineer, military man, pirate,gambler, etc.
The heroine is usually very female, but may have tomboy or spinster traits.
She frequently has a strong personality and a temper and is described as feisty or fiery.
A good example of the two types is Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind."
Nearly every romance novel will contain some promotional offer to encourage readers to order more books.
Romances can be addictive, and some women read them almost non- stop.
Some romances are very well written, but the majority follows a set formula.
That way, the reader always knows what to expect.
翻译
浪漫小说
小说是关于人和事的虚构故事。
它们是为了娱乐和娱乐而写的。
两千年前，希腊作家讲述了年轻恋人的故事。
通常，这对恋人因可怕的事件而分离，只有在经历了许多艰难困苦之后才得以重聚
这种情节构思至今仍在使用。
当今北美最受女性欢迎的书是爱情小说。
这意味着浪漫小说出版是一门大生意，竞争非常激烈。
公司会调查他们的读者，以确定他们喜欢的故事类型。
一项调查询问读者是否希望在他们的小说中更多地提到性。
通常，浪漫是关于爱，而不是性。
浪漫的本质是通过在恋人的道路上设置障碍来制造悬念。
一个简单的障碍是让男女主角尽可能地不同。
例如，一个东部学校的老师遇到了一个西部牛仔。
当然，一开始他们根本不喜欢对方;但随着时间的推移，他们相爱了。
女主角往往是一个发誓不结婚的老处女。
或者她对男主角和他的家人有一种特别的厌恶。
浪漫小说的作者必须想出一个合理的方法把这两者结合在一起。
有时，出于责任感，女主角会搬去和男主角住在一起，帮助他抚养孩子。
或者她可能是个职业保姆，搬去跟鳏夫住。
最受欢迎的情节是便利婚姻。
两个不喜欢对方的人因为经济或政治原因结婚，或者为了孩子。
当然，后来他们坠入爱河。
在大多数情况下，结婚会遇到一些特殊的障碍。
通常，男主角或女主角都已经有了孩子，他或她不希望有人愿意接受他们现成的家庭。
有时，其中一方有身体残疾，或来自不同的种族、阶级或背景。
例如，女主角可能来自一个非常严格和适当的家庭，而男主角可能有一个可疑的名声，甚至是一个罪犯。
这个故事的趣味在于这些截然不同的人是如何走到一起的。
通常，男主角都是非常男性化的类型——牛郎、工程师、军人、海盗、赌徒等等。
女主角通常很女性化，但也可能有假小子或老处女的特征。
她经常有强烈的个性和脾气，被描述为好斗或暴躁。
这两种类型的一个很好的例子是《乱世佳人》中的瑞德·巴特勒和斯嘉丽·奥哈拉。
几乎每本言情小说都会包含一些促销活动，以鼓励读者订购更多的书。
浪漫小说会让人上瘾，有些女人几乎不停地读。
有些爱情小说写得很好，但大多数都遵循一套套路。
这样，读者总是知道会发生什么。
