Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English– the show that brings you an interesting topic, authentic listening practice and vocabulary to help you improve your language skills.I’m Dan…

大家好，欢迎收听六分钟英语，我是凯瑟琳。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。我是丹。

And I’m Catherine.In this programme we’ll be discussing mermaids, as well as teaching you 6 new items of vocabulary, of course…

我是凯瑟琳。在今天的节目中我们将讨论美人鱼，同时教你六个新单词。

How would you like to be a mermaid?

你觉得美人鱼是什么样子的？

A half-human and half-fish? Well, Dan, I think it’s all a myth.

半人半鱼？丹，我觉得这只是神话。

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。

I suppose I will. Go on then.

我猜也许是吧。继续说吧。

When did the most recent alleged mermaid sighting take place? Was it a) the 1400s b) 1800s or c) 2000s?

最近人们宣称看到美人鱼是什么时候？ a)15世纪， b) 19世纪， 还是 c) 20世纪？

Ok, and by alleged, you mean said or believed to be true but not proven.I don’t believe in mermaids, but I think there’s a lot of people who do, so I will say c) the 2000s.

宣称的，是指说或相信某事是真的，但并未证明。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。

Well, we’ll find out if you’re right a bit later on.So, what do you know about mermaids, Catherine?

我们之后再看你回答得是否正确。凯瑟琳，关于美人鱼你知道什么呢？

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. The males are called mermen, and they live in the ocean.I thought they were a myth.

美人鱼是指外表和女性类似，但是没有腿，而是有鱼尾。男性的美人鱼叫做男性人鱼，他们生活在海洋。我认为他们都是神话。

They certainly appear to be mythical.They feature in legends and stories from all over the world. The earliest known one in a story dates from ancient Assyria, around 1000 BC.Can you think of a more modern example?

他们当然是神话中的人物。全世界都有关于他们的传说和故事。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。你能想到一个更现代的例子吗？

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》。

Yes. But before it was an animated movie, it was a renowned fairy-tale written by Hans Christian Andersen, first published in 1837.Interestingly, a small bronze statue of the little mermaid has been sitting in Copenhagen in Denmark since 1913.

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。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。

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。

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？

You’re telling me fish tales, Dan.

你在讲故事吧，尼尔。

Ok. I’ll confess. They aren’t real mermaids.Each person is a normal human wearing a waist-high latex tail.They meet to share an interest in aquatic mythology, take underwater photos, and swim.For many of them, it’s a source of income too! Listen to Daniel Craig, five year merman, explain.

好吧，我承认。他们都不是真的美人鱼。每一个都是人穿着齐腰高的乳胶鱼尾。他们都对水生神话感兴趣，他们共同在水下拍照、游泳。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。

A lot of the mermaids we have attending here are professional mermaids. They will entertain at birthday parties, social events, company events.I stumbled across the mermaiding community merely by accident.

很多在此的美人鱼都是专业扮演人鱼的。他们会在生日派对、社会活动或公司活动中助兴。我也是偶然加入人鱼社团的。

So it’s a job too! A professional merman.And Daniel said that he stumbled across it, or found it by accident. So, it doesn’t really count then though, does it Dan?

这也是一种工作！专业的人鱼！丹尼尔说他也是偶然发现的。这不算是真的人鱼，不是吗丹？

A real, real mermaid? That’s a different kettle of fish, which is an idiomatic phrase that means a completely different matter or issue.Well, while we have no hard evidence, such as a photo of a real mermaid, there have been several sightings.One of the more recent ones was in 2009 in Haifa Bay.

真的人鱼？那是截然不同的事， different kettle of fish是指完全不同的事情或问题。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。最近的一次是2009年在海法港。

Hang on now, that rings a bell!That’s in Israel, isn’t it? And it allegedly appeared at sunset.Apparently the mermaid was doing tricks.

等等，这听起来很熟。那是在以色列，对不对？人们宣称美人鱼出现在日落时。显然美人鱼在耍把戏。

There you go then!

你又来了！

But there is no reason, Dan, to believe that it was anything other than a hoax,which means a deception or lie – often done for humour or sometimes cruelty. Well, real or not, it could be fun to be a mermaid.I wonder what it would be like?

但没有理由去相信一个骗局啊，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。不管真假，做一只美人鱼也很有意思。我很好奇那是什么感觉。

Well, that I can help with. Let Daniel Craig explain why he likes it so much.

这一点我可以帮上忙。让丹尼尔解释他为什么如此喜爱美人鱼。

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。

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。

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。

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。

I definitely did.I asked, when did the most recent alleged mermaid sighting take place? Was it a) the 1400s b) 1800s or c) 2000s?

确实如此。我问你最近人们宣称看到美人鱼是什么时候？ a)15世纪， b) 19世纪， 还是 c) 20世纪？

And I said I think it was the 2000s.

我觉得是20世纪。

And you have hit the nail on the head. Well done.

你回答正确！做得好！

Thank you.