Thousands of years ago， girls and boys would gather round the fire ready to lose themselves in a fantasy[虛幻的] story world filled with epic songs of love lost， blood-curdling[令人毛骨悚然的] warfare， trials[考驗] of bravery and courage and vengeful[復仇心重的] 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[呈現] may have changed， but the fantasy epic still holds its appeal for young UK readers. It is a genre[體裁，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.

數千年前，男孩女孩們會圍坐在火堆旁，做好準備讓自己迷失在充滿史詩的奇幻世界中，體會失去愛人的滋味和殘酷的戰(zhàn)爭，接受勇氣、膽量和睚眥必報的眾神們的試練考驗。這些奇幻小說兼具娛樂性與教育性，從上一代人那里聽來的故事又會傳給下一代人。

傳統的口傳史詩是荷馬的《伊利亞特》和《奧德賽》的來源。最終，口口相傳讓步于手稿記錄。這一過程始于11世紀的英國盎格魯-撒克遜詩歌《貝奧武夫》。然后又出現了印刷文本，擴大了讀者范圍，最終演變成今天的電子書。

盡管呈現方式或許已經改變，但奇幻史詩對英國的年輕讀者的吸引力依然不減。這是一種能讓想象力真正肆意奔跑、把讀者帶到任何事情都可能發(fā)生的奇妙土地上的文學體裁。

孩子們依舊喜愛C.S.路易斯寫于1949年到1954年間的《納尼亞傳奇》。數百萬的孩子們也會購買J.K.羅琳的《哈利·波特》叢書（《哈利·波特與死亡圣器》發(fā)行24小時內就在英美兩國賣了1100萬本。）還有取得持續(xù)成功的史詩三部曲，比如J.R.R.托爾金的《魔戒三部曲》和菲利普·普爾曼的《黑暗物質三部曲》，而你手上握有的所有證據，都在證明奇幻小說很可能在接下來的數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[傳奇的] 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