学习点：虚构和幻想 Vocabulary: fiction and fantasy

If you used your imagination to create a fantasy world, what accent would the characters speak in?

This month sees the return of the successful American television series, Game of Thrones. Set in a fantasy world of mythical castles and charming princesses, it is notable that all of the characters speak in British accents.

British actors have long portrayed sneering villains or brutish baddies in Hollywood films. From Dr Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs to the Sherriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, the hero can be American but his rival often speaks with a stiff British accentwhilstcurling his lip.

And now the same British accent is casting a spell over fantasy worlds too. From The Lord of the Rings to The Hobbit, Brits are frequently the stars of these filmic fantasyyarns.

Fantasy fiction is conjured up from old history books and folklore. So some people say that, as the English language is rooted in the medieval era, it carries a tradition and culture suited to the genre.

Historical screensagas include bewitching British accents too. This flight of fancy goes unchallenged even when they are set in ancient Rome or Greece. So a British accent often works its magic for these historical or fantasy tales as it provides an enchanting link to the past for modern audiences.

After all, would the triumph of the Harry Potter films have been such a fairytale success if he had spoken with an American accent?

• vocabulary [və´kæbjuləri, vəu-]   n.词汇；词汇量   (初中英语单词)
• imagination [i,mædʒi´neiʃən]   n.想象(力)   (初中英语单词)
• accent [´æksənt, æk´sent]   n.重音；口音 vt.重读   (初中英语单词)
• series [´siəri:z]   n.连续；系列；丛书   (初中英语单词)
• charming [´tʃɑ:miŋ]   a.可爱的；极好的   (初中英语单词)
• prince [´prins]   n.王子；亲王；君主   (初中英语单词)
• tradition [trə´diʃən]   n.传统；惯例；传说   (初中英语单词)
• culture [´kʌltʃə]   n.修养；文化；饲养   (初中英语单词)
• screen [skri:n]   n.银幕 vt.遮蔽   (初中英语单词)
• flight [flait]   n.逃走；飞行；班机   (初中英语单词)
• greece [gri:s]   n.希腊   (初中英语单词)
• triumph [´traiəmf]   n.胜利 vi.得胜，战胜   (初中英语单词)
• spoken [´spəukən]   speak的过去分词   (初中英语单词)
• fiction [´fikʃən]   n.小说；虚构；谎言   (高中英语单词)
• notable [´nəutəbəl]   a.显著的 n.名人   (高中英语单词)
• hollywood [´hɔliwud]   n.好莱坞   (高中英语单词)
• whilst [wailst]   conj.当...时候；虽然   (高中英语单词)
• historical [his´tɔrikəl]   a.历史(上)的   (高中英语单词)
• nottingham [´nɔtiŋəm]   n.诺丁汉   (英语四级单词)
• thieves [θi:vz]   thief的复数   (英语四级单词)
• medieval [,medi´i:vəl]   a.中古的；中世纪的   (英语四级单词)
• fantasy [´fæntəsi]   n.幻想(曲)，想象   (英语六级单词)