【一起听英语】超自然

你相信超自然生物的存在吗？影片中和小说中的情节总是很吸引人，巫师、吸血鬼他们真的存在吗？

 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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Michelle: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m

Michelle and joining me today is Neil.

Neil: Hello there.

Michelle: Now it may be well past Halloween but our topic today is a tale of the strange and

supernatural. We’re talking about witches.

But before we start on our mysterious journey, I’ve got a quiz question for you

Neil. Are you ready?

Neil: Yes come on then.

Michelle: How many people across Europe do you think were executed for witchcraft¹ -

that’s the practice of magic - between the years 1500 and 1800? Was it:

a) 10,000 people

b) 20,000 people

c) 50,000 people

Neil: Well, you'd hope it was none of them really – that sounds awful to be executed for

making magic. But let's go with a) 10,000 because I hope it's nobody really.

Michelle: OK, well you’ll find out the answer at the end of the programme. Our scene is set

in Pendle Hill in the north-west of England. Engineers doing maintenance work

there were extremely surprised to find the remains² of a seventeenth century house,

which some people believe may be linked to a group of witches.

Neil: Yes, the Pendle witches were a group of people who were famously tried for

murder for witchcraft in the seventeenth century. Ten of them were found guilty

and they were hanged.

Michelle: So Pendle Hill has strong links with witchcraft and folklore³. And the history of

the area remains a tourist attraction today.

Neil: There’s even a special traffic sign warning witches not to fly low on their

broomsticks or any faster than 30 miles per hour! 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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Michelle: And now some people think that the hidden cottage discovered by engineers may

have belonged to one of the Pendle witches.

Neil: But what’s the real story behind these people who were so treated unfairly - or

persecuted⁴ - for being witches?

Michelle: Let’s listen to local tourist guide Simon Entwistle talking about the story behind

the Pendle witches. What does he say was their real crime?

Simon Entwistle, tourist guide

Their only crime in life was to be poor really, and they would beg off local people. And if local

people wouldn’t cough up any money, they would curse them and some of them actually

believed they did in fact have witches’ powers.

BBC reporter: Ten villagers were hanged. Simon believes the house just dug up is where they’d

met.

Simon Entwistle: For a historian tour guide like me, it’s like finding Tutankhamen’s tomb, it’s of

such great significance.

Michelle: So did you catch what he said the witches’ only real crime was?

Neil: Yes. He said their only real crime was to be poor.

Michelle: So it’s a really sad story really isn’t it?

Neil: The so-called witches may have begged people for money. And then if people

didn’t give them any, they would curse them. This means to use supernatural

powers to hurt someone.

Michelle: Tourist guide Simon Entwistle said they would curse local people if they

wouldn’t ‘cough up any money’. To cough up is a way of saying to produce

something, normally money.

Neil: But he certainly sounds very excited about the discovery of what could be a

witches’ house. He even says that to him, it’s like finding Tutankhamen’s tomb!

Michelle: And he might be right, because when an archaeologist was brought in, he found

the bones of a cat which had apparently⁵ been mummified.

Neil: Mummification is a way the ancient Egyptians preserved a person’s, or in this

case animal’s body, after they had died. 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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Michelle: And even more strangely, the mummified cat was found hidden in one of the

walls of the house.

Neil: And of course witches are often associated with magical animals, especially cats.

Michelle: Let’s hear from archaeologist Frank Giecco. Does he think that the evidence

points to a witch having lived in the house centuries ago?

Frank Giecco, Archaeologist

So here’s the cat, in all its glory.

BBC reporter: When an archaeologist was brought in, he found the remains of a mummified cat

sealed into a wall.

How old is that?

Well the hallway was blocked about two hundred years ago, judging by the bricks in it. The

building’s definitely going back to the 17th Century so that fits in with the period. But we’ve got

no evidence to actually concrete connect this up with the witches; that’s just a stab in the dark.

Michelle: So what do you think Neil? Does it sound like there’s much evidence for the

cottage having belonged to witches?

Neil: Well, he said there’s no real evidence connecting the house to witches. But he did

say that the building goes all the way back to the seventeenth century, which is

around the time of the witches’ trial in Pendle Hill. And of course there’s that

mummified cat found hidden in a wall. Very strange!

Michelle: It all sounds very intriguing⁶ doesn’t it? But you’re right, the archaeologist thinks

there’s no real evidence connecting the house to the Pendle witches. And he uses

an interesting expression. He says it’s a stab in the dark, meaning it’s a guess or

speculation⁷.

Neil: But whether the new discovery is connected to witches or not, Pendle Hill still has

an eerie⁸ story to tell.

Michelle: Absolutely. Now Neil it’s time to find out if you got your quiz question right. I

asked you how many people across Europe were executed for witchcraft between

1500 and 1800? And what was your answer?

Neil: I said a) 10,000. 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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Michelle: Well, I can tell you that unfortunately you were wrong. The answer is c) 50,000

people, which is quite shocking really.

Neil: That's awful! 50,000!

Michelle: Could you remind us of today’s words please Neil?

Neil: We had:

supernatural

witchcraft

tried for murder

folklore

persecuted

curse

to cough up

a stab in the dark

eerie

Michelle: Thanks very much Neil. And thank you for listening. Bye.

Neil: Goodbye. 

1 witchcraft   

n.魔法，巫术

参考例句：

• The woman practising witchcraft claimed that she could conjure up the spirits of the dead.那个女巫说她能用魔法召唤亡灵。
• All these things that you call witchcraft are capable of a natural explanation.被你们统统叫做巫术的那些东西都可以得到合情合理的解释。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 folklore   

n.民间信仰，民间传说，民俗

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• In Chinese folklore the bat is an emblem of good fortune.在中国的民间传说中蝙蝠是好运的象征。

4 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

8 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。