月亮是如何变得美丽的（初级）

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Before today's episode you're going to hear some advertisements which help make it possible for me to do this as my job, but if you want to support me and would rather not hear adverts I completely understand.

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Premium means extra special and by joining you not only get all the episodes without adverts but also extra special bonus content like extra stories and conversational podcasts.

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Just go to easystoriesinenglish.com/supportsupport to start your seven day free trial.

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If you're listening on Apple podcasts just click try free at the top of the episode list to join.

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And now a word from our sponsors.

大家好，亲爱的英语学习者们，欢迎收听 EasyStoriesInEnglish，这档帮你把英语从还行提升到不错，再从不错带到出色的播客。

Hello, my lovely learners, and welcome to EasyStoriesInEnglish, the podcast that will take your English from okay to good and from good to great.

我是你们的主持人，Ariel Goodbody。

I am Ariel Goodbody, your host for this show.

今天这个初级故事叫《月亮是怎么变美的》。

Today's beginner level story is called How the Moon Became Beautiful.

和往常一样，文本和PDF都可以在easystoriesinenglish.com上找到，链接在简介里。

As always, the transcript and PDF are available at easystoriesinenglish.com and you can find the link in the description.

这个故事是中国民间传说，由玛丽·海耶斯·戴维和周龙翻译成英文。

This story is a Chinese folktale translated into English by Mary Hayes David and Chow Long.

不过和往常一样，我已经用自己的风格重新改写过了。

But as always, I have rewritten it in my own style.

我先解释一下故事里的一些词。

I'll just start by explaining some words that are in the story.

天文学，a-s-t-r-o-n-o-m-y，是一门科学。

Astronomy, a s t r o n o m y, is a science.

它是研究太空、恒星和行星的科学。

It is the science of space, stars, and planets.

天文学家就是研究天文学的人。

Astronomers are people who do astronomy.

天文学家研究恒星和星系。

Astronomers study stars and galaxies.

当天文学家发现新的恒星时，会给它们起名字，比如天狼星或者昴星团。

When astronomers discover new stars, they give names to them, such as Sirius or Pleiades.

一首诗，p o e m，是一种介于歌曲和演讲之间的艺术形式。

A poem, p o e m, is a piece of artwork somewhere between a song and speech.

诗歌有时会押韵。

Poems sometimes rhyme.

比如，玫瑰是红的，紫罗兰是蓝的，这是一档你正在听的播客。

For example, roses are red, violets are blue, this is a podcast that you're listening to.

在那首很糟糕的诗里，'蓝'和'二'押韵，因为它们的尾音相同。

In that very bad poem, blue and two rhyme because they end in the same vowel sound.

写诗很有趣，但靠写诗赚钱可太难了。

Poems are fun to write, but it's very hard to make money as a poet.

写诗的人。

Someone who writes poems.

哦，这样啊。

Oh, well.

你把花从土里拔出来，就是摘花。

When you pull a flower out of the ground, you pick it.

你可以摘很多花，扎成一束花，比如说。

You can pick lots of flowers to make a bouquet, for example.

现在的人一般不自己摘花了。

These days, people don't usually pick flowers.

他们通常会去花店买花。

Instead, they buy flowers from a florist.

东西要是锋利，就容易划伤人。

When something is sharp, it can cut you.

比如，一把锋利的刀切菜特别顺手。

For example, a sharp knife is good at cutting food.

要是桌子边儿太锋利，家长往往会加个护角，免得孩子撞伤。

If the edge of a table is sharp, then parents might put something on it so that children don't hurt themselves on the sharp edge.

温柔，g-e-n-t-l-e，意思是柔和或友善。

Gentle, g e n t l e, means soft or kind.

温柔的人不会大声说话，也不会说伤人的话。

Gentle people don't talk loudly and they don't say mean things.

对小孩子要温柔一点，因为他们很容易受伤。

It's good to be gentle with young children as they can get hurt easily.

荒谬，r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s，意思是特别傻、特别蠢。

Ridiculous, r I d I c u l o u s, means very silly, very stupid.

如果你觉得某事很荒谬，通常你就不会喜欢它，也不会当真。

If you think something is ridiculous, then you usually don't like it and don't think it is serious.

比如，要是有个学生跟我说：‘我永远也学不好英语。’

For example, if a student tells me, I'll never be good at English.

我会说：‘这话说得真荒谬。’

I say ridiculous.

继续学下去，你英语一定会进步的。

Keep studying and you'll definitely get better at English.

‘荒谬’字面上的意思是让人想笑的事情。

Ridiculous literally means something that you should laugh at.

但在这个故事里，你笑的只会是我的笑话。

But the only thing you'll be laughing at in this story is my jokes.

希望如此。

I hope.

请笑一笑吧。

Please laugh.

你看，我其实心很软。

I have a gentle heart, you see.

我知道这听起来很荒谬，有时候别人说话挺刺耳的，但请你对我温柔一点。

I know it sounds ridiculous, and sometimes people's words can be sharp, but please be gentle with me.

好的。

Okay.

话说到这儿，就请认真听，好好享受吧。

On that note, please listen and enjoy.

月亮是怎么变美的。

How the moon became beautiful.

现在月亮很漂亮，但过去它可丑得很。

Today, the moon is beautiful, but in the past, the moon was ugly.

如今月亮的脸亮晶晶的，人人都爱看。

Today, the moon's face is bright and everyone likes to look at it.

可过去月亮的脸黑乎乎的，没人愿意瞧它一眼。

But in the past, the moon's face was dark and nobody looked at it.

这变化是怎么发生的呢？

How did things become this way?

其实，六千年前的一个晚上，月亮的脸就变了样。

Well, the moon's face changed one night six thousand years ago.

那时候，月亮很伤心，因为它长得丑，没人愿意看它。

At that time, the moon was sad because he was ugly and nobody liked to look at him.

于是，某个晚上，月亮跟花儿和星星聊了起来。

So one night, the moon talked to the flowers and the stars.

它们很美，是唯一愿意看月亮脸庞的东西。

They were beautiful, and they were the only things that looked at the moon's face.

哦，花朵啊。

Oh, flowers.

哦，星星们，月亮说。

Oh, stars, said the moon.

我不喜欢当月亮。

I do not like being the moon.

我真希望我能像你们一样，变成一朵花或一颗星。

I wish I were a flower or a star like you.

你们真美。

You are so beautiful.

如果我是一颗小星星，也许天文学家每天晚上都会看我。

If I were a small star, then maybe an astronomer would look at me every night.

天文学家，一颗星星说。

Astronomers, said one of the stars.

天文学家每天晚上都会看我们，然后给我们起名字。

Astronomers look at us every night, and then they make names for us.

你能相信吗？

Can you believe it?

我们根本不需要名字，可他们偏偏给我们起些奇怪的名字，比如天狼星、北河三、昴宿星团。

We don't need names, but the astronomers give us stupid names like Sirius and Pollux and Pleony.

不行。

No.

还是当个丑月亮比较好。

It is better to be an ugly moon.

可是花儿啊，星星啊，月亮说。

Oh, but flowers, but stars, said the moon.

我真的不喜欢当月亮。

I really do not like being the moon.

我真想变成一朵花。

I wish I were a flower.

如果我是朵花，也许会有漂亮的女士来看我，还为我写诗。

If I were a flower, maybe beautiful women would come and look at me and write poems about me.

你可别想要那样。

You do not want that,

有一朵花说道。

said one of the flowers.

先是写诗，接着就把你摘走。

First, they write poems, then they pick you.

你能想象吗？

Can you imagine?

你明明还好好长在地上，第二天就被连根拔起，塞进玻璃瓶里，或者送给哪个傻姑娘，然后慢慢枯萎。

One day, you're sitting there, and the next day, you've been picked out of the ground, and they put you inside some horrible glass or give you to some stupid girl, and then you slowly die.

不。

No.

还是当个丑月亮更好。

It is better to be an ugly moon.

没人能把月亮从天上摘下来。

Nobody can pick the moon from the sky.

但也不是所有的花都这样，

But not all flowers are like that,

月亮说。

said the moon.

我可以长在远离人群的山上。

I could grow on a mountain far away from people.

我能看见美好的世界，却没人会来摘我。

I would see the beautiful world, and nobody would pick me.

星星和花儿们听累了，便不再搭理月亮。

The stars and the flowers were tired of talking to the moon, and they said nothing.

但有一朵花却很感兴趣。

But there was one flower who was interested.

这朵花又丑又带刺。

This flower was ugly and sharp.

没人愿意摘这朵花，因为它长得丑还带刺，所以这朵花特别能理解月亮的心情。

Nobody liked to pick this flower because he was ugly and sharp, and so this flower understood the moon very well.

有个花园，”那朵带刺的花说。

There is a garden, said the sharp flower.

这个花园里开着世上最美的花，也住着世上最美的女人。

In this garden, there are the most beautiful flowers in the world, and there lives also the most beautiful woman in the world.

她叫长乐。

Her name is Chang Le.

她人特别温柔。

She is very kind.

也许你去和她聊聊，心情会好一些。

Perhaps if you talk to her, you might feel better.

于是第二天晚上，月亮去了那个花园，找到了长乐。

So the next night, the moon went to this garden and found Cheng.

她确实美得惊人，是世上最美的女人，月亮一眼就爱上了她。

Was indeed beautiful, the most beautiful woman in the world, and the moon fell in love immediately.

于是他决定去和她谈谈。

So he decided to talk to her.

嫦娥女士，您真美。

Lady Chang'e, you are so beautiful.

您的笑容像太阳一样温暖。

Your smile is like the sun.

您的眼睛如同珍宝般闪耀。

Your eyes are like jewels.

您的嘴唇像一颗诱人的樱桃。

Your mouth is like a delicious cherry.

您的举止轻柔缓慢，如平静的海面。

You move slowly and gently like a calm sea.

我希望您能跟我走，成为我的面容。

I wish that you would come with me and become my face.

如果您是我的面容，我们每晚都能照亮这个世界。

If you were my face, we could shine down on the world every night.

就连坏人看见我们，也会变得善良。

Even bad people would see us and become good.

告诉我，嫦娥，你怎么会这么美？

Tell me, Cheng e, how did you become so beautiful?

嫦娥微笑了。

Chung E smiled.

我一直和温柔快乐的人生活在一起，我想这就是我美丽的缘故。

I have always lived with those who are gentle and happy, and I believe that is why I am beautiful.

月亮每晚都来查看嫦娥那温柔的面容。

The moon came every night to see Cheng Le's gentle face.

每晚他都告诉她有多美，每晚他对她的爱都更深一分。

Every night he told her how beautiful she was and every night his love for her grew.

渐渐地，嫦娥也开始对他产生了爱意。

Slowly, Chang'e started to feel love for him too.

有一天，嫦娥对母亲说：妈妈，我爱上月亮了。

One day, Chang'e said to her mother, mother, I have fallen in love with the moon.

是的，他长得不好看，但心地特别善良。

Yes, He is ugly, but he has such a kind heart.

我可以去和他一起生活吗？

May I go and live with him?

她妈妈觉得这简直荒唐。

Her mother thought this was ridiculous.

于是她只说了一句，但 Chang'e 本来就是个浪漫的姑娘。

So she only said, But Chang'e was a romantic girl.

所以当妈妈说完，她听见的只有‘好’，便高高兴兴地走了。

So when her mother said, she heard yes, and she went away very happy.

她跑去告诉所有朋友，说她要嫁给月亮了。

She went and told all her friends that she was going to marry the moon.

几天后，Chang'e 就不见了。

A few days later, Chang'e was gone.

她妈妈到处找她，最后只好问 Chang'e 的朋友们她去哪儿了。

Her mother looked everywhere and finally asked Chang'e's friends where she was.

他们说，她去月球上住了。

Why she's gone to live with the moon, they said.

别胡说八道了，她母亲说。

Don't be ridiculous, said her mother.

这不可能。

That can't be.

是真的，另一个女孩说。

But it's true, said another girl.

今晚抬头看看天空。

Look up at the sky tonight.

程乐的母亲还是觉得这太荒唐了。

Cheng Le's mother still thought this was all ridiculous.

但那天晚上，她望向窗外的月亮，真的看到了。

But that night, she looked out of her window up at the moon, and there she saw it.

月亮的脸不再阴暗丑陋了。

The moon's face was not dark and ugly anymore.

它明亮又美丽。

It was bright and beautiful.

程乐的母亲开始哭了。

Cheng Le's mother started to cry.

在夜空中，她看见了女儿的脸，满是爱意，温柔地照耀着人间。

There in the night sky was her daughter's face, full of love shining down on the world.

六千年来，一直如此。

And so it has been for six thousand years.

如今的月亮，美得像世上任何一位女子，夜复一夜，为我们静静发光。

Now the moon is as beautiful as any woman on earth, and it shines bright for us night after night.

故事讲完了。

The end.

希望你们喜欢今天这个故事。

I hope you enjoyed today's story.

这个故事不长，是个经典的起源传说，讲的是某样东西为什么变成了这样，或者怎么变成了这样——这次讲的是，月亮是怎么变得这么美的。

It was quite a short one, a classic origin myth, why something became something or how something became something, in this case, how the moon became beautiful.

这个故事我是在一本中国民间故事集里找到的，书名叫《中国寓言与民间故事》。

I found this story in a collection of Chinese folk tales, it's called Chinese fables and folk tales.

这其实是二十世纪初第一本以英文出版的中国民间故事集，但也因此带来了一些问题。

It was actually the first collection of Chinese folk tales published in English in the early twentieth century, and because of that, it comes with a few problems.

作者是一位美国女性和一位旅居美国的中国男性，他帮她把这些故事记录下来。

The authors were an American woman and a Chinese man who lived in America, and he helped her write down these stories.

但这本书出版的时候，汉语还没有标准化。

But it was published at a time before the standardization of the Chinese language.

虽然中国各地用的都是同样的文字系统，但方言众多，发音各异，当时也没有统一的拼音方案来把汉语发音转写成英文。

So although the same writing system was used throughout China, there were many different dialects with many different pronunciations, and there was no standardized way to transcribe the pronunciation of Chinese into English.

所以这就导致书里的所有名字，用今天的普通话来看都很难理解。

So the problem that this causes is all of the names in the book are very hard to understand in terms of modern Chinese.

书里那位美女的名字被拼作 'tsehgnion'，大概是 t-s-e-h 连字符 n 撇号 i-o 这样。

The name of the beautiful woman in the book is written as tsehgnion, maybe, t s e h hyphen n apostrophe I o.

这个拼法和现代普通话完全对不上。

This does not correspond with modern Mandarin.

这个词很可能来自某种汉语方言，而不是标准语，而且又被翻译成英文过滤了一遍。

It probably comes from a dialect of Chinese, not the standard language, and then it's also been filtered through writing in English.

所以我根本没法确定它原本的中文写法，或者现代普通话里的正确读法。

So it's pretty much impossible for me to find out what the original name actually was either in written Chinese or modern spoken Mandarin.

后来我问了DeepSeek，它建议用‘嫦娥’这个名字。在一些传说里，她搬到月亮上住，另一些故事里她直接变成了月亮，总的来说，我们可以称她为月宫仙子。

Now I asked DeepSeek for some help with this, and it suggested to use the name Chang Le, which is the name of this mythical figure who in some stories goes and lives on the moon, in some stories she becomes the moon, very broadly we can call her the lady of the moon.

我现在提这个，是因为后面几期节目里还会出现嫦娥，但每次她的形象都会不一样。

I'm mentioning this now because there will be some other stories in the podcast with Chang Le in them, but the version of her will be different.

神话和民间故事里，同一个角色有不同版本，这再正常不过了。

It's very normal in myths and folk tales to have different versions of the same stories.

同一个角色在不同故事里可能性格完全不同，遭遇也千差万别。

One character might be very different in one story versus another or different things might happen to them.

所以我也说不准这个故事里的角色是不是就是嫦娥，但看起来足够接近，我就选它了，不然我只能随便挑个中文名字。

So I don't really know if the character in this story is supposed to be the same Chang Le, but it seemed to be close enough that I might as well choose it because otherwise, I would be just choosing a random name in Chinese.

总之，再次感谢收听，今年还会陆续推出更多《简易英语中国民间故事》，敬请期待。

Anyway, thanks again for listening and look out for more Chinese folktales coming up this year on EasyStoriesInEnglish.

我真的很享受深入探索这个新的神话与民间传说领域。

I'm really enjoying diving into this new area of mythology and folklore.

我以前在播客里讲过几个中国故事，但今年我特别想好好深入一下。

I've done a few Chinese tales on the podcast before, but this year I really want to dig in.

再次感谢收听，我们很快再见。

So thanks again for listening and see you soon.