Superheroes1 超級英雄

向紅

For thousands of years， people have told stories about heroes. Heroes are strong， brave2 people who help others. Today， we can read stories and watch films about superheroes. So， what is a superhero？

千百年來，人們一直在講述英雄的故事。英雄是強壯、勇敢的，幫助別人的人。今天，我們能讀到有關超級英雄的故事，看到有關超級英雄的電影。那么，什么是超級英雄呢？

Superheroes have special powers3 which they use to do good things， like helping people and fighting crime4. They usually wear special clothes， like a cape5. Sometimes they wear a mask6， so no one knows who they are. Some superheroes use tools， like Spidermans web shooter.

超級英雄會有一種特殊的力量，他們用來做一些好事，比如幫助別人和打擊犯罪。他們通常穿著特殊的衣服，比如披風。有時還戴著面具，所以沒有人知道他們是誰。有些超級英雄會用小工具，比如蜘蛛俠的蛛網發射器。

Modern superheroes started as stories in comic books. Superman was one of the first famous superheroes. The first Superman comic was published7 in 1938. Superman is an alien8 from the planet Krypton. He can fly and he is super strong. He is super fast and no weapons9 can hurt him. The only thing that can hurt him is Kryptonite rock from his home planet.

現代超級英雄始于漫畫故事。超人是第一批著名的超級英雄之一。第一部《超人》漫畫出版于1938年，超人是來自氪星的外星人。他能飛，超級強壯，速度超級快，沒有武器能傷害他。唯一能傷害他的是來自他母星的氪石。

In 1941， Wonder Woman was created. She was the first female superhero. Wonder Womans story comes from ancient Greek myths. She has some superhuman powers like Superman. She is good at fighting and she has lots of weapons， too， like a lasso10 and magic bracelets.

1941年，神奇女俠誕生了。她是第一位女性超級英雄。神奇女俠的故事來自古希臘神話。她有超人一樣的超能力，擅長格斗，也有很多武器，比如套索和魔法手鐲。

Sometimes superheroes have friends that help them， like Jimmy Olsen in the Superman stories. These friends are called “sidekicks11”. One of the most famous sidekicks is Robin from Batman and Robin. Sometimes superheroes group together like Iron Man， Captain America and Thor in the Avengers， or the mutants12 in the X-Men team.

有時超級英雄會有朋友幫助他們，就像《超人》故事里的吉米·奧爾森。這些朋友被稱為“伙伴”。最著名的伙伴之一是《蝙蝠俠與羅賓》中的羅賓。有時超級英雄會組隊，比如《復仇者聯盟》中的鋼鐵俠、美國隊長和雷神托爾，或者《X戰警》中的變種人。

（英語原文選自：learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org）

【Notes】

1. superhero [?????] n. 超級英雄

2. brave [?????] adj. 勇敢的，無畏的

3. power [?????] n. 力量，能力

4. crime [?????] n. 罪行，犯罪;罪惡

5. cape [?????] n. 披肩

6. mask [?????] n. 面具;口罩

7. publish [?????] v. 出版;發表;公布

8. alien [?????] n. 外國人;外星人

9. weapon [?????] n. 武器，兵器

10. lasso [?????] n. 套索

11. sidekick [?????] n. 伙伴，老朋友

12. mutant [?????] n. 變種人