听播客学英语 57 Tall stories

 　　Today we discover the word “tall”, and we learn about “tall stories”.

　　I guess you know what “tall” means in your own language – if you don’t, stop listening now and look the word up in a dictionary.

　　Here are some examples of the way we use “tall”. We can talk about a “tall man”. A tall man might be 1.9 or even 2 meters high. The tallest man who ever lived was called Robert Wadlow. He was 2.72 meters tall. He died in 1940, at the age of only 22.

　　We can talk about a “tall tree”. How high is a tall tree? Perhaps 20 meters. Or we can talk about a tall building. There is a photo of a tall building, in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, on the website. It is over 450 meters high.

　　Sometimes, we use the word “high” instead of “tall”. We can talk about a “high mountain” for example, or about a “high wall”. Ladies sometimes wear shoes with high heels. And small children sit in high chairs to eat their food. However, you cannot always use “high” instead of “tall”. We never use “high” for people or animals, for example. Robert Wadlow was the tallest man in the world, not the highest man.

　　I started this podcast by saying that we would talk about “tall stories”. What is a “tall story”, and how many meters high is it? Well, we say that a story is a “tall story” if it is hard to believe it. A tall story is often quite detailed¹, and it may even be true, but there is something about it which makes you think that it is probably false. Have you ever received an e-mail like this. It is from someone you do not know. The writer says that he has $50 million in a bank account. He explains how he got the $50 million, and tells you about his family, and why he now needs to move the $50 million to another country. Unfortunately, the bank regulations in his country will not allow him to move the money. But he has heard that you are an honest and trustworthy person, and he asks that you should help him. If you could just send him the details of your bank account, he will use it to move his money, and he will let you have $5 million for helping² him.

　　Do you believe that story? No. You do not believe it and you do not trust the writer. It is a “tall story”. If you send him details of your bank account, of course, you will not get $5 million. Instead, you will find that your own savings³ disappear.

　　Recently, a documentary⁴ film company decided⁵ to show that it was easy to get some newspapers to publish tall stories about celebrities⁶. They made up some stories, and then gave them to the newspapers. What sort of stories? Well, do you know the singer Amy Winehouse? She has lots of hair which she wears piled up on the top of her head in a style which in English we call a beehive. The tall story about her was that her beehive had caught fire during a party at her house. Another singer, Sarah Harding of the group Girls Aloud, is – how shall I say this ? – not well-known as an intellectual. The story about her was that in secret she reads books about quantum physics and that she had bought her own telescope so that she can observe the stars and the planets.

　　Amy Winehouse and her beehive hair style.

　　At this point, dear listeners, I must say that I am disappointed that the company did not invent a story about the celebrity⁷ podcaster at Listen to English – something about a secret holiday on a Caribbean island with a 19 year old super-model, perhaps. I am sure it would have been much more interesting than the fire in Amy Winehouse’s hair.

　　What adjectives can we use to describe these tall stories. They are untrue, or false, of course; they are also fabricated⁸, or invented, or made-up; and they are far-fetched, or outlandish, or difficult to believe.

　　Nonetheless⁹, the newspapers published nearly all of the stories. None of them tried to check whether they were true. Sometimes the papers even added little details of their own. And then the stories were repeated in other newspapers and on blogs and internet sites. People will believe almost anything about celebrities. Celebrities are manufactured; they are invented by the media. Sometimes they hardly seem to be real people at all. People do not want the truth about celebrities; they want entertainment. So does it matter if the media publish tall stories about them?

1 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

4 documentary   

adj.文献的；n.纪录片

参考例句：

• This case lacked documentary proof.本案缺少书面证据。
• I watched a documentary on the Civil War.我看了一部关于内战的纪录片。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

7 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

8 fabricated   

编造的

参考例句：

• The evidence was totally fabricated. 这个证据纯属伪造。
• This refrigerator is fabricated from parts made in different factories. 这台电冰箱是由不同的工厂所制的零件组装的。

9 nonetheless   

adv.尽管如此，依然，然而

参考例句：

• Though he's fool,I like him nonetheless.虽然他很笨，我仍然喜欢他。
• His face is serious but nonetheless very friendly.他一脸严肃，但还是非常友好。