Every nation has who its have heroes risen—to brave, help unselfish the people men in time of trouble. 每个民族都有自己的英雄——勇敢地、无私地帮助有困难的人们。

These great heroes are never forgotten. 这些伟大的英雄永远不会被人们忘记。

They are ever loved and honored for the good and brave deeds they have done. 他们曾经因为他们的善良勇敢的行为而受到尊敬和爱戴。

We Americans will never forget such men as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. 美国人永远不会忘记乔治·华盛顿和亚伯拉罕·林肯这样的人。

Now your Book Comrade will tell you some stories of famous heroes who lived hundreds and hundreds of years ago. 现在本书将讲述生活在几百年前的著名英雄的故事。

They lived long before men knew how to print books, but their great deeds were kept alive by wandering story-tellers called minstrels. 在那个年代，人类还不知道如何印刷书籍，但是他们的伟大事迹被游吟诗人传颂。

These minstrels went about the country telling tales or singing songs of mighty warriors. 这些吟游诗人在全国各地讲故事或传唱勇士的歌曲。

They learned these tales from older minstrels. 他们从老艺人那里得知这些故事。

Of course, as they told the stories over and over, the minstrels added things that they imagined might have happened. 当然，当他们一遍又一遍地讲述这些故事时，吟游诗人又在其中添加了想象的内容。

Thus the stories were passed on through the years until finally someone wrote them down on paper. 故事就这样流传了许多年，直至最后有人把故事写在纸上。

Then people began to read them. Three of the greatest of these world heroes are Beowulf, Sigurd, and Roland. 然后供人们阅读。世界上最伟大的三位英雄是贝奥武夫、西格德和罗兰。

As you read of their brave deeds, just as they were told by wandering minstrels, could you make a play in which some of these heroes appear? 当你读到他们的英勇事迹时，就像游吟诗人歌颂那样，你能编出一个剧本，将这些英雄人物写进里面吗？