Superheroes1 超级英雄

向红

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？

千百年来，人们一直在讲述英雄的故事。英雄是强壮、勇敢的，帮助别人的人。今天，我们能读到有关超级英雄的故事，看到有关超级英雄的电影。那么，什么是超级英雄呢？

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.

超级英雄会有一种特殊的力量，他们用来做一些好事，比如帮助别人和打击犯罪。他们通常穿着特殊的衣服，比如披风。有时还戴着面具，所以没有人知道他们是谁。有些超级英雄会用小工具，比如蜘蛛侠的蛛网发射器。

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.

现代超级英雄始于漫画故事。超人是第一批著名的超级英雄之一。第一部《超人》漫画出版于1938年，超人是来自氪星的外星人。他能飞，超级强壮，速度超级快，没有武器能伤害他。唯一能伤害他的是来自他母星的氪石。

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，神奇女侠诞生了。她是第一位女性超级英雄。神奇女侠的故事来自古希腊神话。她有超人一样的超能力，擅长格斗，也有很多武器，比如套索和魔法手镯。

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.

有时超级英雄会有朋友帮助他们，就像《超人》故事里的吉米·奥尔森。这些朋友被称为“伙伴”。最著名的伙伴之一是《蝙蝠侠与罗宾》中的罗宾。有时超级英雄会组队，比如《复仇者联盟》中的钢铁侠、美国队长和雷神托尔，或者《X战警》中的变种人。

（英语原文选自：learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org）

【Notes】

1. superhero [     ] n. 超级英雄

2. brave [     ] adj. 勇敢的，无畏的

3. power [     ] n. 力量，能力

4. crime [     ] n. 罪行，犯罪;罪恶

5. cape [     ] n. 披肩

6. mask [     ] n. 面具;口罩

7. publish [     ] v. 出版;發表;公布

8. alien [     ] n. 外国人;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. 变种人