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a story created using the imagination, especially one that is full of action and adventure （尤指充满惊险的）故事；历险记 a coming-of-age/morality tale 成年/道德故事 - tale of something
The story is a classic tale of love and betrayal. 这个故事是一个关于爱情和背叛的经典故事。 Dickens’ ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ 狄更斯的《双城记》 His latest book is a delightful children’s tale about talking animals. 他的新书是一部关于会说话的动物的令人愉快的儿童故事。
Homophones tail | taletail tale- tail noun
The peacock fans out its magnificent tail to attract females. 孔雀张开它华丽的尾巴来吸引雌性。
- tail verb
A spy is sent to tail the family and find out everything they do. 一个间谍被派去跟踪这个家庭，了解他们所做的一切。
- tale noun
She told the children the tale of the tortoise and the hare. 她给孩子们讲了乌龟和兔子的故事。
Extra ExamplesTopics Literature and writingb2It's a moral tale about a baker and a shoemaker. 这是一个关于面包师和鞋匠的道德故事。 a dark tale of sexual obsession 关于性痴迷的凄惨故事 a tale about a hungry snake 饥饿的蛇的故事 a tale set in 19th-century Moscow 发生在 19 世纪莫斯科的故事 an epic tale of courage and heroism 一个充溢着勇气和英雄气概的史诗故事 tales of adventure 冒险故事 the curious tale of the man who sold his hair 一个卖掉自己头发的男人的离奇故事 the rags-to-riches tale of an orphan who becomes a star 一个孤儿由贫到富成为明星的故事
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- long
- rambling
- familiar
- …
- narrate
- recount
- regale somebody with
- …
- begin
- unfold
- concern somebody/something
- …
- tale about
- tale of
- a tale of woe
- (have) a tale to tell
- tell tales
- …
- tale (of something)
an exciting spoken description of an event, which may not be completely true （精彩但不一定完全真实的）讲述，叙述 I love listening to his tales of life at sea. 我喜欢听他讲述他的海上生活。 I've heard tales of people seeing ghosts in that house. 我听说有人在那栋房子里见到过鬼。 She regaled us with tales of her wild youth. 她讲述她青年时的荒唐事，逗我们开心。 The team's tale of woe continued on Saturday (= they lost another match). 上星期六这支队又遭败绩。 Her experiences provide a cautionary tale (= a warning) for us all. 她的经历成了我们大家的前车之鉴。
Extra ExamplesShe was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence. 她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。 the sorry tale of his marriage breakdown 他婚姻破裂的伤心往事
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- long
- rambling
- familiar
- …
- narrate
- recount
- regale somebody with
- …
- begin
- unfold
- concern somebody/something
- …
- tale about
- tale of
- a tale of woe
- (have) a tale to tell
- tell tales
- …
Word OriginOld English talu ‘telling, something told’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch taal ‘speech’ and German Zahl ‘number’, also to tell.
Idioms
live, etc. to tell the tale
to survive a difficult or dangerous experience so that you can tell others what really happened 幸免于难之后向人讲述真实经历
an old wives’ tale
- (disapproving)
an old idea or belief that people now know is not correct 不经之谈；不科学的陈腐思想
tell a different story/tale
to give some information that is different from what you expect or have been told 说的情况迥然不同；讲出来的是另一回事 These drugs are widely believed to be effective medications. The data, however, tell a different story. 这些药物被广泛认为是有效的药物。然而，这些数据讲述了一个不同的故事。
tell its own tale/story
tell tales (about something/on somebody)
to tell somebody about something that another person has done wrong 揭人短处；说长道短