BBC随身英语:Enid Blyton 英国作家伊妮?布来敦

Many of her stories are enthusiastic about physical punishment, like smacking, which is now considered wrong by many in the UK. Girls also tend to play a very passive role in her popular detective series, like The Famous Five and the Five Find-Outers.

Working class characters don't do well either. They are often mocked for the way they speak or portrayed as lacking intelligence and social graces.

Blyton is also notorious for her attitudes to race. The baddies are often foreign or gypsies and she wrote about toys called golliwogs. Golliwogs are caricatured images of black people, which are still seen in shops today. But many companies now refuse to sell golliwogs because they are felt to be racist.

Generations of children have been willing to overlook the punishments and prejudice and have avidly read her 5,000 short stories and 150 novels. Children's writer Michael Rosen says this is because she knew what children wanted in a story.

Adults are usually absent in Blyton books, allowing children to be powerful: travelling and cooking for themselves, visiting magic lands or solving mysteries. But in modern British life, children are more than ever being constantly watched and controlled, as people become more security conscious.

Blyton's books are now published with changes, to make them more acceptable to modern sensibilities, and sales are increasing. Regardless of criticisms, Enid Blyton stories are as much a part of childhood for this generation of British children, as they were for their parents and grandparents.

Quiz 测验 1. Where is the planned Enid Blyton festival?

In the town of Beaconsfield.

2. According to the article, is the following statement true, false or not given? Attitudes in Britain haven't changed since the 1920s.

False. The article says attitudes have changed.

3. According to the article, who is mocked for the way they speak, in Enid Blyton books?

Working class characters.

4. In Enid Blyton books, are children watched closely by adults?

No, adults are usually absent.

5. Are Enid Blyton books still sold?

Yes, and sales are increasing.

Glossary 词汇表 hooked on被吸引 objecting to去干涉 plaque牌匾 snobbish势利的 race种族 gender性别 class阶级 passive role被动角色 detective侦探 working class characters工人阶级的角色 mocked嘲笑挖苦 portrayed被描绘 social graces社交礼仪 notorious臭名昭著的 baddies坏人 gypsies吉普赛人 caricatured漫画讽刺手法 willing to overlook愿意忽略 security conscious安全意识强 sensibilities感性