One definition of what separates us from other species is our ability to construct narratives from our random thoughts, memories, and imaginings. We are a species of storytellers. How and why we construct stories remains a mystery, one being explored by biologists, anthropologists, psychologists, neuroscientists, and researchers in semiotics and linguistics. One common thread in the research is that stories help us make sense of our lives.

The Lion and Hunter (c. 1840s) by Grandville (1803-1847) Source: Public Domain

Brian Boyd, author of On the Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition, and Fiction, suggests that we are hard-wired to tell stories. Boyd argues that art, in general, and fiction, in particular, have evolved from cognitive play and serve an evolutionary survival function. Our oldest stories, our myths and fairy tales — the story about the hunter and the stealthy lion, or the one about the fox and his invisible cape — may have determined whether our primordial ancestors lived or died. Over time, these stories have become embedded in the warp and woof of our culture, and while the danger of a humanly cunning lion may no lo nger fit our lifestyle, we get the point. Viewed literally, lions can maim us; taken symbolically, understanding and honoring the ways of an intelligent and powerful predator might help us navigate certain obstacles in our lives.

I’ve recently written several blogs about fairy tales. Fairy tales present simple stories that are still relevant as guides to the archetypal patterns in our unconscious minds. They are also teaching stories and cautionary tales that speak to the mythopoeic in our psyches, that aspect of our minds that think in metaphor and symbol. Like our ancestors who lived closer to nature, and like the cosmologies of many indigenous peoples, we, too, have the capacity to experience a tree as a spirit helper or a demon or a bewitched prince. While the earliest folk tales emerged from peoples who possessed a less sophisticated notion of the world, their repertoire of emotions and the stories they wove around them were not dissimilar to our own. Greed, loneliness, jealousy, sorrow — these continue to be our human burden. Cinderella, Bluebeard, Sleeping Beauty are our contemporaries, their journeys to selfhood or self-destruction familiar to our modern souls.

Rohata Princezna (Princess with Horns) (1920s) by Artuš Scheiner (1863-1938) from Under Command Of Magic by J. Š. Kubín. Source: Under Command of/ Magic by J. Š. Kubín (1920s)/Public Domain

One way to more fully experience the wisdom of fairy tales is to write your own. Through objectifying the contents of our unconscious by drawing, sculpting, writing, dancing, we find the healing symbols within. The Red Book is a record of Carl Jung’s own plunge into an almost psychotic state after his break with Sigmund Freud in 1913. Characters from his unconscious welled up in his conscious mind. Methodically, with terror and fortitude, he recorded his dialogues with these characters as if they were flesh and blood and Jung even painted images that illustrated his experiences with them. Jung sometimes feared during this period that he was toppling into a psychotic state, but by working consciously with these figures, he found he was able to hear their wisdom “from the other side.” These encounters later lead to his theory of Active Imagination, which he somewhat describes in this advice to an analysand about working with her dreams.

Once upon a time, there was a woodcutter cutting wood in the forest. Suddenly, his axe broke and fell into the lake nearby. He started to cry. A Buddha appeared and promised to help him take the axe back. For the first time, the Buddha jumped into the lake and fished a gold axe. But the woodcutter said it wasn’t his. For the second time, the Buddha fished a silver axe. However, it wasn’t the woodcutter’s axe, too. And for the third time, the Buddha fished a iron axe. The woodcutter cheered and confirmed that was his axe. The Budhha praised him for being honest and gave him all three axes.

Hướng dẫn dịch:

Ngày xửa ngày xưa có một anh tiều phu đốn củi ở trong rừng. Đột nhiên lưỡi rìu của anh vì gãy và rơi xuống một chiếc hồ gần đó. Anh ta bắt đầu bật khóc. Bụt hiện lên và hứa sẽ giúp anh ấy lấy lại chiếc rìu. Lần đầu tiên, Bụt nhảy xuống hồ và vớt lên được một lưỡi rìu bằng vàng. Nhưng chàng tiều phu nói đó không phải là rìu của mình. Lần thứ hai, Bụt vớt lên được một lưỡi rìu bằng bạc. Tuy nhiên, nó cũng không phải lưỡi rìu của chàng tiều phu. Lần thứ ba, Bụt vớt lên được một lưỡi rìu bằng sắt. Chàng tiều ohu mừng rỡ và quả quyết đó là lưỡi rìu của anh. Bụt khen chàng trai thật thà và tặng chàng cả ba lưỡi rìu.

tham khảo

My favorite movie is cartoon “Tom and Jerry”. Tom is a cat with blue and white color. He keeps the house for a normal family and has a very free life. His job is chasing Jerry day by day. Jerry is a brown house mouse. He usually lives in the deep cave behind the wall. Although they hate each other so much and always find ways to hurt opponent but when Tom or Jerry falls into really dangerous situations, then both become another savior. The film is an endless confrontation between Tom and Jerry, bring plenty of laughter for the audiences. I love this film because when I watch it I feel very glad, feeling like returned to childhood.

Em tham khảo:

For the fans of the detective genre, the famous "Detective Conan" is the series that we should not miss. I do not need to give any advertisement about this series, because it has already attracted millions of readers from all over the world. The author of it is Aoyama Gosho - a genius in creating characters and building plots. The main storyline is about a junior detective Shinichi Kudo. One time he was chasing some suspicious people, he was attacked and poisoned. The pill did not kill him, but it turned him into a 7 years old boy. From that time, he lives at his friend’s house with a new identity – Edogawa Conan. He has a group of friends at school, and together they create the "Detective team of class 1B". He solves a lot of difficult criminal cases under the name of detective Mori Kogoro – a not very good detective and also his girlfriend.. Thanks to the modern gadgets of Dr. Agashi, he can put Mori into sleep and take his voice to expose the crimes. While living as a first grade boy, Conan continues to find the true faces of the ones who had poisoned him. He lately realizes that they are connected to a bigger criminal organization, and his life is in great danger. Each book contains some different cases, and readers cannot figure everything out until they read to the end. 

*Tạm dịch:

Đối những người hâm mộ thể loại trinh thám, "Thám tử lừng danh Conan" là một bộ truyện mà chúng ta không nên bỏ qua. Tôi không cần phải quảng cáo về bộ truyện này, vì nó đã thu hút được hàng triệu đọc giả trên khắp thế giới. Tác giả của nó là Aoyama Gosho – một thiên tài trong việc kiến tạo nhân vật và xây dựng tình tiết. Mạch truyện chính là về một thám tử thiếu niên tên Shinichi Kudo. Một lần trong khi đang đuổi theo những người khả nghi, cậu đã bị bọn chúng bắt và đầu độc. Viên thuốc ấy không giết được cậu, nhưng nó đã biến cậu thành một cậu nhóc 7 tuổi. Kể từ lúc đó, cậu sống ở nhà một người bạn với một thân thế mới – Edogawa Conan. Cậu có một nhóm bạn ở trường, và cùng nhau họ tạo nên "Nhóm thám tử của lớp 1B". Cậu phá được rất nhiều những vụ án khó dưới danh nghĩa của thám tử Mori Kogoro – một thám tử không giỏi giang cho mấy và cũng là cha của cô bạn gái cậu. Nhờ vào những thiết bị hiện đại của tiến sĩ Agashi, cậu có thể khiến Mori ngủ say và sau đó lấy giọng nói của ông ấy để vạch trần những tội ác. Trong khi sống dưới thân phận cậu nhóc lớp 1, Conan tiếp tục tìm kiếm chân tướng của những người đã đầu độc cậu. Sau đó cậu nhận ra rằng bọn chúng có liên kết với một tổ chức tội phạm lớn hơn, và mạng sống của cậu đang gặp nguy hiểm. Mỗi một quyển sách chứa một vài vụ ác khác nhau, và người đọc không thể nào biết được sự việc cho tới khi họ đọc đến hết truyện. 

Make notes about one of your favourite films. (Ghi chú vể một trong những phim yêu thích của bạn.) Name of film, type of film, and actors or director. (Tên phim, loại phim, và diễn viên hay đạo diễn)
=> Forrest Gump, romantic comedy, Tom Hanks. (Phim Forrest Gump, hài lãng mạn, diễn viên Tom Hanks.) The plot: What happens in the film? How is the film? (gripping/moving/hilarious) What about the ending? (Cốt truyện: Chuyện gi xảy ra trong phim? Phim đó như thế nào? (hấp dẫn, cảm động, vui nhộn) Kết thúc ra sao?)
=> It’s about the life of a stupid ugly man, Forrest and his love for a neighbor girl, Jenny. The film is moving and hilarious. The ending is happy, because they have good life and a son. (Nó nói về cuộc đời của một người đàn ông xấu, ngốc Forrest và tỉnh yêu của anh ấy dành cho cô hàng xóm, Jenny. Phim cảm động và hài hước. Kết thúc vui bởi vì họ có cuộc sống tốt cùng một đứa con trai.) Other aspects of the film, The acting, the music, the special effects, the visuals, etc. (Những khía cạnh khác của phim, diễn xuất, âm nhạc, hiệu ứng đặc biệt, hình ảnh...)
=> The acting of two characters is very good. The music is interesting and suitable for film content. The visuals are beautiful with scenery of countryside, crowded cites in USA. (Diễn xuất của hai nhân vật rất hay. Âm nhạc thật tuyệt và phù hợp với nội dung phim. Hình ảnh rất đẹp với những cảnh về miền quê, những thành phố đông đúc ở Mỹ.) Critics’ reviews, you overall opinion. (Đánh giá của nhà phê bình, ý kiến chung của bạn.)
=> Critics say that the film is the best film with moving scenes and meaningful messages. (Các nhà phê bình nói rằng phim này là phim hay nhất với những cảnh xúc động và thông điệp đầy ý nghĩa)
=> I think that the film is so wonderful from actor, actress to visual, music. (Tôi nghĩ rằng phim rất tuyệt từ diễn viên nam, nữ cho đến hình ảnh, âm nhạc.)

Hi everybody. My name is H.Anh. I enjoyed watching cartoons and my favorite movie is the cartoon about Tom Tom and Jerry. Tom & Jerry is an American animated series was shown on television and theater genres from short films to feature film. Produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for MGM studios. Tom is a blue and white cat. He keeps home for a normal family and has a very free life. His job is to pursue Jerry every day. Jerry is a brown house mouse. He used to live in a deep cave behind the wall. Although they hate each other very much and are always looking for ways to hurt their opponents, but when Tom or Jerry falls into really dangerous situations, the two become another savior. The film is an endless confrontation between Tom and Jerry, bringing a lot of laughter to the audience. I love this movie because when I watched it I felt very happy, feeling like I was returning to my childhood.

My favourite film

Name: The Gods Must be Crazy

Type: Comedy

Plot: A tribal population (bushman) who live in a remote part of Kalahari Desert in African continent. Life goes on for them but the trouble occurred when they received a piece of Coca-Cola bottle which was thrown by an airplane pilot. The bottle was received by Xi, the lead character of the movie. It brings a change in his family. The family members started quarrelling among themselves. The peace of life was broken for the bottle. So, Xi wants to return the bottle. He believed that since the bottle has fallen from above, it might be the Gods who have thrown it. He starts his epic journey to return the bottle to the Gods and experiences different strange events of his life.

- Stars: Sandra Prinsloo, Marius Weyers

- Director: Jamie Uys, Louw Verwey
Michael Thys

My favorite movie is cartoon “Tom and Jerry”. Tom is a cat with blue and white color. He keeps the house for a normal family and has a very free life. His job is chasing Jerry day by day. Jerry is a brown house mouse. He usually lives in the deep cave behind the wall. Although they hate each other so much and always find ways to hurt opponent but when Tom or Jerry falls into really dangerous situations, then both become another savior. The film is an endless confrontation between Tom and Jerry, bring plenty of laughter for the audiences. I love this film because when I watch it I feel very glad, feeling like returned to childhood.

- Film, type of film, actor or director : Forrest Gump, romantic comedy, Tom Hanks.

- It’s about the life of a stupid ugly man, Forrest and his love for a neighbor girl, Jenny. The film is moving and hilarious. The ending is happy, because they have good life and a son.

- The acting of two characters is very good. The music is interesting and suitable for film content. The visuals are beautiful with scenery of countryside, crowded cites in USA.

- Critics say that the film is the best film with moving scenes and meaningful messages.

- I think that the film is so wonderful from actor, actress to visual, music.

I really like the film Forrest Gump. It is a romantic comedy with the acting of Tom Hanks.

It’s about the life of a stupid ugly man, Forrest and his love for a neighbor girl, Jenny. The film is moving and hilarious. The ending is happy, because they have good life and a son.

The acting of two characters is very good. The music is interesting and suitable for film content. The visuals are beautiful with scenery of countryside, crowded cites in USA.

Critics say that the film is the best film with moving scenes and meaningful messages.

I think that the film is so wonderful from actor, actress to visual, music.

Make a table ... notes about your favorite subjects. (of / to / for / Ø)

Make a table .of.. notes about your favorite subjects. (of / to / for / Ø)

Make a table of notes about your favorite subjects. (of / to / for / Ø)

Where I live, the specialty is beef noodle soup. This is a very popular dish in our country. Pho noodles are made from rice, which is made from the best types of rice. The broth for beef noodle soup is made by stewing beef bones in a large pot for a long time. The broth for another kind of pho is chicken noodle soup made from stewed chicken bones. Thinly sliced boneless chicken and served with chicken noodle soup... Tell me about your favorite dish where you live.

3, My hometown has a very special dish that everyone knows, omelette. To make this dish, you need eggs, fish sauce, a bowl, cooking oil, a pan, and a pair of chopsticks and onions. First, you need to break the egg, then you add some fish sauce, if you like, you can add a little onion leaves. Pour the oil into the pan and heat it up, whisk the eggs, and then pour the eggs into the pan. Flip the eggs over, then put them on a plate, and you've got an omelette

Vietnam is famous with its traditional and delicious dishes. All of them easioly bring to anyone's mouth indeed, but as myself, I enjoy spring rolls best. Spring rolls are lightly fried rice -paper rolls, smaller and crispier than Chinese egg rolls but more flavorful. They are filled with highly seasons morsels of crab, shrimp, chopped vegetables, onion, mushroom, vermicelli and eggs. To prepare them, place the above mentioned filling on a thin rice pancake, roll up then fry. Finally, spring rolls, when fully prepared, are wrapped into some kinds of fresh vegetables, then doused in fish sauce. My mother usually cooks spring rolls for me, especially on important days in year, such as Tet holiday. When I eat them, I feel all of my mother's love that she reserves for me. To me, they're the most special dish in this world