【How to train your Dragon】
Summary
and Study Guide
Plot
Summary
Hiccup HoHaddock III is the son of Chief Stoick the Vast,
who leads the Hairy Hooligan Tribe of the Island of Berk.
Hiccup is heir to the tribe, but most of the other young boys in the village consider Hiccup incompetent and weak.
For their official initiation into the Hooligan Tribe,
the Novice boys must each steal a hibernating（過冬，冬眠） dragon from their lair(窩) and train it to obey their commands.
Their teacher, Gobber the Belch, places Hiccup in charge of the mission, which the other boys protest.
As a dragon enthusiast, Hiccup alone seems disturbed by the danger of this mission.
As Hiccup expects, the mission goes awry[əˋraɪ].
The dragons wake up, giving chase to the boys.
In the
confusion, Hiccup grabs a small green dragon in
the dark,
rather than one of the Monstrous Nightmare species which is the birthright of chiefs.
Instead, the creature he discovers appears to be a Common or Garden Dragon.
The tiny dragon is without teeth, so the other boys ridicule Hiccup and his new dragon, whom they refer to as “Useless” and “Toothless,” respectively.
That night, Hiccup talks with his grandfather, Old Wrinkly.
Old Wrinkly practices soothsaying(占卜；預言), but only some of his predictions come true.
Hiccup expresses concern
about his minuscule(小)
dragon and his own small
stature(身高).
Hiccup’s grandfather reassures him that “size is all relative” and shares that
Sea Dragons grow so big that they tower over the little dragons kept in Berk as hunting animals.
Old Wrinkly predicts that the tribe is due for a change in leadership, and Hiccup will bring them that change.
Training Toothless proves difficult.
The recommended reading on the subject, How to Train Your Dragon by Professor Yobbish,
only suggests yelling at the dragon, and Hiccup lacks the sheer force of will for yelling to succeed.
Fortunately, he speaks the Dragon language, Dragonese, although his father has banned the practice of speaking to dragons in their tongue.
Hiccup attempts to appeal to Toothless’s sense of greed, vanity, fear, and vengeance, all of which fail until he discovers the dragon’s fondness for jokes.
Even still, Hiccup is unsuccessful.
Toothless confesses that dragons have no sense of morality and only obey humans because the humans are bigger and give them food.
(1) Toothless
➊門牙 ➋獠牙 ➌沒牙
(2) Berk Island
➊博克山 ➋博克島 ➌博克海
(3) hiccup
➊ 歡唱 ➋ 咳嗽 ➌ 打嗝
(4) dragon
➊龍 ➋虎 ➌狗
(5) train
➊煮 ➋炒 ➌訓練
留言
張貼留言