sto‧ry S1 W1 / stɔri / 名词 ( 复数形式 stories ) [可数名词]
1 for entertainment a description of how something happened, that is intended to entertain people, and may be true or imaginary → tale
story about/of
a story about a princess
fairy/ghost/love etc story
a detective story
tell/read somebody a story
Mommy, will you read me a story?
a book of short stories
We cuddled together over a bedtime story .
The film was based on a true story .
Don’t be frightened – it’s only a story (= it is imaginary ) .
2 news a report in a newspaper or news broadcast about a recent event, or something that is reported on :
a front-page story
‘The Observer’ ran a story about the scandal (= printed it ) .
cover story (= the main story in a magazine, which is about the picture on the cover )
3 events an account of something that has happened, usually one that people tell each other, and which may not be true :
The full story of what happened has never been reported.
Her parents did not believe her story.
First, he wanted to hear Matthew’s side of the story (= his description of what happened ) .
He was having an affair with Julie, or so the story goes (= people are saying this ) .
4 excuse an excuse or explanation, especially one that you have invented :
Where were you? And don’t give me some story about working late!
Well, that’s my story (= that is what I say happened ) , and I’m sticking to it.
5 history a description of the most important events in someone’s life or in the development of something :
the Charlie Parker Story
He wanted to have his life story told on film.
6 building American English a floor or level of a building 同义词 storey British English :
a 50-story building
7 of a film/play etc what happens in a film, play, or book 同义词 plot :
The story is similar in all her books.
8 it’s the same story here/there/in … used to say the same thing is happening in another place :
Unemployment is falling in the US, and it’s the same story in Europe. SPOKEN PHRASES
9 it’s the same old story used to say that the present bad situation has often happened before :
It’s the same old story – too much work and not enough time.
10 it’s a long story used to tell someone that you do not want to give them all the details that a full answer to their question would need
11 to cut a long story short ( also to make a long story short American English ) used when you only give the main point of something you are talking about, and not all the other details
12 but that’s another story used when you have mentioned something that you are not going to talk about on this occasion
13 that’s not the whole story used to say that there are more details which people need to know in order to understand the situation
14 that’s the story of my life used after a disappointing experience to mean that similar disappointing things always seem to happen to you
15 end of story used to say that there is nothing more to say about a particular subject :
As far as I’m concerned, Terry is still a friend – end of story.
16 it’s a different story used to say that something is not what you expect it to be :
It looks like a big house, but inside it’s a different story.
17 lie a lie – used by children or when speaking to children 同义词 tale :
You shouldn’t tell stories .
→ short story , → cock and bull story at cock 1 ( 4 ) , → hard-luck story , sob story , → success story at success ( 5 )
COLLOCATIONS
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + story
a true story ‘Schindler’s List’ tells the true story of Oskar Schindler.
a classic story (= old and admired by many people, or typical and good ) a classic story about a little girl who falls down a rabbit hole
a short story He has published two collections of short stories.
a children’s story Enid Blyton is famous for writing children’s stories.
a love story ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a classic love story.
a fairy story (= a children’s story in which magical things happen ) She looked like a princess in a fairy story.
an adventure story an exciting adventure story for children
a detective story Most detective stories are about a murder.
a ghost/horror story They sat round the fire telling ghost stories. | She likes reading horror stories.
a bedtime story (= one that you read to a child before they go to sleep ) He remembered his mother reading him a bedtime story.
动词
tell (somebody) a story Would you like me to tell you a story?
read (somebody) a story She read a lot of detective stories.
write a story The story was written by Lewis Carroll.
COMMON ERRORS
► Do not say ’ say (somebody) a story ‘. Say tell (somebody) a story .
COLLOCATIONS
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + story
a big story (= a report about something important ) He had promised the newspaper a big story on a major celebrity.
the lead/top story (= the most important story in a newspaper or news programme ) The floods were the lead story on the news that evening.
a front-page story The Times published a front-page story about the scandal.
a cover story (= the main story in a magazine, mentioned on the cover ) Hello magazine did a cover story on her last year.
动词
do a story (= write and then print or broadcast it ) I went to Iraq to do a story on the war.
print/publish a story The News of the World decided not to print the story.
run a story (= print it or broadcast it ) There wasn’t enough definite information to run the story.
cover a story (= report on it ) Her family complained about the way that journalists had covered the story.
break a story (= report on it for the first time ) The Daily Mail was the paper which broke the story.
leak a story (= secretly tell a reporter about it ) We may never know who leaked the story to the press.
a story breaks (= it is reported for the first time ) I still remember the shock when that story broke.
THESAURUS
story a description of how something happened that is intended to entertain people, and may be true or imaginary : a ghost story | a love story | It’s a story about a man who loses his memory. | a book of short stories
tale a story about strange imaginary events, or exciting events that happened in the past : a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen | I loved hearing tales of his travels.
myth 名词 [可数和不可数名词] a very old imaginary story about gods and magical creatures : an ancient myth | Greek and Roman myths
legend 名词 [可数和不可数名词] an old story about brave people or magical events that are probably not true : popular legends of the creation of the world | According to legend, King Arthur was buried there.
fable a traditional imaginary short story that teaches a moral lesson, especially a story about animals : the fable of the tortoise and the hare | a Chinese fable
epic a story told in a long book, film, or poem which is about great or exciting events, especially in history : an epic about 13th-century Scottish hero William Wallace
saga a story about a series of events that take place over a long period of time, especially events involving one family : a family saga beginning in the 1880s
yarn informal a long exciting story that is not completely true : The movie’s a rattling good yarn and full of action.
COLLOCATIONS
动词
tell (somebody) a story ( also recount/relate a story formal ) I’d better tell you the whole story from the beginning. | He laughed as he recounted the story.
give (somebody) a story I had the feeling that she wasn’t giving me the full story.
hear a story ( also listen to a story ) I’ve heard that story a hundred times.
make up/invent a story She confessed to making up the story of being abducted.
stick to your story (= keep saying it is true ) He didn’t believe her at first, but she stuck to her story.
change your story During police interviews, Harper changed his story several times.
believe a story The jury did not believe Evans’s story.
swap stories (= tell each other stories ) They swapped stories and shared their experiences.
the story goes (= this is what is people say happened ) The story goes that he was drowned off the south coast, but not everyone believed it.
a story goes around (= people tell it to each other ) A story went around that she had been having an affair.
形容词
the full/whole story I did not know the full story.
a plausible/convincing story She tried to think up a convincing story to tell her parents.
a remarkable story The film tells the remarkable story of their escape from a prison camp.
an apocryphal story (= one that is well-known but probably not true ) There are many apocryphal stories about him.
the inside story (= including facts that are known only to people involved ) Though I’d seen the official report, I wanted the inside story.
短语
sb’s side of the story (= someone’s account of what happened, which may be different from someone else’s ) I would like to give my side of the story.