英語聽力：自然百科 冰島矮人族傳說

Elves and trolls hold a special place in the hearts of the people of Iceland. The tradition andmythology of the country’s small folk dates back to the 10th century AD, when the first Norwegian Vikings settled on the island.

Tales of elves were first mentioned in Iceland's medieval literature, and most of these epic poems of battles and encounters between elves, trolls and Norwegian Vikings have survived, partly because the Icelandic language has remained almost unchanged in more than 1000 years.

“The elves is something that we are actually brought up with. It's just a part of our mindset. It's not to talk about whether we believe they exist or not. It's just a huge part of our history, something that we grow up with. I don't know how they would feel today. I think they would actually try to protect us. So they are so much a part of our environment, whether or not they exist or not. ”

Magnus Skarphedinsson is a self-proclaimed elf and troll expert as well as the founder of the country's first and only elf school.

“Well according to my files, there are at least 13 different types of elves. They are from five centimeters up to two meters. There are about three species of hidden people which are totally human-sized people, and then we have gnomes, and dwarves and fairies which have wings, and we have trolls and a lot of other invisible beings to exist here.”

In the past two decades, he has collected hundreds of stories of alleged encounters between Icelanders and non-human entities.

“Well, these stones, 1971 they were in the middle of the place where the highways are. And when the State Road Company wanted to smash them because they wanted to build the highway, everything went wrong here. The workers were sick and the machines were overheated and broke down. So in the end, the director of the company got a psychic man to here to talk with the elves and hidden people in the stones. Magnus claims that 54 percent of Icelanders believe in elves and trolls. ”

“I once saw an elf walking home from school. It was little, cute and with colorful clothes. He was with other elves. They seemed happy and didn't talk to each other. They were just walking and jumping.”

“I'm not so sure about the elves. For me, it's just a fairy tale. I used to believe in them when I was a kid. I thought I saw them back then. We always used to say, I saw an elf. But I think it was just about being a kid. ”

Amidst century-old tin-roofed houses in the village of Stokkseyri on Iceland's southern coast, is Icelandic Wonders, a museum dedicated to elves and trolls where visitors can seereplicas of elf dwellings. Reportedly some tourists stay several days for free, and exchange for posing as trolls and elves to scare visitors.

Rebecca Harrison comes from Oregon in the US.

“I believe in spirits and trolls I think they are out there. Coming here strengthened my opinion that, yeah, there are spirits, trolls, ghosts because too many people have seen them. It's very real here. You feel it in the museum. There are nights I've been here and you feel spirits or somebody else is here. It's very strong here. ”

Andres San Roman is a Spanish tourist who remains skeptical. “People here believe in elves and goblins. Lots of them see trolls and other beings in this country. I don't particularly believe in it. But if they do, then there must be something about it. ”

Whether they exist or not will keep people guessing for years to come.