myth: is varied in application and connotation and can apply to a fanciful explanation as of a natural phenomenon, social practice, or belief: ~s of ancient Greece; or a story, belief, or notion commonly held to be true but utterly without fact: the ~ that money buys happiness.   （fancy想象幻想: 发自个人愿望而不受事实约束的想象suggests an imagining often unrestrained by factual reality but spurred by desires，如fancy himself a super star幻想自己是巨星）







legend: typically applies to a story, incident, or notion attached to a particular person or place that purports to be historical though in fact unverifiable or incredible: the ~ of Paul Bunyan.   （purport声称=claim，如she is not the person she purports to be她不是自己宣称的那种人； 还表示意义目的=purpose，如the purport of existence存在的意义） 保罗班杨Paul Bunyan是美国传说中的伐木巨人，力大无穷，伐木快如割草。 罗宾汉Robin Hood是英国传说中劫富济贫、箭无虚发的侠盗。 佐罗Zorro是南美传说中神出鬼没，身兼总督和侠客双重身份的侠士，阿兰德龙最有名的角色。 另外黑郁金香，花木兰，蝙蝠侠，蜘蛛人，超人，忍者神龟，功夫熊猫都可以被称作传奇legend。






saga: may refer to a long, continued, heroic story that deals with a person or a group and is historical OR legendary OR a mixture of both: the building of the railroad was part of the great ~ of the West.    最有名的saga是北欧海盗传奇，也是这个词的原意






myth神话: 对自然现象社会习俗信仰的完全发自幻象的解释，或人们认为正确但不符合事实的想法故事观念（如德军不可战胜，金钱能买幸福），legend传奇: 指关于某人某地的故事，被说成是史实，但无法确认难以置信，saga长篇故事传奇: 表示长篇连续的英雄故事，可能是史实或是传奇，或二者兼有






记忆方法： 1）首字母MLS想成木兰诗<==巾帼传奇




          2）传奇的意思是无法确认来源的历史故事mean a traditional story of ostensibly historical content whose origin has been lost or forgotten.