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TextUrbanmythsorUrbanlegends?1Londonhasthemostextensivenetworkofundergroundtunnelsintheworld.Butforsomeinhabitants,thetunnelsaremorethanjustconvenient–theyliveinthem.TheLondonSubterraneansarearaceofpeoplewholivebeneaththestreets.They'rehuman,buttheydon'tspeakEnglish,andtheyhavetheirowncustoms.Occasionally,afewofthemcometothesurface.Theyonlyappearatnightthroughthedrainsinadarkbackstreet,andiftheyhearfootsteps,theyhideinadarkalleywayandonlycomeoutwhenit'squietagain.Andbeforesunrise,theygobackunderground.VeryfewLondonershaveseenthem,butthefriendofafriendhasseenthemseveraltimes.Text2Truestory?Probablynot.It'saclassicexampleofwhat'scalledinmanylanguagesanurbanmyth.Anurbanmythisastoryyouhearbywordofmouth.Itusuallydescribessomethingwhichmighthavehappened,anapocryphal,second-handstorytoldasifitweretrue,justaboutplausibleenoughtobecredible,aboutsomeeventwhichhassupposedlyhappenedtoarealperson.Factualornot,it'slikelytorelyonexpertstorytellingandonatrustworthysource,suchasIthappenedtomybrother'sfriend'smother.Text3However,someacademicsclaimthaturbanmythsarenotreallymyths.Accordingtothem,amythisastorywhichheldsomereligiousorspiritualsignificanceforthosewhotolditorlistenedinthepasttoit,andwhichcontributedtotheexpressionofsharedbeliefsandvalues.Howeverimprobableamythmightbe,it'salwaystrueforthosewhobelongtothatculturefromwhichthemythcomes.Text4Soshouldweusethetermurbanmyths?Let'slookatoneofthemostdurableofurbanmyths,TheVanishingHitchhiker.Thebasicstoryisthatofadriveraloneatnightonadark,countryroad,whoseesayoungwomanhitchhiking.Thedriverstopsandoffersheralift.Soonthedriverdropsthehitchhikeroffatherdestination,andtheysaygoodbye.Butit'sonlywhenthedriverstopslaterthatherealizestheyoungwomanhasleftbehindacoatwithherwallet,orsometimesanoldenvelopeinthepocket.Hethengoestotheaddresstoreturnthecoat.TextAnoldwomanopensthedoorofthehouse,andthedriverexplainswhathashappened.Itturnsoutthatthecoatdoesbelongtotheoldwoman'sdaughter,butshewaskilledseveralyearsbeforeonthesamestretchofroadwherethedriverpickedherup.Thatdaywastheanniversaryoftheaccident.Text5Infact,likemanymyths,thisstorycanbetracedbacktosometimebeforethecarsandroadsofthe20thor21stcenturies,andtoothercountriesorregionssuchasSwedenorEastAfrica.Italsohasotherfeaturescommontothemythinitstraditionalsense.Aswehavealreadyseen,it'sastoryforthosepeoplewhowanttobelieveinit,andwhosharethesameculturalvalues.Ithasbeentoldandretoldmanytimesovertheyears,gatheringembellishmentswhicharespecifictothecultureinwhichit'sset.Finally,it'senjoyable,excitingandcaptivatingtothelisteners.Text6Anotherwell-knownurbanmythisaboutthebabyalligatorswhichparentsontheirreturnfromFloridabringhometotheirchildreninNewYork.Asthealligatorsgrowinsize,theyarenolongercuteandtheparentshavetodisposeofthemdownthetoilet.Butsomeofthemsurvive,andasaresulttherearefull-grownalligatorslivingunderthestreetsofManhattan.Text7Thisisalsoamythinthatitdescribessomethingofthegeographyofacityoraregion,warningofpossibledangers.InGreekmythology,OdysseussailsbetweenScyllaandCharybdis,thenarrowanddangerouschannelbetweenmainlandItalyandtheislandofSicily.Inthesameway,thestoryofthealligatorswarnsNewYorkersofthedangerswhichtheymayfacewhentheyusethesubway.Text8Urbanmythscanalsobeamoralityor“cautionary”tale.Oneofthebest-knownisthestoryofthemansittinginahotelbar.Anotherpersonofferstobuyhimadrink.Thenextthingthemanknowsisthathe'ssittinginhishotelbath,withhisbodysubmergedinice.Onthewallisanotetellinghimnottomove,buttocall911.TextTheoperator,whoisfamiliarwiththesituation,tellshimtomoveveryslowly,andtofeelhislowerback.Ifthere'satubeprotrudingfromit,itmeansthattheman'skidneyhasbeenremovedandsoldtobetransplanted.Themoralofthestoryis:Becarefulofanyonewhoofferstobuyyouadrink!Text9Similarly,traditionalmythsshowpeoplehowtobehaveappropriatelyintheirsocieties.Godsactinsuchawayastosetthepeopleagoodexample.Humanbeingsbehavenoblyandcourageously.Sometimesahumanheromaybebasedonarealperson,butmaybecomeagodbecauseofhisnobleactions.Text10Inrecentyears,wehaveseentheriseoftheurbanmythswhicharenotcirculatedorally,butbyemail,intheformofmessages,usuallyaboutaviruswhichcanwipeoutyourharddrive.It'susuallyrecognizablebythewarningsofdireconsequencesifyoudon'tpassonthemessagetoothers,andbytheuseofCAPITALLETTERSandexclamationmarks!!!Therearealsowebrumourswhicharebasedonthemerestminorfactorspeculation,andwhichpassedaroundtheWeb,gatheringfurtherfictitiousevidencetosupportthem.Text11Butisthisamyth?No,notinthetraditionalsense.Infact,amoreaccuratewordforitwouldbeahoax,somethingwhichappearstruebutturnsouttobefalseanddeliberatelymisleading.Truemythsarealwaysbenignintheirintentions.Text12Urbanmythshavethecharacteristicscommontoallmyths:Theyoftenrecordevents,peoplebelieveinthem,theyhavebeenpassedonbywordofmouthandexaggerated,theyoftencontainamoralorwarnofpossibledangersinparticularsituationsorcontexts,andtheyadvisepeoplewhattodoorhowtobehave.Intheirway,forlistenersinthe21stcentury,theyarejustasrealasthemythsoftheGreeks,Romans,Celts,Vikings,MesopotamiansandChinesefromyearsgoneby.Text13B