/'nærətɪv; `nærətɪv/
n
1 [C] spoken or written account of events; story 叙事; 故事
*a gripping narrative about the war 扣人心弦的战况报道.
2 [U]
(a) story-telling 讲述; 叙述; 叙事体
*a master of narrative 擅长叙述的人.
(b) narrated parts of a book, etc 书等中的叙述部分
*The novel contains more narrative than dialogue. 这部小说里的叙述比对话多.

adj [attrib 作定语] of, or in the form of, story-telling 叙述的; 叙事体的
*narrative literature, ie stories and novels 叙事文学（故事和小说）
* narrative poems 叙事诗
* a writer of great narrative power, ie able to describe events vividly 擅长叙事的作家.

n formal
[C]
a description of events in a story, especially in a novel
　At several points in the narrative the two stories cross.
[U]
the process or skill of telling a story
>narrativeadj
　a narrative poem
　narrative structure