In a recent class I was asked “What is a short story?” My first answer was that it was something that could be read in one sitting and brought an illumination（启示）to the reader, sudden and golden like sunlight cracking(破裂, 砸开) through a heavy cloud. I went on to say that in my opinion a “real” short story was closer to poetry than to a novel.
Here are some definitions of the short story. My favorite is Benet's: “something that can be read in an hour and remembered for a lifetime”. One writer said, “The theme of a novel won't fit into the framework of a short story; It's like trying to squeeze a large painting done on a wall into the frame of a miniature （微型画）。 And as in a miniature painting, the details need to be sharp. ”
The short story is an example of one aspect of human nature. Often a character undergoes some event, something that offers him or her change. This is why it’s said that short stories usually “say something ”， often a small something, but sometimes delivered with such accuracy that the effect is strongly felt, even a life-moment for some readers, something similar to a religious experience or to witnessing a never-to-be-repeated scene in nature.
Ok, let’s form a definition here: A short story is an account, rarely over 10, 000 words or below 500 words-more commonly 1, 500 to 5, 000 words-a single-sitting read, but with enough time and weight to move the reader. It is narrow and focused to produce an effect through the story, most commonly through events affecting some change in an individual.
Writer Isabelle Allende once wrote: “Novels are, for me, adding up details, just work, work, work, then you're done. Short stories are more difficult-they have to be perfect, complete in themselves. ”
1.The writer of the passage is probably a ______.
A. poet B. painter C. teacher D. student
2.What should the ideal short story be in length?
A. at most 10, 000 words B. below 500 words C. over 5, 000words D. around 2, 000 words
3.The underlined word “undergoes ” in the third paragraph probably means “________ ”。
A. experiences B. discovers C. discusses D. appreciates
4.What’s the difference between novels and short stories?
A. Novels are too long for us to read.
B. Short stories are too short for us to read.
C. Short stories have more details than novels.
D. Short stories are more perfect and difficult than novels.
5.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. How Do You Write a Short Story? B. What Exactly Is a Short Story?
C. Is a Short Story Similar to Poetry? D. Are Short Stories Perfect and Complete?
Not many years ago，a wealthy and rather strange old man named Johnson lived alone in a village in the south of England. He had made a lot of money in trading with foreign countries. When he was seventy-five， he gave ￡ 12，000 to the village school to buy land and equipment for a children’s playground.
As a result of his kindness，many people came to visit him. Among them was a newspaperman. During their talk, Johnson remarked that he was seventy-five and expected to live to be a hundred. The newspaperman asked him how he managed to be healthy at seventy-five. Johnson had a sense of humor. He liked whisky and drank some each day. “I have an injection （注射） in my neck each evening.”he told the newspaperman, thinking of his evening glass of whisky.
The newspaperman did not understand what Johnson meant. In his newspaper he reported that Johnson was seventy-five and had a daily injection in his neck. Within a week Johnson received thousands of letters from all over Britain, asking him for the secret of his daily injection
1.Johnson became a rich man through _________.
A. doing business.
B. making whisky.
C. cheating.
D. buying and selling land
2. The gift of money to the school suggests that Johnson __________.
A. had no children.
B. was a strange man.
C. was very fond of children.
D. wanted people to know how rich he was.
3.Many people wrote to Johnson to find out __________.
A. what kind of whisky he had. B. how to live longer.
C. how to become wealthy. D. in which part of the neck to have an injection.
4.The newspaperman ____________.
A. should have reported what Johnson had told him.
B. shouldn’t have asked Johnson what injection he had.
C. was eager to live a long life.
D. should have found out what Johnson really meant.
5.When Johnson said he had an injection in his neck each evening，he really meant that ______. A. he liked drinking a glass of whisky in the evening.
B. he needed an injection in the neck.
C. a daily injection in the evening would make him sleep well.
D. there was something wrong with his neck.
One afternoon, my son Adam asked me, “Are all people the same even if they are different in color?”
I thought for a minute, and then I said, “I’ll explain, 36 you can just wait until we make a quick 37 at the grocery store. I have something 38 to show you. ”
At the grocery store, we 39 some apples --- red, green and yellow ones. Back home, I told Adam, “It’s time to 40 your question.” I put one apple of each 41 on the table. Then I looked at Adam, who had a 42 look on his face.
“People are like apples. They come in all 43 colors, shapes and sizes. On the 44 , some of the apples may not 45 look as the others. ” As I was talking, Adam was 46 each one carefully.
Then, I took each of the apples and peeled（削皮）them, 47 them back on the table, but 48 a different place.
“Okay, Adam, tell me which is which.”
He said, “I 49 tell. They all look same now. ” “Take a bite of 50 . See if that helps you 51 which one is which. ”
He took a 52 , and then a huge smile came across his face. . ”People are 53 like apples! They are all different, but once you 54 the outside, they’re pretty much the same on the inside. ”
He totally 55 it. I didn’t need to say or do anything else.
1.. A. although B. so C. because D. if
2.A. stop B. start C. turn D. stay
3.A. expressive B. encouraging C. informative D. interesting
4.A. bought B. counted C. saw D. collected
5. A. check B. mention C. answer D. improve
6.A. size B. type C. shape D. class
7.A. worried B. satisfied C. proud D. curious
8.A. ordinary B. normal C. different D. regular
9.A. outside B. whole C. table D. inside
10. A. still B. even C. only D. ever
11.A. examining B. measuring C. drawing D. packing
12.A. keeping B. placing C. pulling D. giving
13. A. on B. toward C. for D. in
14.A. mustn’t B. can’t C. shouldn’t D. needn’t
15.A. each one B. each other C. the other D. one another
16.A. admit B. consider C. decide D. believe
17. A. big bite B. deep breath C. firm hold D. close look
18. A. just B. always C. merely D. seldom
19.A. put away B. get down C. hand out D. take off
20.A. made B. took C. got D. did
. —Can you help raise some money for the new journalist’s amusement center?
—_____. But give me some time.
A. Thanks B. Go ahead C. Sure D. Sorry
—I don’t believe we _______ before.
—Well, I saw you once at a party, but we ______ introduced.
A. have met; weren’t B. met; weren’t
C. have met; haven’t been D. met; haven’t been
I waved to Nancy, but she was ______ in her thoughts, and made no response.
A. involved B. stuck C. absorbed D. interested
