托福听力短文 II-03-1

(WA-WW) Yesterday we talked about the anecdote¹. Today we're going to move on to one of the most popular literary forms in Western literature --- the short story.

A short story is a piece of prose fiction, usually under 10,000 words. Although it's similar to the anecdote, it's really a separate literary form. You'll remember that the anecdote's sole purpose is to entertain, and that it does this by relating a curious or interesting event. Well, there are also events in short stories, but the short story uses the event as something a character reacts to --- the reader's interest is captured by the effect that this event has on the character in the story. We're even likely to reread a short story to better understand the character who is being portrayed² and why a certain event led to a certain response or action.

A short story, though, is not just a short novel. A novel is narrative³ --- it tells a detailed⁴ story that usually takes place over a long period of time. A short story is less comprehensive than a novel, and the focus is on a character's mental reaction to an experience --- this reaction is the heart of the short story.

Now I want you to think back to the short story you read for homework and I'll give you a list of questions to think about.

1 anecdote   

n.轶事，趣闻，短故事

参考例句：

• He departed from the text to tell an anecdote.他偏离课文讲起了一则轶事。
• It had never been more than a family anecdote.那不过是个家庭趣谈罢了。

2 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

4 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。