The following are selected contributors’ notes for an essay collection.
KATY BUTLER, a 2004 finalist for a National Magazine Award, has written for The New Yorker, the New York Times, Mother Jones, Salon, Tricycle, and other magazines. She was born in South Africa and raised in England, and came to the United States with her family at the age of eight. “Everything Is Holy,” her essay about nature worship, Buddhism (佛学), and ecology, was selected for Best Buddhist Writing 2006. In 2009 she won a literary award from the Elizabeth George Foundation. “What Broke My Father’s Heart” was named a “notable narrative” by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, won a first-place award from the Association of Health Care Journalists, and was named one of the 100 Best Magazine Articles of All Time. Butler has taught narrative nonfiction at Nieman Foundation conferences and memoir writing at Esalen Institute. Her current book project is Knocking on Heaven’s Door: A Journey Through Old Age and New Medicine to be published in 2013.
VICTOR LAVALLE is the author of a collection of stories, Slapboxing with Jesus, and two novels, The Ecstatic and Big Machine, for which he won the Shirley Jackson Award, the American Book Award, and the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. He is a 2010 Guggenheim Award winner and an assistant professor at Columbia University’s School of the Arts. About “Long Distance” he says: “This essay actually came about when I was asked to write about my life after having lost a great deal of weight. And yet, when I sat down to work, all I could do was return to that time when I was much heavier and deeply unhappy. Why? I sure didn’t miss those days. And yet, I felt I couldn’t write about my present without touching on that past. But, of course, I never reach the true present in the essay. Maybe I still don’t know how to talk about a life with greater happiness. ”
BRIDGET POTTER was born in Brompton-on-Swale, Yorkshire, and came to the United States as a teenager in 1958. She spent the first forty years of her career in television, beginning as a secretary, then as a producer and an executive, including fifteen years as senior vice president of original programming at HBO. In 2007 she earned a BA in cultural anthropology from Columbia University. This year she will complete an MFA in nonfiction, also from Columbia, where she has been an instructor in the University Writing Program. She is currently working on her first book, a memoir / social history of the 1960s, from which her essay “Lucky Girl” is adapted.
PATRICIA SMITH is the author of five books of poetry, including Blood Dazzler, chronicling the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, which was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award, and Teahouse of the Almighty, a National Poetry Series selection. Her work has appeared in Poetry, The Paris Review, TriQuarterly, and The Best American Poetry 2011. She is a Pushcart Prize winner and a four-time individual champion of the National Poetry Slam, the most successful poet in the competition’s history.
RESHMA MEMON YAQUB wouldn’t even be fit to write a grocery list were it not for her guardian editors. Her stories owe many glorious plot twists to Zain, eleven, and Zach, seven. Ditto their dad (Amer) and grandparents (Ali, Razia, Muhammad, Nasreen). Costars: Sophie, Sana, Yousef, and Maryam. Miss Yaqub lives in Bethesda, Maryland. Her next project is an investigation into the whereabouts (行踪) of two missing people: Mr. Right and Ms. Memoir Literary Agent.
1. Which of the following won the Shirley Jackson Award?
A. Best Buddhist Writing 2006.
B. Teahouse of the Almighty.
C. Mother Jones.
D. Big Machine.
2. What is “Long Distance” mainly about?
A. The true happiness in the writer’s present life.
B. Nature worship, Buddhism and ecology.
C. The whereabouts of two missing people.
D. The author’s past life experience.
3. When did the author of “Lucky Girl” come to the United States?
A. In 1958. B. In 2007.
C. In 2010. D. In 2013.
4.Who is the most successful poet in the competition’s history?
A. BRIDGET POTTER. B. KATY BUTLER.
C. PATRICIA SMITH. D. VICTOR LAVALLE.
What is funny? The short answer is: Who knows? The joke that causes a burst of laughter from one listener might be met with a puzzled look from another.
In general, you should avoid jokes at any business or social gathering where there are more than two people in your conversational group. If there are only two people — and they consist of you and your best friend — go ahead and tell it.
Admittedly, a few people possess a perfect sense of timing, appropriateness, and joke delivery. You are probably not one of them. You might be quite funny and have many great jokes. But there’s a place for jokes — over dinner with family, hiking with friends, but business or social affairs with colleagues and acquaintances (熟人) are not it. It takes a whole other level of joke-telling ability to put a joke into the more formal conversations.
The best jokes come into the conversation so that by the time listeners realize a joke is in progress, the punchline that produces humour is being delivered — to their surprise and delight.
Jokes don’t translate well when you’re in a group with mixed backgrounds: those whose first language is not English, those who might not understand a special term or an “in” expression, young people who wouldn’t catch a reference to some bit of culture familiar to older people — and vice versa (反之亦然).
Never joke about another person in the group — about their name, habits, hometown, profession, appearance, or past. It’s not a question of whether the joke is cheery or appropriate. No one enjoys being singled out this way. When you are the subject of the joke, the laughter doesn’t feel good no matter how hard you try to tell yourself they’re not laughing at you. Because that’s what it feels like.
What do you say if you realize your joke upset someone? Apologize as briefly and as sincerely as you can, and hope that someone changes the subject. Try saying: “I’m sorry. I should have known better” or “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
What do you do if people don’t get your joke or don’t appear to find it as funny as you do? First, do not retell it, only louder this time, hoping the point of the joke will be seen. Second, don’t try to push people to get it. People do not like people whose jokes they don’t understand. They feel stupid and need to blame someone. If you want to leave with the goodwill of your listeners, say something to make them feel less foolish. You could say: “I don’t know why I tell jokes when I’m so poor at it.”
The world needs laughter, and good humour is a success wherever it goes, so this caveat (告诫) about joke-telling is not meant to dampen high spirits or to advocate dull conversation. If you’re a gifted story-teller and you know people love your jokes, go for it. We need your kind. The rest of us will save our jokes for family and close friends.
1.According to the passage, it might be appropriate for you to tell a joke at a business or social gathering if ______.
A. the joke is well chosen
B. you have complete confidence in your listeners’ sense of humor
C. only you and your best friend are involved in the conversation
D. the audience consists of your colleagues and acquaintances
2.Why do some jokes fail to work?
A. Because the punchline is too long to catch.
B. Because the joke-teller uses wrong words and expressions.
C. Because the joke-teller and listeners don’t share the same background knowledge.
D. Because the jokes are not properly translated into the listeners’ native language.
3.How will people feel when they are joked about?
A. They will feel happy if the joke is a pleasant one.
B. They will be upset no matter what kind of joke it is.
C. They will enjoy the joke when realizing that people are not laughing at them.
D. They will panic because it makes them the center of attention.
4.When people do not understand a joke they hear, they tend to ______.
A. believe it’s the joke-teller’s fault B. get someone to retell the joke
C. ask for explanation D. say something foolish
5.Which of the following best describes the writer’s opinion on joke-telling?
A. Nobody knows what makes a joke funny.
B. We should not tell jokes unless we are asked to do so.
C. Joke-telling is a very complex thing.
D. Jokes should be told only to friends and family members.
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从 1～20 各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
From her lifeguard station at the shallow end of the swimming pool, Jessica noticed clouds gathering in the sky. By the time she took a break at 2:30, the wind was picking up and the sky was getting ________ . The pool manager ________ over the loudspeaker that the pool was closing
________ , due to a severe weather warning.
All of the ________ had left by 3:30 except for Jessica’s neighbor, eight-year-old Zack Hill. Zack’s mother had planned to ________ him up later, but the storm was approaching fast. Jessica decided that she would ________ Zack off on her way home.
The minute Jessica and Zack left the parking lot, it was ________ that this was no ________ storm. The rain hit just as Jessica turned onto her street, coming down in sheets and making it ________ to see clearly. Jessica said, “Zack, I’m going to take you to my house. We need to get inside right away, and your house is farther away than ________ .”
She pressed the garage-door opener, but nothing happened. The electricity was ________ . The front door was only a few feet away, ________ the wind was so strong that Jessica and Zack had to ________ their way out of the car and into the house.
Remembering everything she could from her ________ training, Jessica dragged Zack to the basement (地下室) . “We’ll be safe in here, Zack,” she said, trying to sound ________ . They had just gotten inside ________ everything went deadly quiet for a moment. Then they could hear the sound of glass breaking. A deafening roar, like the sound of a train, filled their ________ .
After a final crash, Jessica and Zack ________ drops of rain on their arms. They saw a flash of lightning through a crack in the ceiling. The sound of the storm grew ________ . Jessica began to breathe easier. She and Zack were safe, and what a ________ they would have to tell!
1.A. blue B. bright C. sunny D. dark
2.A. announced B. murmured C. wept D. whispered
3.A. slowly B. tightly C. immediately D. quietly
4.A. swimmers B. lifeguards C. managers D. parents
5.A. get B. pick C. dress D. cheer
6.A. put B. send C. lay D. drop
7.A. probable B. clear C. impossible D. unlikely
8.A. severe B. impressive C. ordinary D. violent
9.A. hard B. comfortable C. useless D. worthwhile
10.A. ours B. hers C. yours D. mine
11.A. back B. out C. on D. up
12.A. and B. thus C. but D. so
13.A. jump B. find C. fight D. thread
14.A. teacher B. character C. flight D. emergency
15.A. nervous B. calm C. humorous D. polite
16.A. when B. since C. after D. as
17.A. mouths B. eyes C. noses D. ears
18.A. heard B. tasted C. felt D. smelt
19.A. distant B. near C. sharp D. loud
20.A. joke B. story C. lie D. difference
–– Fancy meeting you here.
–– _______
A. So you’re going. B. That’s very kind of you.
C. Have a nice time! D. Yes, what a coincidence!
Obviously he had set up a situation _____ he didn’t have to blame, or even recognize, his own shyness.
A. where B. which C. that D. Whom
______ she began reading and saw what fun it was, there was no stopping her.
A. Unless B. Once C. Until D. Though
