托福听力练习对照文本第五十五篇

　　Yesterday we talked about the anecdote.

　　昨天我们谈论过了奇闻轶事。

　　Today we're going to move on to one of the most popular literary forms in Western literature—the short story.

　　今天我们将转移到西方文学最重要的文学形式之一——短篇故事(叙事散文)

　　A short story is a piece of prose fiction, usually under 10,000 words.

　　叙事散文是一篇散文化小说，通常低于10000字。

　　Although it's similar to the anecdote, it's really a separate literary form.

　　虽然它相似于轶事趣闻，它事实上是一种单独的文学形式。

　　You'll remember that the anecdote's sole purpose is to entertain, and that it does this by relating a curious or interesting event.

　　你将记住轶事趣闻的唯一目的是娱乐，并且它通过关联好奇的或有趣的事件来做到这一点。

　　Well, there are also events in short stories, but the short story uses the event as something a character reacts to.

　　好，在叙事散文里也有事件，但是叙事散文把事件用作角色作出反应的某事物。

　　The reader's interest is captured by the effect that this event has on the character in the story.

　　读者的兴趣被抓住是由于这个事件在故事中对角色的影响。

　　We're even likely to reread a short story to better understand the character who is being portrayed and why a certain event led to a certain response or action.

　　我们甚至喜欢重读一个叙事散文以更好地了解被描述的角色以及为什么某一个事件导致了某一种反应或行动。

　　A short story, though, is not just a short novel. A novel is narrative.

　　一个叙事散文，然而，并不仅仅是一个短篇小说。小说是叙事体的。

　　It tells a detailed story that usually takes place over a long period of time.

　　它讲述一个通常发生在一段很长时间的详细的故事。

　　A short story is less comprehensive than a novel, and the focus is on a character's mental reaction to an experience.

　　叙事散文是不如小说全面的，并且焦点是在角色对一种经历的心理反应。

　　This reaction is the heart of the short story.

　　这种反应是叙事散文的核心。

　　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.

　　现在我要你们回想一下你们作为作业阅读的叙事散文，而且我将给你们一个问题列表去思考。