Exercise 1

УДК 802.0(075.8)

ББК 81.2 Ан

ã Минский государственный лингвистический университет, 2003

ã Е. Ю. Кирейчук, Т. Г. Васильева, 2003

CONTENTS

To the Student………………………………………………………………….4

Unit 1: Story Types…………………………………………………………….5

Summary Making Rules. ……………………………..……………...11

Unit 2: Plot and Its Structure. ……………………………...............................15

J. Joyce Eveline ……………………………………………………….17

Unit 3: Setting. …………………………………..............................................23

R. Bradbury. The Smile …………………………………......................27

Unit 4: Forms of Presentation: Narration. …………………………………….34

T. Capote. A Lamp in a Window ……………………………………....38

Unit 5: Forms of Presentation: Description. ……………………………..........43

O. Wilde. Symphony in Yellow …………………………......................47

Unit 6: Forms of Presentation: Characterization; Dialogue. …………………..49

W. S. Maugham. The Happy Man ……………………………………52

J. Thurber. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty …………………………...57

Reading Independently. The Scheme of Story Analysis ……………………..64

Stories for Independent Reading

1. R. Bradbury. All Summer in a Day …………………………………66

2. J. Archer. Just Good Friends ………………………….....................73

3. J. Archer. The Luncheon ……………………………………………79

4. Gr. Greene. The Case for the Defence ……………………………...87

5. B. Malamud. My Son the Murderer ………………………………...91

6. P. Lively. Next Term, We’ll Mash You ……………………………..97

7. F. J. Hardy. The Returned Soldier …………………………………103

8. O. Henry. A Retrieved Reformation ……………………………….111

9. Saki. The Open Window ………………………………...................120

10. A. Maley. Gossip …………………………………………………..124

11. B. Brown. The Star Ducks …………………………………………128

12. F. Sargeson. They Gave Her a Rise ………………………………..137

13. M. Spark. You Should Have Seen the Mess …………......................141

14. M. Binchey. The Garden Party ……………...…………………….147

15. T. Pears. Blue ……………………………………………………....154

Supplement……………………………………………………………………..........162

Reference……………………………………………………………………….........178

TO THE STUDENT

Reading will be a substantial component of students’ curriculum this year. This course will aid in dealing with the reading and interpretation of short stories by American and British writers and is aimed at the expansion of understanding of a short story beyond the literal and simple recollection of factual details. The majority of the activities in this course will concentrate on reading and analyzing the short story and its elements (the genre, the plot-structure, and the forms of presentation).

During the 1^st term students are expected:

· to read 21 short stories by British and American authors;

· to accomplish 2 home tests (supposed to be done independently and checked with the attached keys);

· to do an entrance test and a final test.

This book covers the course of Reading and Appreciation of the Short Story and aims at teaching students to:

· approach a literary text, understand and appreciate it;

· operate with the major notions important for literary analysis such as plot, setting, forms of presentation, tone, title, symbolism;

· summarize, generalize and evaluate main points and implications of the text;

· comment on events and characters of a literary work, discovering the author’s ideas and the means of conveying them.

Part 1 of the book is divided into 6 units containing original and unabridged short stories, followed by sections of questions to help students to appreciate the text and organize discussions in class. The texts are preceded by a necessary minimum of information, which will allow the student to answer the After You Read questions and accomplish the Before You Read tasks. The tasks take a variety of formats and are meant for full class activities, group activities and individual work.

Part 1 also includes 15 short stories intended for students’ independent reading and appreciation. To facilitate the task, a scheme of analysis is suggested and each short story is followed by a set of questions which focus the reader’s attention on the most relevant and important issues of interpretation. The supplement to Part 1 contains 2 home tests provided with keys for self-control.

The course presupposes thorough and conscientious independent and class work on behalf of the student.

We hope that this course will encourage students to respond imaginatively to what they read, to build up their vocabulary. It will help to understand and enjoy reading English language literature and will give tools and methods for appreciating fiction students will read in the future.

UNIT 1

STORY TYPES

Describing types of stories

Short stories can be set anywhere and at any time; they can involve all kinds of characters and cover a vast range of themes. Classification of all short stories into types would be an extremely difficult thing to do, particularly with the best short stories, whose subtlety and thematic interest make them unique. However, the definition of the type of a story (sometimes called genre) might be of some help in the task of bringing forth its central ideas and the author’s message.

Look at the various genres and answer the questions given below.

psychological story humour story (auto)biography science fiction fantasy horror story love story thriller western, crime story, parable romance adventure story detective story historical fiction fairy story spy story travelogue folk-tale tear-jerker whodunnit spine-chiller ghost story myth anecdote legend joke story with social significance

· Which of the above are usually oral: that is, people usually tell them to each other rather than write them down?

· Which of the genres above are similar in that they have the same kind of setting and same kind of characters?

· Can you think of some examples of the above genres by English writers and from your own culture?

· Which of these genres do you like? Which do you never read? Can you explain your preferences?

Exercise 1.

Here are 9 definitions of some popular story genres. Following them are passages explaining the definitions. Match up each definition with the appropriate description.