1 . 5 of the Best O. Henry Short Stories Everyone Should Read
The stories of the US short-story writer O. Henry, real name William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), are characterized by their irony and by their surprise endings, which became something of a signature of a good O. Henry short story. However, another word that is often used to describe O. Henry’s short stories is ‘sentimental’, and it is for this reason, perhaps, that he is no longer appreciated as he perhaps should be, despite the wit of O. Henry’s narrative style and the cleverness of his twist endings.
Below, we select and introduce five of O. Henry’s very best short stories. Many of them are only five pages long in the average paperback reprint of his stories (we recommend in particular 100 Selected Stories (Wordsworth Classics), which is excellent value for money), so can be ready in no more than ten minutes. What are you waiting for?
Most (though not all) of these stories are included in the anthology mentioned above. O. Henry was a prolific writer so even those 100 collected in that fat volume aren’t his full, collected works...
1. The Gift of the Magi’.
This is surely O. Henry’s best-known story of all. Published in 1906, it’s about a husband and wife, Jim and Della, buying Christmas presents for each other, without much money to spend on them. The two of them have a special possession they prize above all others: Jim has a gold watch that’s been MAGI handed down through the generations, and Della has her long, thick hair.
How will Della be able to raise the money to buy Jim a gold chain for his watch? We won’t say any more...
2. ‘Mammon and the Archer’.
This story is also from 1906. A retired soap manufacturer named Anthony Rockwall worships ‘Mammon’, i.e., money above everything else. The ‘Archer’ of the story’s title is Cupid, the god of love.
Rockwall tells his son Richard that money can buy him anything in life, but Richard points out that the girl he loves is leaving in a few days' time and he hasn’t managed to win her hand. He takes a ring with him, which his mother left to him in her will, with the intention of asking his sweetheart to marry him but he drops the ring and... well, we won’t say more, but let’s just say that once again, O. Henry’s gif for twist endings turns things around...
The story is a curious counterpoint to ‘The Gift of the Magi’, in which a married couple uses their last few dollars to buy each other a Christmas present. Here, there is a suggestion that money can buy you time, after all.
3. ‘The Duplicity of Hargraves’.
First published in 1902, this story is about the elderly Major Pendleton Talbot and his spinster daughter Lydia. After the pair move to Washington D. C. from the American South, they meet Henry Hopkins Hargraves, a vaudeville actor.
However, the impecunious Major and his daughter are shocked, when they go to see a show, to find Hargraves impersonating the Major in front of the audience. Then a man claiming to be one of the Major’s former slaves from the antebellum era turns up and offers to help the pair out of hardship...
As ever, we won’t spoil the ending. But let's just say the word ‘duplicity’ in this story’s title itself has a double meaning.
4. ‘The Sleuths’.
This 1911 story is a more light-hearted tale from O. Henry, and a pastiche of the popular Sherlock Holmes stories.
A man searching for his missing sister in New York realizes the official police detective can’t help him. Only one man can: the famous private consulting detective Shamrock Jolnes. As the narrator informs us: ‘The famous sleuth’s thin, intellectual face, piercing eyes, and rate per word are too well known to need description.’ Sound familiar?
5. ‘After Twenty Years’.
This 1906 story is a tale of a reunion. Two men who grew up together in New York City agree to meet up, twenty years later, in the restaurant where they last bid each other farewell two decades ago in order to seek their fortunes. However, one of the men, Bob, has become a hardened criminal and the other man, Jimmy, has become — well, let’s not give too much away, other than to say the reunion does not exactly go according to plan.
1. Which of the following serves as a counterpart of the story in The Gift of the Magi?| A．The Duplicity of Hargraves. | B．The Sleuths. |
| C．Mammon and the Archer. | D．After Twenty years. |
| A．The Duplicity of Hargraves. | B．The Gift of the Magi. |
| C．Mammon and the Archer. | D．The Sleuths. |
| A．In a list of reference book for high school. |
| B．At an online book fair. |
| C．In a lecture by a professor from Literature Department. |
| D．On a mobile shopping app. |
2 . Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation
by Stuart Gibbs
The CIA is on a task to find an equation (方程式) called Pandora, which could destroy the world if the wrong people get it. For help, they turn to Charlie, a 12-year-old girl who's as smart as Albert Einstein. People who like action-packed mysteries will enjoy reading this exciting book.
AstroNuts
by Jon Scieszka and Steven Weinberg
In AstroNuts, the Earth has been destroyed by humans for thousands of years. Four animals set out from Mount Rushmore, the headquarters (总部) of NNASA. Their task is to find a new planet fit for human life. Finally, they discover one: Plant Planet. The story's theme (主题) is simple: Don't harm the planet. Readers who love fantasy will enjoy AstroNuts.
Stargazing
by Jen Wang
Christine hears that Moon, who's new in town, is the kind of kid who beats people up for fun. But Moon and her mum come to live with Christine's family, and the two kids become best friends. Moon even shares a big secret with Christine. Stargazing is based on author Jen Wang's experiences as a child. The story is about the power of friendship and how people are able to change.
Roll with It
by Jamie Sumner
Roll with It is a story about a 12-year-old girl named Ellie. She has difficulty walking on her own and uses a wheelchair. When Ellie and her mum move to another state to take care of Ellie's grandpa, she must learn to navigate (处理) a new school and new friendships. This page-turner is a must-read for everyone. It's a heartwarming story that really shows the value of family and how being different is special.
1. Which book tells readers to protect the place we live in?| A．AstroNuts |
| B．Stargazing. |
| C．Roll with It. |
| D．Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation. |
| A．It talks about friendship. |
| B．It tells stories about animals. |
| C．It contains lots of scientific knowledge. |
| D．It was written according to the author's experiences. |
| A．She had difficulty in making friends. |
| B．She had an accident which left her in a wheelchair. |
| C．She went to a new school and had to start all over again. |
| D．She lost her mum and was taken care of by her grandpa. |
3 . Roald Hahl is one of the greatest storytellers the world has ever known.His books have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide.
Have you ever heard of any of these stories？
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie is a young boy from a poor family and,like most children,he loves chocolate.Charlie buys Wonka chocolate bars hoping to find a golden ticket inside because whoever finds a golden ticket is invited to visit the Wonka chocolate factory and meet its owner, Willy Wonka. And there are some wonderfully strange things inside the factory．
The BFG
The BFG is the Big Friendly Giant and he brings sweet dreams to children while they are sleeping.One night he is seen by a girl called Sophie, and he carried her away to his homeland because he is scared she'll tell the world about his existence (存在).He is actually friendly,but the other giants are not.They hurt the BFG and want to eat people.Sophie decided to get someone to help:the Queen!
Matilda
Matilda is talented and she loves books,but her parents don't understand her intelligence and are cruel to her.Matilda's brainpower is discovered by her teacher.Miss Honey,who helps her develop her intellect and amazing mental powers.But Miss Honey is also being mistreated by Miss Trunchbull,the cruel head teacher,so Matilda tries to find a way to help her.
Boy:Tales of Childhood．
This book is told like a story,but it's not a novel.It's an autobiography(自传)of Roald Dahl's childhood and school experiences,he describes his experiences with a dead mouse,fearful teachers,summer holidays to Norway and getting the job with Shell.
1. What is Charlie's real purpose of buying some chocolate bars？| A．To win some money． |
| B．To eat more chocolate． |
| C．To win a concert ticket． |
| D．To visit a chocolate factory． |
| A．They're ready to help others． |
| B．They have great creative ability． |
| C．They have an unusual adventure． |
| D．They're badly treated by their parents． |
| A．Matilda． |
| B．The BFG． |
| C．Boy:Tales of Childhood． |
| D．Charlie and the Chocolate Factory． |
4 . Science fiction writers create imaginary worlds. The way things work in your imaginary worlds will be based on actual science. So it’s important for you to be familiar with the scientific principles and inventions that are related to your creation. For example, if you’re writing about humans living on a planet with zero gravity, then you need to know the effects of zero gravity on the human body.
Then you have to figure out the exact rules of your imaginary worlds. And you have to follow them. If humans have evolved (进化) to breathe underwater in Chapter 1, your character can’t drown in a swimming pool in Chapter 3. If your robots write poetry but not fiction, then you can’t throw a novelist robot into Chapter 8. The issue here is maintaining your readers’ trust. That means the reader is willing to pretend along with you. If you start out with an ordinary detective novel (侦探小说) and then throw in someone breathing underwater in the 6th chapter, your readers’ reaction might be, “What the h……?” The imaginative spell is broken. You’ve pulled the readers out of their imagination. The same thing happens if you change the rules halfway.
Part of your preparation work for the novel is to map out its worlds for yourself in great detail. Decide: the history of the world, the geography, what possibilities it offers, how everything works in this new reality, and how all of these factors affect the way your characters think, feel, and react to things. You don’t have to tell your readers all the rules in the first chapter. But you have to let your readers know enough to understand what’s going on. This also allows you to work out logical problems and contradictions (矛盾) before you start writing.
When you are writing, remember to make it feel real. You are inviting readers to visit a new world. They will want to be able to see, hear, feel, smell, and even taste what it’s like. Whether your novel is about a world without disease or an undiscovered planet, help your readers feel like they’re actually there.
1. What’s the relationship between actual science and science fiction?| A．Science fiction promotes the development of actual science. |
| B．Science fiction often reflects the development of actual science. |
| C．Actual science limits the imagination described in science fiction. |
| D．Actual science provides basic principles for science fiction. |
| A．making comparisons | B．giving examples |
| C．following the time order | D．analyzing causes |
| A．It is necessary to do some scientific experiments before writing science fiction. |
| B．It is more difficult to write science fiction than ordinary detective novels. |
| C．Readers of science fiction actually pretend the writers’ rules are true. |
| D．It is great to leave some contradictions in your science fiction. |
| A．young scientists | B．science fiction writers |
| C．college students | D．professional journalists |
| A．how to do scientific research | B．how to raise interest in science |
| C．what to expect from science fiction | D．how to write science fiction |
5 . An introduction to this book is as superfluous as a candle in front of a powerful searchlight. But a tradition of publishing seems to require that the candle should be there, and I am proud to be the one to hold it. About ten years ago I picked up from the pile of new books on my desk a copy of Sons and Lovers, and I started to race through it with the immoral speed of the professional reviewer. But after a page or two I found myself reading, really reading. It is a masterpiece in which every sentence counts, a book packed with significant thought and beautiful, attractive phrases, the work of a remarkable genius whose gifts are more richly various than those of any other young English novelist.He is Lawrence.
To appreciate the rich variety of Mr Lawrence, we must read his later novels and his volumes of poetry. But Sons and Lovers reveals the range of his typical power. Here are combined and blended(混合的) sort of “realism” and almost lyric(抒情的) description and rhythm. The speech of the people is that of daily life and the things that happen to them are normal adventures and accidents; they fall in love, marry, work, fail, succeed, and die. But of their deeper emotions and of the relations of these little human beings to the earth and to the stars, Mr Lawrence makes something near to poetry and prose(散文) without violating its proper “other harmony”.
Take the marvellous paragraph on next to the last page of Sons and Lovers(Mr Lawrence depends so little on plot in the ordinary sense of the word that it is perfectly fair to read the end of his book first):
Where was he? One tiny upright speck of flesh, less than an ear of wheat lost in the field. He could not bear it. On every side the immense dark silence seemed pressing him, so tiny a spark, into extinction, and yet, almost nothing, he could not be extinct. Night, in which everything was lost, went reaching out, beyond stars and sun, stars and sun, a few bright grains, went spinning round for terror, and holding each other in embrace, there in the darkness that outpassed them all, and left them tiny and daunted(气馁). So much, and himself, infinitesimal, at the core a nothingness, and yet not nothing.
Such glorious writing lifts the book far above a novel which is merely a story. I beg the reader to attend to every line of it and not to miss a single one of the many sentences that await and surprise you. Some are enthusiastic and impressive, like the paragraph above; others are keen, “realistic” observations of things and people. In one of his books Mr Lawrence makes a character say, or think, that life is “mixed”. That indicates his philosophy and his method. He blends the accurately literal and trivial(琐碎的) with the extremely poetic.
To find a similar blending of tiny daily detail and wide imaginative vision, we must go back to two older novelists, Hardy and Meredith. I do not mean that Mr Lawrence derives(源于) directly from them or, indeed, that he is clearly the disciple(弟子) of any master. I do feel simply that he is of the elder stature(名望) of Hardy and Meredith. When I first tried to express this comparison, this connection, I was opposed by a fellow­critic, who pointed out that Meredith and Hardy are entirely unlike each other and that therefore Mr Lawrence cannot resemble both. To be sure, nothing is more hateful than forced comparisons, nothing more boring than to discover similarities between one work of art and another. An artist's mastery lies in his difference from other masters. But to refer a young man of genius to an older one, at the same time pronouncing his independence and originality, is a fair, if not very superior, method of praising him.
1. The underlined word “superfluous” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________.| A．meaningful |
| B．fundamental |
| C．unnecessary |
| D．fashionable |
| A．They reveal his genius power. |
| B．They contain lots of great lyric poetry. |
| C．They focus on relations between humans. |
| D．They present some real living situations. |
| A．The language in Lawrence's books is elegant. |
| B．It is wise to read Lawrence's books from the end. |
| C．Lawrence is not capable of telling good stories. |
| D．The plot of the novel has little to do with daily life. |
| A．They taught Lawrence literature when he was young. |
| B．They were the realistic novelists of Lawrence's time. |
| C．They were novelists who resemble each other in writing. |
| D．They were novelists combining details with imagination. |
| A．He must be happy to be compared. |
| B．He must have personal diversity. |
| C．He must have the critical spirits. |
| D．He must be a man of genius. |
| A．To introduce Lawrence's novel Sons and Lovers. |
| B．To show his experiences of reading classics. |
| C．To analyze Lawrence's writing characteristics. |
| D．To compare the styles of different novelists. |
6 . The True Story of Treasure Island
It was always thought that Treasure Island was the product of Robert Louis Stevenson’s imagination.
Stevenson, a Scotsman, had lived
Each morning Stevenson would take them out for a long
One morning, the boy came to Robert with a beautiful map of an island, Robert
Robert had a good friend named Henley, who walked around with the
So, thanks to a
| A．However | B．Therefore | C．Besides | D．Finally |
| A．alone | B．next door | C．at home | D．abroad |
| A．meeting | B．story | C．holiday | D．job |
| A．Lloyd | B．Robert | C．Henley | D．John |
| A．talk | B．rest | C．walk | D．game |
| A．attempting | B．missing | C．planning | D．enjoying |
| A．quiet | B．dull | C．busy | D．cold |
| A．cleaning | B．writing | C．drawing | D．exercising |
| A．doubted | B．noticed | C．decided | D．recognized |
| A．the sea | B．the house | C．Scotland | D．the island |
| A．forgotten | B．buried | C．discovered | D．unexpected |
| A．saw | B．drew | C．made | D．learned |
| A．book | B．reply | C．picture | D．mind |
| A．star | B．hero | C．writer | D．child |
| A．help | B．problem | C．use | D．bottom |
| A．praise | B．produce | C．include | D．accept |
| A．Yet | B．Also | C．But | D．Thus |
| A．read | B．born | C．hired | D．written |
| A．rainy | B．sunny | C．cool | D．windy |
| A．news | B．love | C．real-life | D．adventure |
