经典短篇英文小说get起来，阅读考试不当炮灰

不知道什么时候开始，坚持学习就成了难于登青天的事情。我知道大家学习工作都很忙，但这不是放弃学习的借口，如果晦涩难懂的不可以坚持，那，经典短篇有意思，耐人寻味的小说呢？

  据统计，睡前刷手机的人数高达百分之九十八之多，而且刷的大多数无用信息，尤其在这个抖音等软件泛滥的时代，看似有趣的诱惑太多，大家浪费的时间也随之高升。我知道你想提升自己，好像苦于没门道似的。那么，咱们不妨从简单的开始坚持哦。 今天，徐老师为大家整理出了6篇英语短篇小说，篇篇经典，耐人寻味，值得细细品读。核心问题来了，就是每篇阅读时长都不超过10分钟！不超过10分钟！不超过10分钟！ 惊喜不？意外不？开心不？

一.《世界的最后一晚》 

The Last Night of the Worl 

by 雷·布莱伯利 Ray Brabury

阅读时长：7分钟 

   内容简介： 布莱伯利最有名的是他的《华氏451度》（Fahrenheit 451），这本书是有关焚书的反乌托邦（ystopian）故事。但书迷们对他的短篇小说应该也很熟悉，比如《纹身人》（The Illustrate Man）和《火星纪事》（The Martian Chronicles）。 

 “The Last Night of the Worl” is a tener, simple story. The first line alone is universally intriguing: “What woul you o if you knew this was the last night of the worl?” 《世界的最后一晚》是个温柔、简单的故事。文章的第一句话就引人入胜：“如果这是世界的最后一晚，你会做些什么？” 

  精彩选段:   &lquo;Do you know, I won’t miss anything but you an the girls. I never like cities or autos or factories or my work or anything except you three. I won’t miss a thing except my family an perhaps the change in the weather an a glass of cool water when the weather’s hot, or the luxury of sleeping. Just little things, really.&rquo; “知道吗？除了你和两个女儿，我其实没什么好留恋的了。我从来不曾真正喜欢这座城市，或是汽车、工厂，我也不喜欢我的工作，或者任何你们三个以外的事。如果真要说有什么舍不得的，恐怕只有四季的轮换、热天里一杯冰得透透凉凉的水、还有饱饱地睡一觉。都是些微不足道的小事，真的。” 

   They sat an rea the papers an talke an listene to some raio music an then sat together by the fireplace looking at the charcoal embers as the clock struck ten-thirty an eleven an eleven-thirty. They thought of all the other people in the worl who ha spent their evening, each in their own special way. 他们坐着读报纸、聊天、听广播里的音乐，一起坐在炉火旁边，看着火炉里木炭发出的微光。时钟走过了10点半，11点，11点半。他们想象着，世界上其他的人将如何度过这最后一晚，以自己特殊的方式。 

   全文链接： http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a14340/ray-brabury-last-night-of-the-worl-0251/ 

二.《幸福结局》 

Happy Enings 

by 玛格丽特·阿特伍德 Margaret Atwoo 

阅读时长：5分钟 

  内容简介: Atwoo, the author of The Hanmai’s Tale, shows off her token snark in this very short story, which takes the reaer through all of the ifferent ways in which a fictional couple, John an Mary, coul possibly en up. Hint: It’s not so happy.  阿特伍德，也就是最近大热的《使女的故事》的作者，在这篇短小精悍的小说中尽情炫耀了一把自己标志性的讽刺手法，带领读者体验了一对虚构夫妇约翰和玛丽可能经历的各种不同结局。温馨提示：这些结局并没有那么幸福。  

  精彩选段:   You’ll have to face it, the enings are the same however you slice it. Don’t be elue by any other enings, they’re all fake, either eliberately fake, with malicious intent to eceive, or just motivate by excessive optimism if not by ownright sentimentality.  你必须面对现实，无论你怎样切分他们的故事，结局都是一样的。不要被其他结局欺骗了，那些都是假的。要么是居心叵测有意欺瞒造假，要么就是乐观过头或太过多情而臆想出来的。  

  The only authentic ening is the one provie here:  以下才是唯一真实的结局： John an Mary ie. John an Mary ie. John an Mary ie. 约翰和玛丽死了。约翰和玛丽死了。约翰和玛丽死了。  

 全文链接： https://m.ouban.com/note/638055052/  

三.《学校》 

The School 

by 唐纳德·巴塞尔姆 Donal Barthelme  

阅读时长：5分钟

  内容简介 : The entire story is a ramatic monologue, an shows off Barthelme’s token humor an excellent experiments with form. 这个故事就是一段充满戏剧性的独白，展现了巴塞尔姆标志性的幽默和在文体形式上的出色尝试。 在这个看似荒诞的故事里，橘树、小动物、收养的孩子都接二连三死了，学校里的孩子们感到困惑，不停地追问老师，就此展开对死亡、对生活意义的讨论……  

 精彩选段: They aske me, where i they go? The trees, the salamaner, the tropical fish, Egar, the poppas an mommas, Matthew an Tony, where i they go? An I sai, I on’t know, I on’t know. An they sai, who knows? an I sai, noboy knows. An they sai, is eath that which gives meaning to life? An I sai no, life is that which gives meaning to life.  他们问我说，那些东西都去哪儿了？树苗、火蜥蜴、热带鱼、小狗埃德加、爸爸妈妈们、马修和托尼，他们到底去哪儿了？我说，我不知道，我也不知道。他们问，那谁知道呢？我说，没人知道。他们说，是死亡给生活带来了意义吗？我说，不是，是生命为生活赋予了意义。 

  全文链接： http://www.npr.org/programs/eath/reaings/stories/bart2.html

四.《一个干净明亮的地方》

A Clean, Well-Lighte Place 

by 欧内斯特·海明威 Ernest Hemingway 

阅读时长：8分钟 

  内容简介: Hemingway’s writing can be minimalistic, a quality that lens itself well to short stories. In fact, Washington Post’s books eitor, Ron Charles, has sai that Hemingway’s short stories are better than his novels. 海明威的写作手法一向颇为简洁，这一特点尤其适合于短篇小说。事实上，《华盛顿邮报》的图书编辑罗恩·查尔斯就曾评价说，海明威的短篇小说比他的长篇小说更优秀。   You’ve probably rea, or at least hear about, “Hills Like White Elephants,” a cryptic conversation between a man an a woman. “A Clean, Well-Lighte Place” is another classic, in which two waiters prepare for the en of the evening. 你可能读过或者至少听说过《白象似的群山》，那是发生在一男一女之间的一段晦涩对白。而《一个干净明亮的地方》则是另一个经典，讲述了两个男服务生准备结束一个夜晚的故事。 

 精彩选段: The two waiters insie the café knew that the ol man was a little runk, an while he was a goo client they knew that if he became too runk he woul leave without paying, so they kept watch on him. 呆在餐馆里的两个侍者知道这老人有点儿醉了，他虽然是个好主顾，可是，他们知道，如果他喝得太醉了，他会不付账就走，所以他们一直在留神他。   

  &lquo;Last week he trie to commit suicie,&rquo; one waiter sai. &lquo;

   上个星期他想自杀，&rquo;一个侍者说。     

   &rquo;Why?&lquo; 

   &rquo;为什么？&rquo;   

   &rquo;He was in espair.&lquo; 

   &rquo;他绝望啦。&rquo;   

   &rquo;What about?&lquo; 

   &rquo;为啥绝望？&rquo;  

  &lquo;Nothing.&rquo;

  &lquo;不为什么。&rquo;  

  &lquo;How o you know it was nothing?&rquo;

   &rquo;你怎么知道是不为什么？&rquo; 

   &rquo;He has plenty of money.&lquo;  

  &lquo;他有很多钱。&rquo;  ▌

  全文链接： http://www.bigear.cn/news-65-20610.html 

 五.《窥镜》 

The Looking-Glass 

by 安东·契诃夫 Anton Chekhov 

阅读时长：8分钟 

 内容简介: 契诃夫被称为“现代短篇小说之父”（“father of the moern short story”），他的作品特点是以人物为核心。 In “The Looking-Glass,” a woman feverishly attempts to seek help for her husban, sick with typhus, but is met with a surprise. This particular story nos to the author’s ay job as a physician.  在《窥镜》中，一个女人疯狂地为她患了斑疹伤寒的丈夫寻求帮助，最终收获了一个大“惊喜”。这部作品刚好与契诃夫医生的职业相呼应。 

  精彩选段: Then she saw against the grey backgroun how her husban every spring was in straits for money to pay the interest for the mortgage to the bank. He coul not sleep, she coul not sleep, an both racke their brains till their heas ache, thinking how to avoi being visite by the clerk of the Court. 在灰色的背景下，她看到丈夫每年春天为贷款利息而捉襟见肘。他夜不能寐，她也一样，他们为此绞尽脑汁，想得脑袋生疼，生怕法庭找上门来。 

  She saw her chilren: the everlasting apprehension of cols, scarlet fever, iphtheria, ba marks at school, separation. Out of a broo of five or six one was sure to ie. 她看到了她的孩子们，总是生活在无尽的恐惧中：他们害怕感冒、猩红热、白喉，害怕成绩差，害怕被分开。一个人若离开了五六人的小群体，那将必死无疑。 

  全文链接： http://www.elritchpress.org/ac/jr/041.htm 

六.《征兆与象征 》 

Symbols an Signs 

by Vlaimir Nabokov  弗拉基米尔·纳博科夫  

阅读时长：10分钟 

 内容简介: Nabokov’s prose is no oubt poetic, an his language enjoyably playful. Whether you’ve alreay rea Lolita or Pale Fire, or are hesitating to pick them up, this short story about a elusional boy, his family, an his peers’ attempt to buy him a birthay present, is sure to entertain you.  毫无疑问，纳博科夫的散文充满诗意，他的语言欢乐好玩。不管你是已经读过《洛丽塔》和《微暗的火》，还是正犹豫着要不要翻开读，这个关于妄想症男孩、他的家人及他的伙伴们打算给他买生日礼物的小故事，总能逗乐你。 

 精彩选段:  The last time the boy ha trie to o it, his metho ha been, in the octor’s wors, a masterpiece of inventiveness; he woul have succeee ha not an envious fellow-patient thought he was learning to fly an stoppe him just in time. What he ha really wante to o was to tear a hole in his worl an escape. 上一次他们的儿子企图自杀，他的方法是，用医生的话说，一个创造发明的杰作；如果不是一个嫉妒的病友以为他是在学着飞——而适时阻止了他，他就成功了。其实他真正想做的只是要在他的世界里撕开一个洞好逃出去。 

  All this, an much more, she ha accepte, for, after all, living oes mean accepting the loss of one joy after another, not even joys in her case, mere possibilities of improvement. 这一点，以及其他种种，她都接受了，因为终究生活意味着要接受一个接一个快乐的丧失，在她这里，甚至不是什么快乐，只是生活改善的可能性而已。

 全文链接： https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/05/15/symbols-an-signs