interventions such as education, and case management that can reduce the potential burden of caregiving.’’ 58. Which statement is TRUE according to the passage? A. There exist ways to prevent or stop Alzheimer’s disease. B. Alzheimer's disease affects a total of 13.8 million Americans. C. Not all Alzheimer's patients can afford to live in care facilities. D. People under the age of 65 will not develop Alzheimer's disease.
59. What might have caused the increase in the number of Alzheimer’s patients? A. The ineffective treatment. C. The growing aging population.
B. The limited medical facilities. D. The lack of health care-
60. Which of the following can best describe the job of the caregivers for Alzheimer’s disease? A. Unskilled but worthwhile. C. Painstaking but well-paid.
B. Tough and competitive. D. Stressful and time-consuming. C
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is an absolute classic. And even if you don’t want to write exactly like Dickens, there's something—a technique, an idea, a theme, etc.—that every writer can pull from Dickens’ writing.
“Make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait,” was Dickens’s motto and his method. Unfortunately, the use of humor escapes many writers today, especially those who seek to write serious fiction. Dickens was a master of high humor-satire, puns, wordplay, and a curious method of characterizing that made fun of his own creations even as he fleshed them out with life.
You can use the same techniques employed to such good effect by Dickens to add humor to your work. Try to exaggerate your characters a bit. Underline passages that strike you as particularly, funny. Then use a similar tone or approach when describing one of your own characters, especially people you wish to make fun of. This type of humor will not, it is important to stress, detract from the high tone or seriousness of your subject. Instead, it will add a much appreciated human element to otherwise serious writing.
The second element of Dickens' famous motto focuses on his use of strong emotion. As Aristotle pointed out in his Poetics, emotional appeals are one of the chief devices of the lecturer and, by extension, of the novelist. Novels weren't invented back in Aristotle's time, but drama was, and he pointed to examples from the ancient Greek dramatists where arousing the audience's pity and fear was
planned in advance by the dramatist. In a similar way, a novelist can learn from Dickens how to make readers feel strong emotions.
We may find it harder to cry, but Dickens was a master of situations that bring on the sympathy needed to cause reader emotion. The very memorable death of Nell in The Old Curiosity Shop (1841) had greatly moved American readers. In composing that scene, he went back in his mind to the great pain he had suffered when he watched helplessly as seventeen-year-old Mary Hogarth, his sister-in-law, died in his arms some years earlier. The message is clear: to create emotion you must feel emotion.
In a wonderful little book, Charles Dickens as Serial Novelist (1967), Archibald C. Coolidge Jr. says the serial(连载小说)form of publication put certain pressures on Dickens that forced him to solve a typical novelists problems (such as how to maintain readers' interest) in strikingly bold ways. One of his most important techniques and one which is often overlooked by writers who prefer literary fiction is the use of an element of mystery and suspense. Dickens called it his mystery story technique. An example of the mystery that runs through Bleak House (1853) is the identity of Esther's mother. By the time the truth is revealed, the reader is worked up to great interest.
To provide a mystery in your mainstream novel, you might choose some aspect of the story that can be concealed from the reader. Then do not reveal too much ... only tell as much as is needed. You can use the same Dickensian mystery story technique in your own work. You can even lead readers in the wrong direction, provided one of the characters reasonably believes the wrong thing, as Pip does when he suspects that his benefactor (捐助者)is Miss Havisham. Sometimes, the less you tell, the more readers love it. So, by all means, make them wait.
61. The underlined phrase “detract from” in Paragraph 3 means “________”. A. make fun of
B. lay emphasis onC. reduce the level of
D. adopt the technique of
62. Aristotle's idea is mentioned in Paragraph 4 to . A. explain the similarities between novels and dramas B. show ancient Greek dramatists’ ability to use strong emotion C. display Charles Dickens' talent to use strong emotion in his works D. emphasize the necessity of using strong emotion in writing novels 63. What is the purpose of using Dickensian mystery story technique? A. To mislead the target readers. B. To portray the main characters. C. To maintain readers’ interest. D. To reveal important information.
64. What is the best title of the passage?
A. Write Just Like Charles DickensB. Analyze Charles Dickens’ Personalities
C. Highlights of Charles Dickens’ WorksD. Introduction to Charles Dickens’ Writing Techniques
D
Kathie, I remember the first day that 1 met you. I remember the look on your face as you rushed out from your dorm and slammed directly into me. You knocked me over, both metaphorically (比喻地) and physically. You were dressed in a sports bra and tight little shorts and I was suddenly feeling a little bitter that I was picking your roommate up for dinner and not you.
No, it can’t start that way.
Who starts a speech with a memory about what bra someone was wearing? How about this?
I remember staring at the projector image of stars in Astronomy and thinking only of your eyes. I only signed up for Astronomy because you said were taking it. You hadn't said it to me, of course, but to one of your girlfriends. I was behind you in the sandwich line at the student center and l heard you ask that redhead girl—Jessica Randolph, I think her name was. Well, it’s Johnson, now; she’s married with a baby on the way. I heard you ask Jessica if she thought the professor would talk about the possibility of aliens. That was all it took. I signed up for Astronomy almost immediately.
That sounds like I’m a huge stalker (跟踪狂).I won’t share that story. No one wants to hear about aliens and about the stars in your eyes. No one wants to hear about Jessica Johnson. Jessica and her husband will be there today. She'll cry. I’m certain that she’ll cry. A lot of people will, I’d assume.
Will I?
I can't think about that. I don't want to mess things up in front of everyone. All of our family and friends will be there, watching, and I’ve never been good at public speaking.
I remember sitting next to you on the couch while I waited for your roommate to get ready for dinner. She took so long to do her hair and makeup. It was intentional, I think. She thought it was classy to make me wait. You never did.
Anyway, I was waiting for your roommate to be ready for our date. All I wanted to do was put my hand over yours as you changed the channels. Something funny would happen on the television and you'd laugh so hard you'd snort. I loved you even then, I think.
I can't talk about that. People will think Tm a cheater. I never cheated. I was set up with your roommate on a blind date. It was you, you, always you from the moment I saw you until today. I broke up with her
that night, I remember. We never even made it out of the parking lot. I don't know what made me do it, I just knew that whenever I closed my eyes I couldn’t picture anything but your face.
Today is so important, so critical. I can't mess up. Not when you’ll be there, so peaceful and lovely. Another, then.
What about the day I proposed? I had planned it out so carefully and nothing went right. The flower order was wrong. I burned my new shirt with the iron. The sweater I had ordered for your stupid dog--the one that read, “will you marry my daddy?”—arrived in the mail just that morning and was two sizes too small. I squeezed him into it anyway, and it somehow made his already giant head look even bigger. Maybe that’s why you couldn't stop laughing when you saw him. You were laughing—loudly--vour dress half on and your nails half painted. I had come to get you for our date too early. I couldn't help it. I was sweating through my burnt shirt and holding wilted flowers, kneeling like a fool. You didn’t say yes or no, but the stars in your eyes were confirmation enough.
I can share that. I’ve shared it a hundred times before. Everyone wanted to know the engagement story, which led us to the altar (圣坛).
The altar.
I stood up there and stammered (口吃)through the speech I had prepared for you—through the promise I had written for you. It was nowhere near as hard as this. My vows (誓言),then, included that eternal drivel, for better or for worse. Till death do us part.
How was I to know?
How was I to know there was another speech to write, another vow to make?
What story do I share, standing before our friends and family—before you? What goodbye can I give that honors your memory? I am selfish with my memories of you. I don’t want to share them.
You are among the stars, now—scattered among the universe that first led me to you. The universe called you home too soon, and I will let the universe praise you highly.
[来源:Z,xx,k.Com]
I don’t need a memory to say goodbye. I only need to remember the vow I made then, and the vow I’ll make now.
I’ll see you again.
65. What can be inferred about Jessica Johnson?
A. She was the author’s ex-girlfriend. B. She is becoming a mother very soon.
C. She was unpopular with people at college.D. She is attending Kathie’s wedding ceremony.