How to Tell a Story (Extract)

Mark Twain

學习任务

Activity 1

Think about the following questions， and write down your answers before reading the essay.

（1） What is the most laughable joke you have ever heard？

（2） Have you ever tried to tell it to others？ What was the result？

Activity 2

Read the essay， and try to answer the question.

According to the author， what ruins storytelling？

I do not claim that I can tell a story as it ought to be told. I only claim to know how a story ought to be told， for I have been almost daily in the company of the most expert story tellers for many years.

There are several kinds of stories， but only one difficult kind—the humorous. I will talk mainly about that one. The humorous1 story is American， the comic2 story is English， the witty3 story is French. The humorous story depends for its effect upon the manner of the telling; the comic story and the witty story upon the matter.

The humorous story may be spun out4 to great length， and may wander around as much as it pleases5， and arrive nowhere in particular; but the comic and witty stories must be brief and end with a point. The humorous story bubbles6 gently along， the others burst.

The humorous story is strictly a work of art—high and delicate art—and only an artist can tell it; but no art is necessary in telling the comic and the witty story; anybody can do it. The art of telling a humorous story—understand， I mean by word of mouth， not print—was created in America， and has remained at home.

The humorous story is told gravely; the teller does his best to conceal the fact that he even dimly suspects that there is anything funny about it; but the teller of the comic story tells you beforehand that it is one of the funniest things he has ever heard， then tells it with eager delight， and is the first person to laugh when he gets through7. And sometimes， if he has had good success， he is so glad and happy that he will repeat the “nub8” of it and glance around from face to face， collecting applause， and then repeat it again. It is a pathetic thing to see.

Very often， of course， the rambling9 and disjointed10 humorous story finishes with a nub， point， snapper， or whatever you like to call it. Then the listener must be alert， for in many cases the teller will divert attention from that nub by dropping it in a carefully casual and indifferent way， with the pretence that he does not know it is a nub.

Artemus Ward used that trick a good deal; then when the belated11  audience presently caught the joke he would look up with innocent surprise， as if wondering what they had found to laugh at. Dan Setchell used it before him， Nye and Riley and others use it today.

But the teller of the comic story does not slur12 the nub; he shouts it at you—every time. And when he prints it， in England， France， Germany， and Italy， he italicizes it， puts some whooping exclamation-points after it， and sometimes explains it in a parenthesis. All of which is very depressing， and makes one want to renounce joking and lead a better life.

1. If someone or something is humorous， they are amusing， especially in a clever or witty way.

2. If you describe something as comic， you mean that it makes you laugh， and is often intended to make you laugh.

3. Someone or something that is witty is amusing in a clever way.

4. If you spin something out， you make it last longer than it normally would.

5. You use please in expressions such as “as she pleases，” “whatever you please，” and “anything he pleases” to indicate that someone can do or have whatever they want.

6. A feeling， influence， or activity that is bubbling away continues to occur.

7. If you get through a task or an amount of work， especially when it is difficult， you complete it.

8. The nub of a situation， problem， or argument is the central and most basic part of it.

9. If you describe a speech or piece of writing as rambling， you are criticizing it for being too long and very confused.

10. Disjointed words， thoughts， or ideas are not presented in a smooth or logical way and are therefore difficult to understand.

11. A belated action happens later than it should have done.

12. If someone slurs their speech or if their speech slurs， they do not pronounce each word clearly， because they are drunk， ill， or sleepy.

Activity 3

Read the essay again， and answer the following questions.

（1） What do the following sentences mean？ “I do not claim that I can tell a story as it ought to be told.

I only claim to know how a story ought to be told …” （para. 1）

（2） What does “by word of mouth” mean？ （para. 4）

（3） What did the story teller try to express as he looked up with innocent surprise？ （para. 7）

Activity 4

Study the words in bold and the underlined phrases. Complete the blank-filling task below.

（1） Here we reach the n________ of the argument.

（2） He does whatever he p________.

（3） Cameron wrote a r________ letter to his wife.

（4） I think you can ________ ________ the first two chapters.

（5） My wife’s solicitor was anxious to ________ things ________ for as long as possible.

學习任务答案

Activity 2

To intentionally make the audience aware of the nub.

Activity 3

（1） I know what makes a good story， but I can’t say that I can tell a good story myself.

（2） Orally telling a story; not presenting a story in a book or newspaper.

（3） He tried to show that he did not understand the nub which the audience had already understood.

Activity 4

（1） nub （2） pleases （3） rambling

（4） get through （5） spin … out