今宵将尽，万物迎春，十里春风已在来的路上。让我们一起读书迎新春，快乐过大年。今天为大家推荐的是家喻户晓的美国短篇小说家欧·亨利创作的一篇充满温情的故事《最后一片叶子》。老画家用自己的残生呕心沥血，激励年轻的生命重新振作、奋发图强，那墙上的最后一片常春藤叶子，正象征着生命的活力将永远延续，我们的人生将永远充满希望和勇气。新的一年我们将保持热爱，勇往直前！

作品简介

《最后一片叶子》是美国作家欧·亨利创作的短篇小说。故事以纽约市格林尼治艺术家聚居区为背景，描写了一位老画家为因患肺炎而奄奄一息的穷学生画最后一片常春藤叶的故事。故事里藏着欧・亨利标志性的温和与特有幽默，在充满温情的故事中探讨人性的真善美。

 

作者简介

欧·亨利（O. Henry，1862-1910），原名威廉·西德尼·波特，美国现代短篇小说创始人、短篇小说家。生于美国北卡罗来纳州，曾当过银行职员、药剂师等，两次入狱，后移居纽约，成为职业作家。欧·亨利与契诃夫、莫泊桑并列为世界三大短篇小说巨匠，主要作品有《麦琪的礼物》《警察与赞美诗》《最后一片叶子》《二十年后》等。

 

精彩片段

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When Sue awoke from an hour’s sleep the next morning she found Johnsy with dull, wide-open eyes staring at the drawn green shade.

‘Pull it up! I want to see,’ she ordered, in a whisper.

Wearily Sue obeyed.

But, lo! after the beating rain and fierce gusts of wind that had endured through the livelong night, there yet stood out against the brick wall one ivy leaf. It was the last on the vine. Still dark green near its stem, but with its serrated edges tinted with the yellow of dissolution and decay, it hung bravely from a branch some twenty feet above the ground.

‘It is the last one,’ said Johnsy. ‘I thought it would surely fall during the night. I heard the wind. It will fall to-day, and I shall die at the same time.’

......

The day wore away, and even through the twilight they could see the lone ivy leaf clinging to its stem against the wall. And then, with the coming of the night the north wind was again loosed, while the rain still beat against the windows and pattered down from the low Dutch eaves.

When it was light enough Johnsy, the merciless, commanded that the shade be raised.

The ivy leaf was still there.

Johnsy lay for a long time looking at it. And then she called to Sue, who was stirring her chicken broth over the gas stove.

‘I’ve been a bad girl, Sudie,’ said Johnsy. ‘Something has made that last leaf stay there to show me how wicked I was. It is a sin to want to die. You may bring me a little broth now, and some milk with a little port in it, and -- no; bring me a hand-mirror first; and then pack some pillows about me, and I will sit up and watch you cook.’

 

词汇学习

• ivy  n. 常春藤
• decay  vt. 使腐朽，腐烂

     n. 腐朽，腐烂；衰减，衰退

• twilight  n. 黄昏，薄暮时分；暮光，暮色
• cling  vi. 粘住，依附；坚持
• command  v. 命令；指挥，统率

     n. 命令，指令；统帅；指挥；掌握，运用能力

（单词注释来自有道词典）

 

本书收入对三十九位不同国家、不同风格的短篇小说大师的精辟评论。布鲁姆以其独有的洞察力，如数家珍地介绍那些塑造短篇小说艺术的著名作家及其代表作品，从现实主义的辛辣，到印象派的微妙，再到表现主义的生命力，以及卡夫卡——博尔赫斯式梦魇般的怪诞幻象……评论视角和作品选择都别具一格，展示了短篇小说创作无限丰富的多样性和可能性。

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The book traces the development of this versatile literary genre over the past 200 years. Written by leading critics in the field and edited by two major scholars it explores a wide range of writers and sets the short story in context, paying attention to the interaction of cultural forces and aesthetic principles. It takes account of cutting edge approaches to literary studies and contributes to the ongoing redefinition of the American canon, with close attention to the achievements of women writers as well as such important genres as the ghost story and detective fiction, embracing diverse traditions including African-American, Jewish-American, Latino, Native-American, and regional short story writing. This volume presents an important new consideration of the role of the short story in the literary history of American literature.

文案策划及录音：图书借阅部 李圣昭

编辑：宣传策划小组 王丹