New Zealand short stories

📖 Bài đọc (reading passage)

New Zealand Short Stories
Paula Morris, the editor of a new book of short stories, introduces her collection
When I was appointed editor of this new collection, my instructions were to choose stories written by New Zealanders in the last decade. In order to make that selection, I wanted to read as widely as possible. I would not select authors simply because they were important names in New Zealand literature. Novelists who occasionally write short stories were not excluded; however, those who write full-length novels may not always possess the specific abilities necessary to write short stories, and vice versa. A variety of people - publishers, editors, academics - alerted me to new names, or reminded me about familiar names that I associated with other forms of writing. The author may be living overseas, or publishing elsewhere, or setting his or her work in another country, but none of these were issues I considered relevant. Neither did it matter whether they were famous or obscure. The only active New Zealand short-story writer I ruled out of my considerations was myself, as it would have been incompatible with my role as editor.

I certainly had no wish to separate contemporary stories into those most influenced by iconic writers of the past, such as Katherine Mansfield, and those following more recent traditions; such categorizations are simplistic. There was no particular version of New Zealand I wanted to construct or dismantle. For although we may get glimpses of a society through its short stories, these cannot set out to give us a panoramic social summary, because such a goal is beyond their scope.

The stories chosen would reflect the diversity of contemporary New Zealand, I hoped. However, it quickly became apparent that the quality of the story - that small matter of the fluency of the writing - was more important to me than the ethnicity, gender, social background, or regional affiliation of its author. My purpose was not to ensure every group in this diverse nation was represented in some fair and proportional way, and there are some absences. Of writers from the Pacific Islands, Samoa is the dominant presence among the stories selected. This is perhaps unsurprising given the number of Samoans who have settled in New Zealand over recent decades. However, Samoa's dominance may not endure. The number of stories I read by authors from all the many different Pacific Islands, both published and unpublished, indicates that a new wave of talent is about to become prominent in our national literature.

All the writers here speak of New Zealand, I think, in direct and indirect ways, even the ones who set their work elsewhere. When writing fiction, says the master short-story writer William Trevor, 'you cannot escape the person you are ... All fiction has its autobiographical roots. 'Trevor was born in Ireland and, therefore, he says: I observe the world through Irish sensibilities, take for granted an Irish way of doing things ... and am reminded of familiarities of early environment when I'm separated from them.' The stories featured in this collection are evidence of this truth.

An outsider, after reading these stories, would draw certain conclusions about New Zealand They might conclude that Maori, the country's original inhabitants, may live in simple conditions or in one of the most expensive suburbs; that rather than the clean, green paradise sometimes presented to tourists from overseas, New Zealand has its fair share of social issues; that our businesses happily employ arrogant managers and rude consultants; that dwelling among us are the happily married and the smugly suburban; and that we like sport. Each of these narratives and many others are presented here.

Of course, a collection like this is partly a product of the taste and enthusiasms of its editor. At some point, early in my reading, I became conscious of this. A story had to grab me - move, provoke, excite, entertain or challenge me, stay with me in some way - if it was to be included. The stories I kept returning to were those that would not go away, would not be forgotten by me, and in this sense it is a subjective selection.

So, was the past decade a golden age for short fiction in New Zealand? Certainly, it could be seen as a period of investment and opportunity. For nine years the Prime Minister herself took on the arts, culture and heritage ministerial portfolio, quickly implementing a cultural recovery package of tens of millions of dollars. Furthermore, valuable prizes for writers were created. These included a residency in Berlin, Germany, and also residencies in locations around New Zealand, such as Randall Cottage in Wellington, allowing writers to leave home and work in fresh environments. The decade also saw the establishment of various postgraduate degree courses in creative writing. Victoria University led the way when Bill Manhire added an MA course to his already popular undergraduate course in creative writing and this was followed by other institutions.

A number of journals promoting new writing survived, including Landfall, established at the University of Otago in 1947. These titles were joined in this period by ventures likeJAAM and the e-zine Turbine, where many emerging writers get their start. And Radio New Zealand National, our single largest purchaser of short fiction, continued to buy around eighty stories a year because they remained very popular with the listening audience. Two of the writers included in this collection got their start writing for radio. All in all then, there were many positive developments for writers over the decade.

❓ Câu hỏi (questions)

Writing novels and short stories requires the same range of skills.

Publishers, editors and academics provided valuable help in identifying sources of material.

Authors living overseas tend to lose interest in writing about New Zealand.

It was important that one particular author's work was excluded from the collection.

Katherine Mansfield's influence on today's authors has been overstated.

It is possible to give an overview of an entire society in a short story.

Paula Morris refers to 'that small matter of the fluency of the writing' to

demonstrate how language changes over time.

emphasise her priorities when selecting stories.

suggest that story-writing is losing popularity.

illustrate the variety of cultures in New Zealand.

What are we told about writers from the Pacific Islands?

They will be increasingly important in the future.

Few of their stories were included in this collection.

Their stories are distinct from those of other writers.

They have been overlooked too often in the past.

Paula Morris refers to William Trevor to illustrate

why some authors prefer to write in second languages.

who has had most influence on her own writing style.

how an author's life experiences affect their writing.

what is problematic about certain written stories.

What is Paula Morris doing in the fifth paragraph?

explaining which were her favourite stories.

rejecting a common criticism of modern stories.

contrasting the content of various different stories.

comparing her collection with other books of stories.

Was this a golden decade for writers?

The arts in general benefited from ﻿ that resulted in millions of dollars worth of investment. Another innovation was new ﻿ such as the Randall Cottage initiative. What's more, there was a development in ﻿ available for writers, with Bill Manhire playing an important role. Writers were also served by ﻿ dating variously from 1947 to more recent times.

travel opportunities

technological advances

broadcast media

government support

commercial sponsorship

tertiary programmes

literary publications

🔥 Answer key (đáp án và giải thích)

Giải thích chi tiết

☺️ Ứng dụng Linearthinking để giải quyết dạng bài Yes / No / Not Given

Step 01: Read the question to understand (main idea + detail)

Simplified: Writing novels and short stories requires the same range of skills

-------

Step 02: Locate relevant information

🔍 Từ khóa: “novels”, “short stories”, “skills” -> tìm đoạn so sánh kỹ năng viết tiểu thuyết và truyện ngắn.

-> Dựa vào các từ khoá trên, có thể tìm được trích dẫn ở đoạn 1.

-------

Step 03: Read relevant information to understand (main + detail)

📌 Trích dẫn: “... those who write full-length novels may not always possess the specific abilities necessary to write short stories, and vice versa.” (Đoạn 1)

Simplified: Novelists may not always possess skills for short stories

Short story writers may not always possess skills for novels

-------

Step 04: Compare meaning with meaning

Trong bài đọc: Kỹ năng viết tiểu thuyết và kỹ năng viết truyện ngắn không hoàn toàn trùng nhau.
Trong câu hỏi: Viết tiểu thuyết và truyện ngắn đòi hỏi cùng một bộ kỹ năng.

⇒ ✅ Chọn: NO

-------

Lí do các đáp án còn lại sai:

Nếu là YES: bài đọc phải nói rõ hai loại hình viết cần “the same skills”. Nhưng thực tế khẳng định ngược lại.
Nếu là NOT GIVEN: bài đọc phải không đề cập đến sự khác biệt/kỹ năng giữa viết truyện ngắn và tiểu thuyết. Nhưng thông tin được nêu rất rõ.

Xem full giải thích

IELTS Reading Practice

Gồm làm đề, xem giải thích chi tiết, học từ vựng của những bài thi IELTS Reading phổ biến nhất trên thị trường

A Song On The Brain IELTS Reading Answers with Explanation

Luyện tập đề IELTS Reading Practice với passage A Song On The Brain được lấy từ cuốn sách IELTS Practice Test Plus 2 - Test 3 - Passage 1 với trải nghiệm thi IELTS trên máy và giải thích đáp án chi tiết bằng Linearthinking, kèm list từ vựng IELTS cần học trong bài đọc.

The Lost City IELTS Reading Answers with Explanation

Luyện tập đề IELTS Reading Practice với passage The Lost City được lấy từ cuốn sách IELTS Cambridge IELTS Practice Test 12 - Test 2 - Passage 2 với trải nghiệm thi IELTS trên máy và giải thích đáp án chi tiết bằng Linearthinking, kèm list từ vựng IELTS cần học trong bài đọc.

Elephant Communication IELTS Reading Answers with Explanation

Luyện tập đề IELTS Reading Practice với passage Elephant Communication được lấy từ cuốn sách IELTS Actual Test 6 - Test 5 - Passage 3 với trải nghiệm thi IELTS trên máy và giải thích đáp án chi tiết bằng Linearthinking, kèm list từ vựng IELTS cần học trong bài đọc.

How Baby Talk Gives Infant Brains A Boost IELTS Reading Answers with Explanation

Luyện tập đề IELTS Reading Practice với passage How Baby Talk Gives Infant Brains A Boost được lấy từ cuốn sách IELTS Cambridge IELTS Practice Test 13 - Test 3 - Passage 2 với trải nghiệm thi IELTS trên máy và giải thích đáp án chi tiết bằng Linearthinking, kèm list từ vựng IELTS cần học trong bài đọc.

History Of Refrigeration IELTS Reading Answers with Explanation

Luyện tập đề IELTS Reading Practice với passage History Of Refrigeration được lấy từ cuốn sách IELTS Actual Test 6 - Test 6 - Passage 1 với trải nghiệm thi IELTS trên máy và giải thích đáp án chi tiết bằng Linearthinking, kèm list từ vựng IELTS cần học trong bài đọc.