How to Tell a Story (Extract)

Mark Twain

1 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.

2 There are several kinds of stories, but only one difficult kind—the humorous.I will talk mainly about that one.The humorousstory is American, the comicstory is English, the wittystory 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.

3 The humorous story may beto great length, and may wander around as much as it pleases, and arrive nowhere in particular; but the comic and witty stories must be brief and end with a point.The humorous story bubblesgently along, the others burst.

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4 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.

5 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.And sometimes,if he has had good success, he is so glad and happy that he will repeat the “nub” of it and glance around from face to face, collecting applause, and then repeat it again.It is a pathetic thing to see.

6 Very often, of course, the ramblingand disjointedhumorous 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.

7 Artemus Ward used that trick a good deal; then when the belatedaudience 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.

8 But the teller of the comic story does not slurthe 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.

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)

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.

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