The art of reading fiction is largely a matter of inferring meanings. To infer means to understand facts which are not directly stated---only suggested. Inference is one of the monest ways of knowing things: a child holds his knee and cries; this action implies his feeling; an observer infers that the child is hurt. To infer accurately in everyday life requires caution in observing; to infer skillfully in fiction requires caution in reading; both require disciplined imagination.
The short-story reader can expect to find certain basic elements in any story. For example, all stories involve a person or persons, in a particular setting, faced with a demand for a response. The response called for may be a physical action, such as defeating an adversary(对手) or escaping from a danger; or it may be a mental action, such as adjusting to others or within oneself. In either case, the short story is a description in two ways: first, it shows the motives for a given human action; second, it makes a point about the general human situation. Such descriptions, however, rather than being stated directly, usually are implied by the elements of the story.
When the reader of a story understands all the facts and their interrelationships, he is ready to infer the significance of the story as a whole---its ment on the human situation. This ment, or theme, is the seed from which the story grew. It is also the idea by which all the separate elements of the story are governed, while these in turn further shape and modify the theme. In addition to action, character, and setting, these elements include structure, mood, tone, and point of view.
Fiction reading requires an awareness of all the ways in which a story municates. It also requires attention to detail. What the author provides is a network of points which serve as clues to his meaning. He invites the reader to develop the meaning by inference, actually to create much of the story himself and so make it part of his own experience.
【小题1】According to the author, infer means . A．knowingfactsbeyondthestatement B．lookingformoreevidencesforthestatementC．findingoutadifferentmeaningfromthestatementD．addingsomefactstothestatement【小题2】What is inferring in fiction based on?A．Readers’guessing. B．Thebasicelementsofthestory.C．Thesettingofthestory. D．Theinterrelationshipsbetweenpeopleinthestory.【小题3】What is the implied meaning of the last sentence?A．Inferringcanreallyhelpthereaderdevelopimaginationandenrichhimself.B．Inferringcanhelpthereaderwriteastoryofhisown.C．Thereadershouldlookforanexperiencedescribedinthestoryhereads.D．Theexperiencedescribedinthestorywillleaveagreatimpactonitsreader.【小题4】What is the main idea of this passage? A．Inferringisanartofwriting. B．InferringisaneedinfictionwritingC．Inferringisthebasicskillinreadingfiction.D．Inferringismoninreading.A
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(答案→)A
解析：本文叙述了读小说的艺术在于读者的推理，文中讲述了什么是推理，推理就是在描述的事实之外，你推测出来的内容，但是推理是基于这篇小说的事实，不是凭空想象的，最后指出推理能帮助读者发展他们的想象空间来丰富充实自己。
【小题1】细节理解题。根据To infer means to understand facts which are not directly stated---only suggested. 故选A。
【小题2】细节理解题。根据The short-story reader can expect to find certain basic elements in any story. Such descriptions, however, rather than being stated directly, usually are implied by the elements of the story故选B。
【小题3】推理判断题。根据He invites the reader to develop the meaning by inference, actually to create much of the story himself and so make it part of his own experience.推理能帮助读者发展他们的想象空间来丰富充实自己，故选A。
【小题4】主旨大意题。根据The art of reading fiction is largely a matter of inferring meanings.故选C。