1.《世界的最后一晚》

the last night of the world

by 雷·布莱伯利

ray bradbury

▌阅读时长：7分钟

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▌内容简介

布莱伯利最有名的是他的《华氏451度》（fahrenheit 451），这本书是有关焚书的反乌托邦（dystopian）故事。但书迷们对他的短篇小说应该也很熟悉，比如《纹身人》（the illustrated man）和《火星纪事》（the martian chronicles）。

“the last night of the world” is a tender, simple story. the first line alone is universally intriguing: “what would you do if you knew this was the last night of the world?”

《世界的最后一晚》是个温柔、简单的故事。文章的第一句话就引人入胜：“如果这是世界的最后一晚，你会做些什么？”

▌精彩选段

"do you know, i won't miss anything but you and the girls. i never liked cities or autos or factories or my work or anything except you three. i won't miss a thing except my family and perhaps the change in the weather and a glass of cool water when the weather's hot, or the luxury of sleeping. just little things, really."

“知道吗？除了你和两个女儿，我其实没什么好留恋的了。我从来不曾真正喜欢这座城市，或是汽车、工厂，我也不喜欢我的工作，或者任何你们三个以外的事。如果真要说有什么舍不得的，恐怕只有四季的轮换、热天里一杯冰得透透凉凉的水、还有饱饱地睡一觉。都是些微不足道的小事，真的。”

they sat and read the papers and talked and listened to some radio music and then sat together by the fireplace looking at the charcoal embers as the clock struck ten-thirty and eleven and eleven-thirty. they thought of all the other people in the world who had spent their evening, each in their own special way.

他们坐着读报纸、聊天、听广播里的音乐，一起坐在炉火旁边，看着火炉里木炭发出的微光。时钟走过了10点半，11点，11点半。他们想象着，世界上其他的人将如何度过这最后一晚，以自己特殊的方式。

2.《幸福结局》

happy endings

by 玛格丽特·阿特伍德

margaret atwood

▌阅读时长：5分钟

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▌内容简介

atwood, the author of the handmaid’s tale, shows off her token snark in this very short story, which takes the reader through all of the different ways in which a fictional couple, john and mary, could possibly end up. hint: it’s not so happy.

阿特伍德，也就是最近大热的《使女的故事》的作者，在这篇短小精悍的小说中尽情炫耀了一把自己标志性的讽刺手法，带领读者体验了一对虚构夫妇约翰和玛丽可能经历的各种不同结局。温馨提示：这些结局并没有那么幸福。

▌精彩选段

you'll have to face it, the endings are the same however you slice it. don't be deluded by any other endings, they're all fake, either deliberately fake, with malicious intent to deceive, or just motivated by excessive optimism if not by downright sentimentality.

你必须面对现实，无论你怎样切分他们的故事，结局都是一样的。不要被其他结局欺骗了，那些都是假的。要么是居心叵测有意欺瞒造假，要么就是乐观过头或太过多情而臆想出来的。

the only authentic ending is the one provided here:

以下才是唯一真实的结局：

john and mary die. john and mary die. john and mary die.

约翰和玛丽死了。约翰和玛丽死了。约翰和玛丽死了。

3.《学校》

the school

by 唐纳德·巴塞尔姆

donald barthelme

▌阅读时长：5分钟

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▌内容简介

the entire story is a dramatic monologue, and shows off barthelme's token humor and excellent experiments with form.

这个故事就是一段充满戏剧性的独白，展现了巴塞尔姆标志性的幽默和在文体形式上的出色尝试。

在这个看似荒诞的故事里，橘树、小动物、收养的孩子都接二连三死了，学校里的孩子们感到困惑，不停地追问老师，就此展开对死亡、对生活意义的讨论……

▌精彩选段

they asked me, where did they go? the trees, the salamander, the tropical fish, edgar, the poppas and mommas, matthew and tony, where did they go? and i said, i don't know, i don't know. and they said, who knows? and i said, nobody knows. and they said, is death that which gives meaning to life? and i said no, life is that which gives meaning to life.

他们问我说，那些东西都去哪儿了？树苗、火蜥蜴、热带鱼、小狗埃德加、爸爸妈妈们、马修和托尼，他们到底去哪儿了？我说，我不知道，我也不知道。他们问，那谁知道呢？我说，没人知道。他们说，是死亡给生活带来了意义吗？我说，不是，是生命为生活赋予了意义。

4.《一个干净明亮的地方》

a clean, well-lighted place

by 欧内斯特·海明威

ernest hemingway

▌阅读时长：8分钟

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▌内容简介

hemingway’s writing can be minimalistic, a quality that lends itself well to short stories. in fact, washington post's books editor, ron charles, has said that hemingway’s short stories are better than his novels.

海明威的写作手法一向颇为简洁，这一特点尤其适合于短篇小说。事实上，《华盛顿邮报》的图书编辑罗恩·查尔斯就曾评价说，海明威的短篇小说比他的长篇小说更优秀。

you’ve probably read, or at least heard about, “hills like white elephants,” a cryptic conversation between a man and a woman. “a clean, well-lighted place” is another classic, in which two waiters prepare for the end of the evening.

你可能读过或者至少听说过《白象似的群山》，那是发生在一男一女之间的一段晦涩对白。而《一个干净明亮的地方》则是另一个经典，讲述了两个男服务生准备结束一个夜晚的故事。

▌精彩选段

the two waiters inside the café knew that the old man was a little drunk, and while he was a good client they knew that if he became too drunk he would leave without paying, so they kept watch on him.

呆在餐馆里的两个侍者知道这老人有点儿醉了，他虽然是个好主顾，可是，他们知道，如果他喝得太醉了，他会不付账就走，所以他们一直在留神他。

"last week he tried to commit suicide," one waiter said.

"上个星期他想自杀，"一个侍者说。

"why?"

"为什么？"

"he was in despair."

"他绝望啦。"

"what about?"

"为啥绝望？"

"nothing."

"不为什么。"

"how do you know it was nothing?"

"你怎么知道是不为什么？"

"he has plenty of money."

"他有很多钱。"

5.《窥镜》

the looking-glass

by 安东·契诃夫

anton chekhov

▌阅读时长：8分钟

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▌内容简介

契诃夫被称为“现代短篇小说之父”（“father of the modern short story”），他的作品特点是以人物为核心。

in “the looking-glass,” a woman feverishly attempts to seek help for her husband, sick with typhus, but is met with a surprise. this particular story nods to the author’s day job as a physician.

在《窥镜》中，一个女人疯狂地为她患了斑疹伤寒的丈夫寻求帮助，最终收获了一个大“惊喜”。这部作品刚好与契诃夫医生的职业相呼应。

▌精彩选段

then she saw against the grey background how her husband every spring was in straits for money to pay the interest for the mortgage to the bank. he could not sleep, she could not sleep, and both racked their brains till their heads ached, thinking how to avoid being visited by the clerk of the court.

在灰色的背景下，她看到丈夫每年春天为贷款利息而捉襟见肘。他夜不能寐，她也一样，他们为此绞尽脑汁，想得脑袋生疼，生怕法庭找上门来。

she saw her children: the everlasting apprehension of colds, scarlet fever, diphtheria, bad marks at school, separation. out of a brood of five or six one was sure to die.

她看到了她的孩子们，总是生活在无尽的恐惧中：他们害怕感冒、猩红热、白喉，害怕成绩差，害怕被分开。一个人若离开了五六人的小群体，那将必死无疑。