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Iamnotonewhogolfs.TheonlytimeItrieditIwasconfidentthatadozenballswouldbeanadequatesupply.Thisisthesportofretiredpeople:howhardcoulditbe?Theconfidencewasmisplaced,also,onebyone,theballs,andIhadtoquitsomewherearoundtheseventhhole.Onthesixth,actually,Ihitacar—therewasabsolutelynoreasonforahighwaytobethatclosetoagolfcourse—butthat’sanotherstory.Thepointisthatthegamedidnotyieldupitsmysterytome;Iremain,inthegolfinguniverse,achildofdarkness.IdofindthatIamabletowatchgolfontelevision,however,whereitispossibletoexperienceacalmnessthatthegameitselfsadlylacks.Spreadoutonacouchandindifferenttotheoutcome(veryimportant),youwatchtinywhiteballssailimprobabledistancesoverthebiggestlawnsintheworld,interruptedoccasionallybyadvertisementsforexpensivecars.OneoftheplayersisnamedTiger.AnotherisnamedLove.IfyouhaveaccesstoabottleofMartinis(optional),thejoypotentialcanbequitehuge.
Thereisusuallyapriceforpleasuresomindless.InthecaseofTVgolf,itislisteningtothecommentatorsanalyzetheplayers’swings.Whatlookstoyoulikeasingle,continuous,andnotdifficultactisrevealed,viaslowmotionandasortofvirtual-chalkboardgraphics,tobeasequenceofintricatelymeasuredadjustmentsofshouldertohip,headtoarm,elbowtowrist,andsoon.Whereyouseefluidity,theexpertsseegeometry;whattoyouisnatureismachinerytothem—parallellines,extendedplanes,pointsofimpact.Theymurdertoexamine.Yet,apparently,theseminutesandindividualizedmeasurementsmakeallthedifferencebetweenbeingablereliablytolandagolfballinanarea,threehundredyardsaway,thesizeofabathmatand,say,randomlyhittingacar,which,let’sfaceit,onlyafoolwoulddriverightnexttoagolfcourse.Thereisamajordisproportion,inotherwords,betweenthestraightforwardnessofthegameandthefantasticprecisionrequiredtoplayit,adisproportionmasteredbyadifficultbut,totheordinaryobserver,almostinvisibletechnique.
Shortstoriesarethesame.Ashortstoryisnotasrestrictiveasasonnet,but,ofalltheliteraryforms,itispossiblythemostsingle-minded.Itsaim,asitwasidentifiedbythemoderngenre’sfirsttheorist,EdgarAllanPoe,istocreate“aneffect”—bywhichPoemeantsomethingalmostphysical,likeasensationoranextremeexcitement.
1.Theauthorquoteshisownexperiencewithgolftoshowthat_____.
[A]thingsareoftennotsosimpleandeasyastheyseem
[B]hisexperiencewithgolfhasbeenafrustratingfailure
[C]thatexperienceofhisofferedmuchforhislaterlife
[D]apparenttruthsaremoreoftenthannotunreliable
2.TheauthorenjoyswatchinggolfgamesonTVbecause_____.
[A]accesstodrinksmakesthegamemorejoyful
[B]amoreenjoyableviewofthegameisprovided
[C]heisthusunaffectedbytheresultofthegame
[D]thatismorelikelyrealappreciationofthegame
3.Whatdoestheauthorimplywhenhesays“Thereisusually…somindless”(Line1,Paragraph2)?
[A]Commentatorsofteninterruptyourattention.
[B]TVgolfisfrequentlyunaffordableformany.
[C]Oneneedstopayhandsomelyforthesetting.
[D]Someessentialpartsofthegamearemissing.
4.Inthepartsucceedingthethirdparagraph,theauthorwillmostprobably_____.
[A]drawananalogybetweengolfandshortstory
[B]elaboratethe“effect”ofshortstory
[C]showotherexamplessimilartogolfgames
[D]showimpactofgolfgamesonshortstory
5.WhatistherelationshipbetweenParagraph1andParagraph2?
[A]Paragraph1isanintroductiontoParagraph2.
[B]Paragraph1providesanexampleforParagraph2.
[C]Paragraph1andParagraph2arebothsupportingdetails.
[D]Paragraph2servesasananalogytoParagraph1.
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