A widow with a fish to fry
A YOUNG WOMAN WALKS INTO THE BATHROOM of her Beijing apartment. She plans to ask her husband about their coming vacation, but notices he's facedown in their bathtub. Jokingly, she asks him if he's trying to wash his hair. No answer. He's dead.
These first pages of An Yu's novel, Braised Pork, sound like a domestic thriller. The dead husband . A fancy apartment. And a wife who shows that even if she's shocked by the unexpected death, she wasn't happy with her marriage to begin with. Yu writes, “He had betrayed（背叛）and deserted her."
But then, as she waits for the ambulance, Jia Jia discovers a picture of a strange fish-man left near her bathtub. She remembers her husband describing the creature on a trip to Tibet—it had shown up in a dream. Jia Jia doesn't know it yet, but the drawing will take her miles from home, changing what she knows to be true about herself. It's this experience that changes Braised Pork into an original narrative（叙事）one that doesn't fit into any genre（体裁）.
As JiaJia picks up the pieces of her life, she wonders how much of herself she suppressed （压 抑）to please her husband. She was once an artist, but her husband discouraged her from running after her dream. Now she can explore those desires alone, though .
ANOTHER AUTHOR might have chosen to follow a young widow on a journey of finding love after loss. But 28-year-old Yu smartly decides not to. Instead, she uses Jia Jia as a way to explore the anxiety of contemporary womanhood. Jia Jia does want to find love again, which is only a small part of the story. Yu leaves room for her to begin a more material search: uncovering the meaning behind the picture beside her husband's dead body.
There are some images that make us so uncomfortable. It's impossible to look away from them. For JiaJia, it's the fish-man at first, and then more memories of the past, which interrupt her present. In Braised Pork, Yu raises questions about why we keep an eye on those moments-and how they might relate to the company we wish for.
12. What's the genre of the novel Braised Pork?
A. Mystery. B. Narrative.
C. Domestic thriller. D. None of the above.
13. What kind of person would you say Jia Jia is before her husband's death?
A. lonely and suppressed. B. innocent but unlucky.
C. humorous and independent. D. talented and passionate.
14. From the last two paragraphs, we know ________.
A. Jia Jia and Yu both wish for company
B. Jia Jia would rather live in the past than in the future
C. Yu uses Jia Jia to explore the anxiety of contemporary womanhood
D. The novel is mainly about a young widow finding her true love after loss
15. Which of the following is NOT right according to the text?
A. Yu uses uncomfortable images to catch reader's attention.
B The picture of a strange fish-man will take Jia Jia away from home .
C. Jia Jia can take up art again after her husband's unexpected death.
D. Jia Jia isn't satisfied with her marriage due to her husband's betrayal.
【答案】
A YOUNG WOMAN WALKS INTO THE BATHROOM of her Beijing apartment. She plans to ask her husband about their coming vacation, but notices he's facedown in their bathtub. Jokingly, she asks him if he's trying to wash his hair. No answer. He's dead.
These first pages of An Yu's novel, Braised Pork, sound like a domestic thriller. The dead husband . A fancy apartment. And a wife who shows that even if she's shocked by the unexpected death, she wasn't happy with her marriage to begin with. Yu writes, “He had betrayed（背叛）and deserted her."
But then, as she waits for the ambulance, Jia Jia discovers a picture of a strange fish-man left near her bathtub. She remembers her husband describing the creature on a trip to Tibet—it had shown up in a dream. Jia Jia doesn't know it yet, but the drawing will take her miles from home, changing what she knows to be true about herself. It's this experience that changes Braised Pork into an original narrative（叙事）one that doesn't fit into any genre（体裁）.
As JiaJia picks up the pieces of her life, she wonders how much of herself she suppressed （压 抑）to please her husband. She was once an artist, but her husband discouraged her from running after her dream. Now she can explore those desires alone, though .
ANOTHER AUTHOR might have chosen to follow a young widow on a journey of finding love after loss. But 28-year-old Yu smartly decides not to. Instead, she uses Jia Jia as a way to explore the anxiety of contemporary womanhood. Jia Jia does want to find love again, which is only a small part of the story. Yu leaves room for her to begin a more material search: uncovering the meaning behind the picture beside her husband's dead body.
There are some images that make us so uncomfortable. It's impossible to look away from them. For JiaJia, it's the fish-man at first, and then more memories of the past, which interrupt her present. In Braised Pork, Yu raises questions about why we keep an eye on those moments-and how they might relate to the company we wish for.
12. What's the genre of the novel Braised Pork?
A. Mystery. B. Narrative.
C. Domestic thriller. D. None of the above.
13. What kind of person would you say Jia Jia is before her husband's death?
A. lonely and suppressed. B. innocent but unlucky.
C. humorous and independent. D. talented and passionate.
14. From the last two paragraphs, we know ________.
A. Jia Jia and Yu both wish for company
B. Jia Jia would rather live in the past than in the future
C. Yu uses Jia Jia to explore the anxiety of contemporary womanhood
D. The novel is mainly about a young widow finding her true love after loss
15. Which of the following is NOT right according to the text?
A. Yu uses uncomfortable images to catch reader's attention.
B The picture of a strange fish-man will take Jia Jia away from home .
C. Jia Jia can take up art again after her husband's unexpected death.
D. Jia Jia isn't satisfied with her marriage due to her husband's betrayal.
【答案】
苏19057182-3号