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Posted by : Unknown
7 tháng 11, 2013
Bài đọc tiếp theo sẽ nói về The Boys Hardy Mystery Stories - một loạt các cuốn sách về cuộc phiêu lưu của anh em nhà Frank và Joe Hardy - những thám tử tuổi teen chuyên giải quyết các vụ án bí ẩn khó hiểu.
Các bạn làm thử nhé!
Article
First introduced in 1927, The
Hardy Boys Mystery Stories are a series of books about the adventures of
brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, teenaged detectives who solve one baffling
mystery after another. The Hardy Boys were so popular among young boys that in
1930 a similar series was created for girls featuring a sixteen-year-old
detective named Nancy Drew. The cover of each volume of The Hardy Boys states
that the author of the series is Franklin W. Dixon; the Nancy Drew Mystery
Stories are supposedly written by Carolyn Keene. Over the years, though, many
fans of both series have been surprised to find out that Franklin W. Dixon and
Carolyn Keene are not real people. If Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene never
existed, then who wrote The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries?
The Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew
books were written through a process called ghostwriting. A ghostwriter writes
a book according to a specific formula. While ghostwriters are paid for writing
the books, their authorship is not acknowledged, and their names do not appear
on the published books. Ghostwriters can write books for children or adults,
the content of which is unspecific. Sometimes they work on book series with a
lot of individual titles, such as The Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew series.
The initial idea for both The
Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew series was developed by a man named Edward
Stratemeyer, who owned a publishing company that specialized in children’s
books. Stratemeyer noticed the increasing popularity of mysteries among adults,
and surmised that children would enjoy reading mysteries about younger
detectives with whom they could identify. Stratemeyer first developed each book
with an outline describing the plot and setting. Once he completed the outline.
Stratemeyer then hired a ghostwriter to convert it into a book of slightly over
200 pages. After the ghostwriter had written a draft of a book, he or she would
send it back to Stratemeyer, who would make a list of corrections and mail it
back to the ghostwriter. The ghostwriter would revise the book according to Stratemeyer’s
instructions and then return it to him. Once Stratemeyer approved the book, it
was ready for publication.
Because each series ran for so
many years, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys both had a number of different
ghostwriters producing books; however, the first ghostwriter for each series
proved to be the most influential. The initial ghostwriter for The Hardy Boys
was a Canadian journalist named Leslie McFarlane. A few years later, Mildred A.
Wirt, a young writer from Iowa, began writing the Nancy Drew books. Although
they were using prepared outlines as guides, both McFarlane and Wirt developed
the characters themselves. The personalities of Frank and Joe Hardy and Nancy
Drew arose directly from McFarlane’s and Wirt’s imaginations. For example,
Mildred Wirt had been a star college athlete and gave Nancy similar athletic
abilities. The ghostwriters were also responsible for numerous plot and setting
details. Leslie McFarlane used elements of his small Canadian town to create
Bayport, the Hardy Boys’ fictional hometown.
Although The Hardy Boys and Nancy
Drew books were very popular with children, not everyone approved of them.
Critics thought their plots were unrealistic and even far-fetched, since most
teenagers did not experience the adventures Frank and Joe Hardy or Nancy Drew
did. The way the books were written also attracted criticism. Many teachers and
librarians objected to the ghostwriting process, claiming it was designed to
produce books quickly rather than create quality literature. Some libraries—including
the New York Public Library—even refused to include the books in their
children’s collections. Ironically, this decision actually helped sales of the
books, because children simply purchased them when they were unavailable in
local libraries.
Regardless of the debates about
their literary merit, each series of books has exerted an undeniable influence
on American and even global culture. Most Americans have never heard of Edward Stratemeyer,
Leslie McFarlane, or Mildred Wirt, but people throughout the world are familiar
with Nancy Drew and Frank and Joe Hardy.
Questions
1) According to the passage, the Nancy Drew mystery series was
introduced in
A. 1925
B. 1927
C. 1929
D. 1930
2) Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A. Ghostwriting: A Way of Life
B. Who Were Leslie McFarlane and
Mildred A. Wirt?
C. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew:
Ghostwriting a Series
D. The Dubious yet Profitable
Practice of Ghostwriting
3) According to the passage, which of the following people was a real
writer?
A. Carolyn Keene
B. Franklin W. Dixon
C. Leslie McFarlane
D. Tom Hardy
4) According to the passage, a ghostwriter is someone who
I. writes about mysterious or
strange events
II. does not receive credit as
the author
III. bases his or her books on
predetermined guidelines
A. I only
B. I and II only
C. II and III only
D. I, II, and III
5) As used in paragraph 3, which is the best definition for surmised?
A. guessed
B. questioned
C. knew
D. proved
6) According to the passage, The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books were
created based on the idea that
I. mystery books for adults are
popular
II. children enjoy reading about
characters they can relate to
III. girls and boys are not
interested in the same things
A. I only
B. I and II only (CORRECT)
C. II and III only
D. I, II, and III
7) Based on information in the passage, it can be inferred that Leslie
McFarlane and Mildred Wirt
A. disliked writing according to
a specific formul
B. respected the art of
ghostwriting
C. were unsuccessful in their
previous occupations
D. found it helpful to write from
personal experience
8) According to the passage, some teachers and librarians objected to
ghostwritten books such as The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mystery Stories
because they
A. disapproved of mystery stories
B. thought the books were too
expensive
C. believed the books were not
quality literature
D. disliked Edward Stratemeyer’s
questionable business practices
9) Which of the following best describes the author's attitude toward
The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew book
series?
A. balanced and respectful
B. doubtful and critical
C. hostile but forgiving
D. overwhelmingly praising
10) Which of the following best describes the structure of this
passage?
A. introduction, explanation,
history, controversy, conclusion
B. introduction, history,
controversy, explanation, conclusion
C. history, explanation, summary,
conclusion, controversy
D. history, controversy,
explanation, summary, conclusion