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泛读原文（盲听1遍，泛读1遍，对照文本听1遍）

When it comes to first impressions, we all want to make a good one. And that’s why we tend to focus on our best traits and qualities. However, we often fall into the trap of thinking that everything about us needs to be perfect. But that’s just unrealistic. We all have imperfections. It’s part of being human. And while it’s easy to believe that our ‘supposed flaws and imperfections’ make us less attractive, here are some that can actually make us seem more appealing to others:

You’re halfway through what’s supposedly one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, but nothing quite makes sense. Narrating characters offer clashing versions of the same story and often seem unsure who, what, or when they’re talking about. Seemingly minor details trigger intense emotional reactions you don’t understand. And the prose is loaded with convoluted sentences and outlandish imagery. Confused? Good – that means you’re on the right track.

William Faulkner is considered one of America’s most remarkable and perplexing writers. Fortunately, he wasn’t just toying with his audience. Faulkner used confusion intentionally, to explore the most mysterious parts of the human mind and investigate pressing issues of personal, racial, and regional identity. The result is a body of work that’s shocking, inventive, and often hilarious – but above all, challenging. So what clues should readers look for to navigate his literary labyrinths?

Many of Faulkner’s novels are set in the fictional county of Yoknapatawpha – a fantastical reimagining of Lafayette County, Mississippi, where he spent most of his life. Born in 1897, Faulkner grew up steeped in oral storytelling traditions, from folklore and family histories to local legends of Civil War glory. However, these grand myths didn’t match the messy reality of the American South, divided by racist Jim Crow laws and plagued by the legacies of slavery and colonial violence. All these tensions come alive inside Yoknapatawpha. Full of horror, humor, and human tragedy, Faulkner’s stories feature many memorable characters, like the spurned bride who sleeps beside her would-be husband’s corpse, or the duped sharecropper obsessively hunting for imaginary coins. At first glance, these characters seem grotesquely absurd. But under the surface, they all reflect his obsession with how people process the past – what they stubbornly hold on to, unwittingly forget and willingly distort.

Much of Faulkner’s fiction is told from multiple perspectives, offering the reader several versions of the story’s events. For example, “The Sound and the Fury” combines the narratives of Benjy, Quentin, and Jason Compson, three brothers haunted by memories of their sister Caddy. One brother’s narration will occasionally fill the gaps left by another’s, but just as often, their accounts contradict each other. To make things more confusing, Benjy’s narration is disjointed in time, slipping between past and present without warning. Meanwhile, Quentin’s section confuses fact and fantasy as it jumps backward in time from the day of his untimely death. Only the aggressive, money-hungry Jason attempts to embrace the present – but even he is constantly overtaken by past resentments.

Following these threads can be bewildering, but Faulkner wants the audience to share in the characters’ confusion. This approach allows readers to understand the Compsons’ biases and blindspots firsthand. And since his characters’ distortions of the past often reflect larger denials of Southern history, it also allows Faulkner to explore his own anxieties about the South. For example, his novel “Light in August” deliberately induces ambiguity about a character’s racial origins in ways that undermine rigid Jim Crow policies. And in “Absalom, Absalom!” narrating townsfolk remark that “no one knew how” a local landowner had come into his property, and that his house was built “apparently out of nothing.” This kind of evasive language shows how characters are desperate to cover up the region’s intolerable history of genocide and slavery.

But even when exploring the heaviest topics, Faulkner spellbinds readers with verbal acrobatics. One particularly bewildering sentence in “Absalom, Absalom!” runs 1,288 words long, and features locals haggling over “violently-colored candy,” a “cloudy swirl of chickens,” and a hard-drinking planter who’s compared to both a worn-out cannon and a showgirl. Even his jokes can breed more confusion, such as when Benjy Compson conflates his sister Caddy with golf caddies.

Reading Faulkner is rarely easy, but it is deeply rewarding. He invites readers to contemplate the unreliable nature of history and memory. And in teaching us to embrace confusion and recognize the limits of our perception, Faulkner can help us listen for hidden meanings in the sound and fury that surround us.

精读原文

When it comes to first impressions, we all want to make a good one. And that’s why we tend to focus on our best traits and qualities. However, we often fall into the trap of thinking that everything about us needs to be perfect. But that’s just unrealistic. We all have imperfections. It’s part of being human. And while it’s easy to believe that our ‘supposed flaws and imperfections’ make us less attractive, here are some that can actually make us seem more appealing to others:

重点词汇：

1. perplexing - 令人困惑的例句：This math problem is so perplexing that I can’t figure out the answer.

2. convoluted - 复杂的，曲折的例句：The plot of this movie is so convoluted that I can’t keep up with what’s happening.

3. regional identity - 地域身份例句：His strong attachment to his hometown reflects his regional identity.

4. Jim Crow laws - 吉姆·克劳法（Jim Crow Law）（南方美国城市社会的种族隔离规定）例句：Jim Crow laws segregated communities based on race.

5. distorted - 扭曲的，歪曲的例句：The movie’s portrayal of history is distorted and inaccurate.

6. ambiguous - 含糊的，不确定的例句：The instructions for this assignment are ambiguous and unclear.

7. verbal acrobatics - 语言上的杂技表演例句：The author’s use of verbal acrobatics made the book difficult to understand.

8. unreliable - 不可靠的例句：The witness’s testimony was unreliable due to inconsistencies in her story.

9. perception - 知觉，认知例句：Our perceptions of the world can be influenced by our personal experiences and biases.

10. sound and fury - 声音和愤怒，喧闹和激情例句：The political debate was filled with sound and fury, but ultimately signified nothing.

长难句解析：

1. Narrating characters offer clashing versions of the same story and often seem unsure who, what, or when they’re talking about.这是一个复合句，包含一个主句和一个并列句。主句是“Narrating characters offer clashing versions of the same story”，即“叙述角色提供了关于同一故事的互相矛盾的版本”，其中“Narrating”是现在分词作主语；并列句是“often seem unsure who, what, or when they’re talking about”，即“他们常常不确定自己在谈论谁、什么或什么时候”，这是一个由“who”、“what”和“when”同时作宾语的复杂宾语结构。

2. Following these threads can be bewildering, but Faulkner wants the audience to share in the characters’ confusion.这是一个复合句，包含一个主句和一个状语从句。主句是“Following these threads can be bewildering”，即“追踪这些线索可能是令人困惑的”，其中“Following”是现在分词作主语；状语从句是“but Faulkner wants the audience to share in the characters’ confusion”，即“但是福克纳希望观众与角色一起分享混乱”，其中“but”连接了两个并列分句，“wants”为谓语动词，配合“Faulkner”作主语。

阅读理解题目：1. What is Faulkner’s purpose in intentionally confusing readers in his novels?A. To make his novels more shocking and inventive.B. To explore mysterious parts of the human mind.C. To investigate pressing issues of personal, racial, and regional identity.D. All of the above.2. What is the significance of Faulkner setting many of his novels in Yoknapatawpha?A. It is a reimagining of Lafayette County, where he spent most of his life.B. It reflects his steep upbringing in oral storytelling traditions.C. It allows him to explore tensions in the American South related to race and history.D. All of the above.3. How does Faulkner’s use of multiple perspectives in his novels contribute to the reading experience?A. It allows readers to understand characters’ biases and blindspots.B. It reflects Faulkner’s anxieties about the South and its history.C. It creates ambiguity and confusion about events.D. All of the above.

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