High 2 · Reading series
Lesson 49 · An Ending the Audience Chose
Audio track 49
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Our drama club prepared two endings for a play about a student who found a lost wallet. In one ending, she returned it immediately. In the other, she first asked a friend what to do. The audience voted during the performance.
We expected the first ending to win because it seemed clearer. Instead, many viewers chose the second. In a short discussion afterward, they said they wanted to see how the character handled uncertainty and asked for help. That surprised us: we had thought a moral choice needed to be shown as a quick answer.
We revised the play for the next performance. Both endings still led to the wallet being returned, but the conversation with the friend revealed why the student had hesitated. We also made sure the audience understood that asking for help did not remove her responsibility.
Giving viewers a choice did not mean letting a vote write our whole story. Their response helped us notice which part of the character we had not yet explained.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
戏剧社为一出戏准备了两个结局。戏里的学生捡到一个钱包：一个版本中她立刻归还，另一个版本中她先问朋友该怎么办。演出时，观众现场投票。
我们以为第一种结局会获胜，因为它更直接。没想到，许多观众选了第二种。演后的简短讨论中，他们说想看人物如何面对不确定、如何寻求帮助。这让我们吃惊：我们原以为，道德选择必须表现成迅速给出答案。
下次演出前，我们修改了剧本。两种结局仍都让钱包归还，但与朋友的谈话解释了她为什么犹豫。我们也让观众明白，求助并不会免除她应承担的责任。
让观众选择，并不等于把整部戏交给投票来写。他们的反应，帮助我们发现人物的哪一部分还没交代清楚。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- endings
- 结局；准备了两种版本。
- wallet
- 钱包；学生捡到的物品。
- immediately
- 立刻；第一版马上归还。
- audience
- 观众；现场选择结局。
- voted
- 投票；结果出乎社团意料。
- uncertainty
- 不确定；观众想看人物如何应对。
- revised
- 修改；根据反馈调整剧本。
- hesitated
- 犹豫；新版本说明原因。
- responsibility
- 责任；求助不能免除。
- response
- 反应；揭示人物未解释清楚处。
Background notes (Chinese)
互动投票可提供观众反应，却不替创作者决定完整剧情。戏剧社用反馈补足人物动机，仍保留归还钱包这一行动。