Short stories are due a revival. In recent years, there have been critically【C1】______collections by American writers such as Lydia Davis and Junot Diaz. But few others manage to【C2】______the bestseller lists, and they are all too often【C3】______by novels. 【C4】______their heyday in the early 20th century, short stories are mostly viewed as trials or experiments before an author【C5】______with the real thing. John Burnside, a Scottish poet and novelist, 【C6】______, this fixed idea in his latest collection, "Something Like Happy". Over 13 stories, Mr Burnside shows the versatility of the condensed【C7】______. His stories take place mostly in Scotland, in flats "high up on the third floor of an apartment block in the middle of Dundee" or in the back room of a hardware shop, 【C8】______ men drink "sweet, milky coffee"【C9】______waiting for the results of the races. His men carry knives or conduct extramarital【C10】______; his women are often【C11】______housewives who drink, take up bell-ringing in their local church or fantasise about younger men【C12】______a way of filling in time. Happiness is the subject that【C13】______the collection together. In other hands, this could become sentimental. 【C14】______Mr Burnside, with only a few【C15】______, never allows that to happen. Instead, happiness【C16】______stays away from these figures; so much【C17】______they have almost ceased to【C18】______it. Rooted in the bleaker aspects of Scotland"s landscapes, it is something that his【C19】______continually search for, in these concise and poetic tales—yet【C20】______to find.
【答案解析】解析：空格处填入动词与bestseller lists(畅销书单)构成动宾搭配，句中的主语few others指few other collections(很少其他故事集)，而书籍一般是“登上”畅销书的行列，故选C项reach“到达”合适。
单选题
【C3】
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：本句对比短篇小说(short stories)与长篇小说(novels)的普及程度。由文章首句的due a revival(理应复兴)及heyday in the early 20th century可知，短篇小说过去兴旺。现在已不及长篇小说，故选B项overshadowed，指与长篇小说相比“相形见绌”。