Question

select the correct text in the passage. in this excerpt from mark twains how to tell a story, which sentence is most clearly the thesis statement? i do not claim that i can tell a story as it ought to be told. i only claim to know how a story ought to be told, for i have been almost daily in the company of the most expert story - tellers for many years. there are several kinds of stories, but only one difficult kind—the humorous. i will talk mainly about that one. the humorous story is american, the comic story is english, the witty story is french. the humorous story depends for its effect upon the manner of the telling; the comic story and the witty story upon the matter. the humorous story may be spun out to great length, and may wander around as much as it pleases, and arrive nowhere in particular, but the comic and witty stories must be brief and end with a point. the humorous story bubbles gently along, the others burst. the humorous story is strictly a work of art—high and delicate art—and only an artist can tell it; but no art is necessary in telling the comic and the witty story, anybody can do it. the art of telling a humorous story—understand, i mean by word of mouth, not print—was created in america, and has remained at home.

Explanation:

A thesis statement presents the main idea. Here, the author focuses on the humorous story. The statement that sets the stage for discussing the humorous story - its uniqueness and characteristics - is the key one. The sentence "There are several kinds of stories, but only one difficult kind—the humorous. I will talk mainly about that one." clearly indicates the main topic of the passage.

Answer:

There are several kinds of stories, but only one difficult kind—the humorous. I will talk mainly about that one.