东南大学学位英语Unit 02 How to Write Style完整课文与答案.docx

东南大学学位英语Unit 02 How to Write Style完整课文与答案.docx

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东南大学学位英语Unit02HowtoWriteStyle完整课文与答案

SectionAIntensiveReadingandWriting

HowtoWritewithstyle

ByKurtVonnegut

[1]Newspaperreportersandtechnicalwritersaretrainedtorevealalmostnothingaboutthemselvesintheirwritings.Thismakesthemfreaksintheworldofwriters,sincealmostalloftheotherink-stainedwretchesinthatworldrevealalotaboutthemselvestoreaders.Wecalltheserevelations,accidentalandintentional,elementsofstyle.

[2]Theserevelationstellusasreaderswhatsortofpersonitiswithwhomwearespendingtime.Doesthewritersoundignorantorinformed,stupidorbright,crookedorhonest,humorlessorplayful?

Andonandon.

[3]Whyshouldyouexamineyourwritingstylewiththeideaofimprovingit?

Dosoasamarkofrespectforyourreaders,whateveryou’rewriting.Ifyouscribbleyourthoughtsanywhichway,yourreaderswillsurelyfeelthatyoucarenothingaboutthem.Theywillmarkyoudownasanegomaniacorachowderhead-or,worse,theywillstopreadingyou.

[4]Themostdamningrevelationyoucanmakeaboutyourselfisthatyoudonotknowwhatisinterestingandwhatisnot.Don’tyouyourselflikeordislikewritersmainlyforwhattheychoosetoshowyouormakeyouthinkabout?

Didyoueveradmireanemptyheadedwriterforhisorhermasteryofthelanguage?

No.

[5]Soyourownwinningstylemustbeginwithideaswithideasinyourhead.

1.Findasubjectyoucareabout

[6]Findasubjectyoucareaboutandwhichyouinyourheartfeelothersshouldcareabout.Itisthisgenuinecaring,andnotyourgameswithlanguage,whichwillbethemostcompellingandseductiveelementinyourstyle.

[7]Iamnoturgingyoutowriteannovel,bytheway–althoughIwouldnotbesorryifyouwroteone,providedyougenuinelycaredaboutsomething.Apetitiontothemayoraboutapotholeinfrontofyourhouseoralovelettertothegirlnextdoorwilldo.

2.Donotramble,though

[8]Iwon’trambleonaboutthat.

3.Keepitsimple

[9]Asforyouruseoflanguage:

Rememberthattwogreatmastersoflanguage,WilliamShakespeareandJamesJoyce,wrotesentenceswhichwerealmostchildlikewhentheirsubjectsweremostprofound.“Tobeornottobe?

”asksShakespeare’sHamlt.Thelongestwordisthreeletterslong.Joyce,whenhewasfrisky,couldputtogetherasentenceasintricateandasglitteringasanecklaceforCleopatra,butmyfavoritesentenceinhisshortstory,“Evelin”isthisone:

“Shewastried.”Atthatpointinthestory,nootherwordscouldbreaktheheartofareaderasthosethreewordsdo.

[10]Simplicityoflanguageisnotonlyreputable,butperhapsevensacred.TheBibleopenswithasentencewellwithinthewritingskillsofalivelyfourteen-year-old:

“InthebeginningGodcreatedtheneavenandtheearth.”

4.Havegutstocut

[11]Itmaybethatyou,too,arecapableofmakingnecklacesforCleopatra,sotospeak.Butyoureloquenceshouldbetheservantoftheideasinyourhead.Yourrulemightbethis:

Ifasentence,nomatterhowexcellent,doesnotilluminateyoursubjectinsomenewandusefulway,scratchitout.

5.Soundlikeyourself

[12]Thewritingstylewhichismostnaturalforyouisboundtoechothespeechyouheardwhenachild.EnglishwasConrad’sthirdlanguage,andmuchthatseemspiquantinhisuseofEnglishwasnodoubtcoloredbyhisfirstlanguage,whichwasPolish.AndluckyindeedisthewriterwhohasgrownupinIreland,fortheEnglishspokenthereissoamusingandmusical.ImyselfgrewupinIndianapolis,wherecommonspeechsoundslikeabandsawcuttinggalvanizedtin,andemploysavocabularyasunornamentalasamonkeywrench.

[13]InsomeofthemoreremotehollowsofAppalachia,childrenstillgrowuphearingsongsandlocutionsofElizabethantimes.Yes,andmanyAmericansgrowuphearingalanguageotherthanEnglish,oranEnglishdialectamajorityofAmericanscannotunderstand.

[14]Allthesevarietiesofspeecharebeautiful,justasthevarietiesofbutterfliesarebeautiful,Nomatterwhatyourfirstlanguage,youshouldtreasureitallyourlife,IfithappenstonotbestandardEnglish,andifitshowsitselfwhenyouwritestandardEnglish,theresultisusuallydelightful,likeaveryprettygirlwithoneeyethatisgreenandonethatisblue.

[15]ImyselffindthatItrustmyownwritingmost,andothersseemtotrustitmost,too,whenIsoundmostlikeapersonfromIndianapolis,whichiswhatIam.WhatalternativesdoIhave?

Theonemostvehementlyrecommendedbyteachershasnodoubtbeenpressedonyou,aswell:

towritelikecultivatedEnglishmenofacenturyormoreago.

6.Saywhatyoumean

[16]Iusedtobeexasperatedbyexasperatedbysuchteachers,butamnomore,IunderstandnowthatallthoseantiqueessaysandstorieswithwhichIwastocomparemyownworkwerenotmagnificentfortheirdatednessorforeignness,butforsayingpreciselywhattheirauthorsmeantthemtosay.Myteacherswishedmetowriteaccurately,alwaysselectingthemosteffectivewords,andrelatingthewordstooneanotherunambiguously,rigidly,likepartsofamachine.TheteachersdidnotwanttoturnmeintoanEnglishmanafterall.TheyhopedthatIwouldbecomeunderstandable—andthereforeunderstood.AndtherewentmydreamofdoingwithwordswhatwordswhatPabloPicassodidwithpaintorwhatanynumberofjazzidolsdidwithmusic.IfIbrokealltherulesofpunctuation,haswordsmeanwhateverIwantedthemtomean,andstrungthemtogetherhiggledy-piggledy,Iwouldsimplynotbeunderstood.Soyou,too,hadbetteravoidPicasso-stylewriting,ifyouhavesomethingworthsayingandwishtobeunderstood.

[17]Readerswantourpagestolookverymucklikepagestheyhaveseenbefore.Why?

Thisisbecausetheythemselveshaveatoughjobtodo,andtheyneedallthehelptheycangetfromus.

7.Pitythereaders

[18]Theyhavetoidentifythousandsoflittlemarksonpaper,andmakesenseofthemimmediately.Theyhavetoread,anartsodifficultthatmostpeopledon’treallymasteritevenafterhavingstudieditallthroughgradeschoolandhighschool–twelvelongyears.

[19]Sothisdiscussionmustfinallyacknowledgethatoutstylisticoptionsaswritersareneithernumerousnorglamorous,sinceoutreadersareboundtobesuchimperfectartists.Ouraudiencerequiresustobesympatheticandpatientreaders,everwillingtosimplifyandclarify-whereaswewouldratersoarhighabovethecrowd,singinglikenightingales.

[20]Thatisthebadnews.ThegoodnewsisthatweAmericansaregovernedunderauniqueConstitution,whichallowsustowritewhateverwepleasewithoutfearofpunishment.Sothemostmeaningfulaspectofoutstyles,whichiswhatwechoosetowriteabout,isutterlyunlimited.

8.Forreallydetailedadvice

[21]Foradiscussionofliterarystyleinanarrowersense,inamoretechnicalsense,IrecommendtoyourattentionTheElementsofstyle,byWilliamStrunk,Jr.andE.B.White.E.B.Whiteis,ofcourse,oneofthemostadmirableliterarystyliststhiscountyhassofarproduced.Youshouldrealize,too,thatnoonewouldcarehowwellorbadlyMr.Whiteexpressedhimself,ifhedidnothaveperfectlyenchantingthingstosay.

PartIComprehensionoftheText

1.WhatisKurtVonnegutarguinginhiswriting?

What’shisunderstandingofwritingstyle?

2.Whatkindoflanguagestyledoesheuseinthisessay?

3.Whatdoestheauthormeanbymentioning“Picassostyleandjazzstyle”?

4.Doestheauthorpracticewhathepreachesinhiswriting?

5.Whatdoestheauthorsuggestattheendofthisessay?

PartIIVocabulary

A.Choosetheonefromthefourchoicesthatbestexplainstheunderlinedwordorphrase.

1.Hefindshimselfinvolvedwithacrookedbusinessmanandagroupofthugswhoattempttosabotagehisinvention.

A.distortedB.twistedC.dishonestD.deceptive

2.Herememberedhowproudandhaughtyherfacewasandscratchedoutthewordhehadwritten.

A.polishedB.perishedC.deletedD.depleted

3.Ifyouchoosecreditcounselingasastrategyforyourdebt,youmustmakesureyou’rechoosingareputablecompanyandnotascammer.

A.well-knownB.professionalC.reliableD.respectable

4.Headdedthatnaturegavehimeverythingheneedasachampion-unusualstrength,stamina,aterrificpunch,andplentyofguts.

A.wisdomB.courageC.wealthD.charm

5.Qualitativeresearchstrategiesofinterview,participantobservation,andfieldnoteswereusedtoilluminatethetopic.

A.reinforceB.decorateC.paraphraseD.interpret

6.Hesuddenlyfoundhimselfexasperatedbyslowmovingpedestrians,and,likeatrueNewYorker,begandartingaroundtheminstead.

A.provokedB.offendedC.annoyedD.disappointed

7.AsonemovesthroughthiscolourfulworldofIndianhandicrafts,manyintricatepaintingsandsculpturescatchtheeye.

A.charmingB.elegantC.delicateD.complicated

8.Manyjudgeswillacknowledgethatoneofthemostdifficultaspectsofacriminalcaseissentencing.

A.admitB.assertC.proveD.agree

9.Itscharmingtownsandpicturesquelandscapesprovidetheenchantingsurroundingsforyoursparklingromanticholidaytreat.

A.magnificentB.compellingC.genuineD.glamorous

10.Circumstancesbeyondmycontrolhaveleftmewithnoalternativebuttoreturnmyvehicletolender.

A.meansB.optionC.fashionD.manner

B.Choosetheonefromthefourchoicesthatbestcompletesthesentence.

1.Theinfinitebeautyofareversenavelring___________withdualcolorsinthetrioofstonesthatfillthecenterofthecontinuousinfinitydesign.

A.twinklesB.simmersC.flashesD.glitters

2.Hewasearly_____________asamanofabilityandmaturityofcharacter,apromisefullyrealizedinhismanygreatachievements.