怎样写出靠谱的英文.docx

怎样写出靠谱的英文.docx

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怎样写出靠谱的英文

怎样写出靠谱的英文？

—英文写作圣经OnWritingWell精华摘选作者：

 孙有病

纽约时报评价OnWritingWell是一本指导英文写作的圣经，任何想让要自己文章简洁的人都应该没事拿出来读一读，膜拜膜拜。

LibraryJournal说，在这本书里，你可以看到“Aloveandrespectforthelanguageisevidentoneverypage.”

读这本书的时候，我随时都把WilliamZinsser这个小老头恪守的标准和我写好的personalstatement交叉对比，每每不禁面红耳赤，内牛满面。

咱申请的是新闻专业，未来这两年好歹也得写出几箩筐的英文。

但是按照现在的水准，我每一行每一段都可以被轰至渣。

不过庆幸我手头有这本书，还一口气把它看完了。

作者对Cliché和Clutter由衷且无时无刻地表达鄙视之情，以至于我现在看到这俩词就虎躯一震。

这本书适合谁看？

如果你想提高自己英文写作的水准，特别是挖掘自己的风格；如果你即将去米国读研究生，未来两年经常要面对一茬一茬的各种paper;如果你以后是一个英文写作从业者，经常要写newsrelease&report.这本书就是你的圣经。

作者对写作标准的严苛和尊敬，作者的智慧和幽默感让我随时流着哈喇子拿出各种颜色的笔圈点勾画。

这种经典看一遍是绝对不够的，我认为有些句子是完全可以打印出来，贴在自己的写作台上，时时鞭策警示自己。

这样才能多写出一些人类看得懂的句子，少留下一些Cliché和Clutter，让自己看到脸红。

以下的笔记摘选自本书第一章Principles和第二章Methods.这两章的篇幅只占全书的三分之一,但信息量非常之大，看完你就知道了。

摘选的内容包括：

1.Simplicity&Clutter 怎样把文章写的简洁

2.Style 风格 只有把“人”写出来，才会有自己的风格

3.Theaudience 你的文章为谁而写

4.Words 措辞 怎样的用词会把你的文章搞坏，什么又是好的措辞

5.Unity 整体性 如何写出牛逼的开头和结尾，怎么寻找素材

6.Bits&Pieces 动词，副词，形容词，缩写，that/which等等用法

Φ

1. Simplicity&Clutter

怎么样把文章写简洁？

Zinsser痛恨兜圈子，任何模棱两可的措辞，表意不明的句子在他看来都是灾难。

他对简洁如此执着，以至于Zinsser这个名字成了文风简洁的代名词。

美国有些老师会让学生Zinsser一下他们的文章，Zinsser成了一个清除文中clutter的动词。

什么是所谓的clutter呢？

放到中文语境里，遍地都是，比如说“有关部门”,比如说“某某领导高度重视.”比如说胡版2011年新年贺词的全部。

美版：

ClutteristhediseaseofAmericanwriting.Weareasocietystranglinginunnecessarywords,circularconstructions,pompousfrillsandmeaninglessjargon.

Fightingclutterislikefightingweeds—thewriterisalwaysslightlybehind.Newvarietiessproutovernight,andbynoontheyarepartofAmericanspeech.ConsiderwhatPresident

Nixon’saideJohnDeanaccomplishedinjustonedayoftestimonyontelevisionduringtheWatergatehearings.ThenextdayeveryoneinAmericawassaying“atthispointintime”insteadof“now.”

Taketheadjective“personal,”asin“apersonalfriendofmine,”“hispersonalfeeling.”It’stypicalofhundredsofwordsthatcanbeeliminated.Thepersonalfriendhascomeintothelanguagetodistinguishhimorherfromthebusinessfriend,therebydebasingbothlanguageandfriendship.Someone’sfeelingisthatperson’spersonalfeeling—that’swhat“his”means.Friendsarefriends,therestisclutter.

Clutteristheponderouseuphemismthatturnsaslumintoadepressedsocioeconomicarea,garbagecollectorsintowastedisposalpersonnelandthetowndumpintothevolumereductionunit.

Clutteristheofficiallanguageusedbycorporationstohidetheirmistakes.WhenGeneralMotorshadaplantshutdown,thatwasa“volume-relatedproduction-scheduleadjustment.”WhenanAirForcemissilecrashed,it“impactedwiththegroundprematurely.”Companiesthatgobelly-uphave“anegativecash-flowposition.”

“Experiencing”isoneoftheworstclutters.Insteadof“itisraining”,thereisnowaytosay“Atthepresenttimeweareexperiencingprecipitation.”Evenyourdentistwillaskifyouareexperiencinganypain.Ifhehadhisownkidinthechairhewouldsay,”Doesithurt?

”

Thepointofraisingtheseexamplesistoservenoticethatclutteristheenemy.Beware,then,ofthelongwordthat’snobetterthantheshortword:

“assistance”（help）,“numerous”（many）,“facilitate”（ease）,“individual”（manorwoman）,“remainder”（rest）,“initial”（first）,“implement”（do）,“sufficient”（enough）,“attempt”（try）,“referredtoas”（called）andhundredsmore.Bewareofalltheslipperynewfadwords:

paradigmandparameter,prioritizeandpotentialize.Theyareallweedsthatwillsmotherwhatyouwrite.

Howcantherestofusachievesuchenviablefreedomfromclutter?

Theansweristoclearourheadsofclutter.Clearthinkingbecomesclearwriting;onecan’texistwithouttheother.It’s

impossibleforamuddythinkertowritegoodEnglish.Hemaygetawaywithitforaparagraphortwo,butsoonthereaderwillbelost,andthere’snosinsograve,forthereaderwillnoteasilybeluredback.

作者的一个tip,“括号剔除法”.经我的PS测试,发现非常好用。

Isthereanywaytorecognizeclutterataglance?

Here’sadevicemystudentsatYalefoundhelpful.Iwouldputbracketsaroundeverycomponentinapieceofwritingthatwasn’tdoing

usefulwork.Oftenjustonewordgotbracketed:

theunnecessaryprepositionappendedtoaverb（“orderup”）,ortheadverbthatcarriesthesamemeaningastheverb（“smilehappily”）,ortheadjectivethatstatesaknownfact（“tallskyscraper”）.Oftenmybracketssurroundedthelittlequalifiersthatweakenanysentencetheyinhabit（“abit,”“sortof）,orphraseslike“inasense,”whichdon’tmeananything.Sometimesmybracketssurroundedanentiresentence—theonethatessentiallyrepeatswhattheprevioussentencesaid,orthatsayssomethingreadersdon’tneedtoknoworcanfigureoutforthemselves.Mostfirstdraftscanbecutby50percentwithoutlosinganyinformationorlosingtheauthorsvoice.

Myreasonforbracketingthestudents’superfluouswords,insteadofcrossingthemout,wastoavoidviolatingtheirsacredprose.Iwantedtoleavethesentenceintactforthemtoanalyze.Iwassaying,“Imaybewrong,butIthinkthiscanbedeletedandthemeaningwon’tbeaffected.Butyoudecide.Readthesentencewithoutthebracketedmaterialandseeifitworks.”IntheearlyweeksofthetermIhandedbackpapersthatwerefestoonedwithbrackets.Entireparagraphswerebracketed.Butsoonthestudentslearnedtoputmentalbracketsaroundtheirownclutter,andbytheendofthetermtheirpaperswerealmostclean.Todaymanyofthosestudentsareprofessionalwriters,andtheytellme,“Istillseeyourbrackets—they’refollowingmethroughlife.”

Youcandevelopthesameeye.Lookfortheclutterinyourwritingandpruneitruthlessly.Begratefulforeverythingyoucanthrowaway.Reexamineeachsentenceyouputonpaper.Iseveryworddoingnewwork?

Cananythoughtbeexpressedwithmoreeconomy?

Isanythingpompousorpretentiousorfaddish?

Areyouhangingontosomethinguselessjustbecauseyouthinkit’sbeautiful?

Simplify,simplify.

2. Style

以下对写PS挠头的同学颇为有用

Fewpeoplerealizehowbadlytheywrite.Nobodyhasshownthemhowmuchexcessormurkinesshascreptintotheirstyleandhowitobstructswhattheyaretryingtosay.Ifyougivemeaneight-pagearticleandItellyoutocutittofourpages,you’llhowlandsayitcan’tbedone.Thenyou’llgohomeanddoit,anditwillbemuchbetter.Afterthatcomesthehardpart:

cuttingittothree.

Thepointisthatyouhavetostripyourwritingdownbeforeyoucanbuilditbackup.Youmustknowwhattheessentialtoolsareandwhatjobtheyweredesignedtodo.Extendingthe

metaphorofcarpentry,it’sfirstnecessarytobeabletosawwoodneatlyandtodrivenails.Lateryoucanbeveltheedgesoraddelegantfinials,ifthat’syourtaste.Butyoucanneverforgetthatyouarepracticingacraftthat’sbasedoncertainprinciples.Ifthenailsareweak,yourhousewillcollapse.Ifyourverbsareweakandyoursyntaxisrickety,yoursentenceswillfallapart.

为什么必须要有自己的风格

I’lladmitthatcertainnonfictionwriters,likeTomWolfeandNormanMailer,havebuiltsomeremarkablehouses.Butthesearewriterswhospentyearslearningtheircraft,andwhenatlast

theyraisedtheirfancifulturretsandhanginggardens,tothesurpriseofallofuswhoneverdreamedofsuchornamentation,theyknewwhattheyweredoing.NobodybecomesTomWolfeovernight,notevenTomWolfe.

First,then,learntohammerthenails,andifwhatyoubuildissturdyandserviceable,takesatisfactioninitsplainstrength.Butyouwillbeimpatienttofinda“style”—toembellishthe

plainwordssothatreaderswillrecognizeyouassomeonespecial.Youwillreachforgaudysimilesandtinseledadjectives,asif“style”weresomethingyoucouldbuyatthestylestoreanddrapeontoyourwordsinbrightdecoratorcolors.（Decoratorcolorsarethecolorsthatdecoratorscomein.）Thereisnostylestore;styleisorganictothepersondoingthewriting,asmuchapartofhimashishair,or,ifheisbald,hislackofit.Tryingtoaddstyleislikeaddingatoupee.Atfirstglancetheformerlybaldmanlooksyoungandevenhandsome.Butatsecondglance—andwithatoupeethere’salwaysasecondglance—hedoesn’tlookquiteright.Theproblemisnotthathedoesn’tlookwellgroomed;hedoes,andwecanonlyadmirethewigmaker’sskill.Thepointisthathedoesn’tlooklikehimself.Thisistheproblemofwriterswhosetoutdeliberatelytogarnishtheirprose.Youlosewhateveritisthatmakesyouunique.Thereaderwillnoticeifyouareputtingonairs.Readerswantthepersonwhoistalkingtothemtosoundgenuine.Thereforeafundamentalruleis:

beyourself.

怎样写文章才会有自己的style？

—-把自己放进去，找到那个“人”

Assumethatyouarethewritersittingdowntowrite.Youthinkyourarticlemustbeofacertainlengthoritwon’tseemimportant.Youthinkhowaugustitwilllookinprint.Youthinkofallthepeoplewhowillreadit.Youthinkthatitmusthavethesolidweightofauthority.Youthinkthatitsstylemustdazzle.Nowonderyoutighten;youaresobusythinkingofyourawesomeresponsibilitytothefinishedarticlethatyoucan’tevenstart.Yetyouvowtobeworthyofthetask,and,castingaboutforgrandphrasesthatwouldn’toccurtoyouifyouweren’ttryingsohardtomakeanimpression,youplungein.Paragraph1isadisaster—atissueofgeneralitiesthatseemtohavecomeoutofamachine.Nopersoncouldhavewrittenthem.Paragraph2isn’tmuchbetter.ButParagraph3beginstohaveasomewhathumanquality,andbyParagraph4youbegintosoundlikeyourself.You’vestartedtorelax.Itsamazinghowoftenaneditorcanthrowawaythefirstthreeorfourparagraphsofanarticle,oreventhefirstfewpages,andstartwiththeparagraphwherethewriterbeginstosoundlikehimselforherself.Notonlyarethosefirstparagraphsimpersonalandornate;theydon’ts