I. Words&Expressions
1.vocation n.(主业) vocational adj. avocation n. (副业)
2.drudge n./v. 做苦力(的人) eg. I am drudging at a tedious work.
3.gimmickn./v. 搞骗人的玩意 a new gimmick to encourage the public to go to the cinema
4.strangle vt..使窒息 eg.He was strangled with a scarf.
5.fiddle n. 小提琴 v. 瞎搞,虚度光阴 eg. The reporter fiddled with the facts.
6. tenacious adj..顽强的 (尤指记忆力强的)
7.drape v. (用布)披着、盖着,装饰 eg.All the preprositions are draped onto verbs.
eg. The soldiers' coffins were draped with American flag.
8.summon v. to formally call for the presence of sb. (gather up)传唤(出庭)、召唤、鼓起勇气、召开/集 会议(大会)
summon(up) the courage to do sth. eg. He summoned a meeting of business leaders.
9.stricken adj.(affected)overwhelmed by emotion 受灾/患病的
drought-stricken/cancers-stricken/tragedy-stricken
eg. When you saw the pretty girls at school smiling at you,you were so stricken that you walked into the wall.
10.strike v.(罢工、打、击、疾病/灾难的侵袭)
eg.He was suddenly struck with a sense of grief and loss.
11.grapple v. try to overcome it(扭打、搏斗➡️设法解决)
eg. They have grappled with the discipline of assessing a work on the its merits and on external sources.
12.strenuous(involves a lot of energy and efforts)艰苦/费力的,积极/坚决的
eg. Molly has been making a strenous effort to lose weight.
We should avoid strenuous exercises immediately after a meal.
13.wriggle v.蠕动(着进行)
eg.The children wiggled uncomfortably in their seats.
14. Now I'm saying you must write for yourself and not be gnawed by worry over…
gnawv. 咬、啃 (使)苦恼折磨 eg.I was gnawed by the grief and loss of my money.
15.…there's no excuse for losing readers through sloppy workmanship.
sloppy adj.* lacking neatness or order(untidy)
eg.When we walked into the room,it was sloppy and clothes were scattered everywhere.
*marked by great careless: eg.His writing is sloppy.
*not fitting closely,hanging losely(baggy): eg. She wears a sloppy shirt.
16.…,who relishs the opulent words for its opulence and doesn't deify the simple sentences.
relish n. 开胃小菜 v. 享受、品味…
You may relish eating the relish on your hotdog,or you may relish taking an afternoon nap.
17. opulent adj. rich and superior in quality (luxurious)
eg. He lives in an opulent mansion filled with priceless art and antiques.
18. deify v. to take as an object of worship eg.The people deified the emperor.
19.pretentious adj. 自命不凡的、做作的 If you don't want to be accused of being prententious ,just act naturally and don't put on airs.
eg. The house in the neighborhood are large and pretentious.
20. …that I'm mucking about in the argot(行话=jargon)of the youth culture and really know better.
muck n. 污秽(物)粪便 make a muck of 把... 弄糟 eg.I really made a muck of the exam.
v. 常用搭配 muck about/around 胡混、闲荡 eg. Some boys were mucking around on bikes.
21. …a “Usage Panel” to help them appraise the new words and dubious constructions that had come …
dubious adj. probably not honest 可疑/靠不住的 eg. The firm was accused of dubious accounting practice.
the dubious distinction/honor/pleasure of (doing)sth.( 做某事的)污名、耻辱、不信
eg.The US enjoys the dubious distinction of being the lawsuit capital of the world.
22. Unity not only keeps the reader from straggling off in all directions.
straggle v. 零星的走(in/into/through)The children were beginning to straggle in from the playground.
蔓延、凌乱的散布(along/across/down)Unpainted wooden bulidings straggled along the main road.
23. ...each tugging the reader forward until he is hooked......
tugvt. & vi.用力拉; 使劲拉; 猛扯n.猛拉; 猛拖; 猛扯 tug at sb's heart/heartstings 触动某人心弦
eg. Joe is tugging at(拉、拽) his sleeves. Anne was tugging on(迅速地穿衣服)a sweater.
hook vt. & vi.钩住, 吊住, 挂住vt.弯成钩形n.挂钩; 鱼钩
let/get sb off the hook 让某人脱离困境 eg. I wasn't prepared to let her off the hook easily.
24. It must cajole him with freshness,or novelty,or parodox,or humor,or surprise,or with an unsusal ...
cajole vt.(用甜言蜜语、虚假诺言等)劝诱,哄骗 eg. We do our best to cajole rich countries into helping.
25.... as long as it nudges his couriosty ...
nudge n. 用肘轻推;推动;没完没了抱怨的人 v. 用肘轻推;推进;向…不停地唠叨
eg. I started to nudge my way to the front of the crowd.
We are trying to nudge them towards a practical solution.
II. Reflection
一周五天的阅读,完成了九个章节阅读,虽然还有很多需要改进,但是,至少学有所获。Wtriting is a craft, not an art. Rewriting 也是一项非常重要的且必经的过程。只有通过反复的修改、打磨,才会更加完善。而在这过程中,simplicity是很重要的一个原则。另外,通过阅读,自己最开始的畏难情绪,已经有所缓解,能沉下心砸时间去好好阅读体会。
III.Summary
Good writing doesn't come naturally. Writing is hard work. These sentences come out the second or even the third time. Writers must prune them and cut out these sloppy words and make them simple and clear. During the rewriting period, we must pay attention to the style 、the audience、words and usage. Thus ,it comes to the question: what are the methods? Chapter 9&8 are talking "‘Unity’ and "lead&ending". We should have the structure in mind,that is unity(pronoun,tense and mood) 、lead and the ending.