On Writing Well 11.7

Vocabulary

1.One of the most vexing new qiestions for writers is what to do about sexist language.

vex:If someone or something vexes you, they make you feel annoyed, puzzled, and frustrated.

vexing可作形容词或动词的现在分词，这里是形容词，意为恼人的。

2.One solution is to turn them into the plural.

plural:

adj The plural form of a word is the form that is used when referring to more than one person or thing.

n The plural of a noun is the form of it that is used to refer to more than one person or thing.

plural可作形容词或名词，这里是作名词用。

3.And the camps are infested with laconic men who have spent a lifetime appraising talent.

be infested with:多得成灾

infest:v to exist in large numbers in a particular place, often causing damage or disease.

laconic:adj using only a few words to say sth.

laconically adv

Summary

SEXISM

这一部分是关于写作中性别方面用词的问题。像明清小说中无论男女都用“他”字一样，英语中也有这样的词。在feminist眼中，这些词带有贬低女性的倾向。此外，还有一些词则是女性专属。用这些词很容易造成误导或者旁人的怒火。对此，作者给出的建议是，find another term.Where a certain occupation has both a masculine and a feminine for, look for a generic substitute.当使用其他代词并不合适时，可以用you.

REWRITING

Rewriting is the essence of writing well: it's where the game is won or lost.

Careful writers can't stop fiddling.

You won't write well until you understand that writing is an evolving process, not a finished product.

Most rewriting consists of reshaping and tightening and refining the raw material you wrote on your first try.

Keep putting yourself in the reader's place.

WRITING ON A COMPUTER

电脑是一件反复修改重构的神器。它节约了很多纸张与作者的精力。

These are crucial gains for a writer: time, output, energy, enjoyment and control.

不知道作者用不用wps或者word以外的其他写作软件。很多确实非常方便，可以列大纲分章节。不过，自控能力差者如我，往往打开电脑以后就开始浪了……嗯……

TRUST YOUR MATERIAL

There's nothing more interesting than the truth.

Many reporters had fallen into the habit of trying to make the news more palatable by writing in a feature style.

Color is organic to the fact. Your job is to present the colorful fact.

Don't annoy your readers by overexplaining.

GO WITH YOUR INTERESTS

Write about a field you enjoyed in college and always meant to get back to.

No subject is too specialized or too quirky if you make an honest connection with it when you write about it.