Nov.6 On Writing Well（Ch10）

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part one  vocabulary

1.This is a chapter of scraps and morsels—small admonitions on many points that I have collected under one, as they say, umbrella.

scrap和morsel对应标题bits&pieces，是它们的近义词，但是又有不同

scrap：a small piece of paper,pieces of food that are left after you have finished eating碎片、一丁点、残羹剩饭A broken or irregular part of something that often remains incomplete.剩下的一点

morsels：is a very small amount of something, especially a very small piece of food.食物的一点点

admonition：a warning to sb about their behavior.An opinion suggesting a wise or proper course of action.

2. Don’t write that someone clenched his teeth tightly; there’s no other way to clench teeth.

clench：to hold sth tightly that shows you are angry,determined or upset.or hold sth tightly

clench和clinch以前可以通用，但现在clench指实际的动作，clinch指心理上的动作。比如clench the hand，clinch the bargain

3. Every little qualifier whittles away some fraction of the reader’s trust.

whittle means gradually make something smaller by taking parts away，or to cut a piece of wood into a particular shape by cutting off small pieces with a knife.

whittle...away是一个动词短语，to gradually reduce the amount or effectiveness of something, especially something that you think should not be reduced削减，减少

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part two 感想

zinsser一直强调clarity，为的是更好传达作者意图。以前我们写作文会故意添加夸张的形容词修饰一个句子，显得很优美同时又占字数。但是这些多余的形容词、副词、动词会影响我们修饰的名词。正如他所说“good writing is lean and confident”，好的写作应该是精简而自信。所谓的符号（逗号、句号、破折号、省略号）是为了让一个长长的句子分段，看起来更易理解。好的句子就该是简短的。潜意识的思想会无时无刻体现在你的文字中，不要担心而是要长期写作。最后段落要简短，像以前作文就是三段式，开头中间内容和结尾.