I. Words & Expressions
As a writer you must keep a tight rein on your subjective self-the traveler touched by new sights and sounds and smells-
rein n./v. (reinforce v. 加强)
n.one of a pair of long straps (usually connected to the bit or the headpiece) used to control a horse 缰绳（plura.）类似bridle
n.any means of control
【Phrases】
1.give (full/free) rein to sth. 放任（情感）、对（思想）不加束缚
eg. He gave free rein to his imagination.
2. give sb. a free rein （工作上）给予sb.绝对自由
3. keep a tight rein on sth.
eg. The finance director kept a tight rein on spending.
4. take/hand over the reins 掌权
eg. Oliver will officially take over the reins in a few days.
v. stop or slow up one's horse or oneself by or as if by pulling the reins 用缰绳勒马（使其慢行）
v. control and direct with or as if by reins 开始对...严加控制
eg. The government is reining in public expenditure.
Nowhere else in nonfiction do writers use such syrupy words and groaning platitudes.
syrupy
1. adj.overly sweet 糖胶状的
2. adj.too nice or kind in a way that seems insincere- use in order to show disapproval 太甜蜜/过于多情的
eg. His speech is full of syrupy words.
platitude
n.(formal)含贬义 If an executive gives a speech that begins, "This business is all about survival of the fittest. You need to burn the midnight oil and take one for the team," his employees might get sick of listening to these meaningless clichés and tell him to cut the platitudes.
eg. His excuse is the paltitude,'' Boys will be boys''.
Half the sights seen in a day's sighting are quaint.
quaint
adj. attractively old-fashioned (but not necessarily authentic) 奇特的、别致的、（尤指）古色古香的
Quaint means strange and unusual in an old-fashioned and charming way. It's a word you'd use to describe a little store that sells tea cozies and antique tea services, or your grandmother's habit of calling the radio the "wireless."
eg. There was a quaint little village in Yorkshire.
Distill the important from the immaterial.
distill
1. v. When youdistillsomething, you are boiling it down to its essence — its most important part. Whether it's alcohol or ideas, thedistilledpart is the most powerful.
蒸馏 distilled water
2. (从植物中)提炼榨取
3.（从大量信息中）提炼 distill sth. into sth.
eg. The notes I have brought back were waiting to be distilled into a book.
I don't need to wax emotional or patriotic.
wax
n. any of various substances of either mineral origin or plant or animal origin; they are solid at normal temperatures and insoluble in water 蜡、耳垢
v. cover with wax 给...打蜡
v. 伤感/滔滔不绝/热情的说（幽默说法） wax sentimental/eloquant/lyrical about...
eg.The journalists wax lyrical about the band.
v. （月亮）渐圆
v. wax and wane 兴衰荣辱
eg. Interest in the show has waxed and waned.
II. Summary & Reflection
Next to knowing how to write about people, you should know how to write about a place. People and places are the twin pillars on which most nonfiction is built. Every human event happens somewhere, and the reader wants to know what that somwhere was like.
作者承接上一章节的如何写访谈（写人），在本章谈到如何写游记（写景、叙事）。
"all" is what we don't want to hear. We only want to hear some.
在叙事时，勿要泛泛而谈，而要有所侧重突出，突出极富有特色的及区别他人或是被忽略的细节部分。不妨多问自己几个问题：此次旅行与他人有何不同之处？可以通过阅读此篇文章，想要告诉他们一些什么都不知道的？
As a writer you must keep a tight rein on your subjective self-the traveler touched by new sights and sounds and smells- and keep an objective eye on the reader.
The detail must be significant.
Distill the important from the immmaterial.
此外，在描写细节部分，要注意不能偏题主题，细节部分要是t通过了刷选而且是有意义的。少用syrupy words and groaning paltitudes。
Find those distinctive traits.
Whatever place you write about, go there enough to isolate the qualities tha make it distinctive.
If it's a foreign city it will be a mixture of the ancient culture and the present populace. Try to find it.
So when you write about a place, try to draw the best out of it.
有关取材，作者也给出了自己的建议，反复强调素材的distinctive。最好能够融合过去的历史文化内涵以及现如今流行的元素，并且能从中提取出最好的。
Finally, what brings a place alive is human activity: people doing the things that give a locale its character.
最后，写景、叙事都离不开“人”。因“人”存在以及活动才变得能加 human warmth。
读完本章，让我想起沈复的《浮生六记》
是夜月色颇佳，俯视河中，波光如练，轻罗小扇，并坐小窗，仰见飞云过天，变态万状。
初中语文课本中《童趣》一文，就是选自《浮生六记》中的《闲情记趣》“夏蚊成雷，私拟作群鹤舞于空中”这样的场景，读到的时候应该会会心一笑吧，炙热的夏天，电扇晃晃悠悠发出嗡嗡声，小小的孩子在竹编的凉席上翻来覆去不睡觉，百无聊赖盯着蚊帐的洞眼，甚至看偷钻进来的蚊子飞来飞去，这难道不是我们每个人的童年吗？还有“张目对日，明查秋毫”，相信很多人小时候都这么干过。感觉自己要再去翻翻 《浮生六记》读一读了。