Chapter 2&3: simplicity and clutter——the writers' crafts

Chapter 4&5: style and the audience——the writers' attitudes

Zinsser 在文中也说了，看似这两者矛盾（paradox），但其实说的是两个不同角度的事情。一部好的作品是要表现作者本人的特色，同时吸引读者的兴趣（不要冗长和缺乏逻辑），即要让作者这个人吸引到读者。

Chapter 6: words ——也是crafts的一方面。

词汇&表达

common currency

UNCOUNT-流行的观点；广为接受的看法

root around/about

= look for 翻找；搜寻

"The English language is rich in strong and supple words. Take the time to root around and find the ones you want."

花点时间找找，找到你想要的那个词。

doze off

= doze = fall into a light sleep, especially during the daytime 小睡，打盹

tip-off

[informal]密报；密告

= a piece of information or warning that you give to someone, often privately or secretly.

reckon with

= [ had not reckoned with ] had not expected it and so were not prepared for it 估计到；预料；预期

= [something to be reckoned with ] 需要处理；需要解决

eg: He will have to demonstrate that his Movement for Democracy is really a force to be reckoned with in Algerian(阿尔及利亚) politics.

几组意思相近的表达：

（ecstasy欣喜若狂） / with the zest / with gusto 津津有味

mechanical act / workmanship / craft / technical detail

cheap words / made-up words / clichés

nudge the memory

nudge:

- touch or push gently (in order to get someone's attention)

eg: We nudged our way (through the crowd) to the exit.

- encourage someone to do something

eg: The salesman nudged her into testing out the car.

nudge the memory : 可以理解为提醒某人

"There's no better friend to have around to nudge the memory than Roget."

"It saves you the time of rummaging in your brain - that network of overloaded grooves - to find the word that's right on the tip of your tongue, where it doesn't do you any good."

on the tip of tongue

话就要到嘴边了

rummage in your brain 急忙回想某事

rummage N&V

搜寻；翻找；乱翻（rummage through/about）

make the case cogently

让这件事更加使人信服。

He was after a certain emotional weigh.

可以理解为：他经过了很长时间的思考。"How he chose one word over another because he was after a certain emotional weigh."

"The race in writing is not to the swift but to the original."

写作的成功一定不是因为你写的快，写的多；而是原汁原味。“original”可以理解为两层意思：

1. 用词等表达形式要地道。一个词最初的意思是什么，有什么隐含的意思，都是要通过追根溯源才能真正理解，然后运用在写作中，会使得文章更有趣味，吸引读者。

2. 独创、本心。这个是说作者的，写作的人要坚持自己的风格，to be who you are, 而不是让读者限制住自己；另外，要写出自己的东西来，不要人云亦云。

On Writing Well - Chapter 5&6