千万别害怕

千万别害怕 Unit1 Hit the Nail on the Head 千万别害怕，hit the nail on the head 不是恐怖片中的坏人或变 态狂用钉子敲进无辜者大脑的恐怖镜头。这里的head 是指nail (钉子)的顶部，可别理解成人的头部，尽管也会“见血”，可 意思就大不一样了。 这条短语来源于人们的日常生活实践，捶钉子当然要刚好捶在 钉头正中，这样用的力量才恰到好处，如果歪到一边就不能算 是成功，同样我们平时说话做事，也应该做到“一针见血，说得 中肯恰当”。 This idiom means “Say exactly a right thing, answer to a question in exactly the right way or be exactly right about something.” If you say someone has hit the nail on the head, you mean he/she has answered to a question or described something in exactly the right way. For example: 1.She hit the nail on the head when she proposed her plan at the last meeting. It's exactly the thing we need to do now! 2.A: I think education is the most important thing we need to work on if we want to make this city a better place. B: You've hit the nail on the head! I completely agree with you! 3.Mike hit the nail on the head in his speech on the demerits of the existing housing policy. 迈克在演讲中，一针见血地指出了当前房屋的弊端。 About the author and his book: Alan Warner The Author-Alan Warner (1912- ) English teacher at Makerere College, Kampala, Uganda. The selection is Chapter 7 of his book A Short Guide to English Style (1961), which consists of three parts: Part One, How to write clean English; Part Two, The development of English style; and Part Three, English styles today. In writing the book, the author has tried to keep in mind the special needs and difficulties of those students for whom English is not the mother tongue. The text: 1 Have you ever watched a clumsy man hammering a nail into a box? He hits it first to one side, then to another, perhaps knocking it over completely, so that(here „so that? indicates a relationship of result, while under other circumstances where no comma is used, „so that? indicates a relationship of purpose instead. cf: I stopped so that you could catch up.(purpose) 我停下来以便你能赶上.Everybody lent a hand, so that the work was finished ahead of schedule.(result)) in the end he only gets half of it into the wood. A skillful carpenter, on the other hand, will drive home the nail with a few firm, deft blows, hitting it each time squarely on the head. (deft: quick and skillful; adroit. synonym:dexterous,adept apt clever expert handy ingenious nimble proficient skillful awkward clumsy unskillful姐姐是个心灵手巧的人, 做的衣 My sister is a clever and deft person who 服很漂亮。 can make pretty dresses.) (squarely:directly; without evasion; in a straight or straightforward manner: to face a problem squarely.) So with language;(The same is true of language. This is also the case with language. It is the same with language.) the good craftsman will choose words that drive home his point firmly and exactly. A word that is more or less right, a loose phrase, an ambiguous expression, a vague adjective, will not satisfy a writer who aims at clean English. He will try always to get the word that is completely right for his purpose. 2 The French have an apt phrase for this. They speak of "le mot juste", the word that is just right. Stories are told of scrupulous writers, like Flaubert,(To keep a balance of the sentence, the prepositional phrase „of scrupulous writers? is put after the verb.) who spent days (in) trying to get one or two sentences exactly right.(中国古人有 “闭门觅句”之说,大意如 . 宋徐度《却扫编》卷中:“(陈师道，字无己)此 与诸生徜徉林下，或愀然而归，径登榻，引被自覆， ”后呻吟久之，矍然而兴，取笔疾，则一诗成矣。 “闭门觅句”形容作诗时冥思苦想。lit. lock the 因以 door and search for the right word; fig. the serious hard work of writing) Words are many and various; they are subtle and delicate in their shades of meaning, and it is not easy to find the ones that express precisely what we want to say. It is not only a matter of having a good command of language and a fairly wide vocabulary; it is also necessary to think hard and to observe accurately. Choosing words is part of the process of realization, of defining our thoughts and feelings for ourselves, as well as for those who hear or read our words. (this prepositional phrase „of…?is used to explain „of realization? more clearly)Someone once remarked: "how can I know what I think till I see what I say?" This sounds stupid, but there is a great deal of truth in it. (a grain of truth, a pint of truth, an ounce of truth, a mountain of truth, etc.) 3 It is hard work choosing the right words, but we shall be rewarded by the satisfaction that finding them brings. The exact use of language gives us mastery over(of) the material we are dealing with. Perhaps you have been asked "what sort of man is so-and-so某某?" You begin: "Oh, I think he is quite a nice chap but he's rather..." and then you hesitate trying to find a word or a phrase to express what it is about him that you don't like, that constitutes his limitation.( 现在分词作状语) When you find the right phrase you feel that your conception of the man is clearer and sharper.... 4 Some English words have a common root but are used in very different senses. Consider human and humane, for example. Their origin is the same and their meanings are related, but their usage is distinct. A human action is not the same thing as a humane action. We cannot speak of a Declaration of Humane Rights. ----There is a weapon called a humane killer麻 醉屠宰机，无痛苦屠宰机, but it is not a human killer. 5 We don't have to look far afield to find evidence of bad carpentry in language. A student, replying to an invitation to dinner, finished his letter: "I shall be delighted to come and I'm looking forward to the day with anxiety." Anxiety carries with it suggestions of worry and fear. What the writer meant was possibly eagerness. Anxiety has some kinship with eagerness but it will not do as a substitute in this context. 6 The leader of a political party in Uganda write a letter to the Press which contained this sentence: Let us all fight this selfishness, opportunism机会主义, 投机主义, cowardice and ignorance now rife(In widespread existence, practice, or use; increasingly prevalent. be [grow, wax] rife with (idioms) 充斥着; 富于, 充满(习语等)) in Uganda and put in their place truth, manliness, consistency and singularity of mind. 7 The stirring appeal is spoilt by a malapropism词 语误用, 用词错误可笑 in the last phrase, the word singularity. What the writer means, I think, was singleness of mind, holding steadfastly to the purpose in mind, without being drawn aside by less worthy objects. Singularity means oddity奇异, 古怪, 怪癖or peculiarity, something that singles a man out from other men.(writing skill: 主语+谓语+宾语+同 +定语从句或作定语的过去分词/介词短语.如: 1. 位语 The only way that they can preserve their history is to recount it as sagas--legends handed down from one generation of story-tellers to another. 解读:legends作sagas的同位语,后接被动分词短语做 定语。基本结构:主，定，谓，宾，同位。 翻译:他们保存历史的唯一方法是把历史作为英雄故事讲述--由说书者代代相传。 主谓结构+同位语+定语:I parted with my sweetheart, a nightmare I simply could not survive.) 8 Without being a malapropism, a word may still fail to be the right word for the writer's purpose, the "mot juste". A journalist, writing a leader社论about Christmas, introduced a quotation from Dickens by saying: All that was ever thought and written about Christmas is imprisoned in this sentence.... Imprisonment suggests force, coercion强迫, 威压, as if the meaning were held against its will. It would better to write contained or summed up. Epitomized摘要, 概括, 成为...缩影might do, though (it is) rather a clumsy-sounding word. Searching a little farther for the "mot juste" we might hit on偶然发现the word distilled. This has more force than contained or summed up. Distillation suggests essence and we might further improve the sentence by adding this word at the beginning: The essence of all that was ever thought or written about Christmas is distilled in this sentence. English has a wide vocabulary and it is a very flexible language. There are many different ways of making a statement (or asking an question). But words that are very similar in meaning have fine shades of difference, and a student needs to be alive to (aware of; sensitive to:意识到的;敏感的: alive to the moods of others.对别人情绪很敏感)these differences. By using his dictionary, and above all(most importantly) by reading, a student can increase his sensitivity to these shades of difference and improve his ability to express his own meanings exactly. (It follows that the cultivation of language sense is very important.) 9 Professor Raleigh once stated: "There are no synonyms, and the same statement can never be repeated in a changed form of words."( “You can never step in the same river twice.” –Heraclitus赫拉克利特 (纪元前五世纪的希腊哲学家)) This is perhaps too absolute, but it is not easy to disapprove. Even a slight alteration in the wording of a statement can subtly shift the meaning. Look at these two sentences: (1) In my childhood I loved to watch trains go by. (2) When I was a child I loved watching trains go by. At first glance these two sentences are exactly the same. But look more closely and you will see that there are very tiny differences.(结构:祈使句+and+陈述语气 eg: Water the seeds and they will grow.=If you water the seeds, they will grow. 有时祈使句中的动词也省略了. 如:One more step forward, and you are done for完蛋. 改错: A couple of miles from our house, and you will find that the road curves around in a S. cf.p335) In my childhood is a shade(?, phrase, wording) more abstract than when I was a child. (grammatical metaphor: clause?prepositional phrase?more condensed, more abstract)Watching perhaps emphasizes the looking at a train a little more than to watch. This is a very subtle example, and it would be possible to argue about it, but everyone would at once agree that there is a marked difference between the next two statements: (at once: all at one time; simultaneously:同时: Everything happened at once. The view of the skyline is at once awesome, grand, and disappointing.所有的事都一起发 生了。天边同时呈现出令人敬畏、壮丽和令人沮丧的 .at once…and…:Luxun ?s pen is at once simple and 景色 biting. ) (1) He died poor.(informal) (2) He expired in indigent circumstances.(formal) In one sense expired is a synonym for died and in indigent circumstances for poor, but when the whole statement is considered, we cannot maintain that the two are the same. The change in words is a change in style, and the effect on the reader is quite different. It is perhaps easier to be a good craftsman with wood and nails than (it is to be)a good craftsman with words, but all of us can increase our skill (in)and sensitivity(to)(English/the English language) with a little effort and patience. In this way we shall not only improve our writing, but also (improve) our reading.... 10 English offers a fascinating variety of words for many activities and interests. Consider the wide range of meanings that can be expressed by the various words we have to describe walking, for example. We can say that a man is marching, pacing, patrolling, stalking, striding, treading, tramping, stepping out, prancing, strutting, prowling, plodding, strolling, shuffling, staggering, sidling, trudging, toddling, rambling, roaming, sauntering, meandering, lounging, loitering, or creeping. 11 The foreign student of English may be discouraged and dismayed(alliteration) when he learns that there are over 400,000 words in the English language. More than half of these words are dead. They are not in current use. Even Shakespeare used a vocabulary of only some(about, approximately) 20,000 words. The average English man today perhaps has a vocabulary range of from 12,000 to 13,000 words. It is good to make your vocabulary as complete as you can, but a great deal can be said and written with a vocabulary of no more than 10,000 words. The important thing is to have a good control and command (alliteration) over the words you do know. Better know two words exactly than three vaguely. A good carpenter is not distinguished by the number of his tools, but by the craftsmanship with which he uses them. So a good writer is not measured by the extent of his vocabulary, but by his skills in finding the "mot juste", the word that will hit the nail cleanly(squarely) on the head. From Alan Warner, pp. 34-38 I. Introduction The main idea of this article is to facilitate one?s own process of cognition and one?s communication with others, one must be able to choose the right word from the extensive vocabulary of the English language. The author Warner uses the writing techniques such as analogy which is effective in that there is a likeness between “hammering a nail”, a subject not in the least strange/unfamiliar to an average reader, and “using exact words”, a subject relatively abstract. By the time the reader has understood the analogy, he is already half-prepared for the actual discussion that follows. II. Library Work 1. Find out who the following are. 1) Gustave Flaubert: (1821-1880), French novelist, was associated with, though not representative of, the movement of naturalism and known as one of the greatest realists of nineteenth-century France. He devoted his life to long hours spent in heavy toil over his work. His writing is marked by exactness and accuracy of observation, extreme impersonality客观 and objectivity of treatment, and precision and expressiveness in style, or the principle of the „mot juste?. French writer considered a forerunner of naturalism and known for his precise literary style. His works include the novel Madame Bovary (1857) and the short story “A Simple Heart” (1877).福楼拜，古斯塔夫:(1821-1880) 法国作 家，被认为是自然主义学说的先驱，以严谨的文风著称。他 的著作包括包法利夫人 (1857年)和短篇小说“纯朴的心” (1877年) 2) Mrs. Malaprop Mrs. Malaprop is a famous character in Sheridan?s comedy The Rivals (1775). She is noted for her blunders in the use of words. “As headstrong刚愎自用的，固执已见的 as an allegory (alligator) on the banks of the Nile” is one of her grotesque misapplications误用, 滥用. She also requests that no delusions欺骗，骗局 (allusions 典故;引用) to the past be made. She has given us the word as a name for such malapropism mistakes. Malaprop , a character in The Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan Malaprop 夫人，戏剧《情敌》里的人物，理查德?布林斯 利?夏里丹所著 2. Find out where Hindi and Swahili are used. Hindi北印度语 is a literary and official language of northern India. Swahili斯瓦希里语 is a Bantu language班图语 that is a trade and governmental language over much of East Africa and in the Congo 刚果 region. Bantus are people belonging to a group of tribes found in equatorial and southern Africa. The Bantu language of the Swahili that is the official language of Tanzania and is widely used as a lingua franca in eastern and east-central Africa. Also called In this sense, also called Kiswahili 斯瓦希里语:作为坦桑尼亚官方语言的斯瓦希里班图语，在东 非或中东非被广泛地用作通用交际语言也作 在此意义上也可 称作 Kiswahili Discuss & conclude how many sections this article may contain and their gist中心思想: Section I (paragraph 1-3): Raising the subject: Importance of choosing the right word Para 1: Introducing the topic by drawing an analogy between the carpenter hammering a nail and the writer using words. Para 2-3:Elaborating on the importance of choosing the right word – It is a process of realizing, defining and clarifying your thought. Section 2 (paragraph 4–10): Explaining the various aspects in the profile of a word Para4-7:I Illustrating how words with common roots have different meanings (Semantic aspect) Para 8: Illustrating how words with similar meanings may have different associations (Connotational内涵意 义 aspect) Para 9: Illustrating how words with similar meanings may have stylistic differences. (Stylistic/situational aspect) Para 10: Pointing out that a general notion may be expressed by a variety of specific words (Variation in expression) Section 3 (paragraph 11): Conclusion: Quality is more important than quantity in learning vocabulary (with an analogy to echo the beginning) Language points 1) (line 3) drive something home: force (the nail) into the right place; make something unmistakably clear. e.g. Advertisers keep repeating the names of the product in order to drive the message home.(=drive home the message) The person who wins the argument is the one who drives home his points.(=drives his points home.) (also: drive home to sb. sth.) You must drive home to John where the difficulty lies. You must drive it home to John that we don’t have enough money. 2) (line 4) hitting it squarely on the head: directly, used both literally and figuratively, examples: , The boxer hit his opponent squarely on the jaw. , A true warrior dares to face a bleak life squarely. 3) (line 7) clean English: English which is precise and clear (in contrast with vague, slovenly English) 4) (line 10) scrupulous writers: writers who are very careful and detail-minded 一丝不苟的作家. “scrupulous” generally means being painstaking, meticulous. e.g. , He is scrupulous in his business dealings. (谨 慎) , The nurse treated him with the most scrupulous care. , The paper is not entirely scrupulous in setting its assumptions假定, 设想. , He pays scrupulous attention to style. Compare: “unscrupulous” 不择手段的 (usually negative in association) 5)shades of meaning: slight differences in meaning. 6)Some useful sentence patterns in this section , (line 13) It is not only a matter of …, it is also … “not only „ but also „”是一个并列连词词组，其意思 基本等于“both „ and „”，但侧重点放在“but also”上， 另外该词组使用时须遵守一定的规则，如要求对称，倒装及主 谓一致等。以下两个句子往往被看作是欠妥或错误的: 1. *Sitting up late last night, Tom not only read the assignment but also many poems by his favourite poet. 2. *Not only the students but also the teacher were invited. 上述两句第一句欠妥，第二句是错误的，应分别改为:1. Sitting up late last night, Tom read not only the assignment but also many poems by his favourite poet. 昨晚汤姆熬至深夜，不仅看了课外作业，而且读了他最喜 欢的一位诗人的许多诗歌。 2. Not only the students but also the teacher was invited. 不仅学生们被邀请，而且那位教师也被邀请了。 下面就来谈谈正确使用该词组时须注意的几点事项及其常见的 几种变体形式。 一、使用not only „ but also „ 时须注意的几点: 1. not only与but also后面所连接的词的词性必须对等: (1) Franklin was considered not only an inventor, but also a statesman. 富兰克林不仅被看作发明家，而且被看作政治家。 (2) The nurse was not only competent but also kind. 这 位护士不仅能干而且亲切和蔼。 (3) They not only broke into his office and stole his books, but also tore up his manuscripts. 他们不仅闯进他的办公 室，偷走了他的书，而且还撕掉了他的手稿。 (4) Not only you but also she has to attend the ceremony. 不令你而且她也得参加典礼。 (5) In production, we should always keep an eye not only on quantity but also on quality. 在生产中，我们不仅要关 注数量，而且要关注质量。 (6) They completed the project not only punctually but also perfectly. 他们不仅准时完成工程，而且完成得很出色。 2. not only只能连用，而but also既可连用，也可分开用, 当分开用时,则不一定遵守词性对等的原则: a. He speaks not only English, but also French. 他不仅 说英语，还说法语。 b. Television is not only boring, but it also wastes a lot of time. 电视不仅乏味，而且还浪费许多时间。 c. She was not only compelled to stay (at) home, but she was also forbidden to see her friends. 她不仅被强迫蹲在 家中，而且被禁止去看朋友。 3.谓语动词的数应与but also后主语的数保持一致: Not only you but also Mr. Zhang teaches in this college. 不仅你，张老师也在此学院教书。 4. not only放在句首，后接句子时要用倒装结构: (1) Not only should proletarians emancipate themselves but also the whole mankind. 无产者不仅要解放他们自己， 而且要解放全人类。 (2) Not only does television appeal to those who can read but to those who can't. 电视不仅吸引阅读的人，而且也吸 引了不会阅读的人。 (3) Not only was everything Albert Einstein had taken away but also his citizenship was deprived of. 爱因斯坦的财 产不仅被掳掠一空，而且他的德国国籍也被剥夺了。 (4) Not only had the poor man been fined, but also he had been sent to prison. 这个可怜的人不仅被罚款，而且还被送 进了监狱。 (5) 在宾语从句中,not only若置于句首, 倒装的情况比不倒 装的情况普遍. 如:I think not only are you asking the wrong question, you are asking a question that will make things worse, not better. 二、not only，but also的几种常见的变体形式: 1.not only的变体形式: 常见的变体有not just, not merely, not simply, not solely等。 (1) Such work is not just devalued in that country, its nature is widely misunderstood there. 这种工作在那个国 家不但被贬低，而且工作的性质也被许多人误解。 (2) There is not merely concision in these lines but also elegance. 这些台词写得不仅乘法，而且优雅。 (3) Not simply did he teach school, but he wrote novels. 他不仅教书，也写小说。 (4) This novel is not solely suitable for us in studying modern fiction but can also be used in the teaching. 这 本小说不但适合我们研究现代小说，而且能用于教学。 2. but also的变体形式: a: 省去also，只留but;b: 省去but，只留also;c: but„as well;d: but also全部省略。 (1) Scarlett quaked lest she and Frank lose not only their freedom but the house, the store and mill. 斯佳丽害怕得 发抖，惟恐她与弗兰克不仅会失去自由，而且还会失去房屋、 商店及锯木厂。 (2) She's not only an excellent housewife also a first class mathematician. 她不仅是一个出色的家庭主妇，而且是 一位一流的数学家。 (3) Not only does he write the words to the songs, but he composes the music as well. 他不仅给歌曲写词，也谱曲。 (4) Such a change would improve not only his social image but his health as well. 这样的变化不仅会提高他的社会形 象，而且会改善他的健康。 (5) Not only did I hear the car, I actually saw it crash. 我不仅听见了车的声音，而且还亲眼看见了那辆车撞坏了。 , (line 19) It is hard work + doing sth. It is hard work doing the hard work that is hard work. It is hard work to be a salesman but his work is freer than a nine-to-five job朝九晚五的工作. , (line 22) …hesitate doing sth. (also .. hesitate about doing sth., hesitate to do sth., hesitate at sth.) 7) distinct: adj. A. different in kind e.g. , We should keep the two ideas distinct. 我们 应该将两个概念区别开来 , Donkeys and horses are distinct animals. 不 同的动物 B. clearly marked, plain, e.g. , a distinct improvement 明显的进步 , a distinct pronunciation 清晰的发音 8) afield: adv. away from one's home or usual environment. e.g. , Don’t go too far afield. In the text, it may be interpreted as: There is no need for us to make an effort to find proof of bad carpentry in language. Namely, “You can find examples of bad usage everywhere around you.” 9) rife: (predicative only) widespread, common, increasingly prevalent. e.g. , Superstition is still rife in the country. (Not: rife superstition) , Crime and violence were rife in this city before liberation. , Disease used to be rife in this country. , The country was rife with rumors of war. 10)Coercion: to do sth. under coercion; to get sth. by coercion Coerce: to coerce sb. into doing sth. , He paid the money under coercion.被迫 , The terrorists got what they wanted by coercion. , The terrorists coerced the pilot into accepting their demand not to land. 胁迫 11)alliteration discouraged and dismayed …(line 87) to have a good control and command over … (line 93-94) similar to “safe and sound” 12)take courage: be brave, be confident e.g. , It’s a challenging job, but take courage and work hard at it, and you’ll be rewarded. Exercises: Organization and Development The article begins with an analogy to dramatize the importance of choosing the right word for one?s purpose and ends with an emphasis on quality rather than quantity in the mastery of words. In the body of the article various aspects of the problem have been addressed. Now identify the paragraph(s) that is (are) devoted to each of the following points: 1.stylistic differences between synonyms Para. 9 “Prof. Raleigh… but also our reading.” 2.semantic differences between words having the same root Paras. 4-7 “Some English words… from other men.” 3.the significance of finding the right words Paras. 2-3 “The French have… your conception of the man is clearer and sharper” 4.wrong choice of words caused by failure to recognize their connotations内涵 Para. 8 “Without being a malapropism… his own meaning exactly.” 5.the abundance of specific words in English for general notions Para. 10 “English offers a… loitering or creeping. ” Analysis Analogy To explain is to make something clear. But the task will not be so easy where we have to explain something vast, remote, abstract or specialized, like the importance of using exact words and the acquisition of such a skill. When this happens, we are likely to turn to an analogy to bring it to life. Analogy is a special kind of comparison and a more concrete way to explain things. Like comparison, analogy shows similarities, but unlike comparison, analogy aims at what is common between two things of different classes. For instance, to liken lions to tigers is a comparison because they both belong to the cat family, whereas to illustrate the sameness between how to drive a nail home and how to use exact English words is an analogy because it draws attention to the similar qualities of two things that are obviously different. Of the two unlike things being compared, one is an unfamiliar subject对象, usually a difficult or abstract subject the writer makes a point of clarifying, and the other a familiar subject, normally an easy subject the writer utilizes to help explain his unfamiliar subject. By comparing back and forth between the familiar and the unfamiliar, the reader may visualize something useful in connection with his better understanding of an idea which is not so simple to define. Warner?s analogy is effective in that there is a likeness between “hammering a nail”, a subject not in the least strange to an average reader, and “using exact words”, a subject relatively far-reaching. By the time the reader has finished the analogy, he is already half-prepared for the actual discussion that follows. It should be noted that an analogy does not attempt to point out the similarities only. A successful analogy should be meaningful. Warner?s analogy is certainly not designed to equate a skilful carpenter with a language master. What it does is to show that the way a skilful carpenter hits a nail is similar to the way how a language master uses words. From this, he goes on to emphasize that one should learn to choose exact words to best express his own idea, just as a good carpenter knows where to hit to most effectively drive a nail home. Also, an experienced writer would rather plan his analogy in such a way that only those details that can best serve their purposes are included.( His, her, or its: 他的，她的， 或它的:“It is fatal for anyone who writes to think of their sex”(Virginia Woolf) “写作时考虑性别对任何人都 Let us look at the 是致命的”(弗吉尼亚?沃尔夫)) following statements in the opening paragraph of this passage and see how closely the details in the analogy correspond to the points Warner wants to explain: 1. A skilful carpenter, on the other hand, will drive home the nail with a few firm, deft blows, hitting it each time squarely on the head. 2. So with language; the good craftsman will choose words that drive home his point firmly and exactly. Comprehension I. Judge which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the article. A. To be able to use the right word is an important component of one?s mastery of the English language. B. To facilitate one?s own process of cognition and one?s communication with others, one must be able to choose the right word from the extensive vocabulary of the English language. C. It is more important to know exactly the meaning and use of a relatively small number of words than to know vaguely a larger number. II. Determine which is the best choice for each of the following questions. 1. “Clean English” in the first paragraph means . A. English of a dignified style B. English free from swear words C. English which is precise and clear 2.The word “realization” in the sentence “Choosing words is part of the process of realization…” means . A. articulating sounds B. fulfilling one?s goals C. becoming aware of what one thinks and feels 3. The example given in para. 3 of a man searching for the right word for his feelings about his friend illustrates the function words perform in . A. defining out thoughts and feelings for ourselves B. defining our thoughts and feelings for those who hear us C. both A and B 4. The word “cleanly” in the last sentence means . A. squarely B. clearly C. neatly 5.The examples of the untranslatability of some words given in para. 11 best illustrate which sentence of the paragraph? A. The first sentence. B. The second sentence. C. The third sentence. III. Answer the following questions. 1. Which sentence in the first paragraph establishes the link between the driving of a nail and the choice of a word? 2. What does the word “this” in sentence 1, para. 2, refer to? 3. Do you agree with the author that there is a great deal of truth in the seemingly stupid question “How can I know what I think till I see what I say”? Why or why not? 4. Explain why the word “imprison” in the example given in para. 9, though not a malapropism, is still not the right word for the writer?s purpose. 5. What is the difference between “human” and “humane”? And the difference between “human action” and “humane action”, and also that between “human killer” and “humane killer”? 6. What does the word “alive” in the sentence “a student needs to be alive to these differences” (para. 9) mean? 7. Why is it difficult and sometimes even impossible to translate a word from one language into another as illustrated in para. 11? Supply some such examples with English and Chinese. 8. The writer begins his article with an analogy between the unskilled use of the hammer and the improper choice of words. Identify the places where the analogy is referred to in the rest of the article. Language Work I. Read the following list of words and consider carefully the meaning of each word. Then complete each of the sentences below using the correct form of an appropriate word from the list. Creep Loiter March Meander Pace Patrol Plod Prowl Ramble Roam Saunter Shuffle Stagger Stalk Step Stride Strut Stroll Toddle Tramp Tread Trudge Walk 1. After the maths examination Fred, feeling exhausted, across the campus. 2. The soldiers reached their camp after 15 miles through the deep snow. 3. It is pleasant to in the park in the evening. 4. After the cross-country race Jack to the changing room. 5. Last night when he sleepily to the ringing telephone, he accidentally bumped into the wardrobe. 6. We saw him towards the station a few minutes before the train?s departure. 7. The old couple through the park, looking for a secluded bench to sit on and rest. 8. The newly-appointed general about the room like a latter-day Napoleon. 9. Peter whistled happily as he along the beach. 10. These old people liked to about the antique ruins in search of a shady picnic spot. 11. Many tourists about the mall, windowshopping. 12. We were fascinated by the view outside the room----a beautiful verdant meadow and brooks through it. 13. Mary used to about the hills and pick wild flowers for her mother. 14. Eager to see the pony in the stable, the children down the staircase, their hearts pounding violently. 15. The lion had the jungle for a long time before it caught sight of a hare. 16. My brother began to when he was ten months old. 17. The farmers often let their horses freely in the meadow so that they could eat their fill of grass. 18. The patrols were along through the undergrowth when the bomb exploded. 19. The thugs were reported to be the streets for women workers who were on their way home after the afternoon shift. 20. The first-year students not only learned how to , they were also taught how to take aim and shoot when they had military training. 21. Sometimes Tom, our reporter, would up and down the study, deep in thought. 22. When he was Third Street, Fred found the little match girl lying dead at the street corner. 23. Secretaries hated seeing their new manager in and out of the office without even casting a glance at them. 24. Mother asked us to lightly so as not to wake Granny. 25. The refugees for miles and miles all day hunting for a place to work. 26. When the pop singer out of the car, his fans ran to him, eager to get his autograph. 27. The laborers on their way home after working in the plantation the whole day. 28.The lion was feeling pretty good as he (A) through the jungle. Seeing a tiger, the lion stopped it. “Who is the King of the jungle?” the lion demanded. “You, O lion, are the King of the jungle,” replied the tiger. Satisfied, the lion (B) on, until he came across a large, ferocious-looking leopard. “Who is the King of the jungle?” asked the lion, and the leopard bowed in awe. “You, mighty lion, you are the King of the jungle,” it said humbly and (C) off. Feeling on top of the world, the lion proudly (D) up to a huge elephant and asked the same question. “Who is the King of the jungle?” Without answering, the elephant picked up the lion, swirled him round in the air, smashed him to the ground and jumped on him. “Look,” said the lion, “there?s no need to get mad just because you didn?t know the answer.” II. Make a list of more specific words for each of the following general terms. For example, for WALK, you could list stride, stroll, saunter, plod, and so on. Give sentences to illustrate how toddle the words may be used. 1. SAY 2. SEE 3. BEVERAGE 4. EXCITEMENT 5. DELIGHT 6. SKILFUL III. In the following sentences three alternatives are given in parentheses for the italicized words. Select the one which you think is most suitable in the context. 1. A clumsy (heavy, stupid, unskillful) workman is likely to find fault with his tools. 2. As John was a deft (skillful, clever, ready) mechanic, he was hired by the joint-venture in no time. 3. The writer made a point of avoiding using loose (vague, unbound, disengaged) terminology in his science fiction. 4. We didn?t appreciate his subtle (delicate, tricky, profound) scheme to make money at the expense of the customers. 5. Annie Oakley became famous as one of the world?s most precise (accurate, scrupulous, rigid) sharpshooters. 6. The government in that newly-independent country has decided to make a shift (alteration, turn, transference) in its foreign policies. 7. Misunderstanding arose on account of the vague (undetermined, confused, ambiguous) instructions on the part of the manager. 8. If soldiers do not pay scrupulous (exact, vigilant, conscientious) attention to orders they will not defeat the enemy. 9. In some areas, the virgin forest has been cut through ignorance (blindness, want of knowledge, darkness) of the value of trees. 10. Since many pure metals have such (harm, unfavourableness, disadvantages drawbacks) as being too soft and being liable to rust too easily, they have little use. 11. My colleague, Mr. Hill, has a small but well-chosen library, where it is said he spends most of his spare time cultivating (nourishing, tilling, developing) his mind. 12. If you think photography is my hobby, your belief is quite mistaken (fraudulent, erroneous, deceitful). 13. What appears to the laymen as unimportant (minute, trivial, diminutive) and unrelated facts is often precious to the archaeologist. 14. The lounge has a seating capacity of 30 people but it is too dark (dim, dingy, gloomy) to read there. 15. These career-oriented women are used to flexible (adaptable, willowy, docile) working hours in the office. 16. Only experts with a professional eye can tell the fine (fair, pleasant, subtle) distinction between the two gems. 17. The goose quill pen has a great sentimental (tender, emotional, soft) appeal to Emily as it was a gift from her best friend. 18. Being thoughtful of and enthusiastic towards others is the essence (gist, kernel, quintessence) of politeness. 19. When Iraq destroyed some of its nuclear and chemical weapons, it acted under coercion (repression, concession, compulsion). 20. My uncle?s oft-repeated anecdotes of his adventures in Africa were fascinating (catching, pleasing, absorbing ) to listen to. IV. Give one generic term that covers each of the following groups of words. 1. artificer, turner, joiner, carpenter, weaver, binder, potter, paper-cutter 2. volume, brochure, pamphlet, treatise, handbook, manual, textbook, booklet 3. painter, sculptor, carver, poet, novelist, musician, sketcher 4. grin, smirk, beam, simper 5. donation, subscription, alms, grant, endowment 6. bandit, poacher, swindler, fraud, embezzler, imposter, smuggler 7. nibble, munch, devour, gulp 8. drowse, doze, slumber, hibernate, coma, rest, nap 9. manufacture, construct, weave, compose, compile 10. ancient, antique, old-fashioned, obsolete, archaic 11. slap, tap, pat, thump, whack 12. alight, descend, dismount, disembark V. Fill in each blank with an appropriate word. In discussing the relative difficulties of analysis which the exact and inexact sciences face, let me begin with an analogy. Would you agree that swimmers are (1) skilful athletes than runners (2) swimmers do not move as fast as runners? You probably would (3) . You would quickly point out (4) water offers greater (5) to swimmers than the air and ground do to (6) Agreed, that is just the point. In seeking to (7) their problems, the social scientists encounter (8) resistance than the physical scientists. By (9) I do not mean to belittle the great accomplishments of physical scientists who have been able, for example, to determine the structure of the atom (10) seeing it. That is a tremendous (11) yet (12) many ways it is not so difficult as what the social scientists are expected to (13) . The conditions under which the social scientists must work would drive a (14) scientist frantic. Here are five of (15) conditions. He can perform (16) experiments; he cannot measure the results accurately; he (17) control the conditions surrounding (18) experiments; he is of the expected to get quick results (19) slow-acting economic forces; and he must work with people, (20) with inanimate objects… VI. Following Warner?s model of establishing an analogy between two dissimilar things, write a passage, discussing the learning of a foreign language. You are supposed to use an analogy to help you explain. For instance, you may compare the learning of a foreign language to that of swimming, bike-riding, etc. UNIT 1 TEXT 1 Exercises Keys Comprehension: I. B ; II. 1.C 2.C 3.C 4.A 5.C ; III. 1. “So with language; …firmly and exactly.” 2. Getting the word that is completely right for the writer?s purpose. 3. Yes, I do. It sounds irrational that a person does not know what he himself thinks before he sees what he says. But as a matter of fact, it is quite true that unless we have found the exact words to verbalize our own thoughts we can never be very sure of what our thoughts are; without words, our thoughts cannot be defined or stated in a clear and precise manner. 4. “Malapropism” means the unintentional misuse of a word by confusing it with one that resembles it, such as human for humane, singularity for singleness. But the misuse of “imprison” is a different case. It is wrongly chosen because the user has failed to recognize its connotation. 5. human=of, characterizing, or relating to man humane=characterized by kindness, mercy, sympathy Thus: human action=action taken by man; humane action=merciful action; human killer=person that kills humans ; humane killer=that which kills but causes little pain 6. sensitive, alert 7. Those are words denoting notions which are existent only in specific culture, not universally shared by all cultures. English words difficult to be turned into Chinese: privacy, party, lobby (v.), etc. Chinese words difficult to be turned into English: 吹风会，粽子，五保户，etc. 8. “We don?t have to look far afield to find evidence of bad carpentry.” “It is perhaps easier to be a good craftsman with wood and nails than a good craftsman with words.” “A good carpenter is not distinguished by the number of his tools, but by the craftsmanship with which he uses them. So a good writer is not measured by the extent of his vocabulary, but by his skill in finding the „mot juste?, the word that will hit the nail cleanly on the head.” Language Work: I. 1. shuffled/trudged 2. trudging 3. stroll 4. staggered 5. staggered 6. striding 7. strolled 8. strutted 9. sauntered/strolled 10. ramble/roam 11. loitered 12. meandering 13. roam 14. crept 15. prowled 16. toddle 17. roam 18. creeping 19. prowling 20. march 21. pace 22. patrolling 23. stalking 24. tread 25. tramped 26. stepped 27. plodded 28. A. prowled/strutted B. strolled/sauntered C. walked/crept D. marched/strutted II.1.SAY: speak, tell, declare, pronounce, express, state, argue, affirm, mention, allege, recite, repeat, rehearse 2. SEE: behold, look at, glimpse, glance at, view, survey, contemplate, perceive, notice, observe, discern, distinguish, remark, comprehend, understand, know 3. BEVERAGE: liquor, wine, beer, tea, coffee, milk drink, soft drink 4. EXCITEMENT: agitation, perturbation, commotion, disturbance, tension, bustle, stir, flutter, sensation 5. DELIGHT: joy, gladness, satisfaction, charm, rapture, ecstasy, pleasure, gratification 6. SKILFUL: apt, ingenious, handy, ready, quick, smart, expert, capable, able, gifted, talented, dexterous, clever III. 1. clumsy----unskillful 2. deft----skillful 3. loose----vague 4. subtle----tricky 5. precise----accurate 6. shift----alteration 7. vague----ambiguous 8. scrupulous----conscientious 9. ignorance----want of knowledge 10. disadvantages----drawbacks 11. cultivation----developing 12. mistaken----erroneous 13. unimportant----trivial 14. dark----dim 15. flexible----adaptable 16. fine----subtle 17. sentimental----emotional 18. essence----quintessence 19. coercion----compulsion 20. fascinating----absorbing IV. 1. craftsman 2. book/publication 3. artist 4. smile 5. contribution 6. law-breaker 7. eat 8. sleep 9. make 10. old 11. hit 12. get off V. 1. less 2. because/since/as 3. not 4. that 5. resistance 6. runners 7. solve 8. greater/more 9. that 10. without 11. achievement/feat 12. in 13. do 14. physical 15. those 16. few 17. cannot 18. the 19. with 20. not Phrases involving repeated "that"s "That" can be used five times in a row, in a grammatically correct sentence: He said that that 'that' that that man used [1]was wrong. Or six times: He said that that 'that' that that 'that' modified was wrong. [2]Or seven times: Did the editor know that, that that 'that' [3]that that 'that' followed was redundant? The same thing is possible with the German equivalent of that 'das', with the exception that 'das' is sometimes written 'dass' (or older 'daß') to make it easier to read, though it is pronounced the same way. The pattern can be repeated indefinitely and retain its grammatical correctness: Did you know that that 'that' that that 'that' that that 'that' that that 'that'... Other patterns of grammatically correct multiple consecutive occurrences are also possible. For example: That that is is that that that that is not is not.