英语写作手册

EnglishWritingDictionDictionisthechoiceanduseofwords.TheEnglishlanguagehasabigvocabulary:asmanyas400,000wordsarecollectedintheOxfordEnglishDictionary.Ofcoursenooneknowsorusessomanywords.Onlyasmallamountofthemareusedbyordinarypeopleforordinarypurposes.Astudentlearningtowriteshouldlearntousethewordsthataremostusefulandmostoftenusedtoexpresshim.Contents1.Levelsofwords2.Themeaningofwords3.GeneralandSpecificWords4.Idioms5.Figuresofspeech英文写作中怎样避免用词的重复中英语言中用来喻人的植物的差异1.Levelsofwords词汇选择得是否准确、贴切，对文章是否能收到预期的效果致关重要。在锤炼和选择词语时，除了文章的主题、思想内容、写作目的和读者对象等以外，还必须考虑与之相适应的语言层次(levelsoflanguage)。所谓语言层次，一般可归结为规范英语(standardEnglish)和非规范英语(sub-standardEnglish)。规范英语又可分为口语(spokenlanguage)和书面语(writtenlanguage),非正式语(informallanguage)和正式语(formallanguage)。例如：Officialese公文—‘Theconsumptionofanynutrimentswhatsoeveriscategoricallyprohibitedinthisestablishment商业机构.’Official官方—‘Theconsumptionofnutrimentsisprohibited.’Formal—‘Youarerequirednottoconsumefoodinthisestablishment.’Neutral—‘Eatingisnotallowedhere.’Informal—‘Pleasedon’teathere.’Colloquial—‘Youcan’tfeedyourfacehere.’Slang—‘Layoffthenosh小吃.’Taboo—‘Layoffthefuckingnosh.’2.ThemeaningofwordsThemeaningofawordhastwoaspects:denotativeandconnotative外延和内涵.Aword’sdenotationiswhatitliterallymeans,asdefinedbythedictionary;itsconnotationisthefeelingorideasuggestedbyit.Forinstancecountry,nation,stateandlandhavemoreorlessthesamedenotationandmayallbetranslatedinto“国家”inChinese,buttheirconnotationarequitedifferent.denotativeandconnotativeCountrymeansanareaoflandanditspopulationanditsgovernment,nationemphasizesthepeopleofacountry,statereferstothegovernmentorpoliticalorganizationofacountry,andlandislessprecisebutmoreliteraryandemotivethancountry.Englishisparticularlyrichinsynonymsasaresultofincorporatingwordsfromotherlanguageoverthecenturies.Butweshouldrememberthatitisdifficulttofindtwowordsthatareexactlythesameinmeaninganduse.Theymaybedifferentinstylisticlevel,inthedegreeofemphasis,inemotionalcoloring,intone语气,andincollocation.differentinstylisticlevelGenerallyspeaking,wordsofAnglo-SaxonoriginaremoreinformalthanthoseofLatinorFrenchorigin.Lookatthesewords:asktimerisequestionagemountinterrogateepochascendIneachgroup,thefirstwordisfromAnglo-SaxonandthesecondandthirdfromFrenchorLatin.Thefirstoneisclearlymoreinformalorcolloquialthantheothertwo.differentinemphasis“Big”and“large”arebothcommonlyusedwords,but“large”isslightlymoreformalandmaybeusedtodescribethingsthatareusuallybig,soitismoreemphaticthan“big”.“Huge”,whichismoreliterarythanthosetwowords,meansextremelylarge,andismoreemphaticthan“large”.differentintone“Modest”and“humble”bothindicatealackofpride,but“modesty”isavirtueand“humbleness”isnot.“Humble”oftenconnotesundueself-depreciation自我贬低.Sotheyaredifferentintone:oneislaudatoryandtheotherisderogatory.3.GeneralandSpecificWordsComparativelyspeaking,somewordsaremoregeneralormorespecificinmeaningratherthanothers.“Professionals”,forinstance,ismoregeneralinmeaningthan“scientists,doctors,teachers,lawyers,journalists”,etc.,allofwhicharemorespecific.But“scientists”maybecalledageneralwordwhencomparedwith“physicistsorchemists”,which,inturn,ismoregeneralthan“biochemists”.Althoughbothgeneralandspecificwordsareuseful,astudentlearningtowriteshouldmakeanefforttomasterandusespecificwordswhereverpossible.Specificwordshelptomakewritingclear,exact,vivid,andstriking,fortheyaremoreinformativeandexpressivethangeneralwords.Compare:agoodman:kind,honest,just,generous,sympathetic,warm-hearted,selfless,brave,honorablegoodfood:tasty,delicious,nourishing,rich,wholesome,fresh,appetizing,abundanthouse:mansion,villa,chateau,cottage,bungalow带走廊的平房,cabin,hut,shack小室,shanty棚屋,shed货棚,barnlaugh:smile,grin,beam微笑示意,giggle咯咯地笑,titter嗤笑,snigger窃笑,chuckle吃吃地笑,guffaw狂笑,chortle得意的高笑Itiseasytoseethatthespecificwordsontherightaremuchmoreconcreteandcolorfulthanthegeneralonesontheleft;theyseemtomakethereadersee,hear,orfeelwhatthewriterwishestodescribe.Usespecificwordsshouldgoalongwithprovidingdetails,andthentherewillbeeffectiveandimpressivewriting.Studythefollowingexamples:GeneralItisoftenwindyanddustyhereinspring.SpecificInspringthereisoftenaverystrongnorthwestwind.Itcarriessomuchfinedustwithitthatsometimesthesunbecomesobscure.Thereisnoescapefromthefinedust;itgetsintoyoureyes,yourears,yournostrils,andyourhair.Itgoesthroughthecracksofclosedwindowsandcoversyourdesksandchairs.GeneralStudentsdomanyinterestingthingsafterclasses.SpecificEverymorningandafternoonthesportsfieldsarealivewithenergeticstudents.Footballandbasketballmatches,volleyball,andbadminton,track-trainingandgymnasticsareallinfullswing.Eventhealleywaysunderthetreesandaroundtheflowerbedsprovideenoughspaceforenthusiaststopractise.Throughthewindowscomesthepitter-patterofping-pongballs,thesoundofsongsandmusic,orlaughteranddiscussion.4.IdiomsAnidiomisafixedgroupofwordswithaspecialmeaningwhichisdifferentfromthemeaningsofthewordsthatformit.“Toreadabook”,forinstance,isnotanidiom,forthemeaningofthephraseisthemeaningofthethreewordsputtogether,and“