On Writing Well
正如Bits&Pieces所示，本章内容比较杂而全。涵盖了用词、段落、写作态度等多个方面。
在用词方面：
其中最为感触的就是Writing is not a contest . 与书中前面前面所讲Be yourself 、write for yourself一脉相承。写作如此，做人做事亦如此。如果总是抱着和别人比的心态去做事，一来常常会受挫，这世界上优秀的人太多了，一比较自信心受打击；二来，总是关注别人在做什么，常常会分散精力。Forget the competition and go at your own pace . Your only contest is with yourself . 简直要把这段奉为座右铭。而且前段时间读书群的讨论中也谈到了这一点，每个人的读书习惯和节奏不同，没必要总是和别人比，找到自己的节奏就好。闲庭漫步胜似猛赶急追。
对此，我也深有感触，有时候一心想着要写好，要比别人写的好，结果却总是差强人意。反而是静下心来有感而发，放下功利心，写出来的东西比较自然。
做一只勇往直前的小乌龟另外一点也说到了心坎，the subconscious mind . 有时候写东西完全不在状态，越急越写不出来，常常费时耗力大半天无果。这时候稍稍缓一缓，常常第二天，不经意之间会灵光一现，找到思路，这种感觉很奇妙。While you slept ,your writer's mind didn't . 我自己戏称为“沉淀的化学效应” ，哈哈，原来就是作者所说的the subconscious mind 在搞怪呢。
下面是根据目录梳理清楚这本书的大概内容，外加Introduction的一些部分的精读精析。
注意：如果不是消遣，而是想通过阅读提升自己某方面的能力。读书时最好先通过目录对书的大概内容有所了解。
一、On Writing Well的主要内容：
这本书主要由四部分组成，依次是Principles, Methods, Forms, Attitudes.
Part I：Principles
在Principles这部分，作者William Zinsser提出了写作要注意的七个方面，依次是：
the transaction,simplicity,clutter,style,the audience,words,usage。Part II Methods
在Methods这个部分，作者主要提了两个方面：unity 和the lead and the ending,外加bits & pieces （碎语）
Part III：Forms
在这里，作者分别写了9种不同的写作需求。依次是：
Nonfiction as Literature，Writing About People—The Interview，Writing About Places—The Travel Article，Writing About Yourself—The Memoir，Science and Technology，Business Writing—Writing in Your Job，Sports，Writing About the Arts—Critics and Columnists，HumorPart IV：attitudes
这里，作者依次写了5个方面：
The Sound of Your VoiceEnjoyment, Fear and ConfidenceThe Tyranny of the Final ProductA Writer's DecisionsWrite as Well as You Can下面，是对On Writing Well的Introduction部分的阅读。因为我的阅读目的是既要通过这本书了解一些写作要注意的事项，同时也是想通过阅读英语原著进一步的学习英语。所以，我会逐段解读，并把阅读笔记分成两块：内容方面的，语言方面的。先说内容，再解读语言。这样，书看完了，既能学到很多和写作相关的知识，也能提升自己的英语能力。 这种方法看起来很慢，可能一个月才能看完一本书。但很多时候，慢就是快。
【第一段主要内容】：科技发展，尤其是computer, Internet和e-mail对写作的影响：每个人每天都要写作。
On Writing Well—Introduction—Paragraph 1
下面是对语言方面的梳理:
整体梳理：整段是按照时间顺序展开的。好的开头往往能很快吸引读者。
in 1976前有逗号，这里是为了强调这个时间点。in mind：很多人都值得mind这个词，但很少人能用好mind。这里做个拓展a relatively small segment of： 相当小的一部分. 留意这里的程度副词relatively
the highest technology then available. 这个名词短语是作前面名词typewriter的同位语。其中available是形容词充当名词technology的后置定语。 同位语很好理解，但想用准确却还是要花点时间的。感想：英语的学习关键在于学以致用。要做到学以致用，首先要在两个方面多下功夫：词汇使用能力和语法使用能力。写作能力的提升，很多老师会特别强调词汇使用能力的提升，但会忽略语法使用能力的培养。 不过话又说回来，词汇使用能力和语法使用能力的提升，也不是一朝一夕的事。想真正把英语学到家，但这两种能力，就得勤学勤练至少一年才行。I had no inkling of...可以翻译为：我压根没想到....这个句式很值得学习。注意inkling这个单词：
just around the corner 这里可不是指在拐角处，而是“即将来临”
were about to: 常用短语。表示“即将”
revolutionize the act of writing:当要表述特别大的影响时，经常用revolutionize这个单词。
【Introduction第二段原文】 接着上段，继续说electronic marvels对人们的影响：从讨厌写作到喜欢写作！
To me this is nothing less than a miracle, curing overnight what appeared to be a deep American disorder. I've been repeatedly told by people in nonwriting occupations—especially people in science, technology, medicine, business and finance—that they hate writing and can't write and don't want to be made to write. One thing they particularly didn't want to write was letters. Just getting started on a letter loomed as a chore with so many formalities—Where's the stationery? Where's the envelope? Where's the stamp?—that they would keep putting it off, and when they finally did sit down to write they would spend the entire first paragraph explaining why they hadn't written sooner. In the second paragraph they would describe the weather in their part of the country—a subject of no interest anywhere else. Only in the third paragraph would they begin to relax and say what they wanted tosay.
【Introduction第二段精读】
To me对我来说 this is nothing less than绝对是 a miracle奇迹, curing治愈overnight一夜之间 what appeared to be好像是 a deep American disorder无序. I've been repeatedly屡次地 told by people in nonwriting occupations职业—especially people in science, technology, medicine医学, business and finance—that they hate writing and can't write and don't want to be made被迫 to write. One thing they particularly didn't want to write was letters. Just getting started on着手 a letter loomed as就像 a chore家庭杂物 with so many formalities手续、礼节—Where's the stationery文具、信纸? Where's the envelope信封? Where's thestamp邮票?—that they would keep putting it off一在推迟, and when they finallydid sit down to write they would spend the entire first paragraph explaining why they hadn't written sooner. In the second paragraph they would describe the weather in their part of the country—a subject of no interest无聊话题 anywhere else. Only in the third paragraph would they begin to relax and say what they wanted to say.
【Introduction第二段精析】
nothing less than：used to emphasize how extreme something is.appear to be
especially是雅思大作文写作的常用词，用来对前文说过的某信息进行强调、补充说明
the entire first paragraph explaining why they hadn't written sooner 这个短语是名词短语。关于名词短语的构成，张满胜《英语语法新思维》中是这么说的：左二右六
【Introduction第三段原文】
Then along came e-mail and all the formalities went away. E-mail has no etiquette. It doesn't require stationery, or neatness, or proper spelling, or preliminary chitchat. E-mail writers are like people who stop a friend on the sidewalk and say, "Did you see the game last night?" WHAM No amenities. They just start 'typ-ing at full speed. So here's the iniraele. All those people who said they hate writing and can't write and don't want to write can write and do want to write. In fact, they can't be turned off. Never have so many Americans written so profusely and with so few inhibi-tions. Which means that it wasn't a cognitive problem after all. It was a cultural problem, rooted in that old bugaboo of American education: fear.
【Introduction第三段精读】
Then along came e-mail and all the formalities went away消失了. E-mail has noetiquette礼节. It doesn't require要求 stationery, or neatness整洁, or proper spelling正确拼写, or preliminary开端的 chitchat闲谈. E-mail writers are like people who stop a friend on the sidewalk人行道 and say, "Did you see the game last night?" WHAP！ No amenities礼仪. They just start 'typing at full speed飞速地打字. So here's the miracle: All those people who said they hate writing and can't write and don't want to write can write and do want to write. In fact, they can't be turned off. Never have so many Americans written so profusely毫不吝惜地 and with so few inhibitions抑制. Which means that it wasn't a cognitive认知的 problem after all. It was a cultural problem, rooted in根源于 that old bugaboo鬼怪 of American education: fear.
【Introduction第三段精析】
Then along came这个句子是完全倒装。章振邦《新编英语语法教程》第450页“引起倒装的前置”对其有很详细全面的阐释。 So here's the miracle: All those people who said they hate writing and can't write and don't want to write can write and do want to write.在这个句子中，can`t write--can write; don`t want to write--do want want to write，除了删减了否定词not外，其他一字未动。这里的重复是故意的。不是什么时候都不该重复用词！In fact, they can't be turned off. 这里turn off的使用，很多人会觉得很别扭。其实，在英语中，这是完全正确的表达。Which在这里不是引导定语从句！which在这里是代词的用法。
【Introduction第四段原文】只要能想明白，就能写明白！
Fear of writing gets planted in American schoolchildren at an early age, especially children of scientific or technical or mechan-ical bent. They are led to believe that writing is a special language owned by the English teacher, available only to the humanistic few who have "a gift for words." But writing isn't a skill that some people are born with and others aren't, like a gift for art or music. Writing is talking to someone else on paper. Anybody who can think clearly can write clearly, about any subject at all. That has always been the central premise of this book.
【Introduction第四段精读】
Fear of对……的恐惧 writing gets planted in植根于 American schoolchildren学生 at an early age很小的时候, especially children of scientific or technical or mechanical bent有着科学技术或机械的兴趣爱好. They are led to believethat writing is a special language owned by the English teacher, available可获得的 only to the humanistic few who have "a gift天赋 for words." But writing isn't a skill that some people are born with生而有之 and others aren't, like a gift for art or music. Writing is talking to someone else on paper. Anybody who can think clearly can write clearly, about any subject at all. That has always been the central premise核心前提 of this book.
【Introduction第四段精析】
They are led to believe....而不是They are led to believing.... 很多学生都知道lead to中的to是介词，其后的动词要加ing。但其实若改为被动，led to中的to其实是动词不定式！on paper这里是其字面意思，引申义是：以书面形式，理论上。Anybody who can think clearly can write clearly, about any subject at all.只要能想明白，就能写明白！即：写作首先不是要在语言上下功夫，而是首先要在思考上下功夫！ 只有想清楚，想明白，才有可能写清楚，写明白！【Introduction第五段原文】写作的本质是重写再重写！写得快不见得就写得好
On one level, therefore, the new fluency created by e-mail is terrific news. Any invention that eliminates the fear of writing is up there with air conditioning and the lightbulb. But, as always, there's a catch. Nobody told all the new e-mail writers that the essence of writing is rewriting. Just because they are writing with ease and enjoyment doesn't mean they are writing well.
【Introduction第五段精读】
On one level在某种层面上, therefore, the new fluency流利 created by e-mail is terrific极好的、了不起的 news. Any invention that eliminates消除 the fear of writing is up there with和……同等重要 air conditioning and the lightbulb电灯泡. But, as always一如往常, there's a catch隐患. Nobody told all the new e-mail writers that the essence本质 of writing is rewriting. Just because they are writing with ease and enjoyment doesn't mean they are writing well.
【Introduction第五段精析】
熟词生义：catch。 在这里是可数名词，意为“隐患”the essence of writing is rewriting写作的本质就是重写再重写！ 其实不管写作也好，画画也好，唱歌也好，或者一件产品也好，那些精品大多是经过多次计划、尝试、细心打磨才做出来的。好的作家就和好的工匠是一样的，只是作家用的工具是自己的头脑和眼前的纸笔。写作必备句式：Just because.....(写涉及群体的一个方面) does not mean...(写涉及群体的另一个方面)书中例句：Just because they are writing with ease and enjoyment doesn't mean they are writing well.
【Introduction第六段原文】同样的工具，使好的作家写的更好，不好的作家写的更糟！
That condition was first revealed in the 1980s, when people began writing on word processors. Two opposite things hap-pened. The word processor made good writers better and bad writers worse. Good writers know that very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time or the fifth time. For them the word processor was a rare gift, enabling them to fuss endlessly with their sentences—cutting and revising and reshaping—without the drudgery of retyping. Bad writers became even more verbose because writing was suddenly so easy and their sentences looked so pretty on the screen. How could such beautiful sentences not be perfect?
【Introduction第六段精读】
That condition情况 was first revealed揭露 in the 1980s, when people began writing on word processors文字处理器. Two opposite截然相反的 things happened. The word processor made good writers better and bad writers worse. Good writers know that very few sentences come out出现 right the first time, or even the third time or the fifth time. For them the word processor was a rare gift珍贵的礼物, enabling them to fuss endlessly with一直讲究/忙活 their sentences—cutting and revising修订 and reshaping重塑—without the drudgery无聊的工作 of retyping重打字. Bad writers became even more verbose啰嗦的 because writing was suddenly so easy and their sentences looked so pretty on the screen. How could such beautiful sentences not be perfect?
【Introduction第六段精析】
Good writers know that very few sentences come out出现 right the first time, or even the third time or the fifth time.其实，整个英语的学习也是这样，不要期望着一次努力就能学好。我们都需要持续努力，持续学习。How could such beautiful sentences not be perfect? 这个句子是作者假想的一个由那些写的不好的作家提出的一个问题。但作者并没有这样写：Some of them may wonder: How could.... 这是因为，这里前后语意很清楚，就算不加some of them may wonder这个信息，读者也能明白这个问句不是作者本人提的问题！【Introduction第七段原文】电子邮箱的出现，比文字处理器更进一步导致了废话连篇。
E-mail pushed that verbosity to a new extreme: chatter unlim-ited. It's a spontaneous medium, not conducive to slowing down or looking back That makes it ideal for the never-ending upkeep of personal life: maintaining contact with far-flung children and grand-children and friends and long-lost classmates. If the writing is often garrulous or disorganized or not quite clear, no real harm is done.
【Introduction第七段精读】
E-mail pushed that verbosity赘言 to a new extreme: chatter闲聊 unlimited. It's a spontaneous自发的 medium媒介, not conducive有助于… to slowing down or looking back. That makes it ideal for特别适合 the never-ending无止境的 upkeep of personal life: maintaining contact with和……保持联系 far-flung远处的 children and grandchildren and friends and long-lost很久没有联系的 classmates. If the writing is often garrulous话多的 or disorganized没有条理的 or not quite clear, no real harm真正的危害 is done.
【Introduction第七段精析】
留意这段两个冒号的使用。我们在学习英语的过程中，不仅要注意用词和句式，也要注意标点符号的使用！push……to a new exterme：将……做到/发挥到极致。 感想：很多时候，新科技发明虽然给我们的生活带来了便利，但也让我们变得更懒：手懒，心懒。【Introduction第八段原文】
But e-mail is also where much of the world's business is now conducted. Millions of e-mail messages every day give people the information they need to do their job, and a badly written mes-sage can cause a lot of damage. Employers have begun to realize that they literally cannot afford to hire men and women who can't write sentences that are tight and logical and clear. The new information age, for all its high-tech gadgetry, is, finally, writing-based. E-mail, the Internet and the fax are all forms of writing, and writing is, finally, a craft, with its own set of tools, which are words. Like all tools, they have to be used right.
【Introduction第八段精读】
信息时代以写作为其根基。电子邮件、互联网、传真等本质上都是具体的写作形式。而写作，本质上就是一门手艺。这门手艺要用到的工具就是措辞。
But e-mail is also where much of the world's business is now conducted实施. Millions of e-mail messages every day give people the information they need to do their job, and a badly written message can cause a lot of damage造成很大的损害. Employers have begun to realize that they literally真地（表强调） cannot afford to hire雇佣 men and women who can't write sentences that are tight紧凑的 and logical and clear. The new information age, for all its high-tech gadgetry高科技产品, is, finally, writing-based. E-mail, the Internet and the fax传真 are all forms of writing, and writing is, finally, a craft, with its own set of tools, which are words. Like all tools, they have to be used right.
【Introduction第八段精析】
第一句话是由where引导的从句充当表语，即表语从句（归属于名词性从句）。这时，where的意思接近the place where....every day在句中做状语，其前面省略了介词。大部分英语学习者都知道，也会使用副词做状语，但介词做状语的用法就掌握的不太好。至于省略了介词的介词短语做状语，看到的时候能认出来就不错了，更别提写出来了。do做及物动词的用法要特别注意（下面只是其中的两个）Employers have begun to realize that they literally cannot afford to hire men and women who can't write sentences that are tight and logical and clear.这句话告诉我们，一个好的句子是要符合这三个形容词的描述的：tight；logical；clear。writing is, finally, a craft, with its own set of tools, which are words. Like all tools, they have to be used right. 这句话很重要。 首先，写作是门手艺，就像学做饭这门手艺一样，只要肯学，肯定是可以有所改进的；其次，任何手艺都会用到一定的工具，写作所使用的工具就是一个个的词汇，因此，想写好文章，首先要过词汇关。这里的词汇关不单指词汇量，更关键的还在于，对词汇准确恰当的使用能力。
【Introduction第九段原文】这本书本质上是一门讲手艺的书。On Writing Well is a craft book, teaching the craft of writing warmly and clearly!
On Writing Well is a craft book. That's what I set out to write 25 years ago—a book that would teach the craft of writing warmly and clearly—and its principles have never changed; they are as valid in the digital age as they were in the age of the typewriter. I don't mean that the book itself hasn't changed. I've revised and expanded it five times since 1976 to keep pace with new trends in the language and in society: a far greater interest in memoir-writing, for instance, and in writing about business and science and sports, and in nonfiction writing by women and by newcom-ers to the United States from other cultural traditions.
【Introduction第九段精读】
On Writing Well is a craft book. That's what I set out to write 25 years ago—a book that would teach the craft of writing warmly and clearly—and its principles原则 have never changed; they are as valid有效的 in the digital age数字化时代 as they were in the age of the typewriter打字机. I don't mean that the book itselfhasn't changed. I've revised修订 and expanded扩充 it five times since 1976 tokeep pace with new trends in在……方面跟上新潮流 the language and in society: a far greater interest in memoir回忆录-writing, for instance, and in writing about business and science and sports, and in nonfiction writing非小说写作 by women and by newcomers新人 to the United States from other cultural traditions文化传统.
【Introduction第九段精析】
特别喜欢这段话：“That's what I set out to write 25 years ago—a book that would teach the craft of writing warmly and clearly—and its principles have never changed; they are as valid in the digital age as they were in the age of the typewriter. ”其实，无论写一本书，还是其他事情，都是“不忘初心，方得始终”。they are as valid有效的 in the digital age数字化时代 as they were in the age of the typewriter打字机.句式梳理：they are as valid in the...(时代1)age as they were in the age of....（时代2）注意连词as如何引出过去和现在的对比。the book itself注意反身代词的使用。英语中的反身代词在词意上都不难，但在具体使用上却很少有学生能主动使用，用错的也是比比皆是，不得不注意。【Introduction第十段原文】书在变，人也在变。
I'm also not the same person I was 25 years ago. Books that teach, if they have a long life, should reflect who the writer has become at later stages of his own long life—what he has been doing and thinking about. On Writing Well and I have grown older and wiser together. In each of the five new editions the new material consisted of things I had learned since the previous edi-tion by continuing to wrestle with the craft as a writer. As a teacher, I've become far more preoccupied with the intangibles of the craft—the attitudes and values, like enjoyment and confi-dence and intention, that keep us going and produce our best work. But it wasn't until the sixth edition that I knew enough to write the two chapters (21 and 22) that deal at proper length with those attitudes and values.
【Introduction第十段精读】
I'm also not the same person I was 25 years ago. Books that teach, if they have a long life, should reflect反映 who the writer has become at later stages of his own long life—what he has been doing and thinking about. On Writing Well and I have grown older and wiser together. In each of the five new editions the new material consisted of things I had learned since the previous edition上一版 by continuing to wrestle with钻研 the craft as a writer. As a teacher, I've become far more preoccupied全神贯注的 with the intangibles无形因素 of the craft—the attitudes and values, like enjoyment and confidence and intention, that keep us going and produce our best work. But it wasn't until the sixth edition that I knew enough to write the two chapters (21 and 22) that deal at proper length以适当长度，细化地 with those attitudes and values.
【Introduction第十段精析】
I'm also not the same person I was 25 years ago.上面说到了连词as可表过去和现在的对比，这里我们看到，定语从句（省略了who）也可以表过去和现在的对比。, if they have a long life, 在这个句子中，从句插在了主句的主语和谓语之间。这样写，和完整地表达完主句，再写从句所起到的效果是绝对不一样的！关于这一点，感兴趣的同学可以细学一下“主述位切分”.wrestle with钻研留意一下这个表达，再多看两个例句吧。On Writing Well and I have grown older and wiser together.不是所有的书的再版都会越来越好，不是所有的人都是越活月聪明，就像不是所有的软件更新就比之前好用一样。 the intangibles无形因素 of the craft—the attitudes and values, like enjoyment and confidence and intention, that keep us going and produce our best work. 影响写作的既有有形要素，如词句积累等；也有无形因素，如态度、自信等。
【Introduction第十一段原文】好的写作取决于：你的技能，你的意志！
Ultimately, however, good writing rests on craft and always will. I don't know what still newer electronic marvels are waiting just around the corner to make writing twice as easy and twice as fast in the next 25 years. But I do know they won't make writing twice as good. That will still require plain old hard work—clear thinking—and the plain old tools of the English language.
【Introduction第十一段精读】
Ultimately, however, good writing rests on取决于 craft and always will. I don't know what still newer electronic marvels are waiting just around the corner to make writing twice as easy and twice as fast in the next 25 years. But I do know they won't make writing twice as good. That will still require plain old hard work—clear thinking—and the plain old tools of the English language.
【Introduction第十一段精析】
Ultimately, however, 注意，这里是两个副词连用且用逗号隔开，都是做状语修饰整个句子的。I don't know …… But I do know......But表对比是最常用的一种，但并不是最简单的，如果你不知道所表达的语意是否构成对比的话。they won't make writing twice as good. That will still require plain old hard work—clear thinking—and the plain old tools of the English language. 一支好笔并不能让你的写作迅猛改善。想写好文章，还是要多在这两方面多下功夫：clear thinking（想清楚）；language(表达清楚)
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