On Writing Well (CH1-2）
WORD
Coming home from an arduous day at the hospital, he would go straight to his yellow pad and write his tensions away.
arduous
adj.
• involving a lot of effort and energy, especially over a period of time
• 艰苦的；艰难的:
»an arduous journey across the Andes
翻越安第斯山脉的艰苦之行
»The work was arduous.
这项工作很艰巨。
用来形容困难的、枯燥的、需要花大力气去做的事，第一反应搞科研。。。
Some people write their first draft in one long burst and then revise; others can’t write the second paragraph until they have fiddled endlessly with the first.
fiddle
verb
[V] ~ (with sth) to keep touching or moving sth with your hands, especially because you are bored or nervous
• (尤指厌烦或紧张地)不断摸弄,不停摆弄:
»He was fiddling with his keys while he talked to me.
和我谈话时他不停地摆弄钥匙。
作为动词还有两个意思: 篡改；拉小提琴。都是informal用法。意为“摆弄”时多与with搭配，也可以用fiddle about/around with sth.
不加with仅为fiddle about/around 时意为 ：虚度光阴；瞎混
We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills and meaningless jargon.
strangle
verb [VN]
to prevent sth from growing or developing
• 抑制；压制；扼杀:
»The current monetary policy is strangling the economy.
现行货币政策抑制了经济的发展。
放在文中这句话不知道该怎么翻译。我们是被扼杀在不必要的文字里的群体？
pompous frills
pom∙pous
adj.
• (disapproving)showing that you think you are more important than other people, especially by using long and formal words
• 虚华的；言辞浮夸的
【SYN】 pretentious :
»a pompous official
自负的官员
frills
frills [pl.] things that are not necessary but are added to make sth more attractive or interesting
• 不实用的装饰；虚饰:
»a simple meal with no frills
简单的一顿便饭
这个词意为“无装饰”时必须用复数形式。
说一个人写的文字辞藻华丽没有内涵可以用pompous frills这个短语！
But the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components.
strip
Vt.
to remove extraneous or superficial matter from
<a prose style stripped to the bones>
这个动词用得很形象。去繁存简，能用一个单词说清的就别加其他杂七杂八的。
And they usually occur in proportion to education and rank.
in proportion to
adv.
■according to a particular relationship in size, amount, or degree
（大小，数量，程度）按比例地
>the pension was docked in proportion to earnings.
养老金是按照收入比例扣除的。
■in comparison with; in relation to
与…相比；与…相关
>the cuckoo's eggs are unusually small in proportion to its size.
布谷鸟的卵与其身体相比小得出奇。
not if I can help it
spoken used to say that you are not going to do something
>‘Are you going to watch the school play?’ ‘Not if I can help it.’
这里的help有制止的意思。这个短语是口语用法
THOUGHTS
As for the students, anyone might think we left them bewildered. But in fact we gave them a broader glimpse of the writing process than if only one of us had talked. For there isn’t any “right” way to do such personal work. There are all kinds of writers and all kinds of methods, and any method that helps you to say what you want to say is the right method for you. Some people write by day, others by night. Some people need silence, others turn on the radio. Some write by hand, some by computer, some by talking into a tape recorder. Some people write their first draft in one long burst and then revise; others can’t write the second paragraph until they have fiddled endlessly with the first.
适合自己的方法才是最好的方法。刚开始可以借鉴和模仿，之后还是要慢慢摸索出最适合自己的。别人的建议只是参考，行动的还是自己。就算听过无数个讲座，看过无数本书，要提升写作能力最重要的是要动手写，在实践中改正提升。
The man or woman snoozing in a chair with a magazine or a book is a person who was being given too much unnecessary trouble by the writer.
读者读不下去，作者要反省。学生听不下去，老师也要反省。你的内容或许很好，你备课或许很认真，但是也许你讲述的方法有问题。
Writing is a craft, not an art. 它不有趣，甚至很艰难。好文章都是改出来的，你会有好几版的draft，一个字眼都可以抠半天，不必绝望，这就是写作。清晰的思维可以帮助你清晰地写作，去繁就简，让读者读得通畅顺心。你写的文字反映的就是你自己的内心，写作要真诚。
