葛傳槼英語寫作

讀完本書，對我有用的兩大啓發： 1.四大基本品質 A good sentence is said to have four qualities: unity, coherence, emphasis, and euphony. Unity demands that the sentence shall express one and only one complete thought. Coherence demands that the arrangement of words, phrases, and clauses in the sentence shall be unmistakably clear. Emphasis demands that the sentence shall give the leader a strong impression. Euphony demands that the sentence shall read naturally and smoothly. （一個好的句子被認爲具備四種品質：統一性、連貫性、強調性和音韻和諧。統一性要求句子表達且只表達一個完整的思想；連貫性要求句子中單詞、短語和從句的排列必須清晰無誤；強調性要求句子給讀者留下強烈的印象；音韻和諧則要求句子讀起來自然流暢。） Unity： ❌： The library was crowded, for it was deadline day, therefore I searched half an hour, and I finally found a seat. ✅： The library was crowded on deadline day. After searching half an hour, I finally found a seat. Coherence： ❌： The window had at least opened eight inches, and the man partly stood in the aperture. ✅： The window had at least opened eight inches, and the man partly stood in the aperture. Emphasis： I always destroy charity appeals that come by post.（賓語在句尾） Charity appeals that come by post I always destroy. （賓語倒裝至句首，突出強調） Euphony： On my way back from school I met an old friend, and we stopped and talked, but it rained and we said goodbye. （連詞堆砌，節奏破碎） After a year apart, a chance meeting on my way home led to a roadside chat, cut short by sudden rain. （緊湊連貫，一氣呵成） Unity means stick to one point. Coherence means keep modifiers close. Emphasis means put key words at the start or end. Euphony means make it flow when you read it aloud. 統一性：一箇中心 連貫性：修飾挨對 強調性：首尾突出 音韻和諧：節奏自然 2.什麼是優美的語言 What is Beautiful Language?Beautiful language, as I have just said. is not the same thing as “fine writing”. It consists rather in the use of plain words that create vivid images. When I say “plain words”, I do not mean that figurative language is not beautiful. Figurative language is of great value in artistic description; but then good figurative language comes of the felicitous use of plain rather than pretentious words. When a plain word is so well chosen as to create a vivid image, it is beautiful, be it figurative or not. （優美語言，正如我方纔所言，並不等同於“華麗的文筆”。它更多地在於運用平實的詞語來創造生動的意象。當我說“平實的詞語”時，我並非指比喻性語言不優美。比喻性語言在藝術描寫中極具價值；但好的比喻性語言，恰恰來源於對平實而非矯飾詞語的巧妙運用。當一個平實的詞語被選取得如此精妙，以至於能創造出鮮活的畫面時，它就是優美的——無論它是否屬於比喻。） descriptive sentence does not need to contain many such words to be beautiful. Very often the beauty or a sentence depends upon the use of a single words aptly chosen for vividness. （描寫性句子不需要包含很多這樣的詞才能變得優美。句子的美感，往往取決於一個詞的精當選用以營造生動效果。） Example： （1）In a morning 「sharp with dew」 and bright with sunshine, I had climbed to a great undulating heath, a 「rolling sea of copper-coloured bracken」 that spread like a double tide to either margin of the moorland road and 「foamed about the feet」 of sombre firs which dotted the heath with rare islands. —— sharp with dew（露水是“刺”的）、rolling sea of bracken（蕨類是“翻滾的海”）、foamed about the feet（蕨類“泡沫般湧到腳邊”） （2）Jane wore garments which were a somewhat confused 「compromise」 between afternoon and evening dress. （3）And, instantly, at the sound of his voice, her joy 「died」, the light was out. （4）He stood still in the middle of the room, 「frozen」 by a sudden thought. （5）Emma Snow was 「house-proud」. （6）There were geese 「marching」. (2) compromise （妥協）讓一件衣服有了尷尬的人格和故事。 (3) died 讓喜悅有了生命和死亡，當場暴斃，暗示着打擊。 (4) frozen 同時寫生理和心理——身體像被低溫凝固，思維也同時卡住。 (5) house-proud 寫出愛乾淨、以家爲榮、把畢生心血投入家庭的心理。 (6) marching 用軍事動詞寫家禽，有莊重和滑稽之感。 Beautiful Language = concrete nouns × precise verbs/adjectives (unexpected yet accurate collocations), with the optional addition—when appropriate—of figurative devices, euphony, emphasis, and other rhetorical techniques. 優美語言 = 具體物名 × 精準動詞/形容詞（出乎意料但準確的搭配），如果適合，再加上比喻、音韻、強調等修辭。

我覺得葛老關於英語學習的方法已在《對英語學習者講話》裏寫得很清楚了，而此書更多關於語法的注意點，加上大量的練習和詞的辨析。我細讀了前三分之一的內容；後面的內容就快速翻閱或者直接跳過，因爲這些內容現在都能快速查閱得到。總體來說，更推薦講話更本書。