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今日名言分享：
今天是On Writing Well马拉松阅读的第23天，继续精读精析第四章style。如果昨天的还没读，建议看一下，再看今天的：第22天 | 马拉松阅读 第一辑： 英语原著On Writing Well精读精析
【原文通读】提示：标记为绿色的为建议识记的内容。
建议先通读一遍，了解大意，看哪些表达会让你心存疑惑，或想深入探究。
导读：style说白了，就是在书面或口头表达时，要始终有“我”在。 在这一点上，美国的很多政客，很多时候的言论却是含糊其辞的。
Style is tied to the psyche, and writing has deep psychological roots. The reasons why we express ourselves as we do, or fail to express ourselves because of "writer's block," are partly buried in the subconscious mind. There are as many kinds of writers` block as there are kinds of writers, and I have no intention of trying to untangle them. This is a short book, and my name isn't Sigmund Freud. 
But I've also noticed a new reason for avoiding "I": Americans are unwilling to go out on a limb. A generation ago our leaders told us where they stood and what they believed. Today they perform strenuous verbal feats to escape that fate. Watch them wriggle through TV interviews without committing themselves. I remember President Ford assuring a group of visiting businessmen that his fiscal policies would work. He said: "We see nothing but increasingly brighter clouds every month." I took this to mean that the clouds were still fairly dark. Ford's sentence was just vague enough to say nothing and still sedate his constituents.  
Later administrations brought no relief. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, assessing a Polish crisis in 1984, said: "There's continuing ground for serious concern and the situation remains serious. The longer it remains serious, the more ground there is for serious concern." President Bush, questioned about his stand on assault rifles in 1989, said: "There are various groups that think you can ban certain kinds of guns. I am not in that mode. I am in the mode of being deeply concerned." 
But my all-time champ is Elliot Richardson, who held four major cabinet positions in the 1970s. It's hard to know where to begin picking from his trove of equivocal statements, but consider this one: "And yet, on balance, affirmative action has, I think, been a qualified success." A 13-word sentence with five hedging words. I give it first prize as the most wishy-washy sen-tence in modern public discourse, though a rival would be his analysis of how to ease boredom among assembly-line workers: "And so, at last, I come to the one firm conviction that I mentioned at the beginning: it is that the subject is too new for final judgments." 

That's a firm conviction? Leaders who bob and weave like aging boxers don't inspire confidence—or deserve it. The same thing is true of writers. Sell yourself, and your subject will exert its own appeal. Believe in your own identity and your own opinions. Writing is an act of ego, and you might as well admit it. Use its energy to keep yourself going.  
【原文精读】
精读提示：加粗为需要注意的表达，会给出参考翻译；其后若有（），则括号里的内容是对该表达进行解读，字体为红色；另外，为了阅读的流畅，会把要深入探究的内容标记为橙色背景，放在文章最后统一进行梳理。
Style is tied to the psyche, and writing has deep psychological roots. The reasons why we express ourselves as we do, or fail to express ourselves because of "writer's block," are partly buried in the subconscious mind. There are as many kinds of writers` block as there are kinds of writers, and I have no intention of trying to untangle them. This is a short book, and my name isn't Sigmund Freud. 
【表达梳理&解读】
  1. is tied to  和……紧密相关 （提示：紧密相关，不一定就是因果关系） 
  2. psyche 灵魂、心灵、心智（注意发音：[ˈsaɪki]）
  3. deep psychologi cal roots 深层心理根源 (提示：表抽象的形容词加表实体的名词，都是很好的隐喻式表达)
  4. as we do 真实地（as we do的理解要结合所在的语境，不能死记硬背 ）
  5. subconscious  潜意识的
  6. have no intention of 没想要，没打算（所在句子的have no intention of trying其实也可以用I don`t intend to try...。但作者没有用动词intend。很多时候，意思是一样，但表达不同，还是会有一些区别）
  7. untangle 排解，解决，处理 (untangle可以对应solve一词，但untangle主要是对应混乱或复杂的问题:if you untangle a confused or complicated situation, you make the different things involved clear, or put the situation right.)
But I've also noticed a new reason for avoiding "I": Americans are unwilling to go out on a limb. A generation ago our leaders told us where they stood and what they believed. Today they perform strenuous verbal feats to escape that fate. Watch them wriggle through TV interviews without committing themselves. I remember President Ford assuring a group of visiting businessmen that his fiscal policies would work. He said: "We see nothing but increasingly brighter clouds every month." I took this to mean that the clouds were still fairly dark. Ford's sentence was just vague enough to say nothing and still sedate his constituents.  
【表达梳理&解读】
  1. a new reason for ……的新原因
  2. go out on a limb 冒着风险
  3. a generation ago 很多年前
  4. where they stood 立场所在
  5. perform strenuous verbal feats 耍嘴皮子
  6. escape that feat 逃避命运
  7. wriggle through 钻过
  8. committing themselves 承若
  9. fiscal policies 财政政策
  10. nothing but 只不过
  11. I took this to mean that...我的理解是
  12. was just vague enough to say nothing 只是模棱两可 
  13. sedate his constituents. 安抚他的选民
Later administrations brought no relief. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, assessing a Polish crisis in 1984, said: "There's continuing ground for serious concern and the situation remains serious. The longer it remains serious, the more ground there is for serious concern." President Bush, questioned about his stand on assault rifles in 1989, said: "There are various groups that think you can ban certain kinds of guns. I am not in that mode. I am in the mode of being deeply concerned." 
【表达梳理&解读】
  1. later 后来的
  2. brought no relief 没有缓解
  3. Defense Secretary 国防部长
  4. his stand on assault rifles对突击步枪的立场
But my all-time champ is Elliot Richardson, who held four major cabinet positions in the 1970s. It's hard to know where to begin picking from his trove of equivocal statements, but consider this one: "And yet, on balance, affirmative action has, I think, been a qualified success." A 13-word sentence with five hedging words. I give it first prize as the most wishy-washy sen-tence in modern public discourse, though a rival would be his analysis of how toease boredom among assembly-line workers: "And so, at last, I come to the one firm conviction that I mentioned at the beginning: it is that the subject is too new for final judgments." 
【表达梳理&解读】
  1. all-time champ 从未有过的冠军
  2. held four major cabinet positions 身居四个要职
  3. it`s hard to know 很难知道
  4. picking from his trove of equivocal statements 从他那一大堆模棱两可的话中挑选出来   
  5. on balance 全面考虑之后，总的说来
  6. hedging words 套话
  7. wishy-washy 软弱无力的
That's a firm conviction? Leaders who 
bob and weave like aging boxers 
don't inspire confidence—or deserve it. 
The same thing is true of 
writers. Sell yourself, and your subject will
 exert its own appeal
. Believe in your own identity and your own opinions. Writing is 
an act of ego
, and you 
might as well 
admit it. Use its energy to keep yourself going.  

【表达梳理&解读】
  1. bob and weave like aging boxers 像老了的拳击手一样左挡右闪
  2. the same thing is true of...同样的道理也适用于……
  3. exert its own appeal 发挥自己的吸引力
  4. an act of ego 自我意识的行为
  5. might as well 还是…的好，不妨
这次的On Writing Well就到此结束。明天继续精读第四章style。 

如果手里没有On Writing Well这本书，可以在公众号里回复：On Writing Well（不是留言！）获取该书电子版的下载链接。这本书是最好的英语写作指导书之一，条件允许的话，建议入手一本。
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