Vocabulary review
inkling:If you have an inkling of something, you have a vague idea about it.
e.g.I had no inkling of his real purpose until much later.
impromptu:An impromptu action is one that you do without planning or organizing it in advance.
bewildered:If you are bewildered, you are very confused and cannot understand something or decide what you should do.
clutter:
nun:Clutter is a lot of things in an untidy starte, especially things that are not useful or necessary.
v:If things or people clutter a place, they fill it in an untidy way.
elusive:Something or someone that is elusive is difficult to find, describe, remember, or achieve.
pedagogical:Pedagogical means concerning the methods and theory of teaching.
segment:
n:A segment of something is one part of it, considered separately from the rest.
A segment of fruit such as an orange or grapefruit is one of the sections into which it is easily divided.
A segment of a circle is one of the two parts into which it is divided when you draw a straight line through it.
A segment of a market is one part of it, considered separately from the rest.
v:If a company segments a market, it divides it into separate parts, usually in order to improve marketing opportunities.
pompous:If you describe someone as pompous, you mean that they behave or speak in a very serious way because they think they are more important than they really are.
A pompous building or ceremony is very grand and elaborate.
ponderous:Ponderous writing or speech is very serious, uses more words than necessary, and is rather dull.
A movement or action that is ponderous is very slow or clumsy.
euphemism:A euphemism is a polite word or expression that is used to refer to things which people may find upsetting or embarrassing to talk about, for example sex, the human body, or death.
slum:n A slum is an area of a city where living conditions are very bad and where the houses are in bad condition.
v If someone is slumming it or is slumming, they are spending time in a place or in conditions that are at a much lower social level than they are used to.
socioeconomic:Socioeconomic circumstances or developments involve a combination of social and economic factors.
nuisance:If you say that someone or something is a nuisance, you mean that they annoy you or cause you a lot of problems.
psyche:In psychology, your psyche is your mind and your deepest feelings and attitudes.
visualize:If you visualize something, you imagine what it is like by forming a mental picture of it.
irreverence:If you describe someone as irreverent, you mean that they do not show respect for people or things that are generally respected.
heresy:Heresy is a belief or action that most people think is wrong, because it disagrees with beliefs that are generally accepted.
Heresy is a belief or action which seriously disagrees with the principles of a particular religion.
worship:If you worship a god, you show your respect to the god, for example by saying prayers.
wrath:Wrath means the same as anger .
ooze:When a thick or sticky liquid oozes from something or when something oozes it, the liquid flows slowly and in small quantities.
timid:Timid people are shy, nervous, and have no courage or confidence in themselves.
evasive:If you describe someone as evasive, you mean that they deliberately avoid giving clear direct answers to questions.
kowtow:If you say that someone kowtows to someone else, you are criticizing them because they are too eager to obey or be polite to someone in authority.
quotation:A quotation is a sentence or phrase taken from a book, poem, or play, which is repeated by someone else.
When someone gives you a quotation, they tell you how much they will charge to do a particular piece of work.
A company's quotation on the stock exchange is its registration on the stock exchange, which enables its shares to be officially listed and traded.
argot:An argot is a special language used by a particular group of people, which other people find difficult to understand.
pudgy:If you describe someone as pudgy, you mean that they are rather fat in an unattractive way.
intruder:An intruder is a person who goes into a place where they are not supposed to be.
sociology:Sociology is the study of society or of the way society is organized.
astir:The night was quiet, and there was no sound of anything astir.
reminiscence:Someone's reminiscences are things that they remember from the past, and which they talk or write about. Reminiscence is the process of remembering these things and talking or writing about them.
nudge:If you nudge someone, you push them gently, usually with your elbow, in order to draw their attention to something.
If you nudge someone or something into a place or position, you gently push them there.
tug:If you tug something or tug at it, you give it a quick and usually strong pull.
dwell:If you dwell on something, especially something unpleasant, you think, speak, or write about it a lot or for quite a long time.
If you dwell somewhere, you live there.
reverence:Reverence for someone or something is a feeling of great respect for them.
gratify:If you are gratified by something, it gives you pleasure or satisfaction.
If you gratify your own or another person's desire, you do what is necessary to please yourself or them.
symmetry:Something that has symmetry is symmetrical in shape, design, or structure.
Symmetry in a relationship or agreement is the fact of both sides giving and receiving an equal amount.
You can refer to symmetry between countries, institutions, or situations if you think that there is a close similarity between them.
Summary
Chapter 1 "Transaction" is the lead of the book.It starts with one discourse between Dr.Brock and author to let audience understand one point: on writing, diffenent writers have different ideas. However, there are still some common principles and methods.
Simplicity means that when you are writing, you should stirp every sentence to its cleanest components.Besides, clear thinking can make a clear writing.So you should keep one theme in one article, and fight aginst clutter.Specific to methods, that means unity: unity of pronoun,unity of tense, unity of mood.
Chapter4&5 play a unique role of the transition point.Long sentences do not mean personal style. Writing is one thing sprout from human's heart , and style will change over time. What audience real care about is the writer's sincerity. There are also some skills to attract readers.A good lead is important, which should capture the reader immediately and force him to keep reading. A good ending is the embodiment of the author's writing skills. However, in the process of seeking the lead and the ending, or making a clear sentence, writers should write and writer and rewrite, which let writing be a hard thing.
So the next part is about word and usage. Words should be accurate and clear, without clutter or frills.The use of dictionary and thesaurus play an important role of writing. Chapter 10 Bits& Pieces may be its application.
Reflection
第一次参加英文原著读书会，感触很深。这算精读细读吧？想起来以前参加每天读一本书的活动，泛读中文和精读英文，感觉真的非常不一样。每日做的笔记在周末要再次翻阅，写总结的时候还得再看一遍书，我是这样愚钝的人。不过，周末再次看，又比以前有更多的感受，比如，作者如何在自己文中应用自己所写的原理与方法，还有，从第一部分第二部分这样较大的视角去看章节与章节之间的联系。不过自己每天选出来的词没有好好记，导致写意思的时候基本都还得再查一遍。也算加深印象。至于作者所说的写作方法，确实恳切——然而要想写出还算看得过眼的文章，还得大量练习才是。总之，下周要更加努力了。
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