一 字词整理

1 .A style that consists of passive constructions will sap the reader’s energy.

sap：逐渐〕削弱（破坏）〔尤指力量或决心〕，与后面的dilute，whittle away同义

sap sb's strength / courage/ energy

2. Much of what you see and hear will come back, having percolated for days or months or even years through your subconscious mind, just when your conscious mind, laboring to write, needs it.

percolate：if an idea, feeling, or piece of information percolates through a group, it gradually spreads〔观念、感觉或信息〕逐渐传开

3. The feminist movement helpfully revealed how much sexism lurks in our language, not only in the offensive “he” but in the hundreds of words that carry an invidious meaning or some overtone of judgment.

overtone: tone的意思是语气腔调，再加上前缀over，意思是： signs of an emotion or attitude that is not expressed directly〔情感或态度〕含蓄的表示，暗示，弦外之音

4. But in the end they are makeshift words, sometimes hurting the cause more than helping it.

makeshift：权宜的，临时（代用）的。同义词有：temporary, expedient

5. it’s a pregnant moment.

pregnant这个词不是我们常见的怀孕的意思，而是：耐人寻味的；意味深长的；心照不宣的A pregnant silence or moment has a special meaning which is not obvious but which people are aware of.

6. I spotted an empty seat next to a weathered man in his sixties who was using a stopwatch and taking notes.

weathered是形容词，是由动词weather的意思派生过来的。

weather：if rock, wood, or someone's face is weathered by the wind, sun, rain etc, or if it weathers, it changes color or shape over a period of time（使）〔岩石、木头等〕受风雨侵蚀;（使）〔脸〕饱经风霜

7. I knew that the host had been briefed about what kind of writers we were and what we wanted to discuss.

brief这里用作动词：to give someone all the information about a situation that they will need为…提供资讯

8. Adjectives you would squirm to use in conversation—“wondrous,” “dappled,” “roseate,” “fabled,” “scudding”—are common currency.

be common currency的意思是被广泛流传，接受

9. New sights touch off thoughts that otherwise wouldn’t have entered the writer’s mind.

touch off：引发;触发;引起 If something touches off a situation or series of events, it causes it to start happening.

二 中文感悟

这周的阅读强度不小，而且每章的内容都有很多例子，加之缺少一定的背景知识，所以读起来很吃力。前几天阅读的内容谈的还是写作中容易遇到的一些问题，然后就过渡到了大篇幅的三章：分别谈的是写人，写地点，写自己。

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写人

Interviewing people is a critical skill for us to develop. Just as writer said, "When you get people talking, handle what they say as you would handle a valuable gift." Each time we interview or communicate with other, we can learn some valuable lessons from them.

写人对应的就是怎样做访谈，关键是我们能从受访者身上学到一些经验，并把这种valuable lessons用笔表达出来。

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写地点

But whatever place you write about, go there often enough to isolate the qualities that make it distinctive. Finally, however, what brings a place alive is human activity: people doing the things that give a locale its character.

写地点即写游记，给我最大的感受是发掘独特的地方。

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写自己

But the most interesting character in a memoir, we hope, will turn out to be the person who wrote it.

写自己则是写回忆录。其实，我们在很多时候不是不够了解别人，而是不够了解自己。一个能够把自己讲的清楚的人，在写作层面上无疑是成功的。

三 summary

We have  finished fourteen chapters in the last two weeks. In the first two days this week, the author talked about some principles and problems we may encounter while writing. Then ,the author began to explain different types of writing. The first one is interviewing people which is very critical to develop our communication skills. The second one is writing about a place. The style and substance are important. The third one is writing about yourself: memoir. People enjoy this gift of themselves.