PART 1 Gist
The English language is stuck with the generic masculine. Although it would clog the language to get around every sexist word, there are several approaches that might help the authors get out of the quagmire. For example, they could replace "he" and other pronouns of male character with "we", "our", "you" and such like. Using general nouns instead of specific nouns is another solution.
Zinsser admonished that writing is an evolving process, not a finished product. Even professional writers are pushing they luck if they want to write a perfect essay in their first draft. A good writing is the result of rewriting which consists of reshaping and tightening and refining the raw material in the previous drafts.
Computers help writing become more efficient and flexible.
Last but not least, Zinsser suggested that writers should trust their materials and their readers. The knack is to write about what they really care about and never put on airs by over-explaining to the readers.
PART 2 Expressions
1. One of the most vexing new questions for writers is what to do about sexist language, especially the "he-she" pronoun.
vex: to make sb feel annoyed or worried 使煩惱
It vexed me to think of others gossiping behind my back.
vexing (a.)? eg. a vexing problem
類似表達(dá): irksome, nettlesome
2. "He" and "him" and "his" are words that rankle.
rankle: if sth rankles, you still remember it angrily because it upset you or annoyed you a lot 使痛苦不已，使耿耿于懷
His comments till rankled.
They paid him only $ 10 for it and it really rankled.
3. Over the years, however, many women wrote to nudge me about this,
nudge: 本意是”用肘輕推“沉迹，這里指to gently persuade or encourage someone to take a particular decision or action
nudge sb into/ towards sth
We're trying to nudge them towards a practical solution.
4. I like to replace a humdrum word with one that has more precision or color.
humdrum: [?h?mdr?m] boring and ordinary, and having no variety or interest 乏味的，平凡的
SYN tedious
humdrum existence/ job/ life etc
the prisoners' humdrum routine
Imagination raises a man above the humdrum of life.
5. I like to rephrase a drab sentence to give it a more pleasing rhythm or a more graceful musical line.
drab: dull
The walls were painted a drab green.
People were forced to live grey, drab existences in ugly towns.
6. I noticed that many reporters had fallen into the habit of trying to make the news more palatable by writing in a feature style.
palatable: [?p?l?t?bl] 美味的，可口的; 可接受的 an idea, suggestion etc that is palatable is acceptable (be palatable to sb)
a very palatable wine
The changed the wording of the advertisement to make it more palatable to women.
(o.) unpalatable
an idea that's unpalatable to most people
The unpalatable truth is that the team isn't getting any better.
7. I don't like baseball movies that go into slow motion when the batter hits a home run, to notify me that it's a pregnant moment.
pregnant: formal, containing a lot of a quality
Every phrase in this poem is pregnant with meaning.
pregnant pause/ silence: a pause or silence which is full of meaning or emotion
He stopped, and there was a pregnant pause.
PART 3 Thoughts
I resolved not to let my writing go into slow motion -- not to nudge the reader with significance -- or to claim baseball as a metaphor for life, death, middle age, lost youth or a more innocent America. My premise was that baseball is a job -- honorable work -- and I wanted to know how that job gets taught and learned.
還記得初中時我寫過一篇作文，從湯里的蔥寫到人生的道理蒙具，好像是說有些人雖然不起眼卻是必不可少的什么的萎河，那篇文章還被老師當(dāng)作范文在課堂上表揚了一番片效，說我感悟深刻、情感細(xì)膩什么的激况。然而我自己卻一直覺得那篇文章是一篇敗筆作彤，矯揉造作，純粹是為了應(yīng)付作業(yè)而作無病之呻吟乌逐。就像陸游的詞里所寫的：“少年不識愁滋味竭讳，愛上層樓，愛上層樓浙踢，為賦新詞強(qiáng)說愁绢慢。而今識盡愁滋味，欲說還休洛波；欲說還休胰舆，卻道天涼好個秋〉偶罚” 生活中并沒有那么多冠冕堂皇的大道理缚窿，感月吟風(fēng)的人大多是不識愁滋味的人，而真正的悲傷往往是難以訴說和表達(dá)的焰扳。歸有光的《項脊軒志》對于亡妻的所有意思都融入了一句樸素的事實描述里：“庭有枇杷樹滨攻，吾妻死之年所手植也够话，今已亭亭如蓋矣」馊疲”這句話是全文的結(jié)尾女嘲，他沒有去聯(lián)想，沒有感物傷人诞帐，甚至沒有一絲情感的抒發(fā)欣尼，但是那句簡單的場景描繪卻讓讀的人感覺很沉重，為之動容停蕉。我讀過聶魯達(dá)(Pablo Neruda)的詩 In My Sky at Twilight愕鼓，這首詩用了大量的意象和比喻來形容詩人對一個女子的愛慕，但是讀下來卻感覺有一些膩的感覺慧起，比如這幾句：“In my sky at twilight you are like a cloud, and your form an color are the way I love them. ... The lamp of my soul dyes your feet, the sour wine is sweeter on your lips, or reaper of my evening song. ... You are taken in the net of my music, my love, and my nets of music are wide as sky.‘只能說作者是一個很有才華的詩人菇晃，但是他是否真的是一個深情的愛人是令人懷疑的。
