PART 1 Summary
A good lead is one that captures readers immediately and forces them to keep reading. Adding a vein of freshness, or novelty or paradox or humor etc. to the lead can do the trick. Zinsser gave two useful tips in this regard. First, always collect more material than you would use. Second, look for your material everywhere. Moreover, a lead must do some real work by telling readers the purpose and rationale behind the piece. With a good lead in hand, writers should continue to build every paragraph and take special care with the last sentence of each paragraph.
On the other part, a good ending is no less important than a good lead. It not only could save an article from being wrecked at its final stage, but also could linger and give the readers a lift. A perfect ending takes readers slightly by surprise and yet seem exactly right. There are two approaches that might help you nail an ending. One is to bring the story full circle. Another is to use an arresting quotation.
PART 2 Expressions
1. There's no pat answer.
a pat answer/ explanation: an answer or explanation that seems too quick and too simple and sounds as if it has been used before 過分簡單的回答; 敷衍了事的回答
There are no pat answers to these questions.
A pat answer is not going to satisfy an inquisitive audience.
2. Readers of a literary review expect its writers to start somewhat discursively.
discursive: discussing many different ideas, facts et without having a clear purpose 東拉西扯的陪白；不著邊際的
a long discursive article
3. It must cajole him with freshness, or novelty, or paradox, or humor, or surprise, or with an unusual idea, or an interesting fact, or a question.
cajole: [k??d???l] 勸誘 to gradually persuade sb to do sth by being nice to them, or making promises to them
cajole sb into doing sth
We do our best to cajole rich countries into helping.
4. But its content turns out to be more serious than readers expected when they were drawn into it by a whimsical lead.
whimsical: [?w?mz?kl] unusual or strange and often amusing 古怪的悼枢；異想天開的
He has a wonderful whimsical sense of humor.
后文中有個類似的表達 -- quirky: They are often just quirky enough to make a lead that's different from everybody else's.
5. Nose about in obscure crannies of the newspaper, like the Sunday real estate section.
nose about/ around (sth): to look around a place in order to try to find something, when there is no one else there
What were you doing nosing around in my office?
nose sth out: to discover some information that someone else does not want you to discover
The media always manage to nose out some interesting facts about a politician's past life.
6. Surely they will, because the end that's in sight turns out to be a mirage.
mirage: [m??rɑ:?] 幻景颜懊；海市蜃樓；引申為 a dream, hope or wish that cannot come true SYN illusion
Perhaps we are just chasing a mirage.
7. The five short sentences send the reader on his way quickly and with an arresting thought to take along.
arresting: catching the attention, striking, impressive
The origins of other hallowed trees — all visually arresting — are murkier.
PART 3 Thoughts
Like the minister's sermon that builds to a series of perfect conclusions that never conclude, an article that doesn't stop where it should stop becomes a drag and therefore a failure.
昨天和群里的一個小伙伴私聊說到專業(yè)課的書籍都比較枯燥無聊，后來轉(zhuǎn)念一想因苹，也不全是寻馏。大學(xué)里讀過兩本非常有趣生動的專業(yè)課書籍兆龙，一本是Michael Lewis的《說謊者的撲克牌》（Liar’s Poker）驱闷，另一本是Bryan Burrough的《門口的野蠻人》（Barbarians at the Gate）耻台。這兩本都是金融法課上的教材，前者講的是垃圾債券問題空另，后者圍繞杠桿投資問題盆耽。今天重新把這兩本書翻出來看看，發(fā)現(xiàn)它們的結(jié)尾都非常有意思扼菠∩阍樱《說謊者的撲克牌》的結(jié)尾這樣寫到：“在一個注重小心翼翼的職業(yè)發(fā)展規(guī)劃的年代里，聽到這番傾心于不可預(yù)見性的高論循榆，令人不禁有耳目一新的感覺析恢。如果他說的是真的，那該有多好秧饮∮彻遥”《門口的野蠻人》的結(jié)尾則更加出人意料：“約翰遜站了起來，和大家說‘我們回家吧盗尸⌒浞剩’”這兩種結(jié)尾都極度新穎而有創(chuàng)意，在讀者沒有預(yù)期的地方戛然而至振劳，令人有余音繞梁之感椎组。佩服于作者學(xué)識和才華的同時，也不禁為國內(nèi)罕見這樣有趣的教材或論文而感到遺憾历恐。我們初高中被要求寫中規(guī)中矩的應(yīng)試作文寸癌，而大學(xué)里的學(xué)術(shù)論文更是受到種種規(guī)則框架的束縛。我看過的和寫過的所有專業(yè)課論文的結(jié)尾都不外乎對未來發(fā)展提建議的或者干脆是前文概要的翻版弱贼。不單是結(jié)尾蒸苇，整本書或整篇文章都像八股文一樣千篇一律，毫無特色吮旅，讓人完全不想看第二遍溪烤。其實不管是什么題材和領(lǐng)域內(nèi)的文章或書籍，都是可以寫得有趣而生動的庇勃，但是很多時候?qū)懽髡邥桓鞣N無形的框架束縛檬嘀，難以跳出固有的寫作思維模式，而這樣寫出來的文章注定是沒有吸引力的责嚷。
