为避免句子冗长、乏味,措词必须简洁精练(terse),文句必须直截了当,力求意赅文简,辞约事丰。
用词简练不仅能节省篇幅,更重要的是为了准确清晰地表达思想。废话赘言不仅使文章冗长,而且多余的词语会掩盖思想内容,使其变得朦胧含混,令人难以捉摸理解。因此,我们要尽量选用简洁精练、读者容易理解的词语,避免用浮夸的(pompous)或所谓高级的(sophisticated)词语。但有些学生喜欢用大词或冷僻的词,以为用华丽的词藻能写出不同凡响的佳作。其实,这样的效果往往不理想,措词显得不伦不类。例如:
原句:We were unable to commence our journey to your place of residence because of inclement weather conditions.
修改:We could not come because it was snowing.
一般来说,在写作中,尤其是普通的叙述文或短文,更应该选择简洁、朴实、准确的大众化词语,避免使用矫饰、复杂、故弄玄虚的词语,并且尽可能挑选积极的动词。一句话中最有份量的是动词,因为它传达的信息最多。例如A few red flowers dotted thegreen leaves.要比A few red flowers were among the green leaves.更简洁有力。
许多学习英语的人都喜欢吟诵培根(Francis Bacon)的名篇《论学习》(Of Studies),原因之一就是作者的文笔简洁,鞭辟入里。例如:
Reading maketh a full man;conference a ready man;and writing an exact man.(阅读使人充实;交谈使人敏捷;写作使人准确。)
可见名家遣词造句是多么简洁洗炼,惜墨如金。要做到这一点,我们必须删除可有可无的词语,下面情形需特别注意。
1.下面括号内的词称为多余词(useless words and expressions),因为它们只是重复了括号外的词的意思,而没有增加任何新的意义。例如:
(basic)essentials (true)facts
return(back) small(-size)potatoes
2.在许多场合,一两个词可代替一个较长的词语,这种词语称为赘加词语(padded expressions)。这种赘加词语经常出现在口语中,因为在讲话时因临时找不到合适的词常用这些词语来延长思考的时间,如it seems to me that,the reason why等。但在写作中应尽量避免使用这种赘加词语。例如:
has the ability to singcan sing
in a great many instancesoften
on account of the fact thatbecause
because of the fact thatbecause
写作中如使用上述所说的多余词语就会使文章显得拖沓,结构松弛,意思含糊不清,读来如同嚼蜡。这种多用词的现象在修辞上叫赘词现象(wordiness),也有人称之为废话(deadword)。在写作中只有去掉这些废话,文章才能简洁精练。
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