新编英语教程 5 期末复习( unit1-9 独家整理)单词:*more or less 差不多deft blows 灵活,巧妙地*scrupulous 一丝不苟的 clean English 纯真英语*afield远离的 an apt phrase 一个贴切的短语*rife 流行,普遍的 scrupulous writers 一丝不苟的作家*malapropism 误用的词,白字*coercion强迫*epitomize 概括*disprove 反驳*expire 逝世,死*indigent 贫困的Unit 1 Hit the nail on the head 恰到好处Have you ever watched a clumsy man hammering a nail into a box? He hits it first to one side, then to another, perhaps knocking it over completely, so that in the end he only gets half of it into the wood. A skillful carpenter, on the other hand, will drive the nail with a few firm, deft blows, hitting it each time squarely on the head. So with language; the good craftsman will choose words that drive home his point firmly and exactly. A word that is more or less right, a loose phrase, an ambiguous expression, a vague adjective, will not satisfy a writer who aims at clean English. He will try always to get the word that is completely right for his purpose. 你见过一个笨手笨脚的男人往箱子上钉钉子吗?只见他左敲敲,右敲敲, 说不准还会将整个钉子锤翻, 结果敲来敲去到头来只敲进了半截。而娴熟的木匠就不这么干。他每敲一下都会坚实巧妙地正对着钉头落下去,一钉到底。 语言也是如此。 一位优秀的艺术家谴词造句上力求准确而有力地表达自己的观点。差不多的词,不准确的短语,摸棱两可的表达,含糊不清的修饰, 都无法使一位追求纯真英语的作家满意。他会一直思考, 直至找到那个能准确表达他的意思的词。The French have an apt(贴切的) phrase for this. They speak of “le mot juste,” (the exact word) the word that is just right. Stories are told of scrupulous (一丝不苟的) writers, like Flaubert, who spent days trying to get one or two sentences exactly right. Words are many and various; they are subtle(微妙的) and...