Unit1hit-the-nail-on-the-head恰到好处.docx

Unit1hit-the-nail-on-the-head恰到好处
Unit1hit-the-nail-on-the-head恰到好处
Unit1hit-the-nail-on-the-head恰到好处
Unit 1 hit the nail on the head 恰到好处
Have you ever watched a clumsy man
你见过一个笨手笨脚的男人往箱子上钉
hammering a nail into a box? He hits it first to
钉子吗？只见他左敲敲，右敲敲，说不准还
one side, then to another, perhaps knocking it
会将整个钉子锤翻，结果敲来敲去到头来只
over completely, so that in the end he only gets
敲进了半截。而娴熟的木匠就不这么干。他
half of it into the wood. A skillful carpenter, on
每敲一下都会坚实巧妙地正对着钉头落下
the other
hand, will drive the nail with a few
去，一钉到底。语言也是如此。一位优秀的
firm, deft
blows, hitting
it each
time squarely
艺术家谴词造句上力求准确而有力地表达自
on the head.
So with
language; the good
己的观点。差不多的词，不准确的短语，摸
craftsman will choose words that drive home
棱两可的表达，含糊不清的修饰，都无法使
his point
firmly
and exactly. A
word that
is
一位追求纯真英语的作家满意。他会一直思
more or
less
right,
a loose
phrase,
an
考，直至找到那个能准确表达他的意思的词。
ambiguous expression, a vague adjective（模糊
的形容词） , 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.
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