《新編實用英語寫作》02 Using proper Words

新編實用英語寫作NewPracticalEnglishWritingUnit2

UsingProperWords

identifythescopeofwordmeaningtellthedifferencebetweenfavorablemeaningandunfavorablemeaningunderstandtheimportanceofcontexttowordmeaninglearnaboutdenotativemeaningandconnotativemeaningknowthetypesofwordsLearningGoalsSectionIISection

ISectionIIITypesofWordsUsingtheRightWordsforYourMeaningCriteriaofChoosingWordsSectionITypeofWordsSectionITypesofWords

Aspeopleoftensay“properwordsinproperplaces”,wordsofdifferenttypesservedifferentpurposesondifferentoccasion.Accordingtotheirstyles,wordsmaybedividedintothreetypes:formal,commonandcolloquial.1.FormalWordsandInformalWords

Formalwordsmainlyappearinformalwriting.Manysuchwordscontainthreeormorethanthreesyllables,mostofthemborrowedfromGreek,LatinorFrench.

Informalwordsarethosewhichareusedininformalsituation.InformalwordsareofnativeEnglishoriginandtypicallycolloquialwords.SectionITypesofWordsFormalWordsInformalWordsNounsaccommodationconstructionhome,house,roombuildingVerbsutter/claiminvestigatesaylookintoAdjectivesprosperoustremendousrichbigAdverbsconsequentlyapproximatelyso,thusnearly,about2.CommonWordsandColloquialWords

Commonwordsareusedbyordinarypeopleindailycommunicationlikepersonalletters,diariesandstoriesandsoon.TheyformthecoreoftheEnglishvocabulary.

Colloquialwordsaremainlyusedininformalorfamiliarconversation.Theyseldomappearinformalwritingandliteraryworks.TheyareusuallyshortwordsofoneortwosyllablesandmostofthemareSaxonorigin.SectionIBasicStructureofaParagraphMoretolearn

Totakelookat

theproblemofdecliningnumbersofvisitorstoHongKong,wedecidedtodoareal

big

survey.ToinvestigatetheproblemofdecliningnumbersofvisitorstoHongKong,wedecidedtoconduct

areallylarge-scalesurvey.Wemade

aquestionnaireandhandeditout

to2,000people.Wedesignedaquestionnaireanddistributedit

to2,000people.

formalwordscommonwords

WhenIwasakid,andreadingeverysciencefictionbookinthelocallibrary,Iusedtowonderexactlyhowthefuturewouldhappen.BythatIdon’tmeanwhatthefuturewouldbelike-sciencefictionalreadytoldmethat-butratherhowwe’dactuallygetthere.Sciencefictionbooksseemedtoagree,forexample,thatinthefuturetherewouldbenomoney-alltransactionswouldbemadeviaidentitycardsandcentralizedcomputers.Butthatseemeddubioustome:how,Iwondered,areyougoingtogeteverybodytogiveupmoneyinthefirstplace?

______MichaelRogersSectionITypesofWordsInthisparagraph,exceptoneortwowordsareverycolloquiallikekidandoneortwowordsarealittleformal,liketransactionanddubious,allthewordsarecommonlyusedwords.Thesentencesaremuchshorterandsimpler,suchvocabularyandsentencestructurefitforthecontent,asitdescribesthethoughtsofachild.SectionITypesofWordsMoretolearn

Fivescoreyearsago,agreatAmerican,inwhosesymbolicshadowwestandtoday,signedtheEmancipationProclamation.ThismomentousdecreecameasthegreatbeaconlightofhopeformillionsofNegroslaveswhohadbeensearedintheflamesofwitheringinjustice.Itcameasthejoyousdaybreaktoendthelongnightoftheircaptivity.

——MartinLutherKingSectionIBasicStructureofaParagraphMoretolearn

ThisparagraphistakenfromMartinLutherKing’sfamousspeechdeliveredin1963.Heusedmanyformalwords,becauseitwasaformalspeech.However,therearealsomanycommonwordsinit.Thisshowsthatcommonwordsareusedinallkindsofwritingandspeech.

3.AbstractWordsandConcreteWords

Abstractwords,refertoqualitiesorideasthatyouknowwithyourmind.Wordslikedemocracy,government,law,superstructure,beauty,inflation,depression,management,truth,culture,network,conservativestandforabstractconceptsandthuscanbetermedasabstractwords.Concretewords,ontheotherhand,refertoobjectsorqualitiesthatyouknowthroughyoursenses,that’stosaythingsyousee,hear,touch,tasteandsmell.Wordslikedesk,dictionary,book,photoalbum,brick,bacon,apple,stickyandharddenoteconcreteconceptsandarecalledconcretewords.4.GeneralwordsandSpecificwords

Generalwords,nameclassesorgroupsofthingssuchasfood,people,building,weather,orbirds,andincludeallthevarietiesoftheclass.

Specificwords,refertoexplicit,partialexamplesofagrouporclasswhichlimitageneralclassbynamingoneofitsvarieties,suchasnoodles,oldmen,rainyday,orswallow.SectionITypesofWordsGeneralWordsSpecificWords

Nounstreefruitoak,pine,cypressapple,pear,grapeVerbstakekillseize,grasp,grabshoot,poison,stabAdjectivesgoodredhonest,efficient,kindpink,crimson,carmineAdverbswellslowlyclearly,correctly,Leisurely,unhurriedly,

SectionII

UsingtheRightWordsfortheMeaningTobeaccurateinwriting,weshouldbeawarethatmanyEnglishwordscontainatleasttwoormoremeanings,andeachofthemcanonlybeusedinitsspecificoccasion.Soitisimportanttolearnwhattheymeanindifferentcontexts.SectionIIUsingtheRightWordsforYourMeaning

Theso-calledcontextreferstothespecificcommunicativeoccasionwhenawordoralanguageused.Twokindsofcontextsareinvolved:thesituationalcontext(suchastheparticipants,thesetting,andtheevent)andthelinguisticcontext(i.e.thewordsthatco-occurorcollocatewiththewordinquestion).Thesecontextualfactorscandefineorrestrictthemeaning.1.ContextandMeaningSectionIBasicStructureofaParagraphMoretolearnIt’sthetaste!

(advertisingsloganofNestle)

Father:Whydon’tyoueatyourlunchatschool?Daughter:It’sthetaste!Ipreferbiscuits.

whatawonderfultaste!What’saterribletaste!

Theverbtakecanco-occurorcollocatewithdifferentwordsorprepositionsandmayhavedifferentmeaning.e.g.

takepartin參加takecareof關(guān)心

takeholdof抓住takeintoaccount考慮到takeup開始，拿起takeover接管

takein吸收，接納takeoff起飛，脫掉SectionIIUsingtheRightWordsforYourMeaning

Denotativemeaningreferstothelogical,cognitiveorconceptualcontentofaword,whereasconnotativemeaningistheassociativeorsuggestivemeaningofaword.Connotativemeaningiscloselyrelatedtoculturalbackgroundandoftendeducedfromone'sexperiences.Shehasabusinesshead.Heissittingattheheadofthetable.

Thedenotativemeaningofthewordheadreferstothepartthebody.Itsconnotativemeaninginsentence(1)isquitedifferentfromthatinsentence(2).Theformermeans”mentalabilityinbusiness”,whilethelattermeans”themostimportantplace”.2.DenotativeMeaningandConnotativeMeaning3.CommendatoryWordsandDerogatoryWords

Thedifferencebetweencommendatorywordsandderogatorywordsliesin(theauthor’sattitude)tone:theformertypeofwordsspeakofsomebodyorsomethingfavorablywhereasthelatterinanattempttodamageortakeawayone'scredit.

e.g.(1)Heisfamousforhisfinearts.(commendatory)

(2)Hitlerwasanotoriousaggressor.(derogatory)

Synonymsrefertowordswiththesameornearlythesamemeaningsinalanguage.Antonymsrefertowordswithoppositemeanings.Asfortheuseofsynonyms,onethingshouldbenoted.InEnglishpuresynonymsarerare,weshouldrememberthatwordsareonlyroughlysynonymous.Big,Large,HugeandGreat

Largeismoreemphaticthanbig.

Hugeisthemostemphaticofthethreewords.

Greatcanbeusedtomodifyabstractnounslikecourageandwisdom,andpersonswithspecialqualities,suchasagreatleader,agreatstrategistandagreatcomposer.4.SynonymsandAntonyms

beautiful-uglyfresh-stalepredecessor-successorlove-hatredinfrontof-behindtoadmire-todespiseinto-outofforward-backwardtoappear-todisappearup-downAntonyms4.SynonymsandAntonyms

Idiomsareanimportantpartofthelanguageandcultureofasociety.Theyareoftenhardtounderstandandhardertousecorrectly.However,theirproperuseinalanguageisoftenamarkofaperson’scommandofalanguage.Idiomshelpstudentstoexpressthemselveswithmuchpower,soitisnecessaryforyoutolearnasmanyidiomsaspossible.5.UsingStandardIdiomsandIdiomaticExpressionsTheproblemsofthehumanenvironmentare,tosomeofus,anoldstory.人類環(huán)境問題對我們之中某些人來說是老生常談。Iamnottalkingaboutcastlesintheair,thedonkey’scarrot.我說的并不是空中樓閣——叫大家望梅止渴。Well,thereisnoneedforustobeataroundthebush.我們現(xiàn)在沒有必要旁敲側(cè)擊。Don’tbelieveabouthimforheisonlyasugarcoated.不要相信他，因為他只是一個口蜜腹劍的人。SectionIIUsingtheRightWordsforYourMeaning

Problemsinidiomsarealsocausedbycollocations,especiallythecollocationofprepositionsandverbsoradjectives.Andwhenyouarenotsurewhetherwhatyousayisidiomaticornot,consultdictionaries.Thefollowingaresomeoftheidiomaticexpressionsthatareoftenmisusedbystudents.5.UsingStandardIdiomsandIdiomaticExpressions

SectionIIUsingtheRightWordsforYourMeaningUnidiomatic

Idiomaticaccordingwithabidewithagreeto(aperson)angryat(aperson)familiarwith(aperson)accordingtoabidebyagreewith(aperson)angrywith(aperson)familiarto(aperson)

Section

III

CriteriaofChoosingWords

Thecriteriaforgooddictionareaccuracyandappropriateness.Agoodchoiceofwordsisdecidedbythepurpose,thetopicandtheintendedaudience.Thefollowingguidelinesmayhelpyoutowritewithaccuracyandappropriatenessoncommontopicsforthegeneralpurposes.

SectionIII

CriteriaofChoosingWords(1)Usecommonorinformalwordsforgeneralpurposes;useformalornonstandardwordsonlyonspecialoccasionsorforspecialpurposes;(2)Usespecificandconcretewordswhengivingdetails;usegeneralorabstractwordswhenpresentingtopicsormakingsummaries;(3)Useidiomaticexpressionsandwordsinacceptablecollocations:avoidcombinationsthatareunidiomatic;(4)Whentherearesynonyms,choosethewordthatexpressesthemeaningmostexactlyandthatsuitsthecontentandstyle;(5)Whenyouareindoubtaboutthemeaning,implicationorcollocationofaword,itisagoodhabittorefertothedictionaries.SectionIII

CriteriaofChoosingWordsApplyingYourKnowledge

I.Changetheunderlinedpartsintoformalwords.(1)Thingsaredifficultforusrightnow.(2)Iamgoingtowriteanessayonthistopic.(3)Youshouldbecarefulinthechoiceofwordswhenyouwriteanarticle.(4)Wewantedtofinishourworkwithinthetimelimit.(5)Jackhasgotthenewsfromhisbrother.SituationsshallOneintendedheard(6)Wehavefoundmanyspellingerrorsincomposition.(7)Wehavealotoffriendswhocanhelpusinthework.(8)Manyguyswantedtojoinus,butfewofferedgenuinehelp.(9)Webelievethosekidsareinnocent.(10)Thepolicearelookingintothematter.numerousmanypeopleteenagersinvestigateII.Changethegeneralwordsintospecificwords.(1)Georgeisaniceperson.(2)Computersareverygoodinourwork.(3)Chopinisafunnyactor.(4)TheplotofWutheringHeightsisinteresting.(5)TheBibletellsustobekindtoourenemies.kind-heartedhelpfulcomedianattention-holdingforgiving(6)Thecabinintheairplaneislarge.(7)Mybrotherhasmadeabigmistake.(8)Theweatheristerriblethesedays.(9)Thesceneryisfine.(10)Thecompositionisexcellent.spaciousblunderstormypicturesquefaultlessIII.Writeoutthespecificwordsofthefollowing.A(1)trees(2)flowers(3)fruit(4)vegetables(5)food(6)furniture(7)electricfacilities(8)officeequipment(9)computerparts(10)clothingpines,campus,plane-trees,willows,cypressesroses,lilies,tulips,chrysanthemums,lotusesapples,oranges,bananas,pears,pineapplescabbages,spinaches,carrots,turnips,kidney-beansrice,noodles,bread,pie,spaghettibed,desk,diningtable,sofa,double-chair,cupboardtelevisionset,deskcomputer,telephonefax,telex,videocamera,cabinetharddisc,softdisc,monitor,main-boarddress,skirt,jacket,coat,pantIII.Writeoutthespecificwordsofthefollowing.B(1)see(2)meet(3)get(4)have(5)want(6)tell(7)show(8)money(9)exercise(10)gowatch,peep,stare,glare,glanceruninto,bumpintogain,obtain,catch,grasp,master,understandpossess,hold,own,occupydesire,intend,plan,beprepared,hopeinform,claim,disclose,reveal,confess,remarkdenote,indicate,betrayfax,telex,videocamera,cabinetphysicaltraining,assignment,trialhurry,loiter,wander,runride,walkIV.Matchthefollowingwords.speed

roducep.relieveq.experiencer.decreases.adoptt.remedy1.

infuriate2.

tranquility3.

velocity4.

concur5.

erudite6.

aperformance7.

ill8.

aresolution9.

abus10.

thesituationdeagbilsntIV.Matchthefollowingwords.speed

roducep.relieveq.experiencer.decreases.adoptt.remedy11.

adictionary12.

abridge13.

afailure14.

thecost15.

theenemy16.

anewmachine17.

anewmedicine18.

theburden19.

astore20.

asongckqrjocpfmV.Choosethemoresuitablewordforeachblankinthefollowingsentences.Changetheformwherenecessary.1.Weallwenttotheexhibition_________(besides,except)thedirector,whowastoobusytogo.2.Theinternalsituationofacountryusually_________(effects,affects)itsforeignpolicy.3.Whattheministerhassaid_____(implies,infers)thattherewillbeachangeintheeconomicpolicy.4.Hesavedadrowningboyyesterday,sohewasawardedbythelocalgovernmentforhisbrave________(act,action)5.

(Act,Action)speakslouderthanwords.6.Everyonehadfinishedtheassignment________(except,besides,exceptfor)Tom.7.Thedressisready________(except,besides,exceptfor)thebuttons.8.________(Except,Besides,Exceptfor)somedesks,therearethreechairsintheroom.9.Theirvictoryis

(outofquestion,outofthequestion):theyhavelosttoomanymen.10.Itisveryeasy;itis

(outofquestion,outofthequestion)thatitcanbefinishedinoneweek.11.Adiscussion

(arose,rose,raised)abouthowtocarryouttheplan.12.Priceskeep