appropriate; exact; idiomatic; interesting

• Types of words &types of writing style

• Common words
• Formal and technical words
• Nonstandard words

• formal, common, colloquial

• The core of the English vocabulary
• Only a few thousand
• Can be used on any occasion
• Be used by ordinary people for ordinary purposes

• Be used by people of special professions or fields, on special occasions or for special purposes
• Among them are political, legal, scientific, technical, business and literary words

• Used by people who are not well educated or by people of special groups.
• We need to understand them but should avoid using them.
• Among them are slang, jargon, dialectal and obsolete words

• cop policeman
• cop shop police station
• cook-out picnic
• hothead bad-tempered
• horse (common) steed, charger (formal/literary) nag (nonstandard)

• Synonyms
• The meaning of a word:
• denotative: what it literally means, as defined by the dictionary.
• Connotative: the feeling or idea suggested by it.

• According to the different purposes of writing, the writer should choose different types of words.
To summarize or generalize
To describe or explain

• Longman Dictionary of Contemporary
English
• Oxford Advanced Learner ’ s
Dictionary of Current English
• Oxford Advanced Learner ’ s English –
Chinese Dictionary
• A Book of Synonyms

• Idioms
• Idioms are fixed groups of words with a special meaning which is different from the meanings of the words that form it. All the phrasal verbs, set expressions, pairs of words and sayings.

• Figures of speech

明喻

Definition:
It is a figure of speech in which one thing is compared with another, in such a way as to clarify and enhance an image. It is an explicit comparison recognizable by the use of the word like or as.

本体
喻体
喻词

你们年轻人好像早晨八、九点钟的太阳。
You, the youth are like the sun at eight or nine in the morning.

• (1)like 型
• Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass.
• 生活没有目标犹如航行没有指南针。
Her happiness vanished like the morning dew.
• 他的幸福像晨露一样消失了。

• Marriage is like a beleaguered fortress: those who are without want to get in, and those who are within want to get out.
• 婚姻像围城一样：外面的人想进去，里
面的人想出来。
• The whole of my life has passed like a razor---- in hot water or a scrape.
• 我的整个生涯过的犹如一把剃刀 —— 若
非在热水中，就是在刮削中。

• (2) as 型
• As you sow, so will you reap.
• Love goes towards love, as schoolboys from their books;
•
• but love from love, towards school with heavy looks.
-------William Shakespeare

• 赴情人的约会，像学童抛开书一样快乐；
• 和情人分别，像书童板着脸上学一样悲
伤。

• as firm as a rock
• as light as a feather
• as close as an oyster
• as mute as a fish
• as strong as a horse
• as cool as a cucumber
• as poor as a church mouse

• His handwriting looks as if a swarm of ants, escaping from an ink bottle, had walked over a sheet of paper without wiping their legs.

• A is to B what X is to Y
• What X is to Y, (that) A is to B
• Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.
• 教育之于心灵犹如雕刻之于大理石
• 妙语与幽默对于文学，恰似盐对于食物
一样。

• What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul.
• What salt is to food, that wit and humor are to literature.

• A home without love is no more than a body without soul.
• We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it.
• 学生不学习不能获得知识，正如农民不
耕种就不能得到收获一样。

• A student can no more obtain knowledge without studying than a farmer can get harvest without ploughing.

• A word and a stone let go can not be recalled.
• Love and cough can not be hid.
• Truth and roses have thorns about them.
• Kings and bears often worry their keepers.

（隐喻）

名词型
•
• All the world is a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
— William Shakespeare
• Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
• Happiness is a perfume: you cannot pour it on others without getting a few drops on yourself.
—— Emerson

动词型
• The boy wolfed down the food.
• The case snowballed into one of the most famous trials in U.S. history.
•
• Some books are to be tasted; others swallowed; and some few to be chewed and digested.
—— Francis Bacon

形容词型
• She has a photographic memory for detail.

型
• The bridge of friendship/ the valley of despair/ a flower of a girl/ a fox of a man/ the snake of traffic
• Most of us are only too ready to apply to others the cold wind of criticism; we are somewhat reluctant to give our fellow the warm sunshine of praise.

•
•
• Slang is language that takes off its coat, spits on its hands and goes to work.

• Laziness travels so slowly, that poverty soon overtakes him.
• ---Benjamin Franklin
• 懒惰缓缓而行，贫穷迎头而上。
• A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its
• shoes.
---Mark twain

In November a cold, unseen
called Pneumonia, stalked about the colony, touching one here and there with his icy fingers.

• A figure of speech, in which a thing is called, but not by its name, but by something closely associated with it.
It is substituting the name of one thing for that of another with which it is closely associated.( 借代 )

• Whenever my husband has a bad day at the office, he hits the bottle.
• She was a pretty girl but I was not one to let my heart rule my head.
• She has the eye for the fair and beauty.
• The pen is mightier than the sword.

• Kremlin: the Russian government
• The pentagon: the building near
Washington DC that is the headquarters of the US Department of Defense and the military leaders 五角大楼（指美国国防部）
• Hollywood （ the film industry in US ）
• Downing Street (British government)
• Foggy Bottom( 雾谷 美国务院 )
• Buckingham palace (British Royal )

Romeo —— （ a devoted lover ）
Solomon —— （ a wise man ）
Helen —— （ a beautiful woman ）
Judas —— （ a traitor ）
Shylock —— （ a miser ）
Napoleon —— （ a conqueror ）
Beethoven —— （ a musician ）
Hitler —— （ a tyrant ）

• 提喻 : This is a form of metonymy in which a part is stated for the whole or the whole for a part. A part is substituted for the whole or the whole is substituted for a part.

• A thousand mustaches can live together, but not four breasts.
• 千条汉子能共处，两个婆娘难相容。
• He must work hard to earn his daily bread.
• He has many mouths to feed in the family.
• They were short of hands when business was brisk

• Those big noses, blue eyes and yellow hair taught us English. (foreigners)
• He has a good ear for music. (the ability to appreciate or enjoy)
• Have you ever read Jack London? (novels)
• The kettle is boiling. (water in the kettle)
• She was driving a BMW (a car)

• （ sweet talk/ gilded words/ cosmetic words ） : is the use of a less offensive or less direct way of saying something unpleasant.

e.g.
die--- pass away dustman ---- garbage collector house wife---household executive domestic manager

The reasons for existence of euphemism
1) To respect God
The Creator ( 创世纪者 )
The maker ( 造物主 )
The Savior ( 救世主 )
2) Avoid using certain embarrassing terms
He got venereal disease.
He got secret disease.
I want to go to the lavatory.
I want to get some fresh air.

3) glorifying euphemism (uplifting words) dustman--- sanitary engineer tree-trimmer---tree surgeon housewife ---householder executive ---domestic manager unemployment----between jobs invasion---military action bombing raids---air action

Devises to make euphemism
(1) prefixes and suffixes with negative meaning foolish —— unwise blind —— sightless
(2) Abbreviations for certain words to achieve euphemism ： cancer —— Ca, big C call girl —— C-girl bar girl —— B-girl
(3) acronym （以首字母缩略词） drug addict —— DA drive while intoxicated —— DWI mental deficiency —— MD

Traditional Euphemism
1) disease cancer------Ca, the Big, the big C, terminally ill-----long illness
2) disabled ： crippled —— physically handicapped differently abled ， physically inconvenienced, deaf —— hard of hearing

3 ） death pass away/pass over go to one ’ s final rest
4) Age senior citizens elderly people
5) pregnant eat for two in the family way wear the apron high

6) Lovers mistress — unmarried wife divorced —— bye-bye homosexual —— gay ， queer
7) whore, prostitute
—— red light sister call girl bar girl pavement princess

Stylistic Euphemism
Poverty less well off badly off ， down on one ’ s luck

3) Jobless unemployed —— unwaged ， involuntarily leisured
4) occupation bootblack —— footwear maintenance engineer ， floor-sweeper —— custodian engineer head-waiter —— captain secretary —— administrative assistant

• He was such a marvelous teacher that whenever he recognized a spark of genius you could be sure he ’ d water it.
• That was a bright remark!
• It was a peaceful place. The traffic continued throughout the night without a stop!

• One father is more than a hundred teachers. ( 数词 )
• The prices have shot out of this world. ( 动词 )
• It ’ s a crime to stay inside on such a beautiful day.( 名词 )

• double negation negative word + antonym
• We can solve the problem.
• This problem is not above us.
• He is a man not without ambition.

• 如 : no small, no little, no lack of, no common, no joke, no laughing matter, cannot …… too
• The face wasn ’ t a bad one; it had what they called charm.
• 面孔不算难看，有一般人所说的妩媚。

• 移位修饰或移就法

Definition:
Transferred epithet is a figure of speech in which the epithet is transferred from the appropriate noun to modify another to which it does not really belong.
e.g. a sleepless night, a happy day.

• 矛盾修饰法： is the combination of ideas in a seemingly absurd manner.

Oxymoron
He still regards that as proud humility.
A thunderous silence
A cheerful pessimist
A bitter-sweet memory
Poor rich guys

• A miserable merry Christmas A love-hate relationship
• A life-and-death struggle
Speaking silence
• Long-lived death

• Next to health, heart, home, happiness for mobile Americans depends on the automobile.
• 对于好动的美国人来说，幸福不仅取决
于健康、爱情、舒适、和温暖的家庭，
还取决于汽车。

Alliteration
• Advertisement
• Sea, sun, sand, sex —— and Spain
• Tongue twister
• A big black bug bit a big black bear and made the big black bear bleed blood.
• She sells seashells on the seashore.

• ( 类比 ) 是一种用于阐述道理的修辞格，
即用人们熟悉的事例说明较深的道理，
或通过具体的形象阐述抽象的概念。

•
• An individual human existence should be like a river -----small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past boulders and over waterfalls.
Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being.
-------- Bertrand Russell

• 人生应该像一条河 —— 开始时涓涓细流，
仅局限于两岸之间，未免狭窄；然后奔
放地冲过巨石，翻越瀑布， 慢慢地河面
变得开阔，两岸后移，水面更趋于平静，
于是最后毫不犹豫地与大海融为一体，
毫无苦楚地丧失自己的存在。 （人生各
个时期人的心胸，人生阅历的变迁被用
类比法揭示得淋漓尽致。）

• Choose the more suitable word from the two provided for each blank in the following sentences, and give reasons for your choice.

– We all went to the exhibition
________(besides, except) the director, who was too busy to go.
– Many people here have got other income _______(besides, except) their wages.
– The internal situation of a country usually ________(effects, affects) its foreign policy.

– Their hard work _______(effects, affects) rapid progress in the work.
– A large______ （ amount, number ） of cement was used for this project.
– A large______ （ amount, number ） of people volunteered to do this difficult job.

– The chairman made some
_______(complementary, complimentary) remarks about the speakers.
– His strong points and hers are
________(complementary, complimentary).
– She is an _______(eminent, imminent) artist in this city.

– As a result of overproduction, a depression seems________(eminent, imminent) in this rich country.
– There will be _______(farther, further) changes in the country.
– This group of explorers went
______(farther, further) in the desert than that one.

– She can now spend_______(less, fewer) time preparing her lessons than before.
– She spent _______(less, fewer) days in the city than planned.
– Many beautiful paintings were
_______(hung, hanged) on the walls.

– It is reported that some of the leaders of the coup in that country were __________(hung, hanged).
– He tried ________(hard, hardly) but failed his work in time.
– The interpreter could
________(hard, hardly) catch up with the fluent speaker.

– What the minister has said________(implies, infers) that there will be a change in the economic policy.
– From his statement the listeners
_______(implies, infers) that there will be a change in the economic policy.
– He put all his things________(in, into) his suitcase.

– All his things were ________(in, into) his suitcase.
– He ________(lay, laid) his pen on the desk and began reading.
– He ________(lay, laid) on the grass, looking at the sky.

– She treats the orphan ______(as, like) her son.
– ______(as, like) a friend I would advise you to stop smoking at once.
– The inspector________(may be, maybe) here any day.

– ________(may be, maybe) Jesse knows where she is.
– The director is a very______(practical, practicable) man; he has no fanciful ideas.
– These plans are good and
______(practical, practicable).

– He _______(rose, raised) from his seat to greet the guests.
– He _______(rose, raised) his voice and said, “ No!
”
– She is ________(proud, arrogant) of the success her group has won.

– The aristocrat often speaks in a(n)
________(proud, arrogant) tone.
– One of her _______(questions, problems) is that she is pressed for time.
– The speaker said at the end of his talk that ______(questions, problems) were welcome.

– The day was _______(typical, representative) of deep winter here; it was snowing heavily and a north wind was blowing.
– This may be considered his_______(typical, representative) novel.
– She wishes she were as _______(thin, slim) as Jane.

– She had only two _______(thin, slim) slices of bread for breakfast.
– He illustrated his theory with convincing______(examples, samples).
– Here are two _____(examples, samples) of student compositions.

– Chinese culture has a
_______(continual, continuous) history of 5000 years.
– The _______(continual, continuous) rain slowed down the construction.
– The chairman talked about future plans _______(at, toward) the end of his report.

– They had snacks _______(at, toward) the end of the meeting.
– We waited for a long time.
________(Finally, At last) she came.
– The chairman summed up the results of the discussion.
________(Finally, A t last) he thanked all the participants for coming.

– This salesman made frequent
_______(trips, travels) to nearby cities.
– He enjoys_______(making trips, traveling) to foreign countries.
– Their _______(voyage, journey) across Europe was eventful.

– I ______(hope, wish) she will recover quickly from her illness.
– I ______(hope, wish) she were here with us.
– The audience clapped loudly to
_______(request, require) more songs.

– Students who have borrowed books from the library are
_______(requested, required) to return them on time.
– I ______(doubt, suspect) whether this plan will work.
– I ______(doubt, suspect) that he is not telling the truth.

– Our invitations have all been
________(received, accepted).
– He said he had
________(received, accepted) my letter.
– She ________(received, accepted) the gift but did not
________(receive, accept) it.

– She said she would come and
_______(send, bring) me the book.
– She said she would______ (send, bring) me the book by air mail.
– I don ’ t know what I should do. I ’ d like to have your _____(opinion, advice).

– What is your _____(opinion, advice) of these two new dictionaries?
– Would you like to stop by my
_______(family, home) and have a cup of tea?
– He was born into a revolutionary
_______(family, home).

– Many new _______(houses, homes) have been built along this road.
– I share the _______(house, room) with two other students.
– This is a _______(personal, private) visit. There is no need for formalities.

– We are discussing the work of the company. Let us avoid being
_______(personal, private).
– Reforms have brought about rapid
_______(economic, economical) growth in China in recent years.
– We should be _______(economic, economical) of our time and avoid doing anything unnecessary.

– This is an interesting book with vivid accounts of _______(historic, historical) events and people.
– His article discusses the
_______(historic, historical) significance of the May 4th
Movement from a new angle.
– During the fighting a few soldiers were _______(injured, wounded).

– In the accident his right leg was
_______(injured, wounded).
– Smoking _______(hurts, does great harm to ) one ’ s lungs; it can severely
________(damage, hurt) one ’ s health.
– These unfair criticisms _______(hurt, did harm to) his feelings.

– We should bear in _______(heart, mind) all these important rules.
– His parents want him to take the exam again but his _______(heart, mind) isn ’ t in it.
– I happened to have no money with me and he ______(lent, borrowed) me 50 dollars.

– I had to _______(lend, borrow) some money to buy this expensive book.
– There was a _______(terrible, terrific) accident on this road yesterday.
• The dinner she served was
______(terrible, terrific)--- we enjoyed it greatly.

– Later we _______(found, found out) that the real cause of the fire was negligence on the part of the man on duty.
– On arriving in the ancient city he
_______(found, found out) that it was very quiet and beautiful.

– Do you know the _______(cause, reason) why he has resigned?
– The main _______(cause, reason) of the stoppage was the insufficient supply of raw material.

• Choose the more suitable word from the provided words for each blank in the following sentences, and give reasons for your choice.
(more difficult)

• Why did he (abandon, desert, forsake, leave) his wife?
• It is certainly an (act, action) of mercy.
• She (acquired, attained, obtained, procured, gained, won) a great deal of knowledge from travel as well as from reading.

• She was then seeking a (situation, post, position, appointment) as governess.
• He doesn ’ t seem to be (aware, conscious, sensible) of the importance of choosing words carefully.
• Three hundred people were
(assassinated, murdered, killed, massacred, slaughtered) in the bombing.

• A sudden noise in the dark is apt to (frighten, alarm, scare, intimidate) children.
• He asked me “ How do you like your
(work, labor, toil, drudgery, task)?
”
• The book is written in an (old, antiquated, antique, ancient, aged) style.

• Can you tell me who (invented, discovered) the telegraph?
• The old man looked at me almost with (womanish, womanly, female , feminine) curiosity.
• The (marriage, wedding,) took place at five o ’ clock.

• The girl is beating herself; I think she must be (lunatic, insane, mad, crazy).
• A (continuation, continuance, continuity) of the story will be published in the next issue.
• I am (exceedingly, excessively) obliged to you.

• The party returned at the
(starting, commencement, beginning) of autumn.
• He stared at her, his hands
(folded, embraced, clasped) before him.
• The fool asked his father a
(laughable, comic, ridiculous) question.

• As soon as the war was over, the people returned to their
(peaceable, peaceful, pacific) occupations.
• Will you please (introduce, present) me to your brother?
• This seat is (retained, reserved, kept, held) for the guest of honour.

• I (spent, expended) the whole afternoon yesterday reading the novel.
• She quickly (fastened, tied, bound) her hair with a ribbon.
• She walked downstairs to (greet, welcome, meet) the strange caller.

• She is making steady (advance, advancement, progress, progression) in the study of
German.
• On hearing my advice, he
(resigned, surrendered, forwent) his idea of climbing the mountain.
• What a (pleasant, pleasing, agreeable) day it is!

• The miser kept his money in an
(earthy, earthly, earthen) pot.
• The house is now ready for the
(receipt, reception) of its occupants.
• We spent a (whole, complete, entire) week at the seaside.