Chapter II DictionChapter II DictionChapter II DictionChapter II Diction

Principles: Principles: Principles: Principles:

appropriate; appropriate;

exact; exact;

idiomatic;idiomatic;

interestinginteresting

appropriate• Types of words &types of writing

style

1. Types of Words• Common words

• Formal and technical words

• Nonstandard words

2. writing styles:• formal, common, colloquial

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

ary purposes

Formal and technical words • 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

Nonstandard 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

Examples:• cop policeman• cop shop police station• cook-out picnic• hothead bad-tempered

• horse (common) steed, charger (formal/literary) nag (nonstandard)

Exact • Synonyms• The meaning of a word: • denotative: what it literally

means, as defined by the dictionary.

• Connotative: the feeling or idea suggested by it.

General & specific words

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

Recommended dictionaries:

• Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

• Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English

• Oxford Advanced Learner’s English –Chinese Dictionary

• A Book of Synonyms

idiomatic• 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.

interesting• Figures of speech

1. Simile ( 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.

Three elements of similesubject ( 本体 )

tenorreference ( 喻体 )

vehicleindicator ( 喻词 )compared word

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 morn

ing 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 schoolbo

ys 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….. as”• 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

(3) as if • 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.

(4) what • 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.

(5) no more than • A home without love is no more than

a body without soul.• We have no more right to consume ha

ppiness 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.

(6) and • A word and a stone let go can not be re

called. • Love and cough can not be hid. • Truth and roses have thorns about the

m.• Kings and bears often worry their keep

ers.

Metaphor （隐喻）

名词型• All the world is a stage, and all the men an

d 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.

“of” 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.

Personification • • Slang is language that takes off its co

at, 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 stranger, whom the doctors called Pneumonia, stalked about the colony, touching one here and there with his

icy fingers.

Metonymy • 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 Washingto

n 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 ）

Synecdoche • 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 b

read.• He has many mouths to feed in the fa

mily.• They were short of hands when busin

ess 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)

Euphemism• （ 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 engineertree-trimmer---tree surgeon housewife ---householder executive ---- domestic managerunemployment----between jobsinvasion---military actionbombing 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-girlbar girl —— B-girl

(3) acronym （以首字母缩略词） drug addict —— DA drive while intoxicated ——DWI mental deficiency —— MD

Types of euphemism

Traditional Euphemism Stylistic Euphemism

Traditional Euphemism1) 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 ） deathpass away/pass overgo to one’s final rest

4) Agesenior citizenselderly people5) pregnanteat for two

in the family waywear the apron high

6) Loversmistress —unmarried wife

divorced ——bye-byehomosexual ——gay ， queer

7) whore, prostitute ——red light sister

call girlbar girl

pavement princess

Stylistic Euphemism Poverty

less well offbadly off ，

down on one’s luck

3) Joblessunemployed ——unwaged ，

involuntarily leisured4) occupation

bootblack ——footwear maintenance engineer ，

floor-sweeper ——custodian engineer head-waiter——captain

secretary ——administrative assistant

Irony • 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!

Overstatement (hyperbole)

• 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 )

Understatement • 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。

Transferred Epithet • 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.

•He crashed down on a protesting chair.He closed his busy life at the age of 90.

Oxymoron • 矛盾修饰法： is the combination of id

eas in a seemingly absurd manner.

He still regards that as proud humility.

A thunderous silence A cheerful pessimist

A bitter-sweet memory Poor rich guys

Oxymoron

• A miserable merry Christmas A love-hate relationship

• A life-and-death struggle Speaking silence

• Long-lived death

Alliteration • Next to health, heart, home, happine

ss 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。

• 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.

Alliteration

analogy• ( 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。）

Task 1: • 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.

Task 2: • Choose the more suitable word fro

m 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.