Likefinefood,goodwritingissomethingweapproachwithpleasureandenjoyfromthefirsttastetothelast.Andgoodwriters,likegoodcooks,donotsuddenlyappearfull-blown.Quitetheopposite,justasthecookhastoundergoaparticulartraining,masteringtheskillsofhistrade,thewritermustsitathisdeskanddevotelonghourstoachievingastyleinhiswriting,whateveritspurposeis—schoolwork,mattersofbusiness,orpurelysocialcommunication.
Youmaybesurethatthemorepainstakingtheeffort,themoreeffectivethewriting,andthemorerewarding.
Therearestillsomefarawayplacesintheworldwhereyoumightfindapublicscribetodoyourbusinessorsocialwritingforyou,formoney.Thereareafewmanagerswhoareluckyenoughtohavetheserviceofthatrarekindofsecretarywhocantakecareofallsortsofletterwritingwithnomorethanaquicknotetoworkfrom.Butformostofus,ifthereisanywritingtobedone,wehavetodoitourselves.
Wehavetowriteschoolpapers,businesspapersorhomepapers.Weareconstantlycalledontoputwordstopapers.Itwouldbedifficulttocountthenumberofsuchwords,messages,letters,andreportsputintomailsordeliveredbyhand,butthedailyfiguresmustbeextremelylarge.Whatismore,everyonewhowritesexpects,oratleasthopeswhateverhewriteswillberead,fromfirstwordtolast,notjustthrownintosome“letters-to-be-read”filesorintoawastepaperbasket.Thisisthereasonwebendoureffortstowardlearningandpracticingtheskillsofinteresting,effectivewriting.
练习题:
Choosecorrectanswerstothequestion:
1.Inthispassage,goodwritingiscomparedtofinefoodinthat_______.
A.bothwritersandcookshavetoworkalongtimeeveryday
C.botharewritersandcookscanearnagoodliving
2.Apublic"scribe"(Para2,Line1)is_____.
A.asecretarywhodoesyourbusinessorsocialwriting
B.amachinethatdoeswritingforyou
C.apublicschoolwherewritingistaught
D.apersonwhoearsalivingbywritingforothers
3.Accordingtothepassage,somemanagersdon'thavetodoanyletterwritingbecause_____.
A.theyrelyonquicknotesC.theyhaveacomputertodoit
B.theyhaveexcellentsecretariesD.theyprefermakingphonecalls
4.Accordingtotheauthor,ifyourletteristhrownintosome"letter-to-be-read"file,______.
A.itwillreceiveimmediateattention
B.itwillbedealtwithbythesecretary
C.itislikelytobeneglected
D.itismeanttobedeliveredsoon
5.Thepurposeoftheauthorinwritingthispassageis_____.
1.[D]文章首句提到,如同美味的食物,我们可以从好的作品中获得乐趣和享受,D与之相符,故为答案。
2.[D]原文第2段首句提到,这种publicscribe会帮你写商业文件或社会交流文章,但他们也会收费的,D与之相符A中的secretary应该是不收贵的,故排除;D中的machine与文中的remoteplaces不相符,故也可排除。
3.[B]文章第2段第2句提到,个别幸运的经理只需写下简便的笔记,其秘书就会写好所有的信件,因此B为答案。
4.[C]文章第3段倒数第2句的大意是:我们希望自己写的东西能被人从头到尾地读,能不被扔进“letters-to-beread”file,且根据下文的awastepaperbasket可推测这里说的是希望自己写的东西不被忽视,故本题应选C。
5.[A]由文章的结尾的thisisthereason,知道作者有“解释”的目的,同时他说“我们要尽最大的努力学习和练习有趣、有效地写作的技巧”,可知有persuade(说服)的目的,故选A。