1、I. Developing a Concise Style: To retain your readers interest and improve the flow of your prose, trim all the fat from your sentences.e.g. Wordy The opponents argument seems to be reasonable.Revised The opponents argument seems reasonable.1. Poor Because of the fact that it is usually derived from

2、 behaviors of novelty on the Internet, cyber fame has a weak basis which would lead to its mortality. Revised Derived from behaviors of novelty on the Internet, cyber fame has a weak basis which would lead to its mortality. 2. Wordy There are more and more university students engaging in social prac

3、tices.Revised More and more/An increasing number of university students engage in social practices.3. Wordy There are 56 ethnic groups composing the Chinese big family.Revised Fifty-six ethnic groups compose the Chinese big family. 4. Wordy Those who have great ambition are people of great determina

4、tion and perseverance. Revised Ambitious people are of great determination and perseverance. 5. Wordy The interview which is a popular recruiting method has unprecedentedly involved kinds of sciences such as psychology and statistics. Revised Interview, a popular recruiting method, has unprecedented

5、ly involved kinds of sciences such as psychology and statistics. 6. Wordy A crack of joke may inspire students interest and enthusiasm and then what they learn leaves on them an impression which cannot be easily forgotten. Revised A crack of joke may inspire students interest and enthusiasm and then

6、 what they learn leaves on them an impression not easily forgotten.7. Wordy One of my close personal friends who lives in the city of Taipei at the present time is under consideration of moving his residence to Beijing for the reason that he has been offered a promising position in that metropolis.C

7、oncise One of my close friends in Taipei is considering moving to Beijing because he has been offered a promising position there.II. Developing a Lively Style: Use specific, descriptive verbs. e.g. Bland The heroic deeds are good for the youth education.Better The heroic deeds would function as invi

8、gorating materials of the youth education.1. Bland Some people like copycatting, while others do not like it.Better Some people adore/are fond of copycatting, while others dislike/are repelled by it.2. Bland If they do not pay enough attention to study, university students will not do well in their

9、future work.Better If they do not pay enough heed to study, university students will stagger/encounter stumbling blocks in their future work.3. Imprecise One friend of mine is a very interesting person.Better One friend of mine can turn an originally strained/tense/intense atmosphere into an easy an

10、d pleasant/happy and relaxing one whenever she turns up. III. Varying Your Sentence Style: NO all-too-common “subject + predicate” bining sentences with conjunctionsbeginning some sentences with participles/prepositional phrasesusing -ly/to openers e.g. Many teachers can give students inf

11、ormation. Very few can inspire students to learn. Information is of little use to the students. Soon he will leave college. Then he will forget what he has memorized. He must be inspired to learn on his own. Many teachers can give students information, but few can inspire them to learn. When a stude

12、nt leaves college, the information he has memorized will be of little use and will soon be forgotten. What he needs most is the ability to learn on his own.While many teachers can give students information, few can inspire them to learn. But information which a student has memorized will be of littl

13、e use to him and will soon be forgotten once he leaves college. Hence he must be inspired to learn on his own. A. Combine the following sentences into one.1. When an examination is approaching, some students begin to study harder than before. Other students still keep their usual attitude toward it.

14、When an examination is approaching, some students begin to study harder than before, and other students still keep their usual attitude toward it.2. Helen hated overtime work. The boss was mean with the overtime pay and it made her very tired. Helen hated overtime work, because the boss was mean wit

15、h the overtime pay and it made her very tired.3. The new workers lacked experience. They were eager to learn from the experienced ones. The new workers lacked experience, but they were eager to learn from the experienced ones. Although lacking experience, the new workers were eager to learn from the

16、 experienced ones. 4. He came back to his hometown. He had been away for many years. He couldnt find the familiar landmarks.After coming back to his hometown, from which he had been away for many years, he couldnt find the familiar landmarks.5. She appeared on the stage. A stormy applause broke fort

17、h.When she appeared on the stage, a stormy applause broke forth.B. Combine the following sentences in the required way.1. Using participle(分詞): We adopted this method. Our team raised the average yield by 40 percent.Having adopted this method, our team raised the average yield by 40 percent.2. Using

18、 prep. phrases(介詞短語): He is a responsible man. He has his shortcomings.Despite his shortcomings, he is a responsible man.3. Using independent genitive(獨立主格): John was sick. Henry had to do the work. John being sick, Henry had to do the work.He sat in the front row, his mouth half open. 用形容詞時，是表示靜止?fàn)顟B(tài)

19、。The question settled, we went home./We shall play the match tomorrow, weather permitting. /The monitor being ill, wed better put the meeting off. 而用現(xiàn)在分詞或過去分詞，含有動態(tài)涵義。4. Using subjective complement(主語補足語): Her answer came. It was a quick and sharp one.Quick and sharp, her answer came.5. Using apposit

20、ive(同位語):My uncle has just received a research grant. He is a chemist. My uncle, a chemist, has just received a research grant. C. Avoid Overuse of Any One Kind of Construction in the Same Sentence.e.g. Confusing Ambition means you have willingness to get something or to finish something.Better Ambi

21、tion means one has a strong will to keep trying until the goal is achieved.1. Confusing Those people who advocate cyber fame argue that it is not bad since people who become famous through the Internet bring to other people much fun and many intriguing topics which people long for in the present str

22、ained society. Better Advocators of cyber fame argue that celebrities on the Internet bring to the masses fun and intriguing topics, which most people long for in the present strained society.IV. Stressing the meaning worth attention.1. Underline the repetitive part and see how the meaning is stress

23、ed. Government comes from below, not from above; government comes from men, not from kings or lords or military masters; government looks to the source of all powers in the consent of men.Government comes from below, not from above; government comes from men, not from kings or lords or military mast

24、ers; government looks to the source of all powers in the consent of men.Compared with Government comes from below, not from above; it is from men, rather than from kings or lords or military masters; it looks to the source of all powers in the consent of people.2. Underline the parallel part and see

25、 how the meaning is stressed. a. You can fool all of the people some time and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. (By Abraham Lincoln) You can fool all of the people some time and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all

26、 of the people all of the time. (By Abraham Lincoln) Compared with You can fool all of the people some time and some of the people all of the time, but all of the people cannot be fooled all of the time. b. It is the same old story not being grateful for what we have until we lose it, of not being c

27、onscious of health until we are ill. (By Helen Keller) It is the same old story not being grateful for what we have until we lose it, of not being conscious of health until we are ill. (By Helen Keller) Compared with It is the same old story not being grateful for what we have until we lose it, as w

28、e are conscious of health until we are ill.3. Underline the symmetrical part and see how the meaning is stressed. a. Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. (By John Kennedy) Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. (By J

29、ohn Kennedy) Compared with Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what one can do for his or her nation. b. Without adversity there is no pressure; without pressure there is no change. (By Robert Jastrow) Without adversity there is no pressure; without pressure there is no change. (By Robert

30、Jastrow) Compared with Without adversity there is no pressure; without stress there is no change. 4. Choose the sentence which stresses “narcotic” to the greatest degree. a. Most of the reading which is praised for itself is neither literary nor intellectual, but narcotic. b. Most of the reading whi

31、ch is praised for itself is neither literary nor intellectual; but narcotic. c. Most of the reading which is praised for itself is neither literary nor intellectual. But narcotic. 5. What is the logic presented by dash in the following sentence? a. His schemes were always elaborate, ingenious, and e

32、xciting and-wholly impractical. adversativeb. I like the English saying-it is easy to put into practice-"An apple a day keeps the doctor away." complementary6. Please translate the following sentences with an emphatic construction. a. 正是他的第一位老師改變了他的人生。 It was his first teacher who had chan

33、ged his life. b. 直到昨天，會議才結(jié)束。 It was not until yesterday that the meeting ended. c. 完全靠運氣他在車禍中幸免遇難。 Only through sheer luck did he escape death in the crash. d. 他說話如此之快，沒人能清楚他說的話。 So rapidly did he speak that nobody could hear him clearly.e. 在任何時間和任何情況下，我們都絕不會向困難屈服。 At no time and under no circumstan

34、ces, would we yield to difficulty. f. 我認(rèn)為那不可能。Hardly did I think it possible. g. 我們試圖讓他改變主意，結(jié)果白費功夫。In vain did we try to make him change his mind. h. 我們絕不會違背良心接受金錢。On no account should we accept any money against our conscience. i. 如果他更認(rèn)真工作，就不會犯那么多錯了。Had he worked carefully, he would not have made s

35、o many mistakes. V. Faulty ParallelismPlacing two or more ideas of equal value in the same grammatical form will enable us to express these ideas clearly and emphatically. Faulty parallelism occurs when the form of the ideas being paralleled is not identical, as in the following examples.e.g. I was

36、told to report to the manager and that I should bring the documents. Revised: I was told to report to the manager and to bring the documents.1.Our new house not only is more economical but also it is more comfortable than our old one.Revised: Our new house is not only more economical but also more c

37、omfortable than our old one.2.When I arrived home, I unpacked my suitcases, took showers, and then I went to sleep after eating something.Revised: When I arrived home, I unpacked my suitcases, took showers, ate something and went to sleep.3. He always has and always will remember the happy time.Revised: He has always remembered and always will remember the happy time.4.The computers in our school are more advanced than your school.Revised: The computers in our school are more advanced than those in your school.5. The children promised to be car