题目内容
________ some more meanings of these words and expressions, look them up in the dictionary．
Learned
To learn
Learn
Learning
It is true that good writers rewrite and rewrite and then rewrite some more. But in order to work up the desire to rewrite, it is important to learn to like what you write at the early stage.
I am surprised at the number of famous writers I know who say that they so dislike reading their own writing later that they even hate to look over the publishers’ opinions. One reason we may dislike reading our own work is that we’re often disappointed that the rich ideas in our minds seem very thin and plain when first written down. Jerry Fodor and Steven Pinker suggest that this fact may be a result of how our minds work.
Different from popular belief, we do not usually think in the works and sentences of ordinary language but in symbols for ideas (known as ‘mentalese’ ), and writing our ideas down is an act of translation from that symbolic language. But while mentalese contains our thoughts in the form of a complex tapestry (织锦)，writing can only be composed one thread at a time. Therefore it should not be surprising that our first attempt at expressing ideas should look so simple. It is only by repeatedly rewriting that we produce new threads and connect them to get closer to the ideas formed in our minds.
When people write as if some strict critics (批评家) are looking over their shoulder, they are so worried about what this critic might say that they get stuck before they even start. Peter Elbow makes an excellent suggestion to deal with this problem. When writing we should have two different minds. At the first stage, we should see every idea, as well as the words we use to express it, as wonderful and worth putting down. It is only during rewrites that we should examine what we excitedly wrote in the first stage and check for weaknesses.
【小题1】What do we learn from the text about those famous writers?
| A．They often regret writing poor works. |
| B．Some of them write surprisingly much. |
| C．Many of them hate reading their own works. |
| D．They are happy to review the publishers’ opinions. |
| A．People think in words and sentences. |
| B．Human ideas are translated into symbols. |
| C．People think by connecting threads of ideas. |
| D．Human thoughts are expressed through pictures. |
| A．Most people believe we think in symbols. |
| B．Loving our own writing is scientifically reasonable. |
| C．The writers and critics can never reach an agreement. |
| D．Thinking and writing are different stages of mind at work. |
It’s really true what people say about English politeness: it’s everywhere. When squeezing (挤过去) past someone in a narrow passage, people say “sorry”. When getting off a bus, English passengers say “thank you” rather than the driver. In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things. After all, squeezing past others is sometimes unavoidable, and the bus driver is only doing his job. I used to think the same way, without questioning it, until I started traveling to the British Isles, and here are some more polite ways of interacting (交往) with people in UK.
People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time. When people buy something in a shop, customer and shop assistant in most cases thank each other twice or more. In Germany, it would be exceptional to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation. British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room. English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs, as opposite to Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough.
Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize (批评) others. Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me, my employers emphasized several times but none of their explanations were intended as criticism. It has been my impression that by avoiding criticism, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable. This also is showed in other ways. British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat women to a meal than German men. However, I do need to point out here that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men! Yes, the latter are a bit tightfisted.
【小题1】What is the author’s attitude towards English politeness?
| A．He thinks it is unnecessary. | B．He thinks little of it. |
| C．He appreciates it very much. | D．He thinks it goes too far. |
| A．German men never treat a woman to dinner. |
| B．The author think it’s unnecessary to say “thank you” to the bus driver. |
| C．In Germany, employers often say “thank you” to employees for their job. |
| D．Germans think it is unnecessary to thank workers because payment is enough. |
| A．like to fight with each other |
| B．treat women in a polite way |
| C．are as generous as English men |
| D．are unwilling to spend money for women |
| A．making comparisons | B．telling stories |
| C．giving reasons | D．giving examples |