Demonstration of Domestication

我们的身边究竟是何时出现了这个会变脸的人，现在去考证已经没什么意义了。她姓何，叫何雨，是前年从外地的一所大学分来的。刚来的时候他很正常，只是长得不好看，有点苦相。说起来他的五官一无特点，既非獐头鼠目，又不是浓眉大眼，总之，十分平常，不幸的是这些部件一起搭配在他的脸上，就显得颇为愁苦；而且他不太会来事儿，成天灰着一张脸，不讨喜欢——我们见过不少这样的人，不是么？他是庸常人群中的一个，只不过看上去很阴郁，一副心思重重的模样。作为一个很平常的人，何雨分到我们单位后做的是最平常的工作，没有谁需要去巴结他，当然也就没有多少人会去注意他。我们相信，他的变脸技术是在到我们单位后的某一天才突然掌握的（也许是长期练习，突然领悟？），因为你很难设想，一个早就具备了某种绝技的人能够一直不露声色。总之有一天我们突然发现，我们身边出现了一个会变脸的人，这着实令我们感到无比兴奋。

When did we have such a person who can change his countenance so easily?  Well it is no longer worthwhile to look into this..  His name is He Yu.  He Yu graduated from a university in another city and was assigned to our unit two years ago.  Other than his not so appealing appearance and rather agonized look, there was nothing abnormal about him at the beginning.  To be specific, his facial features are not distinctive; he does not have big ears like Dumbo, or gorgeous eyes like Prince Charming.  In short, he is neither awful nor good looking –– absolutely ordinary.  Unfortunately, when these features are pieced together on his face, it made him looked rather depressed.  Moreover he did not know how to get along with others, preferring to wear a moody look most of the time, which really put people off.

We have seen many of such people, haven’t we?  In a crowd of mediocre individuals, he is just one of them; the only difference is he had a glum face, as if he was deeply troubled.  As a very normal person, He Yu was doing  the most normal task, which does not give anyone a reason to suck up to him; so it was only natural that not many people noticed him.  We believe that he had suddenly gained the skills to change his countenance, one fine day after joining our department.  Or perhaps he grasped it all of a sudden through long term practice?  For it is hard to imagine, that a person who has a certain unique ability can choose to hide it.  Anyway, this sudden discovery about having someone among us who can change his countenance –– had really made us felt immensely excited.

Translated by Evy, edited by Dr Yang Liping

How to Write Perfectly 《如何写得完美》

I have read many books on English prose, but have found it hard to profit by them; for the most part they are vague, unduly theoretical, and often scolding. But you cannot say this of Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage. It is a valuable work. Fowler liked simplicity, straightforwardness and common sense.

He had a sound feeling that idiom was the backbone of a language and he was all for the racy phrase. He was no slavish admirer of logic and was willing enough to give usage right of way through the exact demesnes of grammar. English grammar is very difficult and few writers have avoided making mistakes in it. It is necessary to know grammar, and it is better to write grammatically than not, but it is well to remember that grammar is common speech formulated. Usage is the only test. I would prefer a phrase that was easy and unaffected to a phrase that was grammatical. I have given the matter of style a great deal of thought and have taken great pains. I have written few pages that I feel I could not improve and far too many that I have left with dissatisfaction. I cannot say of myself what Johnson said of Pope: “He never passed a fault unamended by indifference, nor quitted it by despair.” I do not write as I want to; I write as I can.

Anything is better than not to write clearly. There is nothing to be said against lucidity, and against simplicity only the possibility of dryness. This is a risk that is well worth taking when you reflect how much better it is to be bald than to wear a curly wig. But there is in euphony a danger that must be considered. It is very likely to be monotonous. I do not know how one can guard against this. I suppose the best chance is to have a more lively faculty of boredom than one’s readers so that one is wearied before they are. One must always be on the watch for mannerisms and when certain cadences come too easily to the pen ask oneself whether they have not become mechanical.

W. S. Maugham (1874-1965):

“How to Write Perfectly”

 

我读过许多英文散文书籍，但总觉得很难从中受益，因为大多数的作品既模糊不清、又过分理论、甚至骂人。但福乐的《现代英语用法字典》没犯这类毛病。它是一部宝典。福乐偏爱使用简洁的文字、直截了当的表达，也喜欢运用普通常识。

福乐深信惯用语是语文的骨干，并支持运用生动活泼的词句。他不一味盲从追求逻辑理论，选择在不违反英文语法下，使用惯用语。英文语法颇难，少数作家能完全无误。认识语法是必要的，写作时注意语法比其他都来得重要，同时紧记语法是由惯用语合成的。地道的文字就是合乎语法。易懂词句，语法严谨，我个人欣赏前者。约翰森赞波普：“他坚持修改错误，从不会觉得气馁”，这点我可做不到。我只是不写我所欲写；我写我所能写。

什么都比写的不清不楚好吧。没有人会说文思明朗的不是，也不会只可能造成枯燥无味而批评用字简单。这可是个值得冒险的写作手法，犹如宁愿秃着头，总好过勉强戴一头不适合的卷假发。不过，还是要考虑到沉迷悦耳词藻的危险性，这很可能会造成千篇一律的单调感。这点，我可不晓得能怎样避免。我认为，最好的方法是把自己训练得比读者更容易感到沉闷，比读者先察觉文章的乏味，写出来的东西，也会更活泼生动。注意文字言行，是必要的，还有当下笔时，某些音韵来得太快，先思想这些文字是否太呆板。

W.S. 毛姆（1874－1965）《如何写得完美》

紫彬译，克勤校对