unit10thetransaction课文翻译综合教程三

Unit10TheTransactionWilliamZinsserAbouttenyearsagoaschoolinConnecticutheld“adaydevotedtothearts,〞andIwasaskedifIwouldcomeandtalkaboutwritingasavocation.WhenIarrivedIfoundthatasecondspeakerhadbeeninvited—Dr.Brock(asI’llcallhim),asurgeonwhohadrecentlybeguntowriteandhadsoldsomestoriestonationalmagazines.Hewasgoingtotalkaboutwritingasanavocation.Thatmadeusapanel,andwesatdowntofaceacrowdofstudentnewspapereditors,Englishteachersandparents,alleagertolearnthesecretsofourglamorouswork.Dr.Brockwasdressedinabrightredjacket,lookingvaguelybohemian,asauthorsaresupposedtolook,andthefirstquestionwenttohim.Whatwasitliketobeawriter?Hesaiditwastremendousfun.Cominghomefromanarduousdayatthehospital,hewouldgostraighttohisyellowpadandwritehistensionsaway.Thewordsjustflowed.Itwaseasy.Ithensaidthatwritingwasn’teasyanditwasn’tf un.Itwashardandlonely,andthewordsseldomjustflowed.NextDr.Brockwasaskedifitwasimportanttorewrite.“Absolutelynot,〞hesaid.“Letitallhangout,andwhateverformthesentencestakewillreflectthewriterathismostnatural.〞Ithensaidthatrewritingistheessenceofwriting.Ipointedoutthatprofessionalwritersrewritetheirsentencesrepeatedlyandthenrewritewhattheyhaverewritten.ImentionedthatE.B.WhiteandJamesThurberrewrotetheirpieceseightorninetimes.“Whatdoyoudoondayswhenitisn’tgoingwell?〞Dr.Brockwasasked.Hesaidhejuststoppedwritingandputtheworkasideforadaywhenitwouldgobetter.Ithensaidthattheprofessionalwritermustestablishadailyscheduleandsticktoit.Isaidthatwritingisacraft,notanart,andthatthemanwhorunsawayfromhiscraftbecausehelacksinspirationisfoolinghimself.Heisalsogoingbroke.“Whatifyou’refeelingdepressedorunhappy?〞astudentasked.“Won’tthataffectyourwriting?〞Probablyitwill,Dr.Brockreplied.Gofishing.Takeawalk.Probablyitwon’t,Isaid.Ifyourjobistowriteeveryday,youlearntodoitlikeanyotherjob.Astudentaskedifwefounditusefultocirculateintheliteraryworld.Dr.Brocksaidthathewasgreatlyenjoyinghisnewlifeasamanofletters,andhetoldseveralstoriesofbeingtakentolunchbyhispublisherandhisagentatchicManhattanrestaurantswherewritersandeditorsgather.Isaidthatprofessionalwritersaresolitarydrudgeswhoseldomseeotherwriters.“Doyouputsymbolisminyour〞astudentaskedme.“NotifIcanhelpit,〞Ireplied.Ihaveanunbrokenrecordofmissingthedeepermeaninginanystory,playormovie,andasfordanceandmime,Ihaveneverhadevenaremotenotionofwhatisbeingconveyed.“Ilovesymbols!〞Dr.Brockexclaimed,andhedescribedwithgustothejoysofweavingthemthroughhiswork.Sothemorningwent,anditwasarevelationtoallofus.AttheendDr.Brocktoldmehewasenormouslyinterestedinmyanswers—ithadneveroccurredtohimthatwritingcouldbehard.ItoldhimIwasjustasinterestedin hisanswers—ithadneveroccurredtomethatwritingcouldbeeasy.(MaybeIshouldtakeupsurgeryontheside.)Asforthestudents,anyonemightthinkweleftthembewildered.Butinfactweprobablygavethemabroaderglimpseofthewritingprocessthanifonlyoneofushadtalked.Forofcoursethereisn’tany“right〞waytodosuchintenselypersonalwork.Thereareallkindsofwritersandallkindsofmethods,andanymethodthathelpspeopletosaywhattheywanttosayistherightmethodforthem.Somepeoplewritebyday,othersbynight.Somepeopleneedsilence,othersturnontheradio.Somewritebyhand,somebytypewriterorwordprocessor,somebytalkingintoataperecorder.Somepeoplewritetheirfirstdraftinonelongburstandthenrevise;otherscan’twritetheseconduntiltheyhavefiddledendlesslywiththefirst.Butallofthemarevulnerableandallofthemaretense.Theyaredrivenbyacompulsiontoputsomepartofthemselvesonpaper,andyettheydon’tjustwritewhatcomesnaturally.Theysitdowntocommitanactofliterature,andtheselfwhoemergesonpaperisafarstifferpersonthantheonewhosatdown.Theproblemistofindtherealmanorwomanbehindallthetension.Forultimatelytheproductthatanywriterhastosellisnotthesubjectbeingwrittenabout,butwhoheorsheis.IoftenfindmyselfreadingwithinterestaboutatopicIneverthoughtwouldinterestme—someunusualscientificquest,forinstance.Whatholdsmeistheenthusiasmofthewriterforhisfield.Howwashedrawnintoit?Whatemotionalbaggagedidhebringalong?Howdiditchangehislife?It’snotnecessarytowanttospendayearaloneatWaldenPondtobecomedeeplyinvolvedwithawriterwhodid.Thisisthepersonaltransactionthat’sattheheartofgoodnonfictionwriting.Outofitcometwoofthemostimportantqualitiesthatthisbookwillgoinsearchof:humanityandwarmth.Goodwritinghasanalivenessthatkeepsthereaderreadingfromoneparagraphtothenext,andit’snotaquestion ofgimmicksto“personalize〞theauthor.It’saquestionofusingtheEnglishlanguageinawaythatwillachievethegreateststrengthandtheleastclutter.Cansuchprinciplesbetaught?Maybenot.Butmostofthemcanbelearned.汇通威廉·津瑟“艺术日〞活动，他们问我是否愿意去谈谈职业写作是怎么回事。到那儿以后我发现他们请了另外一名演讲者——布罗克医生(我这么称呼他)。他是外科医生，最近才开始写作，已经在全国性的杂志上发表了一些作品。他密。一个问题是提给他的。