英语单词大师：Concise & Precise

 AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster: some advice about writing.

RS: For the past 18 years, Jim Allan has run a secretarial center in Los Angeles. He offers typing -- and a lot more. He draws on his background as a corporate¹ lawyer in Canada to teach clients about what he calls being concise² and being precise.

AA: And it all starts with a sheet of lined paper.

JIM ALLAN: Think about each thought that you want to write about, and write down one word to represent that thought. Write one word on the first line, one word on the second line, one word on the third line, so forth³. When you've listed all your thoughts, look at them and see if they're in the order that you want them in. You may have to rewrite the list and put it in a different order.

Having done that, then, expand that single word into one sentence. Now you can take each sentence, you can take sentence number one and you can write more sentences under that, just stick to the idea that's in the first sentence. But by doing what I'm describing, thinking of one word to represent one thought and another word to represent the next thought and so forth, you force the person to think before they write, to put it in a logical order, and of course it's concise.

RS: And to think clearly, is what you're saying here.

JIM ALLAN: Yes, do the thinking before you put the pen on the paper. I've done it with people in my office now and they come back and then they're like a different person, their writing is all of a sudden so clear for me. And I mean this technique benefits clients, it doesn't matter how well-spoken they are or how new they are to the American language.

AA: Well, let me ask you, you tell us you've worked with Hollywood screenwriters, you're there in Los Angeles, and that some of your suggestions have been incorporated in films. I'm curious, have you also worked with television writers, and do you have any thoughts about the skills, or comparing movie and television writers?

JIM ALLAN: I really can't answer that question because although I work with them, it's not my main area. It's not challenging sitting and typing scripts. I mean, I've typed scripts for movies, for television.

I have to say one of the most exciting things that I did in the office at one point was -- it's wasn't a script really, but it was an outline for a movie. And it was somebody that had infiltrated⁴ the drug trade in Florida and actually was working with Drug Enforcement and so forth. At the time I had people in my office working on other things, and it ended up they were all around the monitor of my computer and watching the words as I transcribed⁵ them, and they were showing on the screen. It was just very exciting.

AA: Did it turn out into a big movie?

JIM ALLAN: I don't know. This often happens. People come in to me with material or problems and I do my part and it goes on from there.

AA: You know, you sound like a Hollywood movie waiting to happen or a TV show or something.

JIM ALLAN: I've had two producers tell me separately, independently, that they could do a sitcom⁶ on my office.

AA: A situation comedy!

JIM ALLAN: I mean, my work is with university professors, with business management people. I have two clients that are involved in oil. I mean, you know, the hot spot of the world now is Dubai, which of course is getting some news. And I mean I'm dealing⁷ with Dubai all the time on behalf of my clients. Over there the royal family control a lot of the business, so I find myself communicating with the royal family over there.

AA: Jim Allan runs Allan's Secretarial Centers in the Marina del Rey area of Los Angeles.

RS: And that's Wordmaster for this week. Our e-mail address is [email protected], and our segments are all at voanews.com/wordmaster. With Avi Arditti, I'm Rosanne Skirble

1 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

2 concise   

adj.简洁的，简明的

参考例句：

• The explanation in this dictionary is concise and to the point.这部词典里的释义简明扼要。
• I gave a concise answer about this.我对于此事给了一个简要的答复。

3 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 infiltrated   

adj.[医]浸润的v.（使）渗透，（指思想）渗入人的心中( infiltrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The headquarters had been infiltrated by enemy spies. 总部混入了敌方特务。
• Many Chinese idioms have infiltrated into the Japanese language. 许多中国成语浸透到日语中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 transcribed   

（用不同的录音手段）转录( transcribe的过去式和过去分词 )； 改编（乐曲）（以适应他种乐器或声部）； 抄写； 用音标标出（声音）

参考例句：

• He transcribed two paragraphs from the book into his notebook. 他把书中的两段抄在笔记本上。
• Every telephone conversation will be recorded and transcribed. 所有电话交谈都将被录音并作全文转写。

6 sitcom   

n.情景喜剧，（广播、电视的）系列幽默剧

参考例句：

• This sitcom is produced in cooperation with Hong Kong TV.这部连续剧是同香港电视台联合制作的。
• I heard that a new sitcom is coming out next season.我听说下一季会推出一个新的情境喜剧。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。