英语名篇名段背诵精华23 The study of words

the study of words

That if your vocabulary is limited your chances of success are limited.

That one of the easiest and quickest ways to get ahead is by consciously building up your knowledge of words.

The the vocabulary of the average person almost stops growing by the middle twenties.And that from then on it is necessary to have an intelligent plan if progress is to be made.No haphazard¹ hit-or-miss methods will do.

The study of words is not merely something that has to do with literature.Words are your tools of thought.You can't even think at all without them.Try it.If you are planning to go downtown thin afternoon you will find that you are saying to yourself,"I think i will go downtown this afternoon."You can't make such a simple decision as this without using words.

Without words you could make no decisions and from no judgements whatsoever².A pianist may have the most beautiful tunes³ in his head,but if he had only five keys on his piano he would never get more than a fraction⁴ of these tunes out.

The study of words is not only to improve the processes of your mind.It will give you assurance;build your self-confidence;lend color to your personality;increase your popularity⁵.Your words are your personality.Your vocabulary is you.And your words are all that we,your friends,have to know and judge you by.You have no other medium for telling us your thoughts-for convincing us,persuading us,giving us orders.

1 haphazard   

adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的

参考例句：

• The town grew in a haphazard way.这城镇无计划地随意发展。
• He regrerted his haphazard remarks.他悔不该随口说出那些评论话。

2 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

3 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 fraction   

n.小部分，碎片；一点，一些；分数

参考例句：

• The car missed me by a fraction of an inch.那车子差一点儿就要撞到我了。
• The cost is only a fraction of his salary.那项费用不过是他薪水的一小部分。

5 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。