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The Language of Love: How Not to Write a Love Letter 爱的语言:如何不写情书
Saint1 Valentine’s Day falls on February 14. Traditionally, Valentine’s Day is the day when lovers show their feelings for each other. They do that with presents like flowers and chocolate. They go out to dinner and maybe go dancing.
Sometimes, you fall in love so hard that you must, simply must, tell the person in a love letter.
But love is hard to explain. Love is even harder to write about. The idea of sharing your feelings of love in a letter may fill you with fear.
Well, fear not. Take a pen and chose your best paper. In this day of electronic communication, a handwritten letter may win you big points in the game of love.
But if you chose to write a love letter in English, here are a few suggestions on what not to do.
Do not make mistakes. Try your best to not make any spelling or grammar mistakes. Nothing kills romantic feelings more than a lover correcting your letter with red ink.
Do not have a friend write your love letter. The person receiving the letter may fall in love with the real letter writer and forget all about you. And do not use commonly heard expressions or poems, such as “Roses are red, Violets are blue; sugar is sweet and so are you.” Just be yourself.
Do not use general words. Use specific details about the person you are in love with. Write about the time you saw the sun light up her beautiful face as she laughed with a friend. Write about the sparkle2 in his eyes as he fixed3 your bicycle. If she loves a certain song, include the song’s name in the letter. If he is good at a sport, mention that. Writing about these details proves that you are paying attention. And that is very attractive.
Do not write a love letter as if it was for your English class. A love letter is not homework. Also, writing a love letter is not the time to use a new idiom you just learned. It is better to write simple words that are your own than to write new-to-you idioms.
Do not steal song lyrics4. Nothing kills a budding romance5 more than getting caught copying someone else’s words.
Here is a true story.
When I was in high school I had a crush on a boy. He liked me, too, and wrote me a long poem. When he gave it to me in history class, I was sure he could hear my heart beating. I was so nervous. The poem was written on simple notebook paper. It was folded, not once but twice, and had pencil eraser marks all over it. I thought to myself, he must have worked hard on this letter.
Later, I read the letter out loud to my best friend. We swooned reading his intense words of love.
“If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.When mountains crumble6 to the sea, there will still be you and me.”
Then we both paused.“Wait a minute. This sounds familiar,” my friend said. “Aren’t those the lyrics to that song ‘Thank You’ by the rock group Led Zeppelin?’’’
“No, of course not,” I said. “At least…I don’t think so.”One look at the song lyrics proved that this guy had, in fact, copied the lyrics. That was the end of that relationship.
That is not to say that you cannot get motivation from a famous song or love letter.
The British insurance company Beagle Street recently asked 1,000 people to vote on the most romantic letter. A letter by musician Johnny Cash to his wife June Carter Cash won first place.
Some say it is not the most romantic letter ever written. But Johnny and June's long life together was evidence of their strong relationship. They married in 1968 and stayed married until June Carter Cash died in 2003. Johnny Cash died four months later.
Here is his love letter to June:
“We get old and get use to each other. We think alike. We read each other’s minds. We know what the other wants without asking. Sometimes we irritate7 each other a little bit. Maybe sometimes take each other for granted. But once in awhile, like today, I meditate8 on it and realize how lucky I am to share my life with the greatest woman I ever met.” -- Johnny Cash
His letter is simple and heartfelt. That is the best advice when writing a letter to the one you love – write from the heart and keep it real.
Words in This Story
romantic – adj. thinking about love and doing and saying things to show that you love someone
personality – n. the set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving, etc., that makes a person different from other people
sparkle – n. a lively quality
specific – adj. relating to a particular person, situation, etc.
attractive – adj. having a feature or quality that people like
swoon – v. to become very excited about someone or something
lyrics – n. the words of a song
budding – adj. beginning to develop
crush – n. a strong feeling of romantic love for someone that is usually not expressed and does not last a long time
收听单词发音 |
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saint
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| n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒 | |
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sparkle
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| vi.闪，焕发；n.闪光，闪烁，活力 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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lyrics
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| n.歌词 | |
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romance
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| n.恋爱关系，浪漫气氛，爱情小说，传奇 | |
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crumble
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| vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁 | |
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irritate
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| vt.使恼怒，使烦燥，使不适，使疼痛 | |
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meditate
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| v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想 | |
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