新概念英語（第二版第四冊）新概念英語Lesson 48
新概念英語Lesson 48 What Every Writer Wants
作家所欲
I have known very few writers, but those I have known, and whom I respected, confess at once that
they have little idea where they arc going when they first set pen to paper. They have a character,
perhaps two, they are in that condition of eager discomfort which passes for inspiration, all admit
radical changes of destination once the journey has begun; one, to my certain knowledge, spent nine
months on a novel about Kashmir, then reset the whole thing in the Scottish Highlands. I never
heard of anyone making a 'skeleton', as we were taught at school. In the breaking and remaking, in
the timing, interweaving, beginning afresh, the writer comes to discern things in his material which
were not consciously in his mind when he began. This organic process, often leading to moments of
extraordinary self-discovery, is of an indescribable fascination. A blurred image appears, he adds a
brushstroke and another, and it is gone; but something was there, and he will not rest till he has
captured it. Sometimes the yeast within a writer outlives a book he has written. I have heard of
writers who read nothing but their own books, like adolescents they stand before the mirror, and still
cannot fathom the exact outline of the vision before them. For the same reason, writers talk
interminably about their own books, winkling out hidden meanings, super-imposing new
ones,begging response from those around them. Of course a writer doing this is misunderstood: he
might as well try to explain a crime or a love affair. He is also, incidentally, an unforgivable bore.
This temptation to cover the distance between himself and the reader, to study his image in the sight
of those who do not know him, can be his undoing: he has begun to write to please.
A young English writer made the pertinent observation a year or two back that the talent goes into
the first draft, and the art into the drafts that follow. For this reason also the writer, like any other
artist, has no resting place, no crowd or movement in which he may take comfort, no judgment from
outside which can replace the judgment from within. A writer makes order out of the anarchy of his
heart; he submits himself to a more ruthless discipline than any critic dreamed of, and when he
flirsts with fame, he is taking time off from living with himself, from the search for what his world
contains at its inmost point.
New words and expressions 生詞短語
confess 承認(rèn)confess one’s guilt 承認(rèn)罪行 confess that I am guilty (也可跟從句)
表示“承認(rèn)”的詞還有：admit, acknowledge, confined
confess 與它們的區(qū)別在于：confess 是宗教詞匯（懺悔）
inspiration 靈感inspire 激發(fā)brain wave 腦波sunden inspiration 靈機(jī)一動
radical 根本的也有“激進(jìn)”之意
（同）primary 根本，fundamental 基本，essential 根本
interweave 交織inter 相互weave 編
新概念英語（第二版第四冊）新概念英語Lesson 48
weave a story 編故事Weaving Maid 織女He weaves a lie.撒謊
afresh 重新=again
fresh student 新生fresh water 淡水資源I am fresh here.
discern 辯明，領(lǐng)悟——長期的考證，敏銳的目光（強(qiáng)調(diào) result）
(同)observe——（科學(xué)上）長期、敏銳考證（強(qiáng)調(diào) process）
detect——偵察，偵探
spot——猛然發(fā)現(xiàn)（suddenly） I spotted an old friend of mine.
indescribable 無法描述的beyond description
utter 表述unutterable 非言語所能表達(dá)的
express 表達(dá)expressible 能表達(dá)的inexpressible 難以形容的
blur 使……模糊不清Tears blur my eyes.淚水模糊了雙眼。 blur with 由于……而看不清
befog——由于霧看不清blot——墨水弄污stain——由于污漬而弄得不美觀
yeast 激動來源：酵母，發(fā)酵粉
I am yeasty.我有點(diǎn)激動。yeasty talk 空洞的，一派胡言
fathom 領(lǐng)悟，徹底了解fathomless 無法計量，無法了解的fathomable 能夠了解的
原意：測量（水）深的手段go to the bottom of sth.研究with plumb 研究
comprehend 理解penetrate 深入，探索
interminably 沒完沒了地terminable 可終止的，有期限的（有完有了：）
a terminal（汽車）終點(diǎn)
（同）unbounded 無邊的，limitless 無限的，無界限的，never ending 無限的
cease 停止ceaselessly
winkle 挖掘（向外挖）dig（向下）挖
易混：wrinkle 皺紋
super impose 添上，加上impose 強(qiáng)加He is very imposing.他很威嚴(yán)。
Imposing building 宏偉的樓
love affairs 戀愛
incidentally 順便說一下（同）by the way; in passing
in the sight of 以某人觀點(diǎn)=in the eye of
He is in sight.他出現(xiàn)了。Out of sight
Out of sight,out of mind.眼不見，心不煩。
undoing 禍根undo 解開ruin 毀壞
The scandal undoes his fame.丑聞把他的名聲壞了。=The scandal is the undoing of his bad
fame.
smoking undoes my health.
pertinent 中肯的pertinent suggestion/proposition 合理建議
（同）apposite 適當(dāng)?shù)模瑂uitable 合適的，applicable 可用的
be pertinent to sth.和……有關(guān) =be relative to
flirt 調(diào)情flirt with sb.不認(rèn)真對待某人。flirtatious 玩世不恭的，輕浮的
inmost 內(nèi)心深處的=at the bottom of one’s heart
at the inmost point
Notes on the text 課文注釋
…those I have known, and (whom)I respect…這里 whom 可省略，但加上表示強(qiáng)調(diào)（為數(shù)少）
set pen to paper 訴諸筆端，也可以用 apply pen to paper = write
pass for (= be regarded as)被當(dāng)作，被認(rèn)為
a train/line of thought 思路
- 129 –
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新概念英語（第二版第四冊）新概念英語Lesson 48
pick me up 提神
destination 目的地
journey 旅途（跋山涉水地）（創(chuàng)作的歷程）；
而 trip 游山玩水地
to my (certain) knowledge = as I know
set 設(shè)置
heard of 聽說
skeleton 骷髏；提綱 =outline
breaking 打破 =drop
remaking 重新構(gòu)想
timing 時間的轉(zhuǎn)換
interweaving 交織
come to 逐步的
organic 有機(jī)的（flexible）
self-discovery 自我發(fā)現(xiàn)（對自己人性的解
刨）
reflection 思索
psychology 心理學(xué)
be of 結(jié)構(gòu)，表示一種狀態(tài)
It is interesting. = It is of interest.
revise 修改（談到寫作）
rethinking
reset 重新設(shè)置
out- 超
outnumber 數(shù)目超過，比……多； outwit
比……聰明
total immersion 完全沉浸其間（作家高境
界）
narcissist 自我陶醉者，自戀狂
narcissus 水仙花
winkling out 發(fā)掘出
might as well ( = have reason, is reasonable)
He might as well be proud of son.
bore 令人討厭的人
black look 遭人白眼
cover the distance 彌補(bǔ)之間的距離（= cater
for）
pertinent 中肯的
a year or two back = a year or two years ago
talent 智慧
draft 草稿
like any other 表示單數(shù)“任何一個”
make order 調(diào)理程序
submit to 屈服、容忍 =bear
discipline 紀(jì)律
critic 批評家
a blurred image appears 突然出現(xiàn)了一個模糊
的影子
image = figure
brushstroke 繪畫的技巧
not until 直到……才
condensed thinking 濃縮的思想
when he flirts with fame 當(dāng)他不太考慮名譽(yù)
問題的時候
take time off 休息
from living with himself 不再探索內(nèi)心的感
受
at its inmost point 在內(nèi)心深處
outlive
( = live longer than)超出……，活得比……長
新概念英語Lesson 48 What Every Writer Wants
作家所欲
I have known very few writers, but those I have known, and whom I respected, confess at once that
they have little idea where they arc going when they first set pen to paper. They have a character,
perhaps two, they are in that condition of eager discomfort which passes for inspiration, all admit
radical changes of destination once the journey has begun; one, to my certain knowledge, spent nine
months on a novel about Kashmir, then reset the whole thing in the Scottish Highlands. I never
heard of anyone making a 'skeleton', as we were taught at school. In the breaking and remaking, in
the timing, interweaving, beginning afresh, the writer comes to discern things in his material which
were not consciously in his mind when he began. This organic process, often leading to moments of
extraordinary self-discovery, is of an indescribable fascination. A blurred image appears, he adds a
brushstroke and another, and it is gone; but something was there, and he will not rest till he has
captured it. Sometimes the yeast within a writer outlives a book he has written. I have heard of
writers who read nothing but their own books, like adolescents they stand before the mirror, and still
cannot fathom the exact outline of the vision before them. For the same reason, writers talk
interminably about their own books, winkling out hidden meanings, super-imposing new
ones,begging response from those around them. Of course a writer doing this is misunderstood: he
might as well try to explain a crime or a love affair. He is also, incidentally, an unforgivable bore.
This temptation to cover the distance between himself and the reader, to study his image in the sight
of those who do not know him, can be his undoing: he has begun to write to please.
A young English writer made the pertinent observation a year or two back that the talent goes into
the first draft, and the art into the drafts that follow. For this reason also the writer, like any other
artist, has no resting place, no crowd or movement in which he may take comfort, no judgment from
outside which can replace the judgment from within. A writer makes order out of the anarchy of his
heart; he submits himself to a more ruthless discipline than any critic dreamed of, and when he
flirsts with fame, he is taking time off from living with himself, from the search for what his world
contains at its inmost point.
New words and expressions 生詞短語
confess 承認(rèn)confess one’s guilt 承認(rèn)罪行 confess that I am guilty (也可跟從句)
表示“承認(rèn)”的詞還有：admit, acknowledge, confined
confess 與它們的區(qū)別在于：confess 是宗教詞匯（懺悔）
inspiration 靈感inspire 激發(fā)brain wave 腦波sunden inspiration 靈機(jī)一動
radical 根本的也有“激進(jìn)”之意
（同）primary 根本，fundamental 基本，essential 根本
interweave 交織inter 相互weave 編
新概念英語（第二版第四冊）新概念英語Lesson 48
weave a story 編故事Weaving Maid 織女He weaves a lie.撒謊
afresh 重新=again
fresh student 新生fresh water 淡水資源I am fresh here.
discern 辯明，領(lǐng)悟——長期的考證，敏銳的目光（強(qiáng)調(diào) result）
(同)observe——（科學(xué)上）長期、敏銳考證（強(qiáng)調(diào) process）
detect——偵察，偵探
spot——猛然發(fā)現(xiàn)（suddenly） I spotted an old friend of mine.
indescribable 無法描述的beyond description
utter 表述unutterable 非言語所能表達(dá)的
express 表達(dá)expressible 能表達(dá)的inexpressible 難以形容的
blur 使……模糊不清Tears blur my eyes.淚水模糊了雙眼。 blur with 由于……而看不清
befog——由于霧看不清blot——墨水弄污stain——由于污漬而弄得不美觀
yeast 激動來源：酵母，發(fā)酵粉
I am yeasty.我有點(diǎn)激動。yeasty talk 空洞的，一派胡言
fathom 領(lǐng)悟，徹底了解fathomless 無法計量，無法了解的fathomable 能夠了解的
原意：測量（水）深的手段go to the bottom of sth.研究with plumb 研究
comprehend 理解penetrate 深入，探索
interminably 沒完沒了地terminable 可終止的，有期限的（有完有了：）
a terminal（汽車）終點(diǎn)
（同）unbounded 無邊的，limitless 無限的，無界限的，never ending 無限的
cease 停止ceaselessly
winkle 挖掘（向外挖）dig（向下）挖
易混：wrinkle 皺紋
super impose 添上，加上impose 強(qiáng)加He is very imposing.他很威嚴(yán)。
Imposing building 宏偉的樓
love affairs 戀愛
incidentally 順便說一下（同）by the way; in passing
in the sight of 以某人觀點(diǎn)=in the eye of
He is in sight.他出現(xiàn)了。Out of sight
Out of sight,out of mind.眼不見，心不煩。
undoing 禍根undo 解開ruin 毀壞
The scandal undoes his fame.丑聞把他的名聲壞了。=The scandal is the undoing of his bad
fame.
smoking undoes my health.
pertinent 中肯的pertinent suggestion/proposition 合理建議
（同）apposite 適當(dāng)?shù)模瑂uitable 合適的，applicable 可用的
be pertinent to sth.和……有關(guān) =be relative to
flirt 調(diào)情flirt with sb.不認(rèn)真對待某人。flirtatious 玩世不恭的，輕浮的
inmost 內(nèi)心深處的=at the bottom of one’s heart
at the inmost point
Notes on the text 課文注釋
…those I have known, and (whom)I respect…這里 whom 可省略，但加上表示強(qiáng)調(diào)（為數(shù)少）
set pen to paper 訴諸筆端，也可以用 apply pen to paper = write
pass for (= be regarded as)被當(dāng)作，被認(rèn)為
a train/line of thought 思路
- 129 –
文字錄入：dale76 整理發(fā)布：kaiziliu
新概念英語（第二版第四冊）新概念英語Lesson 48
pick me up 提神
destination 目的地
journey 旅途（跋山涉水地）（創(chuàng)作的歷程）；
而 trip 游山玩水地
to my (certain) knowledge = as I know
set 設(shè)置
heard of 聽說
skeleton 骷髏；提綱 =outline
breaking 打破 =drop
remaking 重新構(gòu)想
timing 時間的轉(zhuǎn)換
interweaving 交織
come to 逐步的
organic 有機(jī)的（flexible）
self-discovery 自我發(fā)現(xiàn)（對自己人性的解
刨）
reflection 思索
psychology 心理學(xué)
be of 結(jié)構(gòu)，表示一種狀態(tài)
It is interesting. = It is of interest.
revise 修改（談到寫作）
rethinking
reset 重新設(shè)置
out- 超
outnumber 數(shù)目超過，比……多； outwit
比……聰明
total immersion 完全沉浸其間（作家高境
界）
narcissist 自我陶醉者，自戀狂
narcissus 水仙花
winkling out 發(fā)掘出
might as well ( = have reason, is reasonable)
He might as well be proud of son.
bore 令人討厭的人
black look 遭人白眼
cover the distance 彌補(bǔ)之間的距離（= cater
for）
pertinent 中肯的
a year or two back = a year or two years ago
talent 智慧
draft 草稿
like any other 表示單數(shù)“任何一個”
make order 調(diào)理程序
submit to 屈服、容忍 =bear
discipline 紀(jì)律
critic 批評家
a blurred image appears 突然出現(xiàn)了一個模糊
的影子
image = figure
brushstroke 繪畫的技巧
not until 直到……才
condensed thinking 濃縮的思想
when he flirts with fame 當(dāng)他不太考慮名譽(yù)
問題的時候
take time off 休息
from living with himself 不再探索內(nèi)心的感
受
at its inmost point 在內(nèi)心深處
outlive
( = live longer than)超出……，活得比……長