好中文

去年，我在Amazon Kindle上订阅了一本很小众的杂志《Poets and Writer’s Magazine》，里面读到一篇关于作家如何养成良好写作习惯的文章，作者叫Ellen Sussman，我觉得她讲得有理，于是对她的作品也发生了兴趣。发现她在2008年曾经编写过一本《Dirty WOrds: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex》。这其实是一本文摘，先把与性有关的单词从A到Z排列，每一个条目下摘引一篇独特的文章。 ...

我对书的痴迷，可以从经常做的一个美梦看出来。我常常梦到在路边书摊或者书店里，遇到打折的好书，精挑细选，摩娑不已，抱起厚厚一摞，依旧恋恋不舍，直到醒来，发现是梦，一天都会怅然若失。 我喜欢买书，却不怎么读书。每年年初，我都做一个读书计划，但事后我发现，没有哪一年的计划真正执行过。 我找出一本十六、七年前的笔记本，那时候，互联网还没有走进我的生活，没有个人主页，也没有博客，所有的表达都记在本子上。我发现了当时的读书计划。 ...

Abandonment 遗弃，在英国指的是16岁以下的少年儿童的父母或监护人放弃对孩子的抚养，且没有交给他人养育。 如果遗弃罪成立，法庭将允许少年儿童被收养，而无需获得其父母或监护人的同意。 …leaving a child under the age of 16 to its fate. Abduction 诱拐罪 违背16岁未婚女孩的父母/监护人的意愿，将其带走的行为。不管有没有与其发生性行为的意图。不知道女孩的年龄不成为辩护理由。 ...

To study economics has never been easy. There are so many jargons, terms, equitions, models, curves and graphs. However, we are lucky to live in a digital age, in which all kinds of learning resource is accessible. I’ve found it could be a better way to study economics through reading the opinion columns of WSJ–the Wall Street Journal. Since Murdock acquired WSJ, the journal has erected a content paywall. Although a few articles are still free of charge, most of them need to pay to access. I subscribed the Kindle version of WSJ with a monthly fee of USD19.00. As a result, I can read the full contents of WSJ on web, kindle and my iPhone. As a Chinese columnist, I pay more attention to my western countparts. To read their articles is the best way to learn the craft of writing. Writing is no more than carpentery. What I need are skill and tools. Talent is not for learning, but still is. That’s where my confidence has come from. ...

The best column article ever written. Nobody Understands Debt by Paul Krugman. Why we need columnists? Once I asked a friend who is a programmer and geek: “Do you read columns in Chinese?” “Seldom do I read these stuff. Though you are a columnist, I have to say, most columnist are cheaters and not worth of a dime. “ His answer really discouraged me. But I think he is right. Many columns published on newspapers and magazines, only few are worth of reading. But in the world of English language, this is not true. Columnists enjoy a large scale readership. Their opinions are not only powerful enough to change the public opinion but also change the policies of government. Mr. Paul Krugman-the Nobel Prize for economics winner, is a good example. His column in the New York Times is so popular that some readers claim that the only reason to subscribe the Times is to read his OP-ED. ...

The best column article ever written. Nobody Understands Debt by Paul Krugman. Why we need columnists? Once I asked a friend who is a programmer and geek: “Do you read columns in Chinese?” “Seldom do I read these stuff. Though you are a columnist, I have to say, most columnist are cheaters and not worth of a dime. " His answer really discouraged me. But I think he is right. Many columns published on newspapers and magazines, only few are worth of reading. But in the world of English language, this is not true. Columnists enjoy a large scale readership. Their opinions are not only powerful enough to change the public opinion but also change the policies of government. Mr. Paul Krugman-the Nobel Prize for economics winner, is a good example. His column in the New York Times is so popular that some readers claim that the only reason to subscribe the Times is to read his OP-ED. ...

我们这一代人，对宏大的事物具有天然的向心力。虽人到中年，俗务繁多，读书渐少，但还是尽量让自己多读恢弘之作，避免把阅读时间浪费在格局太小的书籍上。旧年将去，新年将临，我给自己买了几套大书，预备2012年阅读。这包括KJV版的《圣经》、Stephen Mitchell新翻译的《伊利亚特》。不过，我在岁末读得最过瘾的一本书是熊阿姨推荐给我的《教授与疯子》。 《教授与疯子》是记者Simon Winchester的代表作，记叙了人类历史上最大的一本辞典《牛津大词典》（Oxford English Dictionary，简称OED）的诞生。书中有两个主人公：一个是教授，OED的主编James Murray，一个放牧都教牛拉丁语的语言奇才；一个是疯子，W.C. Minor，参加过美国南北战争的退役军医，被关进精神病院的杀人犯。他们代表了OED创造者的两极，一方是金字塔顶端的灵魂人物，一方是成千上万志愿者。 ...