Professor Raleigh once stated: "There are no synonyms, and the same statement can never be repeated in a changed form of words." This perhaps too absolute, but it is not easy to disprove. Even a slight alteration in the wording of a statement can subtly shift the meaning. Look at these two sentences:
(1) In my childhood I loved to watch trains go by.
(2) When I was a child I loved watching trains go by.
At first glance these two sentences are exactly the same. But look more closely and you will see that there are very tiny differences. In my childhood is a shade more abstract than when i was a child. Watching perhaps emphasizes the looking at a train a little more than to watch. This a very subtle example, and it would be possible to argue about it, but everyone would at once agree that there is a marked difference between the next two statements:
(1) He died poor.
(2) He expired in indigent circumstances.
In one sense expired is a synonym for died and in indigent circumstances for poor, but when the whole statement is considered, we cannot maintained that the two are the same. The change in words is change in style, and the effect on the reader is quite different. It is perhaps easier to be a good craftsman with wood and nails than a good craftsman with words, but all of us can increase our skill and sensitivity with a little effort and patience, in this way we shall not only improve our writing, but also our reading....
译文:拉雷教授曾这样阐述:”世无同义词。更动的词汇爵替换不出一个相同的表述。”此言或过于绝对,但驳之亦不易。即使是一处不显眼的变更,也会使句意有微妙变化。请看这两句”
1)我童年时喜欢去看火车经过。
2)当我还是个孩子,我喜欢看着火车开过。
一眼撇去,两者似乎并无一二,但审读后便能体味其中的细微差别。“”在我童年时“比”当我还是个孩子“稍显抽象,”看着“也比”去看“略加强调看的动态过程。这个范例区别不甚明显,也许还会有人质疑。但对下面两例区别显眼的句子,各位定会立即产生同感:
1)他死的很穷。
2)他在贫困潦倒中辞世。
某一层面,辞世与死掉、穷困潦倒和贫穷是一回事,但通观全文,我们就不能还说二者一致了。这类词汇更替毫不扎眼,给予读者的感受却迥然不同。或许做一个握锤敲钉的木艺大师还比成就一名操刀执笔的文学巨匠要容易几分。但无一例外,我们可通过少许的努力和耐心提升这门技艺,这份敏感。因此,文笔练习定要加强,阅读训练也必不可少。