英文写作如何“高大上”？先避免使用这18个单词！

　　A perfectly constructed world is flat on the page if you use feeble,common words. When you’re finished constructing your perfectly balanced world,do your writing a favor and take another pass to weed out these 18 haggardwords.

　　Good

　　虽然是英文中使用频率最高的形容词之一，Good却处处透露出作者敷衍的态度，为了证明你是真心叫“好”，请换一个词吧，比如superb(华丽的，出神入化的)，或outstanding(杰出的，不同凡响的)都是不错的选择。当然，如果你能把“好”的方面说的更具体，动之以细节，晓之以事例，那真真是极好的!

　　High on any list of most used English words is “good.” While this wordmay appear to be the perfect adjective for nearly anything that is preciselywhat makes it so vague. Try getting more specific. If something’s going well,try “superb,” “outstanding” or “exceptional.”

　　New

　　New虽然表示“新”，却用起来很—过—时。试试latest(最新的)，recent(最近)，也许会有不错的效果~

　　Another of the common words in English is “new.” “New” is an adjectivethat doesn’t always set off alarm bells, so it can be easy to forget about.Give your writing more punch by ditching “new” and using something like“latest” or “recent” instead.

　　Long

　　New没有“新意”，long也很难在读者脑海中留下“长久”的记忆，因为你根本不知道long有多长，是像extend一样“延续”，像lingering一样“久久不去”，还是像endless一样“无穷无尽”?

　　Much like “new,” “long” is spent, yet it doesn’t always register as suchwhile you’re writing. Instead of this cliché phrase, try describing exactly howlong it is: “extended,” “lingering” or “endless,” for example.

　　Old

　　同样让人无力的还有old，想要形容“古老”的小伙伴们不妨用ancient，而形容“衰老、衰落”，用decaying和decrepit也会让读者眼前一亮。

　　“Old” is certainly one of those common words that means more to readersif you’re specific about how old a subject is. Is it “ancient,” “fossilized,”“decaying” or “decrepit”?

　　Right

　　你以为用“right”就用对了么?它正是你形容“正确”的绊脚石。用exactly/preciselycorrect来肯定那些你认为完全正确的人吧，他们一定会更开心哒!

　　“Right” is also among the common words that tends to slip through ourwriter filters. If somebody is correct, you could also say “exact” or“precise.” Don’t let habit words like “right” dampen your writing.

　　Different

　　既然要说“与众不同”，不妨拿出你的态度：到底是“诡异的”(odd)、“罕见的”(uncommon)，还是“带有异国风情的”(exotic)、“引人注目的”(striking)?

　　Here’s another adjective that falls a bit flat for readers, but can alsoeasily be improved by getting more specific. Saying something is “odd” or“uncommon” is very different than saying it is “exotic” or “striking.”

　　Small

　　说起“小”，除了用small到底，你还是有很多选择滴。比如，只有显微镜才能看到的microscopic,“缩影”般的miniature，“迷你”的tiny，如果你还想让自己的文章更生动，那就用cramped和compact来形容空间“狭窄、紧凑”。

　　“Small” is another adjective that is too generic for writing as good asyours. Use “microscopic,” “miniature” or “tiny” instead. Even using “cramped”or “compact” is more descriptive for your audience.

　　Large

　　换掉small之后，large…也就一并换了吧，“大量的”(substantial)，“无边无际的”(immense)，“规模大的”(massive)，“巨大的”(enormous)，总有一款适合你!

　　Just like relying too much on “small,” we tend to describe large thingsas, well, “large.” Specificity is a big help with this one too: could yoursubject be “substantial,” “immense,” “enormous” or “massive”?

　　Next

　　写作时总用next，就像讲话时“然后”说不停一样，都是召唤瞌睡虫的利器，“接下来”(upcoming)，“随后”(following)也能帮你顺利进入下文。

　　Whenever we describe something coming “next,” we run the risk of losingour readers. Good options to make your reading more powerful include“upcoming,” “following” or “closer.”

　　Young

　　年轻，既可以是“朝气蓬勃”(youthful)，也能是“含苞待放”(budding)，当然，说不定其实是“幼稚天真”(naïve)，所以，只用一个young怎么够?

　　Another case of being too generic is what makes “young” a problematicadjective. If you want your writing to be more captivating, try switching“young” out for “youthful,” “naive” or “budding.”

　　Never

　　用词表太绝对，比如never就是一个容易被挑刺儿的词。作为一个谨慎的作者，rarely, scarcely，occasionally都是表达极小概率的词，可放心使用!

　　“Never” is also among common words to use sparingly. Not only is it acommon, stale descriptor, it’s also usually incorrect. For something to neverhappen, even one instance makes this word inaccurate. Try “rarely,” “scarcely”or “occasionally” instead.

　　Things

　　由于指代太宽泛，things的存在感简直可以忽略不计。如果你真的很难说出TA具体的名称，或是想说一类“东西”，换换belongings, property, tools总是好的。

　　“Things” is another repeat offender when it comes to worn out words.Another word where specificity is the key, try replacing “things” with“belongings,” “property” or “tools.”

　　All

　　作为又一个“走极端”的词语，用all的作者大人，你确定过每一种情况了么?想要形容“多”，不妨试试copious!

　　Just like “never,” “all” is an encompassing, absolute term. Not only is“all” unoriginal, it’s not usually factual. Try using “copious” instead.

　　Feel

　　为什么我的文章如此感性?因为你用了太多feel，作为有智慧、有判断力的理性青年，sense或者discern才更适合你~

　　“Feel” is also in the company of common English words. Try using“sense,” or “discern” instead. You can also move your sentence into a moreactive tense: “I feel hungry” could become “I’m famished,” for example.

　　Seem

　　对“It seems that…”情有独钟的小伙伴们，快醒醒吧!表达“看上去……”或是“给人留下……的印象”不只有这一种说法，shows signs of, comes across as都很不一样呢~

　　“Seem” is bad habit word we are all guilty of using. Regardless of howwell you think your sentence is constructed, try switching “seem” out for“shows signs of.” “Comes across as” is another good option to give your writingmore power.

　　Almost

　　Almost也是一个常被读者自动忽略的词，想要更有趣?试试practically, nearly, vergingon!

　　Another easy adjective to let slip by, “almost” is a wasted opportunityto engage your readers. “Almost” is more interesting if you say “practically,”“nearly” or “verging on” instead.

　　Just

　　想要真正抓住读者，只用just怎么够，narrowly, simply,hardly才能显示出你写作的决心!

　　“Just making” it or “just barely” affording something isn’t verydescriptive. To truly grab a reader, we must do better. Try “narrowly,”“simply” or “hardly” to give your phrasing more weight.

　　Go

　　不只是形容词和副词，动词用不好也能让你的文章瞬间失去吸引力。Go就是一个糟糕的选择，因为它的范围太广，根据具体情况，可以用chose(选择), decide on(决定), ramble(漫步)来代替。

　　Last but not least, avoid using the common word “go” to describe yoursubject. “Go” is a word that lacks traction. Try using “chose,” “decide on” or“ramble” to truly grab your readers.

　　这么多的词，有木有一种眼花缭乱的赶脚，那么就让世纪君在最后为大家小结一下。这些应该换掉的词大致可以分为三类：一是含义太宽泛，说了和没说一样，比如small，large, long等，你可以用一些更具体、更生动的词来代替他们;二是较为中性的形容词，他们往往难以表达作者的态度，如different，young等，所以，请大胆的说出你的想法吧!三是极端的词，比如all，never，如果没有百分之百的把握，还是不要轻易使用为妙。