1. Diction
By 陈烽

2. Levels of Words
The Meaning of Words
General and specific words
Idioms
Dictionary

3. Standard English formal common colloquial
Levels of Words
Standard English
formal
common
colloquial
Non-standard
slang words
dialectal words

4. Formal words (examples in the book)
learned words
words used in encyclopedias, political and legal documents
words used by educated people and scholarly or professional communities
long, difficult

5. Common words (examples in the book)
the word people know from everyday communication
words most often used

6. Colloquial words (examples in the book)
the word used by people in informal conversations
oral
contractions

7. Denotative Connotative
The Meaning of Words
Denotative
Connotative

8. Denotative meaning the meaning you can find in the dictionary
The dictionary gives information about where the word comes from and how to know the difference between the word and other words.

9. Connotative meaning the feeling or idea suggested by the word
the meaning you can know from popular TV shows, movies, music, magazines and website content
not an “exact” meaning—the hearer must look at the context to understand the meaning

10. Politician (denotative)
someone who has power and uses it to do things;
usually a person who has a position in government

11. Politician (Connotative)
someone who likes power and will do wrongful things to gain power (wrongful things like tricks, lies, maneuvers, and pandering);
someone who doesn’t care about what is good, and just tries to get as much power as they can

12. Rock ‘n Roll (denotative)
A kind of music
Started from jazz in the 1950s
Elvis Presley, the Beatles
Guitars, drums, singing
Fast
Started today’s genres like punk, heavy metal, soft rock, hard rock, rockabilly, grunge, etc.

13. Rock ‘n Roll (Connotative)
A way of living
My body is art; my clothes are art; my lifestyle is art; and my music is art.
Express oneself; don’t worry about the results
Parties, drinking, music for pleasure, free love, no worries, avoid responsibility

14. Pessimist (denotative)
someone who views some part of life as unworthy;
Christian pessimism asserts that this world will be destroyed and all of life’s riches and pleasures will disappear; so people had better store up “treasures in heaven” or they will have nothing—a Christian pessimist will avoid success.

15. Pessimist (Connotative)
someone who sees the “bad side” of things;
An optimist sees the glass as ‘half full’; a pessimist sees the glass as ‘half empty’;
someone who has a bad attitude
someone who expects bad things to happen, doesn’t hope for good things, and doesn’t put their faith in goodness

16. Cynic (denotative) The cynical tradition of Ancient Greece
The cynics: a group of people who helped people to question their beliefs and find new truths.
Cynicism: a kind of critical thinking

17. Cynic (Connotative) Someone who thinks people deserve to be cheated.
Someone who thinks that someone who does something good really has bad reason for doing it.
Someone who has no hope or faith.

18. Epicurean (denotative)
A person from a group of people in Ancient Greece who believed that one person should take care of themselves before they serve others
Epicureanism: the belief that people should know their own interests, fulfill those interests, and by doing so benefit society

19. Epicurean (Connotative)
Someone who loves delicious food
Someone who loves pleasure
Someone who greatly fears pain and will do immoral things in order to avoid it

20. No words are exactly the same.
1. Stylistic level: Informal and formal
ask time rise
question age mount
interrogate epoch ascend
2. Emphatic
a big/large city a big/large house
The team has got a huge man over two meters tall.
3. Emotional Coloring
small/ little
4. Tone
modest /humble (laudatory and derogatory)
5. Different Collocations
large amount/number/quantity
great courage/ confidence/ ability/ wisdom

21. General and Specific Words
The more specific, the better.
General and Specific Words
good
nice
The students went out of the classroom.

22. Colorful words and phrases
walk slowly
fall down
poor
hungry
red
eat a lot
weak
stroll
crash
Impoverished
starving
scarlet
debauch
lame
meander
face-plant
destitute
famished
crimson
stuff
feeble

23. Colorful words and phrases
drink
wet
give up
bad smelling
cheat
bad manners
forget
fast
(get) cheated
angry
gulp
soaking
abandon
stinky
pull a fast one
act rude
space
(in) a flash
(get) burned
furious
down guzzle
wringing wet,
water-logged
foul
bamboozle
get surly
have a brain fart
break-neck speed
(get) screwed
boiling with rage

24. Idioms

25. English is rich in idioms.
1. Phrasal verbs
put up with / turn out / look forward to / carry on
2. N+prep. +n.
the apple of one’s eye; like a fish out of water
3. Prep. +n.
on the air; at length
4. V. +n.
Kill two birds with one stone; go to the dogs
5. As…as
as easy as a pie; as poor as a church mouse
6. Sayings
One man’s meat is another man’s poison.
A stitch in time saves nine.

26. Dictionary —Your Lifetime Teachers
How to use a dictionary
Some dictionaries

27. 1. “common”
Common refers to that which is met with most frequently or is shared by all or most individuals in a group, body, etc, and may imply prevalence , usualness, or, in a depreciatory sense , inferiority
a common belief
a common hussy

28. Any synonyms?
General implies connection with all or nearly all of a kind, class, or group and stresses extensiveness
general unrest among the people
Ordinary implies accordance with the regular or customary pattern, stressing commonplaceness and lack of special distinction
an ordinary work day

29. More?
Familiar applies to that which is widely known and readily recognized
a familiar feeling
Popular implies widespread currency , acceptance, or favor among the general public or the common people
a popular song

30. 2. “obstinate”
Stubbornly adhering to an attitude, opinion, or course of action; obdurate.
Difficult to manage, control, or subdue; refractory.
Difficult to alleviate or cure: an obstinate headache.
[Middle English obstinat, from Latin obstin tus, past participle of obstin re, to persist; see st - in Indo-European roots.]
ob sti·nate·ly adv.
ob sti·nate·ness n.

31. Any synonyms?
Stubborn refers to innate, often perverse resoluteness or unyieldingness
She was very stubborn when her mind was made up.
One who is headstrong is stubbornly, often recklessly willful
The headstrong teenager ignored school policy.
Stiff-necked implies stubbornness combined with arrogance or aloofness
The stiff-necked customer blamed the cashier.

32. More?
Bullheaded suggests foolish or irrational obstinacy, and pigheaded, stupid obstinacy
Don't be bullheaded; see a doctor.
Mulish implies the obstinacy and intractability associated with a mule
Obstinate is no word for it, for she is mulish.
Dogged emphasizes stubborn perseverance: dogged persistence;
The dogged strength in him keeps himself from giving up.

33.  3. “but”
But is very frequent used in spoken English , where it is often used at the beginning of a sentence
“I read it in a newspaper .” ” But newspapers aren’t always right!”
But is also used in writing, though not usually at the beginning of a sentence.

34. Any synonyms?
However is used especially in more formal writing , often with commas before and after it in the middle of a sentence
This has been reported in a newspaper . One must remember, however, that newspapers are not always accurate.

35. What can we learn from a dictionary?
cau•tion (ko:shn) n.
warning against danger: by way of ~
attention to safety: with ~
(informal) an alarming or amusing person v.
to warn or reprimand. [from Old French caution.]
The policeman ~ed the driver about his speed / for speeding.
The teacher ~ed him against being late / not to be late.
I ~ the children that it is risky.
Spelling
Syllables
Pronunciation
Parts of speech
Meanings
Usage
History of the word

36. the exact meaning Respectful: showing respect to others
Be ~ to your seniors.
Respectable: considered socially acceptable
The ex-prisoner is now a ~ citizen.
Respected: admired by many people for one’s qualities or achievements
Professor Yang is a ~ teacher.

37. what patterns to use to inform inform sb about/of something
Please ~us of his arrival.
Our teacher ~ed that the class was moved to next Friday.
inform sb about/of something
inform sb that …

38. collocations learn knowledge? drop tears? to make achievement?
acquire / gain knowledge
drop tears?
shed / weep (tears)
tears well up in one’s eyes
to make achievement?
to do well in …
to achieve considerable success
to achieve good exam results

39. Not entirely, fully, completely
to love
dearly
deeply
passionately
tenderly
unconditionally
wholeheartedly
Not entirely, fully, completely

40. Anything else? He kept me waiting. I found him working at his desk.
They left me standing outside.
I heard him giving orders.

41. Dictionaries are lifetime teachers.
They are available any time you want to consult them.
They are knowledgeable and are capable of helping you solve many of your problems.
They are patient and tireless and able to work with you as long as you like.

42. Some dictionaries
English-English dictionary

43. Word games
What do they mean?
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE

44. What do they mean?
(Feeling)
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
---good
---bad

45. (+)Gives electric current (-)Receives electric current
What do they mean?
(ELECTRONICS)
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
(+)Gives electric current
(-)Receives electric current

46. What do they mean?
(MAGNETICS)
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
---Attracts objects
---Repels objects

47. In communication
Positive:
Posit an idea
Suggest an idea
Explain an idea
Say something that will help someone to feel good

48. Negative: In communication Negate an idea Disagree with a suggestion
Explain why something is bad or wrong
Say something that might make someone feel bad right now, usually in hopes for good later

49. Back to feelings---good about “positive”
What’s good about “positive”?
Gives people a good feeling
Gives people confidence
Suggests something people can do

50. Back to feelings---bad about “negative”
What’s bad about “negative”?
Gives people a bad feeling
Makes people feel weak, or feel like they are fighting
Can stop people from taking any action

51. Back to feelings---good about “negative”
What’s good about “negative”?
Helps people to be sober
Helps people to be intelligent
Suggests that people avoid action, if they don’t know about something

52. Back to feelings---bad about “positive”
What’s bad about “positive”?
Makes people feel high and avoid reality
Gives people false confidence
Sometimes leads to careless action

53. Practice makes perfect.
Page 36

54. January Wind
Hal Borland ( )

55. The January wind has hundred voices.
It can scream, it can bellow, it can whisper, and it can sing a lullaby.
It can roar through the leafless oaks and shout down the hillside, and it can murmur in the white pines rooted among the granite ledges where lichen makes strange hieroglyphics.
It can whistle down a chimney and set the hearth-flames to dancing.

56. On a sunny day it can pause in a sheltered spot and breathe a promise of spring and violets.
In the cold of a lonely night it can rattle the sash and stay there muttering of ice and snow banks and deep-frozen pond.

57. Sometimes the January wind seems to come from the farthest star in the outer darkness, so remote and so impersonal is its voice.
That is the wind of a January dawn, in the half-light that trembles between day and night.
It is a wind that merely quivers the trees, its force sensed but not seen, a force that might almost hold back the day if it were so directed.

58. Then the east brightens, and the wind relaxes—the stars, its source, grown dim.
And sometimes the January wind is so intimate that you know it came only from the next hill, a little wind that plays with leaves and puffs at chimney smoke and whistles like a little boy with puckered lips.

59. It makes the little cedar trees quiver, as with delight.
It shadow-boxes with the weather-vane.
It tweaks an ear, and whispers laughing words about crocuses and daffodils, and nips the nose and dances off.
But you never know, until you hear its voice, which wind is here today.
Or, more important, which will be here tomorrow.