随笔 - 1 文章 - 10 评论 - 15

第一封信

My Dear Shu-Wul, May 14

Your letter gives me a joyful surprise. Your English is astonishingly good. This is not “flannel” or “butter” but my sincere opinion (my hand upon my heart!). The idea found from your version of Chairman’s statement is to say the least, quite unjust. Perhaps your hand is recovering some of its old cunning momentarily lost through long lack of practice. At any rate, it would be a pity-nay, a sin, a crime-to let your English get rusty & become finally unserviceable.

Yours in haste

By a slip of pen, you wrote “allocation” instead of “collocation”. This is a mere peccadillo. Don’t let meticulousness about trifles cramp your style.

第二封信

My Dear Lin, May 2nd

Excuse this belated reply to your very kind May Day greetings. It’s almost literally “a day after the fair”. With fixing the mosquito net, queuing for sweets at the co-op store, fetching & distributing letters, & the thousand and one odds and ends which eat away one’s time, the red letter day was over before I know where I was. Well, here go my best wishes in which my wife joins. Your letter makes me ashamed. I feel guilty like a swindler who has won your “gratitude” without doing anything to earn it. Your characteristic generosity has led you to overestimate the aids to study I gave. Yes, vocabulary is important. Pedagogues used to distinguish a pupils active or writing & speaking vocabulary. As you know, the latter is far more extensive than the former. How to turn the supinely passive into the nimbly active —— that’s the big problem. However, enough of shop talk. Tomorrow to the battle & more power to your elbow!

第三封信

My Dear Lin,

I am deeply grateful, but I have smiting of conscience. As you know, I have my own ration of sugar, & I must not deprive you of yours. As to the tibits, a healthy young man has more need of them to stay his hunger between the meals —— much more that and old man does. So I am returning them with heartfelt thanks —— accompanied with a little token of esteem. The least No. of Broadsheet is worth glancing.

Your thankfully

这三封信句法变化丰富 , 相邻的两句句型绝不相同 . 简单句、复杂句、定语从句、非完全句等等，变化多端，多有神来之笔。钱钟书的英文信，富有灵气。

用词特点之一是多用近义词，如 flannel 和 butter; sin 和 crime; 词的搭配很地道 , 如 ” 充饥 ”,” 值得一看 ” 等等的英语表达式 , 都是不可更改的 .