The Reading Review of ChapterVII-X

香山亭

Reader:
谢嗣婷

Reading Time:
第十周

Reading Task:
Part two VII-X

Summary of the Content:
Chapter 7: The Noun Plague
In Chinglish, there is a tendency to use abstract nouns, while in English, there is a greater preference for verbal expressions. Excessive use of abstract nouns can make sentences cumbersome and unvivid. For example, "the prolongation of the existence of this temple is due to the solidity of its construction" can be improved to "this temple has endured because it was solidly built", replacing abstract nouns with specific verbs and adverbs to make the sentence more direct.
Chapter 8: Pronouns and Antecedents
This chapter mainly explores the relationship between pronouns and their antecedents. It includes situations such as the unclear presentation of antecedents (for example, the absence of an antecedent or the presence of a wrong antecedent), the ambiguity of antecedents, the excessive distance between antecedents and pronouns, and the grammatical mismatch between pronouns and antecedents. The aim is to enable readers to clearly understand how to use pronouns correctly and avoid misunderstandings and ambiguities caused by unclear pronoun references.
Chapter 9: The Placement of Phrases and Clauses
This chapter focuses on explaining the reasonable placement of phrases and clauses in sentences. If the placement is inappropriate, it may lead to unclear sentence logic or the generation of ambiguity. One should, based on the logic and expressive intention of the sentence, place phrases and clauses in suitable positions to make the meaning of the sentence more explicit.
Chapter 10: Dangling Modifiers
This chapter mainly concerns the relationship between modifiers and the objects they modify. When a modifier in a sentence has no clear object to modify, or when its position makes the modifying relationship unclear, the problem of dangling modifiers will occur. The book will analyze through examples how to avoid and correct such problems, enabling modifiers to accurately modify the corresponding words and ensuring the accuracy and clarity of the sentence.

Evaluation:
Writing Style
①Concise and Clear: It summarizes the content of each chapter in simple language, without excessive embellishments or complex sentence structures, enabling readers to quickly understand the core points of each chapter.
②Logical and Coherent: It introduces the content in the order of the chapters, clearly elaborating on the theme, problems, and the purposes of solutions in each chapter, with a distinct hierarchy and strong logicality.
Theme
①Focus on Language Issues: The theme is clearly centered around typical language issues in Chinglish, such as the use of nouns, the relationship between pronouns and antecedents, the positions of phrases and clauses, and modifier problems. It aims to help readers recognize and address these common errors in language expression.
②Emphasize Accuracy and Clarity: The idea that runs through the text is to stress the accuracy and clarity of English language expression. By pointing out the problems existing in Chinglish, it guides readers to establish a correct concept of language expression, focusing on the precision of language and the explicitness of meaning to achieve effective communication.

Reflection：
The analysis of Chinglish in this part is not only applicable to language learning but also reflects the common communication problems in contemporary society. In daily life, our expressions often fall into the trap of "linguistic redundancy". On social media, we frequently pile up empty adjectives to convey emotions, and in work reports, there are a lot of irrelevant modifying statements, which essentially indicate unclear thinking. Just as the emphasis on precise expression in the book, in communication, we should abandon meaningless redundant words and use more direct language to convey core information. This can not only improve communication efficiency but also avoid misunderstandings caused by semantic ambiguity. At the same time, these rules also inspire us that in the era of information explosion, we should learn to "purify" our expressions. Whether it is writing emails, expressing opinions, or having daily conversations, concise and refined language, in essence, reflects the depth of thinking and respect for others' time, which may be the key to combating information overload and improving the quality of communication.