I settled into my chair,
morning newspaper in hand. My cup of coffee sat on the adjacent table
and the cat snoozed at my feet. A soft breeze wafted through the window
while I rustled open the paper. And then . . . Eureka! In an article on
municipal water supplies, my attention was drawn to a word I didn’t
possess in my Treasure Chest of Words: notch. How versatile! I
could use “notch” as
a verb or a noun. It had a firm, definitive quality and would lend
itself to a visual or a gesture. I could see myself notching my
accomplishments in a speech on weight loss or garden building.
我坐在椅子上,手中拿著早報。咖啡就放在另一張桌上，貓咪趴睡在我的腳旁。當我沙沙地翻閱著報紙，清風正從窗外徐徐的吹送進來。然後……我看到了！在市政一篇有關供水的文章上，我眼睛被一個字所吸引了：「notch」，我不曾在我的單字百寶箱裡擁有它。這個字有好多意義啊！我可以用「notch」來當作動詞或名詞。它有一個固定又明確用法的特性，它可以用在視覺意涵或姿態表示上。我能看到我獲得題目為「減重」或「打造花園」演說上的成就。
This little jewel went immediately into
the journal at my side, to be entered later into my computer file
labeled “Treasure Chest.”
這小寶石立刻進入我的日誌裡，之後進入我的電腦有標註「百寶箱」的檔案裡頭。
Before I finished reading the paper,
two more words grabbed me: pounce and bluster. And by
dinner time, I’d secured hokum from a
radio broadcast and albatross from a television commercial. All
in all, it was a singular day for plucking word.
在我看完報之前，又有兩個單字「pounce」，「bluster」兩個字吸引了我。我用晚餐時，我從收音機廣播中獲得「hokum」這個字並從電視廣告學到「albatross」。總之，這是我捕捉單字的一天。
I’m a logophile – a word lover. I’m
always questing for better nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, as well
as great similes, powerful metaphors and funny phrases. The words I
capture help me express myself in Toastmasters speeches and garden
lectures, as well as on my blog and the freelance articles and books I
write.
我是一位logophile-迷愛單字者。我總是探求更好的名詞、動詞、形容詞和副詞，以及很棒的明喻語，強有力的隱喻和滑稽的片語等。這些我攫取到的字，幫助我在英文演講會的演說、園藝授課，和我的部落格，以及專欄裡的文章和我所寫的書。
Passion for
Language Started Early
對語言的熱愛開始的早
As the daughter of an
English teacher, I’ve
loved words since as far back as I can remember. My Toastmasters
affiliation honed this affection when I realized the impact that word
choice has on how a speech is crafted, memorized, delivered and
retained. Whether you outline, pen your entire speech or construct
something in between ...Toastmasters are all writers, first. As such, we
know that vigorous words are a key to memorable presentations. But how
to come up with a bon mot? How to remember all the terrific words we’ve
seen, read and heard? It’s easy. Capture them
where they lie.
身為英文老師的女兒，在我記憶所及，我一直熱愛單字。加入演講會讓我這種熱愛更加強烈。當我了解單字的選擇對演說的衝擊，美化、背熟，演說和記住都有影響。無論你是概述，書寫整個演說，或者兩者之間建構某些事情…演講會員都是作家。就其本身而論，我們知道有活力的單字，是讓人能記得你的演說的關鍵。但是如何信手拈來一個妙語呢？如何記住所有我們所看到，讀到和聽到好的字呢？說來不難，就是隨時隨地去捕捉他們。
Of course, there’s no single “perfect” word for each situation, so don’t search until
exhaustion for such a pearl. Your speeches are a reflection of you – your experiences and your life. A treasure
chest will simply help you locate the best words to do the job.
Capturing words is a time-saving device to enhance public speaking. I
employ a treasure chest, but all sorts of other methods exist to select,
save and use terrific words.
當然，每次不只有一個「完美」好字，所以不要為了一個好字搜尋到筋疲力盡。你的演說是你個人的一種反射—你的經驗和你的生活。百寶箱只是幫助你找到好字來做事。捕捉好字，是一種省時的手段，來增強你演說的功力。我是利用百寶箱，當然仍有其他方法可以用來篩選、儲存以及使用好的單字。
For example, Toastmaster
Deb Grehn, of two clubs in Connecticut, characterizes herself as an “audible
learner.” If you caught her appearance on the
TV game show Jeopardy! a few seasons ago, you would realize that
is correct. Deb loves the sound of words, and she collects them in
various ways: from conversations, her computer’s “Word of the Day” and the Word - masters at her clubs – Charter
Oak Toastmasters in Glastonbury and West Hartford Toastmasters in West
Hartford.
例如，在康乃狄克州為兩個分會會員的黛博葛蘭，形容她自己為一位「聽得見的學習者」。假如你在幾個月前的電視遊戲節目-Jeopardy(美國最受歡迎的有獎徵答節目)看到她，你就會了解她說得沒錯。黛博熱愛單字的聲音，他用各種方式，從對話；從她的電腦裡-每日一字；在格拉斯頓柏里市的查特橡樹英語演講會；以及西哈特福德的西哈特福德英語演講會的單字大師那裡收集單字。
Grehn has sage advice for
prospective word gatherers. “If
you’re unsure how a new word is pronounced, go
to the computer and listen before you use it in a speech,” she says. Websites like dictionary.com offer recorded pronunciations of
its entries. Words, Grehn notes, are too precious to mispronounce.
葛蘭對想成為單字收集家的人一個良心的建議，她說：「假如你遇到一個生字，不知道如何發音，在你的演講稿要用它之前，先查一下電腦。」有一些網站，像dictionary.com有提供它所有收錄單字的發音。單字，葛蘭特別提到，都很重要因此不要發錯了音。
The
Toastmasters Trove
英文演講會收藏品
So how else does
Toastmasters membership help you appreciate and hone your word
proficiency? The first 10 speeches in the Competent Communication manual build many skills, including introducing yourself to fellow
Toastmasters, organizing your speeches, employing vocal variety,
becoming comfortable with visual aids and using body language. But it’s
Project Four, “How to Say It,” that particularly assists in grooming your speech-crafting skills. It
exhorts the speaker to use “clear, simple,
vivid and forceful words” to add excitement to
presentations.
身為會員，國際演講會又如何能幫助你鑑賞和磨練你的單字精通度？中級溝通手冊裡的十篇演講，建立許多技能，包含介紹你自己給演講會的同伴、組織你的演講、運用聲調變化、自在的使用視覺輔助道具和身體語言。特別是第四單元：「遣辭用字」，特別地協助你的演說技巧。它鼓勵演說者使用「清楚，簡單，生動且有力的單字」來增添演說的精彩。
There’s a
reason Project Four appears so early in the manual: It’s
crucial. The simple explanations on the basics of specificity and
careful selection of verbs, and the primer on similes, metaphors,
alliteration and triad, help Toastmasters to be better speech writers
and, thus, better speakers.
第四單元會出現在手冊的前面，有一個原因，是因為它很重要。在動詞和明諭，暗喻，頭韻以及三合書入門書的明確性和謹慎選擇的基礎上做出簡單的解釋，來幫助演講者成為比較好的講稿作者，進而成為比較好的演說者。
On her way to becoming a better speaker, Aletta Rochat of two clubs in
Cape Town, South Africa, found that choosing the right words was a bit
like finding the perfect outfit to wear. According to Rochat, her words
have to fit her personality. And so she listens closely to other
speeches, notes the words and phrases that appeal to her, and jots them
down. A member of Cape Town Toastmasters, she practices incorporating
these words into her interpersonal communication, to be used later in
her speeches. Rochat, who is bilingual, also reminds us of the clout of
colloquial phrasing. For instance, during the 2010 World Cup of soccer,
held in Cape Town, many spectators came to understand the power (and
volume!) of the Afrikaans word vuvuzela – a stadium horn. The sound of this memorable word hints at its trumpeting
nature.
Aletta Rochat是南非開普敦兩個分會的會員，在她成為比較好演說家的歷程中，她發現選擇好的單字，有些像選擇完美套裝來穿一樣。按照Rochat的說法，她用的單字，要符合她的個人特質，所以她非常仔細的傾聽其他的演說，吸引她的單字和片語，就做筆記記下。一位開普敦英文演講會的會員，她練習把這些單字，納入她與人的言談中，這對她之後的演說有幫助。通兩種語言的Rochat，也提醒我們地方口語的影響力。舉例來說，發生在2010年開普敦的世足賽期間，許多觀眾了解到烏茲拉拉的聲音威力(非洲單字）-一種南非足迷，在助威時使用的長形喇叭狀樂器，能發出巨大的聲響。這個難忘的單字聲響暗示喇叭聲似的特質。
Rochat always gives her
speeches the “bathroom
mirror test.” This is a handy tool for
uncovering words that don’t sound as
graceful as they look on a page. Indeed, there are clunky phrases
that don’t trip lightly off the tongue just as
there are words that are simply not a good fit for some presentations.
Any speakers who omit this test do so at their own peril.
Rochat總是對她的演說做「鏡子試驗」。這是為發掘那些在書面上看似優雅但發音差異極大的單字的簡易工具。的確，有些笨拙片語可能讓你舌頭打結，就好像有些字是不適合演說的單字。任何演講者若省略這個試驗的話可能會危及其演講。
Building a
Better Trap
建立較佳的策略
As these examples show we
don’t need
fancy equipment to find and keep words. My treasure chest was at first a
simple written list, which I’d glance over
when composing a speech. As it grew I divided it into nouns and verbs.
With continual hunting and gathering it grew longer still, and I soon
scanned the entirety into the computer, adding a category for funny
words and sayings.
從這些例子顯示，我們不需要花俏的設備，去發現和保留單字。我的百寶箱早就有一個簡單的手寫列表，當我在撰寫演講稿時，可以瀏覽一下。當百寶箱的字越來越多時，我把它們分成名詞和動詞。隨著不斷的獵取和搜集，列表的字越來越長，於是我把它們全部掃描到電腦，再新增一個分類給有趣的字和諺語。
After several years of word collecting, the trove now stretches to
thousands of entries, and has become my muse. When I’m
stuck for an action word, or something that rhymes with “last,” I consult my treasure chest. When I need a nudge to finish my weekly
column, I pull up the pages and search for inspiration. When I need a
verb starting with the letter “w”,
I run down the list and find the perfect choice.
經過數年收集之後，百寶箱已儲存有數千個單字之多，我開始陷入迷思。當我受困於動詞或某些帶有跟「last」押韻的字，就從我的百寶箱尋寶。當我需要一個助力，來完成我的每週專欄，我就翻起頁面尋找我的靈感。當我需要「w」開頭的單字，我就會依照字母順序來找最適當的字句。
It’s a private file,
compiled and viewed only by me, and, like Grehn and Rochat, I come
across words everywhere: In the morning paper, of course, underlined in
red so I can find them later. In writings and postings on the Web. In
people’s everyday chatter. (I keep a reporter’s
notebook at the ready.) On the radio, in television commercials and on
signs at the market. In Sunday church sermons. Wonderful words are
everywhere.
它是一個私人檔案，只有我可以編輯和觀看，就像葛蘭和羅契，單字隨處可得：在早報裡，用紅筆在單字下畫線，以便我之後可以發現它們。在網路上的投稿文學作品。人們每日的聊天（我隨時帶著筆記本），從收音機，電視廣告中以及市場的招牌，週日的教堂佈道。到處都有很棒的單字。
Other lessons in gathering and using potent words come from author,
publicist, editorial consultant and former Toastmaster Patricia Fry, who
reminds us that the best words are the familiar ones. She’s immersed
in a verbally rich world daily, but after many successful years in the
writing business she finds that she no longer consciously ponders word
choice. She does, however, watch for redundancies, inconsistencies and
typos. She also seeks out and destroys inadequate, erroneous grammar.
Fry appreciates creative sentences – identifying those that fall flat. She exhorts Toastmasters not to
overuse the same word. For instance, instead of always using the word “dog” to describe a
dog, try using canine, furry friend or the animal.
其他收集和使用有力單字的方法，學自前會員派翠克福瑞，編輯顧問公司的作者、時事評論員。她提醒我們，最好的字是熟悉的字。她每日埋首在言詞豐富的國度裡，但經過多年成功的寫作事業，她發現她不再特意地鑽研選擇單字。然而，她的確注意贅詞，不一致性和錯別字。她也找出並丟掉一些不適當和錯誤的文法。Fry評價新創的句子-確認這些句子達不到預期效果。Fry告誡會員不要過度使用相同的字。例如不要總是使用dog這個單字來描述狗，試著使用「犬」、「毛茸茸的動物」、「動物」。
More
Guidelines for Word Gathering
更多蒐集單字的方法
Gathering
interesting words is an excellent way to keep speeches fresh. Practicing
keeps these words applicable, and using them – whether in
speeches, everyday conversation or professional enterprises – will make them yours forever. But not all words are worthy of
collecting.
收集有趣的字，是保持演說新鮮度很優越的方法。練習保有這些字可用性，並使用他們 - 無論是在演說、每天的對話、公司裡頭 - 將使這些單字永遠變成你的。但不是每個字都值得收集。
What is my treasure chest not used for? I never write down
profanity. There is enough of that in the world. I try to stay away from
archaic words, arcane usage, pretentious verbiage, cliches and jargon.
(For example, the rest of the world probably doesn’t
need to hear my mangled botanical Latin.)
甚麼是單字百寶箱不蒐集的？我從不記褻瀆的字。世界上這些字已經夠多了。我試著不要這些古老又不用的字、晦澀難解的用法、做作的冗詞、陳腔濫調和難懂的術語。（例如，世界上其他地區可能不需要聽到我爛爆的植物學拉丁語）
There is a never-ending supply of great words awaiting capture. Once
caught, they always help me write speeches, deliver talks and enhance
interpersonal communication.
永遠都會有好字出現，在等著我們去蒐集。一旦被我抓到，他們總是在我寫演講稿，演講和提高我人際對話的吸引力上做出貢獻。
In short, I probably couldn’t be a writer
without my treasure chest. And I’d certainly
not be as successful in Toastmasters. With all due respect to the
dictionary, thesaurus, Bartlett’s
Familiar Quotations and the Metaphors
Dictionary, it’s my treasure chest that
comes through for me time after time.
簡言之，沒有單字百寶箱，我可能不是個作家。我也確定在演講會我不能如此成功。我把我的成就，全歸功於字典、同義反義字寶庫、巴特利特熟悉的語錄、和暗喻字典。它是我多次經歷成功的百寶箱。
Colleen Plimpton, ACB, is a
member of Barnum Square Toastmasters in Bethel, Connecticut. A
professional writer, coach and lecturer on gardening, her most recent
book is Mentors in the Garden of Life. Contact her at
colleenplimpton.com.
作者：Colleen
Plimpton，銅牌高級演講員，是康涅狄格州伯特利市，巴納姆廣場演講會會員。一個專業作家、教練和園藝講師，她的近作是「在花園生活的導師」。可在colleenplimpton.com與她聯繫。
譯者：鄭小玲 Sherry 新竹英語演講會會員 |
