I have known very few writers, but those I have known, and whom I respect, confess at once that they have little idea where they are going when they first set pen to paper.

have little idea ^{几乎不知道；不太清楚}

• They have little idea of the difficulties they will face during the expedition. ^{他们几乎不知道在远征过程中会面临什么样的困难。}
• I have no idea / don’t know what to do next.
• Do you have any idea / know how fast you drive?

set pen to paper ^{开始写作/提笔}

• They have little idea where they are going when they first set pen to paper.^{当他们第一次提笔时，他们几乎不知道该往哪儿走。}
• After months of research, he was finally ready to set pen to paper and write the first chapter.^{经过数月的研究，他终于准备好提笔写第一章了。}
• It took courage for her to set pen to paper and express her deep feelings.^{她鼓起勇气提笔表达自己内心深处的感情。}

They have a character, perhaps two; they are in that condition of eager discomfort which passes for inspiration; all admit radical changes of destination once the journey has begun; one, to my certain knowledge, spent nine months on a novel about Kashmir, then reset the whole thing in the Scottish Highlands.

pass for / as … ^{wrongly accepted as being a particular type of person or thing (错误的)被认为是/被误当做(主动结构)}

• She is nearly fifty, but she could pass for thirty.
• With her hair cut so short, she often passes for a boy. 
• They are in that condition of eager discomfort which passes for inspiration.^{他们处于那种被认为是灵感的，渴望而不安的状态。}
• His polite manners easily pass for genuine kindness, though he is often cynical.^{他礼貌的举止很容易被认为是真诚的善良，尽管他经常愤世嫉俗。}
• The imitation diamond was so perfect it could pass for the real thing.^{这颗仿制钻石如此完美，可以被当做真品。}

radical / fundamental changes ^{根本性的变化；彻底的变革}

• We also make the fundamental error of announcing our resolutions to everybody so that we look even more foolish when we slip back into our bad old ways.
• The new director introduced radical changes to the company’s management structure. ^{新任主管对公司的管理结构进行了彻底的变革。}

radical ^{adj. Radical people believe that there should be great changes in society and try to bring about these changes 极端的}

• His radical political views often led to heated debates with his more conservative colleagues. ^{他的激进政治观点经常导致他与保守派同事发生激烈争论。}
• The protests were organized by a radical left-wing group demanding immediate social reform. ^{抗议活动是由一个要求立即进行社会改革的激进左翼团体组织的。}

destiny ^{n.命运；天命；上苍}

• We’re masters of our own destiny. 
• He felt that it was his destiny to become a great musician. ^{他觉得成为伟大的音乐家是他的宿命。}
• They were reunited by destiny after twenty years apart.  ^{分别二十年后，命运让他们重逢。}

knowledge ^{n.知道;据某人所知}

• He did it without my knowledge.
• I had no knowledge of the incident.
• He denied all knowledge of the robbery.
• Alec never carried a gun to my knowledge.  ^{亚历克据我所知从不带枪。}
• One, to my certain knowledge, spent nine months on a novel about Kashmir.^{据我确切所知，其中一人花九个月写了一部关于克什米尔的小说。}
• To my certain knowledge, the keys were left on the kitchen counter this morning.^{据我确切所知，钥匙今天早上是落在厨房柜台上的。}

be set in … ^{被设定/设置在...}

• The novel / movie is set in 18^th century New England.
• The posts have to be set in concrete. ^{这些柱子必须固定在混凝土中。}
• That telephone call set in train a whole series of events. ^{那个电话把一整套事项安排好了。}

I never heard of anyone making a 'skeleton', as we were taught at school.

make a 'skeleton' ^{列提纲/做骨架}

• Before starting to write the script, the screenwriters always make a 'skeleton' of the plot.^{在开始写剧本之前，编剧们总是会列出情节的提纲。}
• Make an outline before you start writing / before trying to position. ^{你先拟个提纲再写。}
• When you make an outline, don't use the text's exact words. ^{当你写提纲的时候，并不需要苛求措辞。}

In the breaking and remaking, in the timing, interweaving, beginning afresh, the writer comes to discern things in his material which were not consciously in his mind when he began. 

come to so sth. ^{to do sth. by chance, without planning or intending to do it 偶然做某事}

• A body came to be found under the bridge.
• Future historians will be in a unique position when they come to record the history of our own times.
• He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
• After years of observation, the scientist came to discern a pattern in the data.^{经过多年的观察，这位科学家开始辨认出数据中的一种模式。}
• The children gradually came to discern the subtle differences between the paintings.^{孩子们逐渐开始辨认出画作之间的细微差别。}

This organic process, often leading to moments of extraordinary self-discovery, is of an indescribable fascination.

organic ^{adj. made of related parts; arranged as a system 有机的有组织的，有系统的}

• City planning treats the city as an organic whole.
• The growth of the company was an organic process, not forced or hurried.^{公司的增长是一个有机过程，并非强迫或仓促的。}

self-discovery ^{n. the process of achieving understanding or knowledge of oneself 自我发现}

• Often leading to moments of extraordinary self-discovery.^{常常导致非凡的自我发现时刻。}
• Travelling alone can be a time of extraordinary self-discovery.^{独自旅行可以是一段非凡的自我发现的时光。}

The process of writing a novel is a process of searching the writer’s innermost soul.

be of an indescribable fascination = be indescribably fascinating ^{具有一种难以言喻的魅力}

• This process is indescribably fascinating.^{这个过程具有一种难以言喻的魅力。(可删除of an)}
• The ancient ruins were of an indescribable fascination to the archaeologists.^{这些古代遗址对考古学家具有一种难以言喻的魅力。}
• The aurora borealis is of an indescribable fascination every time you see it.^{北极光每次你看到它时都具有一种难以言喻的魅力。}

A blurred image appears; he adds a brushstroke and another, and it is gone; but something was there, and he will not rest till he has captured it.

add a brushstroke and another ^{添上了一笔又一笔}

• The painter carefully added a brushstroke and another to complete the intricate background.^{画家小心翼翼地添上了一笔又一笔，以完成复杂的背景。}
• Life is like a canvas. It begins blank, and every day is like another brushstroke. Make your life a masterpiece. ^{人生是幅大画布，开始时一无是处，每天都添一笔触，最终成大作一部。}
• Some with strong pro views in this debate have painted pictures of China with too broad a brushstroke. ^{在这个辩论中持有强烈赞同观点的人已经用一把巨粗大的笔刷描绘了中国的景象。}

Sometimes the yeast within a writer outlives a book he has written.

outlive ^{比...活得久}

• I’m sure he will outlive many of us. 
• A great author's influence can outlive all the books he has written.^{一位伟大作者的影响力可以超越他所写的所有书籍。}
• The core philosophy of the movement may outlive the original manifesto.^{该运动的核心哲学可能会比最初的宣言活得久。}

I have heard of writers who read nothing but their own books; like adolescents they stand before the mirror, and still cannot fathom the exact outline of the vision before them.

nothing but... ^{只.../仅... =only}

• William S. hart was, perhaps, the greatest of all Western stars, for unlike Gary Cooper and John Wayne he appeared in nothing but Westerns. 
• During the trip, he decided to read nothing but classic poetry.^{在旅行中，他决定除了经典诗歌什么都不读。}
• She studies so much that she seems to read nothing but textbooks.^{她学习得如此努力，以至于她似乎只阅读教科书。}

Narcissus: In Greek mythology, Narcissus is a handsome youth, who pined away in love for his own image in a pool of water and was transformed into the flower that bears his name. ^希腊神话

For the same reason, writers talk interminably about their own books, winkling out hidden meanings, super-imposing new ones, begging response from those around them.

superimpose sth. on / upon … ^{使某物叠放在…上面；把…叠加在…之上}

• Since the sea covers the greater part of the earth's surface, it is quite reasonable to regard the sea floor as the basic form of the crust of the earth, with, superimposed upon it, the continents, together with the islands and other features of the oceans.
• The director decided to superimpose the subtitles on the images of the landscape. ^{导演决定将字幕叠放在风景图像上。}
• A second image was superimposed upon the first to create a ghost-like effect.  ^{第二张图像被叠加在第一张之上，以营造出一种鬼魂般的效果。}
• The director decided to super-impose new scenes onto the existing footage.^{导演决定将新的场景叠加到现有的镜头上。}

Of course a writer doing this is misunderstood: he might as well try to explain a crime or a love affair.

might / may as well  do sth. ^{不妨/倒不如（try试着）做某事 used for saying that it might be a goodidea to do something although it is not essential} 

• You might as well take the job if you can’t find a better one at the moment.
• Since the meeting is canceled, we might as well go home early.^{既然会议取消了，我们倒不如早点回家。}

love affair ^{a romantic sexual relationship especially one between people who are not married to each other 桃色、八卦新闻}

• Mary betrayed Bill by having a love affair. ^{玛丽背叛了比尔，和别人谈恋爱了。}
• It is normal to have a love affair at this age. ^{在这样的年龄谈恋爱很正常。}
• It is difficult for an outsider to fully explain a complex love affair between two volatile people.^{外人很难完全解释两个性格反复无常的人之间复杂的恋情。}

He is also, incidentally, an unforgivable bore.

incidentally ^{adv. by the way; by the bye顺便说一句/附带地}

• Incidentally, a little bird tells me that your birthday's coming up. ^{顺便提一句，有个消息灵通的人告诉我你的生日快到了。}
• The party was great; incidentally, did you remember to lock the back door?^{派对很棒；顺便说一句，你记不记得锁后门了？}
• I love the color of your shirt. Incidentally, have you seen my keys?^{我喜欢你衬衫的颜色。顺便说一句，你看到我的钥匙了吗？}

incidental ^{adj.附带的，次要的；伴随而来的；偶然的}

• The discovery of the new species was incidental to their main research project. ^{新物种的发现是他们主要研究项目中的一个意外收获。}
• These risks are incidental to the work of a firefighter. ^{这些风险是担任消防员不可避免的。}
• The playing of music proved to be incidental to the main business of the evening. ^{音乐演奏结果只是当晚主要活动的陪衬。}

unforgivable ^{不可原谅的；罪不容诛的}

• Betraying a close friend's trust is an unforgivable act in many cultures. ^{在许多文化中，背叛好朋友的信任是不可原谅的行为。}
• Being late is an unforgivable sin round here. ^{在这里迟到是一种不可原谅的失礼行为。}
• It was stupid and immature. And it was unforgivable. ^{它是那么愚蠢和不成熟，并且它不可原谅。}

bore ^{n. someone who is boring, esp. because they talk too much about themselves or about things that do not interest you 唠叨乏味的人}

• The bore bores me to death.
• It's such a bore having to stay late this evening. ^{今天晚上非得熬夜，真是烦人。}
• That man's really a bore to me. ^{那人真无聊。}