上次同大家講到，要練好英文的文筆，就要多看優美的文字，不要把閱讀限於課本，或報紙，或雜誌。應該多找經典文字，讀莎士比亞可以，讀Charles Dickens可以，要像我們學中文讀古文一樣，多讀，多感受文字之美。只讀還不夠，有心的話，還應該背誦。上次蕭叔叔分享了蘇格蘭作家Andrew Lang寫的兒童讀物Tales of Troy and Greece裡面其中一段描寫戰爭的段落，文筆氣勢磅礡，讓蕭叔叔看的血脈沸騰。上回講到，希臘戰將Patroclus戰死沙場；今次這一段，是說之前因個人爭執而拒絕出戰的Achilles，要為好友Patroclus報仇。他說：I will not cease from fighting till I have given the Trojans their fill of war. 我不打到他們落花流水，誓不收兵。
Thrice Achilles shouted mightily, and thrice the horses of the Trojans shuddered for fear and turned back from the onslaught - and thrice the men of Troy were confounded and shaken with terror.
一落場，Achilles（蕭叔叔喜歡叫他「希臘呂布」，因為都是一樣萬夫莫敵。）大叫三聲，頗有三國張飛在長板橋喝倒曹軍戰馬的氣勢。留意作者把thrice一字放前，能加強氣勢：Thrice Achilles shouted mightily, and thrice… 這樣寫，比Achilles shouted thrice mightily強得多了。然後Achilles同敵將Hector大戰，Hector快輸了，他大叫：
“Let me not die without honour!” and drew his sword, and rushed at Achilles, who sprang to meet him, but before Hector could come within a sword-stroke Achilles had sent his spear clean through the neck of Hector.
Hector把長矛掉失了，只有靠手中短劍，但未埋身，就被Achilles的矛刺破喉嚨。留意這段的動詞，非常生動，drew，rushed，sprang，sent his spear clean through等等。
He fell in the dust and Achilles said, “Dogs and birds shall tear your flesh unburied.”
幾惡毒！我不會為你收屍，就讓你的屍體在戰場暴曬，讓野狗野鳥吃你的肉吧。Dogs and birds shall tear your flesh unburied. 好厲害，好簡單，好直接的文字。
With his dying breath Hector prayed him to take gold from Priam, and give back his body to be burned in Troy. But Achilles said, “Hound! would that I could bring myself to carve and eat thy raw flesh, but dogs shall devour it, even if thy father offered me thy weight in gold.”
Hector哀求Achilles，把我的屍身送回我城吧，我爹會給你黃金。Achilles說，狗賊！即使你爹給我跟你屍身一樣重的黃金，我都不會把你送回Troy城：even if thy father offered me thy weight in gold。這句，表現了什麼叫簡潔有力的文字。
大家可能會問，我平時有幾可會描述戰爭嘅場景呀？讀呢啲文章，又有乜用？咁睇就錯了，多讀文筆流麗的文字，不但能培養英語文字的節奏感，也能學習多變得用字和造句，以及靈活運用文字的spirit，這些都是多讀多背經典文字的好處。先背了吧，以後寫作時，文氣會不經不覺地「滲」出來。 Http://www.facebook.com/siuhoiyat
