一 words and expressions
1. The feminist movement helpfully revealed how much sexism lurks in our language, not only in the offensive “he” but in the hundreds of words that carry an invidious meaning or some overtone of judgment.
overtone: tone的意思是语气腔调，再加上前缀over，意思是： signs of an emotion or attitude that is not expressed directly〔情感或态度〕含蓄的表示，暗示，弦外之音
2. A thornier problem is raised by the feminists’ annoyance with words that contain “man,” such as “chairman” and “spokesman.”
thorny：a thorny question / problem /issue etc ：a question etc that is complicated and
difficult棘手的问题
3. But in the end they are makeshift words, sometimes hurting the cause more than helping it.
makeshift：权宜的，临时（代用）的。同义词有：temporary, expedient
4. I noticed that many reporters had fallen into the habit of trying to make the news more palatable by writing in a feature style.
palatable：acceptable可以接受的，合乎趣味的
5. it’s a pregnant moment.
pregnant这个词不是我们常见的怀孕的意思，而是：耐人寻味的；意味深长的；心照不宣的A pregnant silence or moment has a special meaning which is not obvious but which people are aware of.
6. I spotted an empty seat next to a weathered man in his sixties who was using a stopwatch and taking notes.
weathered是形容词，是由动词weather的意思派生过来的。
weather：if rock, wood, or someone's face is weathered by the wind, sun, rain etc, or if it weathers, it changes color or shape over a period of time（使）〔岩石、木头等〕受风雨侵蚀;（使）〔脸〕饱经风霜
二 thoughts
1.SEXISM
这里讨论的大致是对于表示性别的代词和含有性别以为的名词的使用。对于这一点，作者提出了解决办法：
The best solutions simply eliminate “he” and its connotations of male ownership by using other pronouns or by altering some other component of the sentence.
2. REWRITING
Learn to enjoy this tidying process.
这点令我感触最深，并且作者还举了一个他修改的段落的例子。并且自从开始接触到rewrite这个概念时，我最近的写作都会刻意地修减一下，感到用处很大。
3. GO WITH YOUR INTERESTS
最后一点讲到我们写的东西应该是我们感兴趣的，想写的内容。
No area of life is stupid to someone who takes it seriously. If you follow your affections you will write well and will engage your readers.
No subject is too specialized or too quirky if you make an honest connection with it when you write about it.
爱好没有高低之分，只要将你真正的热爱变成文字，读者自会来看。
