填空题

When you speak and write, no law says you have to use big words. Short words are as good as long ones, and short, old words like sun and grass and home are best of all. A lot of small words, more than you might think, can meet your needs with a (11) , grace and charm that large words lack. Big words can make the way (12) for those who hear what you say and read what you write. They add (13) to your prose. Small words are the ones we seem to have known from birth. They are like the (14) fire that warms the home, and they (15) a clear light on big things: night and day, love and hate, war and peace, life and death. Short words are bright, like (16) that glow in the night; sharp like the blade of a knife; hot like (17) tears that scald the cheek; quick like moths that flit from flame to flame; and terse like the dart and sting of a bee.If a long word says just what you want, do not fear to use it. (18) . Make them the spine and the heart of what you speak and write. Like fast friends, they will not let you down. (19) . This stricture helped me focus on the power of the message I was trying to convey. And in setting myself this task, I did not feel especially confined. (20) . In order of frequency they are I, you, ’the, a, to, is, it, that, of, and and in. Other studies tell us that the 50 most common words in English are each one syllable.