Not so long ago, writes Jeremy Paxman, the English were "polite, unexcitable, reserved, and had hot-water bottles instead of a sex-life". Today the end of empire has killed off the Bulldog Breed - "fearless and philistine, safe in taxis and invaluable in shipwrecks" - and transformed the great public schools. Princess Diana was mourned with the effusive emotionalism of an Italian saint. Leader-writers in "The Times" even praise the sexual skills of English lovers ...So what are the defining features of "Englishness"? How can a country of football hooligans have such an astonishingly low murder rate? Does the nation's sense of itself extend to millions of black, Asian and other immigrant Britons? Is it grounded in arrogant, nostalgic fantasy or can it form the basis for building a realistic future within Europe? To answer these crucial questions, Paxman looks for clues in the English language, literature, luke-warm religion and "curiously passionless devotion" to cricket. He explores attitudes to Catholics, t
Originally published as two distinct collections, "Depraved andInsulting English" brings to light the language's most offensiveand obscene words--words that have fallen out of today's lexiconbut will no doubt delight, amuse, and in some cases provesurprisingly useful. Who hasn't searched for the right word todescribe a colleague's maschalephidrosis (runaway armpitperspiration) or a boss's pleonexia (insane greed)? And what betterway is there to insult the scombroid landlord (resembling amackerel) or that tumbrel of a brother-in-law (a person who isdrunk to the point of vomiting) than by calling him by his rightfulname? A compact compendium of ingenious words for anyone who's beentongue-tied, flabbergasted, or dumbfounded, "Depraved and InsultingEnglish" supplies the appropriate vocabulary for any occasion. Wordlovers, chronic insulters, berayers, bescumbers, and bespewers needfear no more--finding the correct word to wow your friends orsilence your enemies just got a whole lot easier.
This is the book on all of Tolkien's invented languages,spoken by hobbits, elves, and men of Middle-earth -- a dicitonaryof fourteen languages, an English-Elvish glossary, all the runesand alphabets, and material on Tolkien the linguist.
Why is it that some writers struggle for months to come up withthe perfect sentence or phrase while others, hunched over akeyboard deep into the night, seem unable to stop writing? In TheMidnight Disease, neurologist Alice W. Flaherty explores themysteries of literary creativity: the drive to write, what sparksit, and what extinguishes it. She draws on intriguing examples frommedical case studies and from the lives of writers, from FranzKafka to Anne Lamott, from Sylvia Plath to Stephen King. Flaherty,who herself has grappled with episodes of compulsive writing andblock, also offers a compelling personal account of her ownexperiences with these conditions.
The cowboy that enigmatic, larger-than-life icon of our culturehas long been considered a figure of fast hands, steel nerves, andfew words. But according to Ramon Adams, cowboys, once amongthemselves, enjoyed a vivid, often boisterous repartee. You mightsay that around a campfire they could make more noise than ajackass in a tin barn. Here in one volume is a complete guide tocowboy-speak. Like many of todays foreign language guides, thishandy book is organized not alphabetically but situationally, lestyou find yourself in Texas at a loss for words. There are sectionson the ranch, the cowboys duties, riding equipment, the roundup,roping, branding, even square dancing. There are words and phrasesyoull recognize because theyve filtered into everyday language bluelightnin, star gazin, the whole shebang plus countless others that,sadly, are seldom heard in current speech: lonely as a preacher onpay night, restless as a hen on a hot griddle, crooked as a snakein a cactus patch. As entertaining as it is authoritati
十堰，作为汉江上一颗璀璨的明珠，其地处鄂西生态文化旅游圈的核心位置，山水文化旅游资源丰富。为了让更多的国际友人了解汉江，亲临十堰，感受其独特魅力，提升汉江旅游产业软实力，实现其健康、快速、可持续发展，从事汉江文化研究的专家学者们共同开展汉水流域（十堰段）旅游资源译介工作，撰写、译著完成了《魅力汉江之带老外逛十堰》。 《魅力汉江之带老外逛十堰》包括四个部分，分别为：第一部分：全景十堰（General View of Shiyan City）；第二部分：问道武当（Visiting Wudang Mountains）；第三部分：探秘神农（Exploring Shennongjia Forest）;第四部分：十堰周边（Shiyan Suburbs）。
