Great Sentences 佛老英文好句欣赏：012 为什么大人物说话听起来都那么牛？

今天跟你分享的一组句子，摘自《权力的游戏》（Game of Thrones)：

I am Daenerys Stormborn.

Your masters may have told you lies about me, or they may have told you nothing.

It does not matter.

I have nothing to say to them.

I speak only to you.

First, I went to Astapor.

Those who were slaves in Astapor now stand behind me, free.

Next, I went to Yunkai.

Those who were slaves in Yunkai now stand behind me, free.

Now I have come to Meereen.

I am not your enemy.

Your enemy is beside you.

Your enemy steals and murders your children.

Your enemy has nothing for you but chains and suffering and commands.

I do not bring you commands.

I bring you a choice.

And I bring your enemies what they deserve.

– David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Game of Thrones (2014)

这段话好在哪里？

短。

简短有力，抑扬顿挫。加上说话人一字一板不慌不忙的吐字方式，再加上她的两条龙，听者无不动容。很难想象现场有人会不被这段话震撼到。

你能想象龙女对着一群奴隶和苦力喊话时引经据典，从句套从句吗？

这就是短句的力量。

所以你看马丁路德金博士每次说完一大段话后，都要加一句I have a dream. 人群一阵欢呼。再说一大段，再说一句I have a dream today. 人群沸腾了。

这就是演讲中短句的力量。

你可以找一些历史上著名的演讲稿，重点欣赏一下里面的短句。

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今天想跟你探讨一个英文写作中的小问题：how long should your sentences be?

一般的规则（大多数作家的best practices）是25 words，就是说一句话最好不超过25个单词。

我看到很多英语作者都认为25个词是上限，一个句子超过25个词就比较难理解了。

还有更极端的观点提倡一个句子最好不超过15个词，这时候一般读者平均能理解90%以上你的意思。如果一个句子超过了43个单词，读者就只能理解10%你要表达的意思了。

据说世界销量第一的英文杂志Reader’s Digest 的平均句子长度是17个单词，所以读起来不费劲，什么文化层次的人都能读。

另一本畅销杂志《花花公子》（Playboy）的平均句子长度是多少个单词呢？

Well, who cares? Who will read the words in the Playboy Magazines?