Punctuation (标点) Is for Clarity
When you talk, you do not depend upon words alone to tell your listener what you mean. ___16___ You shrug a shoulder, raise an eyebrow, clasp hands, bend forward or backward, stamp your foot, nod or shake your head. These body languages may vary from culture to culture but they do help the speakers to convey meanings. ___17___ You yell or whisper; speak calmly or angrily; lower or raise your voice at the end of a statement or a question. Meaning in talk is also affected by pauses and silence, which are often as significant as words themselves. ___18___
Similarly, when we write, we cannot expect words alone to make clear to our reader what we have in mind. The pauses, stresses and gestures which occur in speech must be represented in writing by various marks of punctuation if meaning is to be fully clear. ___19___
Punctuation came into existence only for the purpose of making clear the meaning of writing words. Every mark of punctuation is a sort of road sign provided to help the reader along his way.___20___ It is harmful or ineffective if it interrupts the flow of thought from your mind to that of your readers.
A. Each of us has probably seen a skilled actor convey ideas and moods without using any words at all.
B. The practice of punctuation, however, has been changing in the last two centuries.
C. Facial and body gestures can and do add much to the words themselves.
D. The needs of the eye are quite different from those of the ear.
E. Additionally, the tones and stress of your voice can and do influence the meanings of words you speak.
F. Punctuation began to become standard in the middle of the 19th century....
G. Punctuation is effective if it helps the reader to understand.