简洁是活力的副产品。如果我们能用简练的句子表达思维，文章就必然会充满活力，令人读后印象深刻。反之，冗长的句式和呆板的词语会使一篇内容不错的文章变得死气沉沉，暗然失色。
英语也不例外。例如有人用了25个字写了一句攻击学院运动商业化的话：
The people attacked the practice of making great profits out of college sports from the fact that it had a detrimental influence on college students.
多啰唆啊!这句话用心良苦，但是言不简意不赅，可以简化如下：
The people attacked commercialisation of college sports as detrimental to students.
怎样使篇章简短，笔调清新，是件说来话长的事，容后再谈。这里只提出一样使句子简短生动的方法;那就是多多利用状态副词(Adverbs of Manner)以取代状态副词短语(Adverb Phrases of Manner)。
试比较下列六组句子：①a—⑥a各有个状态副词短语;①b—⑥b各有个状态副词(即有-ly的副词)。
①a. As an enthusiastic reader, Peter read many books without paying attention to their differences in quality or subject matter.
b. As an enthusiastic reader, Peter read many books indiscriminately(不作选择地)
②a. Good staff performed their tasks with great care and strong sense of responsibility.
b. Good staff performed their tasks conscientiously.(诚心诚意地)
③a. A cheque of million dollars was sent to the Kidney Research Centre without indicating the name of the donor.
b. A cheque of million dollars was anonymously donated to the Kidney Research Centre.(匿名地)
④a. The pharmacist, through an oversight, made a mistake in the prescription.
b. The pharmacist inadvertently made a mistake in the prescription.(不经心地)
⑤a. The new encyclopedia, published regardless of expenses, is now available at a reduced price.
b. The new encyclopedia, lavishly published, is now available at a reduced price.
⑥a. When we read the annual report,we were impressed by the content presented in simple words and sentences.
b. When we read the annual report, we were impressed by its concisely presented content.
从上述六组句子看，很明显的，状态副词比状态副词短语简洁有力，活泼可爱，说话或写文章时，应该多多采用才是。
