也許，不是所有人都會同意陶傑的觀點，不過，有一件事情，大家是無論如何都不能否認：這位報紙專欄《黃金冒險號》作者的文章的確好讀。

有幸上過幾堂陶傑教寫作的課。假如我現在的文筆算作合格，都因為我實在很用心上幾堂課。可能因為自小便沒有老師真真正正地教過如何寫文章——中小學語文課，都有作文堂，可總是老師在黑板上寫了個題目後，便任由大家隨意發揮，總之，下課鐘聲響起，便要完成遞交——陶傑的課完全叫我大開眼界。

有一課，他說道，要讀者喜歡自己的文章，裏面必定要有IRONY。因為平鋪直敘，會叫人大打呵欠，沒有心機讀下去。

那麼，IRONY是什麼？

我懶，沒有找來一兩本英漢字典查看究竟。對於我來說，陶傑口中所謂的IRONY，跟中文所講的諷刺有點相近。

假如一篇文章越多IRONY，越叫人覺得精彩，那麼，星期一《泰晤士報》那篇默西塞郡打比的賽後報導，就是一篇萬分精彩的文章。我以為，完全是教寫作的範文。

文章開首便叫人忍不住大笑（當然，如果你是利物浦擁躉，你只會哭笑不得）：

It was the best performance of his time at the club, he said. So good was the display that there was not more he could have asked of his team. These were not the words of David Moyes, basking in the glow of a derby victory so emphatic that it left the Scot wearing a grin from ear to ear. They were spoken by Roy Hodgson. Denial can be rarely have sounded so delusional.

讀下去，你會發現，原來輕易贏得球賽的愛華頓領隊DAVID MOYES并不是很滿意球隊的表現，這就讓這段文章開首更加精彩。假如要挑剔，我想，應該可以刪掉段落最後那一句。這個結論，應該由讀者來下。尤其，基本上任何一個讀者——擁護愛華頓的、或者支持利物浦的——都會有同一個結論：Denial can be rarely have sounded so delusional。

其餘IRONY的例子還有：

(一)Moyes may have identified the flaws and on the evidence of yesterday they are numerous, but it was up to those whom he selected from a squad once again affected by injury to exploit them. They thrived on the responsibility to such an extent that the Everton manager's subsequent claim that his team had not even needed to be at their best said as much about their opponents as it did about them.

（二）Seamus Coleman, a GBP60,000 signing from Sligo Rovers, first shrugged aside GBP5 million Lucas Leiva before rounding GBP4 million Paul Konchesky and providing Tim Cahill, a GBP2 million bargain, with a shooting opportunity that he gleefully accepted.

太多太多，實在不能盡錄。

不過，最喜歡的還是結尾那一段：

There was nothing unfortunate about Liverpool's latest defeat and Hodgson's dream of being the manager who guides the club to No. 19 has been fulfilled, but not in the way he intended. It is nineteenth position in the Barclays Premier League that he has taken them to, not that much-cherished league title of the same number, and the brave face he is putting on does not mask the predicament that even he accepts they are in.

我記得，星期天，我一邊慶祝愛華頓勝利，一邊看看下屆我們所講的默西塞郡打比會否是利物浦對燦米亞。機會似乎不大。那不是因為利物浦不會降班，那是因為燦米亞現在正居於第三組別聯賽的包尾位置，要他們升上第二組實在有點難度。