二、写作技巧
一篇好的短文应该观点明确,思路清晰,论述有力、准确,语言正确,文字简洁、流畅、连贯,结构严谨。短文是由段落组成,因此写好段落是写好短文的关键。
段落的组成分为三部分,主题句(Topic Sentence),推展句(Development Sentences)和结论句(Concluding Sentence)。下面分别就这三方面进行详解。
(一)主题句
1.主题句的作用
主题句是全段的核心句,读者通过主题句能了解段落的中心思想。一个好的主题句还能限制话题所谈论的范围,表明段落展开的方向及方法。在英语文章中,围绕主题句展开的段落很多。下面两段摘自1995年的阅读试题。
A job applicant has the responsibility for ascertaining certain types of information prior to the interview. First,the applicant should know what kind of job he wants and how that job relates to his career objective.It is important that the applicant be able to state his reasons for wishing to work for a particular company.Second,the applicant should seek as much information as possible concerning the company.Relevant information for the applicant to locate includes such items as the location of the home and regional offices,the financial status of the company,plans for expansion,and company philosophy.Information about most major corporations is available in reference books and periodicals.
上段第一句是段落的主题句,句子的大意是:申请工作的人在接受面试前有责任了解某些方面的信息。主题句中的关键词是ascertaining certain types of information。紧接着,文章围绕主题句从两方面展开,论述了申请人应了解两类信息。
If Europeans thought a drought was something that happened only in Africa,they know better now. After four years of below?normal rainfall (in some cases only 10 percent of the annual average), vast areas of France,Spain,Portugal,Belgium,Britain and Ireland are dry and barren .Water is so low in the canals of northern France that waterway traffic is forbidden except on weekends.Oyster growers in Britain report a 30 percent drop in production because of the loss of fresh water in local rivers necessary for oyster breeding.In southeastern England,the rolling green hills of Kent have turned so brown that officials have been weighing plans to pipe in water from wales.In Portugal,farmers in the southern Alentejo region have held prayer meetings for rain-so far,in vain.
上段中第二句是主题句,它点明了全段的中心思想,即:四年来,法国、西班牙、葡萄牙、比利时,英国及爱尔兰的降雨量低于常年,这些国家的广大地区都严重缺水。下面的各句都是围绕这一主题展开的。
从上面两段中我们可以看到英语的段落只能有一个中心思想,如要再论述其他与该段中心思想无关的内容应另起一段。
2.主题句的位置
主题句的位置可以在段首:
London′s weather is very strange .It can rain several times a day;each time the rain may come suddenly after the sun is shining brightly.The air is damp(潮湿的)and chill(冷的)right through July.On one March afternoon on Hampton Heath last year it rained three times,there was one hail(冰雹)storm,and the sun shone brilliantly-all this within two hours′s time.It is not unusual to see men and women rushing down the street on a sunny morning with umbrellas on their arms.No one knows what the next few moments will bring.
主题句的位置可以在段落中间:
Just as I settle down to read or watch television,he demands that I play with him.If I get a telephone call,he screams in the background or knocks something over.I always have to hang up to find out what′s wrong with him, Baby?sitting with my little brother is no fun. He refuses to let me eat a snack(快餐)in peace.Usually he wants half of whatever I have to eat.Then,when he finally grows tired,it takes about an hour for him to fall asleep.
主题句的位置可以在段尾:
Doctors are of the opinion that most people cannot live beyond 100 years,but a growing number of scientists believe that the aging process can be controlled.There are more than 12 000 Americans over 100 years old,and their numbers are increasing each year.Dr?James Langley of Chicago claims that,theoretically and under ideal(理想的)conditions,animals,including man,can live six times longer than their normal period of growth.A person′s period of growth lasts about 25 years.If Dr.Langley′s theory is accurate(准确的), future generations can expect a life span(寿命)of 150 years .
主题句的位置可在段首段尾同时出现:
Good manners are important in all countries,but ways of expressing good manners are different from country to country .Americans eat with knives and forks(叉);Japanese eat with chopsticks(筷子).Americans say"Hi"when they meet;Japanese bow.Many American men open doors for women;Japanese men do not.On the surface,it appears that good manners in America are not good manners in Japan,and in a way this is true.But in any country,the only manners that are important are those involving one person′s behavior toward another person.In all countries it is good manners to behave considerately toward others and bad manners not to. It is only the way of behaving politely that differs from country to country.
(以上4段摘自大学英语精读课本)
主题句出现在段落首或尾完全由写作需要而定。一般地说来,写这样100多词的小短文把主题句放在段首更有利于考生扣准中心思想展开论述。
3.怎样写好主题句
主题句在段落中有着举足轻重的作用。因此写好主题句是写好段落的关键。在构思主题句时要注意以下三个方面:
(1)主题句首先应是一个完整的句子,任何词组或修饰成分都不能作主题句。如:More burdens,就不是一个完整的句子。Reading is thought to be a kind of conversation between the reader and the text,则是一个比较好的主题句。
(2)主题句不应太笼统概括。如:William Shakespeare is great这句话很笼统,对段落如何展开没有指导和限定作用,因而不能作主题句。如改为:William Shakespeare wrote several historic plays,则下文就能围绕莎氏的历史剧展开论述了。
(3)主题句不能太具体。如:The dictionary is small,句子如果太琐碎具体就失去进一步展开的意义了。
(4)各段的主题句应相互照应。在以 No Smoking为题的作文中,各段的主题句分别是:
Smoking is harmful.
Smoking does not only harm the smokers but also people around them.
Therefore,smoking is a bad habit.
第二段的主题句用not only,but also连接词语沟通了上下两段的内容。第三段的Therefore又起了承上启下的作用,使全篇融为一体。
(二)段落的展开
展开段落的方法有很多种,在这里我们仅介绍几种常用方法。
1.依据归纳法或演绎法进行论述
依据归纳法展开段落是指在段落中先引用具体事实或因由进行阐述或论说,进而得出结论。演绎法则是由一般推出特殊情况的结论。
下面这一段落是用归纳法展开的段落。最后一句是结论,也是主题句。
And that is exactly what reading a book should be:a conversation between you and the auther.Presumably,he knows more about the subject than you do;naturally,you will have the proper humility as you approach him.But don′t let anybody tell you that a reader is supposed to be solely on the receiving end.Understanding is a two?way operation;learning doesn′t consist in being an empty receptacle.The learner has to question himself and the teacher.He even has to argue with the teacher,once he understands what the teacher is saying.And marking a book is literally an expression of your differences,or agreements of opinion,with the author.
2.依据重要性展开段落
依据思想或事实或理由的重要性的先后次序进行论述,可以从次要至重要,也可以从重要至次重要。下面段落是以次重要至重要的方法进行论述的。作者首先指出(医生)对病人撒谎不仅对医生本人不好,也会伤害同事,进而会有损于整个医疗事业。
Lies also do harm to those who tell them:harm to their integrity and,in the long run,to their credibility.Lies hurt their colleagues as well.The suspicion of deceit undercuts the work of the many doctors who are scrupulously honest with their patiens;it contributes to the spiral of lawsuits and of "defen sive medicine",and thus it injures,in turn,the entire medical profession.
3.依据比较和对比法进行论述
一般地说,比较是指对事物的相同方面进行比较;对比是指对比事物的差异或不同方面。下面两段就采用了对比方法。这两段将口头英语与书面英语的不同方面作了比较,两段的观点都一一对应,比如:Oral English is imformal while written English is comparatively formal就是一对观点的对比。另外,两段之间用unlike oral Englsh承接,既让段落过渡自然,又使对比强烈。
First of all,oral English is usually considered informal.So no matter how poor one′s language is and how strange and foreign one′s pronunciation is,it seems insignificant if only one can make his audience understood.Secondly,as to the audience,they are only interested in grasping the meaning,not actually mind,or even hardly notice how many grammatical mistakes the speaker makes.Furthermore,oral English is also regarded adaptable.When we cannot express something precisely,we may give the explanation of it instead,or correct the mistakes on the spot.So oral English gives less chances of misunderstanding.
Unlike oral English,written English is comparatively formal.It requires good spelling and perfect grammar.Poor spelling and too many grammatical mistakes will put readers in a puzzling difficulty.They would be confused about what writers are getting at.In addition,once the words are printed on the paper and handed to whoever the person concerned,writers can no longer make any changes.To avoid this,one has to pay much attention to spelling,practise grammer and write clearly-constructed paragraphs.As a result it will take longer time and much more efforts to communicate in written English than in oral English.
4.依据时间的先后进行论述
依据时间的先后次序展开段落,就是完全按照事物实际发展的时间先后进行论述。如:下面两段就是以时间为序介绍鹿的生长过程。随着夏季一天天过去,又随着秋去冬来,鹿的新陈代谢也随着季节的推移而变化。
As the summer progresses and the fawns grow,they become less dependent on their mother′s milk and more dependent on growing plants as food sources.The adult males spend the summer growing antlers and getting fat.Both males and females continue to eat high quality food in the fall in order to deposit body fat for the winter.In the case of does and fawns,a great deal of energy is expended either in milk production or in growing,and fat is not accumulated as quickly as it is in full grown males.Fat reserves are like bank accounts to be drawn on in the winter when food supplies are limited and sometimes difficult to reach because of deep snow.
As fall turns into winter,other changes take place.Fawns lose their spotted coat.Hair on all the deer becomes darker and thicker.The change in the hair coats is usually complete by September and maximum hair depths are reached by November or December when winter becomes cold.
5.依据空间顺序展开段落
依据空间的次序进行论述应是有序地由远至近或由近至远,由上至下或由下至上对事物进行描写。下面的例子描写了一幅美丽宁静的夜景。作者先描写空中的月亮,再随洒向大地的月光写到湖四周随风摇曳的树枝,又由青蛙的叫声把读者引到了湖的中央,最后结尾讲:这是一个多么迷人的夜晚。这个段落文字简洁流畅,有序地按空间顺序由上写到下,由外写到里。读者可在平时的练习中注意模仿。
It is a beautiful and quiet night.The moon is like a disc hanging on the dark sky,which casts its light on everything.Around the lake are some trees,their slender leaves billowing in the gentle wind.There must be some frogs in the middle of the lake,whose endless singing can be heard clearly.What an attractive night!
(三)写好结尾句
段落结尾或文章的结尾的方法很多,比如在文章的结论段提出问题,让读者自己去解答;引用谚语或名人名言进一步印证作者的观点;或将前面所讲的内容重点摘述等。在这里仅介绍几种适合写短文结尾的常用方法。
1.回答段落主题句中暗示的问题
如下面段落的第一句作为主题句阐明了做摘要的全过程显示(一个人)的决策能力。在文章的结尾作者以答复的口气作结论说:根据你在做笔记时所投入的时间和精力,你做摘要的效率会得到相应的提高。
The whole process of summarizing implies an ability to make decisions.You have to decide what the author′s plan is,how the material has been organized,what the key ideas are,and what material is used merely as example.You will not find the technique of summarizing easy at first because it requires so many decisions.But your efficiency in making summaries,as well as your general reading efficiency,will increase in proportion to the time and effort you spend on perfecting your notetaking technique.
2.呼应主题句中的关键词,使用关键词的同义词重申段落的中心思想
下面段落的第一句为主题句,其关键词是famous。在结尾句中可使用它的同义词well?known作结论。
Our university is one of the most famous universities in China.It is an old university whose origins can be traced back to 1938,when it was first built up in Yanan.Now,it is located in the northwest of Beijing.As a university of liberal arts,it has 25 departments,more than 50 majors,about 7 000 students and 4 000 teachers.It also plays a leading role in social science.In short,our university is well?known both at home and abroad.
3.将段落中所论述的内容以摘要的方式进行总结
下面段落阐述了三方面的内容:environment,goods和service,可以用连接词not only…but also将三方面概括为一句作为结论句。
Walking into those luxury shopping centers,people will be fascinated by the beautiful decorations,graceful environment and elegant goods.There are various things for people to select:fashionable clothes,lovely stationery or precious jewelries.Besides people will be warmly greeted by salesmen and women who will offer a satisfactory service.In a word,such shopping centers provide not only pleasant environment,abundant goods but also excellent service.
4.以提问的方式结束段落
下面的段落讲述吃早饭的重要性,结尾句作者设问:如果不吃早饭或凑合吃一口会怎么样?这样的结尾为下一段不吃早饭的危害作了铺垫。
Many health experts consider breakfast to be the most important meal of the day.If we eat a good breakfast,we′ll have the energy and nutrients we need to begin our working day vigorously.It is especially true if one′s work involves mental activity.However,what happens if people skip breakfast or substitute a simple one for a high qualified meal?
5.使用过渡词给文章或段落作结论
如:In brief,tourism,according to my opinion,should not be encouraged.这里in brief起总结作用。Certaily,close cooperation will make the world a better place.这里的certainly发挥了强调及过渡作用。
以上两种方法简单易学,注意在实践中应用。
责任编辑:小草