书城教材教辅大学英语写作理论与实务
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第18章 篇章的写作(The Whole Composition)(3)

Ending: What can you do to prevent your emotions from making you sick? “Learn to take care of your mind as well as your body,” advises Dr.Dudley “Recognizing that emotions trigger physiological reactionsand vice versais half the battle.”The other half is knowing that the foundations of good health lie in love, laughter and faith in oneself. (结尾不仅巧妙地运用了一个出现于首段的观点,言及了the other half...,对其进行拓展“The other half is knowing that the foundations of good health lie in love, laughter and faith in oneself”,这就不是单纯地追求形式上的首位呼应,而是使其观点在呼应中更趋全面缜密。)

8.自然式结尾(natural ending)

所谓自然式结尾,是指在一些介绍性、对比性的文章中,有时作者不好就文章中的问题作出具体的结论,特别是当读者站的角度不一样,会得出不同的观点,所以作者只要把问题的来龙去脉写清楚,并突出问题的特点,事情交代清楚了,文章也就结束了。读者只要稍微留心国外很多短文,作者就采用这种模式,因为读者读完后,会有各自的看法、意见,这种方式有利于激发读者的创造性思维。

以上结尾方法,不是灵丹妙药,需读者仔细体会,根据文章类型,灵活使用。要提醒大家的是,在结尾时,注意不要画蛇添足,老生常谈,简单重复,需言简意赅,当机立断。

(第三节)不同题材文章的写法

一、审题

英语写作,无论是初学者还是英语水平较高者,学会审题是非常关键的一步。因为这将直接决定作者的写作思路、材料的组织及文章展开的方法。那么,当你拿到一个题目或一段背景材料后,该怎样进行审题呢?

第一步,确定文章的体裁,也就是说,要弄清楚这个题目是写成记叙文,还是写成说明文,或是议论文,甚至应用文。一般来说,就像中文的题目一样,带有“记”、“事”、“人”或“讲述”等字眼的题目,一般都可以写成记叙文,如My Parents, An Outing, A Most Unforgettable Thing, John"s Story,My College Life等,因这些题目,在写作的过程中必将涉及时间、地点、人物、事件及事件的起因、经过、结果等要素,自然就应该按记叙文的要求进行写作。作文题目中带有“小议”、“浅析”、“论”、“说”、“评”、“驳”、“探讨”等字眼时,当然应该写成议论文。然而,有时作文题目没有上述字眼,如Knowledge is Power(知识就是力量),Where There is a Will, There is a Way(有志者,事竟成)等诸如此类的题目,作者主要是为了说明某种主张或观点,且题目就确定为主题句,自然应该写成议论文。

作文题目中要说明或介绍某一事物的形状、性质、成因或功能时,一般应当写成说明文。如An Introduction to My College,How to Take Photographs, My family等。说明文体裁的文章一般都含有说明对象或说明内容;此外,说明文的题目一般都比较平直,不带感情色彩,客观性比较强。

第二步,确定好了体裁之后,可以开始构建自己文章的提纲,常用的提纲有三类:草写提纲、主题提纲和句子提纲。后两种提纲,大部分教材都有涉及。现重点讨论第一类,且此类提纲简单易懂,容易组织。在审题完后,开始构建自己的文章框架,把随时出现在头脑里面的各种想法草草记录下来,而这些记录大部分是由单个的词或短语构成的,所以叫草写提纲。此类提纲对于时间短、任务紧的情况,特别是考试非常实用。如话题The Value of Doing Part-jobs for College Students。

草写提纲:Earning money to better the quality of living and learning.

Sense of responsibility.

Opportunity to learn about different kinds of jobs.

Develop good work habits and maybe learn practical skills.

二、描写文(Decription)

1.描写文的特点

什么是描写文?通常是指用描写的方法来描述和刻画人物、事物、地点等内容,从而达到表述其形态、性质和特点的一种文体。它的目的是作者通过感官(如眼、耳、鼻等)来呈现客观事物,给读者以身临其境的感觉,从而留下深刻的印象。

从描写目的来看,描写可以分客观描述(objective description)和主观描述(subjective description)。前者指的是对客观事物的如实描述,不带任何个人感情色彩。后者却不拘泥于客观事物本身,而是强调写作者本身对某种事物所持的一种感情、态度和看法。从描写对象来看,又可以分人物描写、物体描写、地点描写和情景描写。

2.描写文的写作技巧

(1)描写文的写作原则。

①描写目的要明确。描写是为刻画人物和表现主题服务的,不论是人物描写、物体描写、地点描写还是情景描写,都应当紧扣主题。

②描写特点要突出。不管是哪种描写对象,都要着重发现其突出特点,才能给读者留下深刻印象。

③描写要注意层次性。就是说在描写具体的对象时,作者先要精心安排,特别注意描写顺序的把握。

④描写要注重真实性与形象性结合,注意氛围、意境的渲染以及想象和情感的烘托。

3.人物的描写

人物描写即刻画人物的外貌、思想感情及言行举止,即人物描写不是简单的人物外貌细节的堆砌,更主要是依据人物本身的性格及身份,写出人物的特有的精神状态及个性化特点,从而凸显人物的心理特点和内心世界。人物描述可从正面(直接描绘人物的外貌、行为及心理活动)或侧面(通过其他人物来烘托)进行。

范文:

She

She is neither pretty nor tender, but she is the person I love most in the world and will love forever. Although she doesn"t say “I love you” to me or comfortably embrace me when I get into trouble, but she is the one person in the world who loves me most and will love me forever. Yes, this individual is my mother, someone I love most, even though I have never acknowledged that love.

She is quiet but serious person of medium height, and has short black hair. She seldom speaks, but when she speaks to me, she always speaks fast with dark eyes, sparkling at me as if she knows everything about me. Ever since I was a little girl, one question kept puzzling me:how does she know what I want to say, what I want to do and what I have buried in heart? Looking straight into her eyes, I got the answer: because she loves me.

......

这是一篇学生的作文,写的是大家非常熟悉的主题“母亲”。作者没有用一大堆篇幅描写母亲的外貌,只是用一两句概括,更多是来描写作者对母亲的思念和及其母亲的行为举止和性格特点,这些描写都为一个主题服务,让读者深深体会作者对母亲的那份爱、那份思念。

4.地点的描写

地点的描写主要用来介绍旅游胜地或具有特殊意义的某一地点。地点描写一般不是单纯的描写介绍,往往是通过对某一地点的刻画描写,表达作者的思想感情,让读者感同身受。当然,描写时一定要选取最能打动人、最富感染力的细节才能达到描写的效果。此外,描写地点时要遵照一定的顺序,主要从观察者角度由近及远、从左到右、从前到后,当然也可以选定某一特殊意义点展开,并用上不同的方位词。

范文:

Perhaps the most unforgettable thing in the bazaar, apart from its general atmosphere, is the place where they make linseed oil. It is a vast, somber cavern of a room, some thirty feet high and sixty feet square, and so thick with the dust of centuries that the mud brick walls and vaulted roof are only dimly visible. In this cavern are three massive stone wheels, each with a huge pole through its centre as an axle. The pole is attached at the one end to an upright post, around which it can revolve, and at the other to a blindfolded camel, which walks constantly in a circle, providing the motive power to turn the stone wheel.

本段选自“The Middle Eastern Bazaar”,主要对中东集市中古老又让人印象深刻的亚麻油坊进行描写,增添了中东集市的古老印象,让读者更容易融入集市的氛围中,感受异地风情。

5.物品的描写

物品的描写取决于作者的观察角度,或从上到下,或整体到局部,或从里至外,但无论从哪个角度描写,都要按观察的顺序描写,写出的文章才有条理,让读者易懂。

6.情景描写

情景描写其实是一个综合的表现手法,它包括人物、地点及环境的描写。描写的对象可能是生活场景或自然风光。但无论是哪种描写,其实都是用来衬托主题,所以描写时要根据主题的旨调,确定描写的重点,并按照一定的先后顺序进行,当然也可以先对场景的全貌作概括描述,然后再对主要特点加以详尽细腻的描写。

范文:

A Walk on the Seashore

Not very far from my house lies seashore in the south. We can go there on foot in about ten minutes. In summer evenings when the sun is setting, my father likes to take me with my sisters to have a walk along the seashore. Though we do not like the loneliness of th place, yet we are glad to enjoy the coolness of sea breeze and the beautiful scenery of the nature.

The beach is rather rough with many big and small stones on the surface. The sand is also very big in form and brown in color. At the time of low tide, we can see the reefs appearing out of the water. It is not fit for swimmers to come here to bathe, so it is quiet all over the year.

Moreover, when the tides are low, we may see also some poor boys of the near-by villages. They carry bamboo baskets on their backs or under their arms. Running on the solitary beach, they are trying to pick up the small crabs among the rocks. They take them home for food or they sell them for a little money.

On the sea, we can see the distant fishing boats sailing back to the harbor to anchor there at night. The setting sun looks like an immense yolk. The sky turns into orange red and the surface of the sea is glittering like a sheet of gold leaf. The waves beating at the rocks sound like music. Ater all, a walk on the seashore is always enjoyable.