外报外刊阅读基本知识.docx

1、外报外刊阅读基本知识Newspaper Reading 1Text OneWhat do we learn from the front page?The first page of any newspaper, called the front page, is the one readers are guaranteed to see. It is only logical then for newspapers to use this page to present the most important news of the day. Even more logical is to u

2、se this space to chronicle other information contained in the paper and about the paper itself. 1. The papers banner, or flag. This is the name of the newspaper, usually written in large, ornate, or distinctive lettering. The banner may also contain a trademark picture or symbol. Some papers also pr

3、int the weather forecast for the day to one side of the banner. The other side may list a brief index to what can be found on the inside pages. When items such as the weather and index are placed at either side of the bannerthe head of the newspaperthey are commonly referred to as “ears.”2. Date of

4、publication tells you the day of the week, the month, and the year that the newspaper was printed.3. Newsstand price. This is the amount you will pay for the newspaper if you are buying it from a machine or at the store counter.4. This is the banner headline, often just called a banner. This should

5、not be confused with the banner that is the name of the newspaper. The banner headline is the top headline, frequently running across the whole page. Its large type size dominates the page.5. A headline for a news story. By choosing the correct type size and style, the editor tries to focus your att

6、ention on the story under the headline. Most headlines (usually called heads, for short, in newsrooms) try to give you an idea of what the stories are about. Headlines are nearly always written with the verb in the present tense. The story, on the other hand, is written in the past tense. It sounds

7、as though the two wouldnt mix, but they doand the reason for the difference is logical. Newspapers try to be as up-to-date2 as possible. With the headline in the present tense, the reader is given the sense that the events are happening right now. For the story, however, the past tense is used to ma

8、ke the account more accurate and readable. For example, the headline might read:_ PRESENDENT MEETS WITH NEWARAB CHIEF_And since the newspaper is describing a meeting that has already taken place, the story would be written in the past tense.6. A byline tells who wrote the story. The writer of a stor

9、y, however, does not always receive a byline, and often a story will appear with no byline. Often, credit will be given to reports from the wire service, such as the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI). Reports prefer, of course, to have bylines appear on their stories because

10、 bylines give them individual credit for a particular piece.7. The index tells which sections of the paper contain certain types of news. One type of index simply lists the sections in alphabetical order. Others are more complete, in that they also provide a summary of the news and feature articles

11、for this particular day. Unlike a book, which has the index at the back, a newspaper often prints the index on the front page. The exact location and size vary with every newspaper. Text Two Headlines How a Headline Is Formed in English NewspapersIn reading English newspapers, one of the difficultie

12、s the student will face is the headlines. A headline is full of special grammatical structures, technical expressions and abbreviations. The student must keep it in mind that the purpose of and function of the headline is to catch the readers attention at a glance on the one hand and sum up1 the who

13、le news story on the other.For this reason, the structure of English in a headline is somewhat different from that of prose or other writings, at least, from the grammatical point of view.If he knows whats what about the structure of a headline, the student will be in the right direction toward read

14、ing any English newspaper at his disposal.The following points are some of the most essential characteristics (structures) of a headline:1. Use simple present tense to indicate the action or event which happened in the past, as in: 200 G. I.s Clash With 50 Koreans (= 200 Government Issues, i.e. Amer

15、ican soldiers clashed with 50 Koreans)Mr. Lu Wins Japan Golf Prize in Play-off Cabbie Murderer Gets Death U S OKs Lebanon Offer on P O W s2. Use present progressive to indicate the action or event which is going on at the present moment or in the near future, for instance:Water Supply Running Low in

16、 Taipei Area (= Water supply is running low in Taipei area)More examples:Columbia VIPs Visiting HereAmin Missing after Assassination AttemptAndy Young Watching His TongueProtectionism Posing Threat to World Trade3. Use the infinitive to indicate the future event or action, for example:Cuba to Swap C

17、aptives with US (= Cuba is to swap captives with US)H K Students to Continue DemonstrationsPanther Leader to Return to USGays Rally Worldwide to Fight for RightsIndia to Elect New Prexy on Aug. 84. Use the past participle tense to indicate the action or event in the passive tense, as in:Taiwan Drug

18、Trafficker Sentenced to Death (= Taiwan drug trafficker was sentenced to death)Two Jail-breakers Charged in 36 Taipei BurglariesPeiping Found Fishing in Troubled ME Waters with Equipment as BaitRussians Said Spying in Canadian Waters5. Verb-to-be is often omitted, unless to avoid ambiguity2, for exa

19、mple:S. Africa Optimistic about Future of Gold (= South Africa is optimistic about the future of gold) Later-Hour Accord to Accept World Courts Jurisdiction Concorde Valuable for Atmosphere StudySecurity Situation in SE Asia Still Crucial, Sensitive 6. Use short phrase for effective purpose, for exa

20、mple:Sanatorium for NeedyButterfly Park in SouthLocal News in BriefTaiwan Rice for Manlia7. The articles (a, an and the) are usually omitted in a headline, for example:Car Rams into Clinic (= A car rammed into a clinic)New Crackdown on Auto PollutionSanatorium for Needy (= A sanatorium is for the ne

21、edy)8. Use comma ( , ) for the omission3 of and, as in the following:Severe Quake Hits Chile, Argentina (= Severe quake hits Chile and Argentina)Bus Collision Kills Two, Injuries 40U.S., USSR to Enlarge N-Test Ban Talk Chris Evert, Russ Gal Enter Wimby Finals9. Use semi-colon ( ; ) to separate two i

22、ndependent clauses with two different events, as in:India Goes Nuclear; U. S. ConcernedHua Fires Dissidents; Tengs Return LikelyAmin to Sever Ties with U. K., Switch Embrace France; Confirms Pilot10. Use colon ( : ) to indicate the sources of the news, as in:Shen: ROC to Overcome Any Difficulty Cart

23、er: SALT Talk Not to Link With Human Rights Concept Many Scholars to Return from U.S.: Dr. Chien Secret Diplomacy Unavoidable: Dr. KOPEC Agrees to Freeze Oil Price: Yamani11. Use question mark ( ? ) to indicate the event or the news which is highly doubtful, for example: Mao In Critical Condition?U

24、Thant Open to draft?NATO for Far East? Many different styles or patterns of headlines are widely used on the pages of school and daily newspapers.1) Flush Left Headlines These are basic headlines for streamlined newspapers. Caps5 and lower case are used to make them easy to read. For good appearance

25、, each line should fill at least three-quarters of its column; It may extend all the way across the column if described.Flush left headlines may be written in various sizes to suit each storys importance.Reshuffle Reduces Frances Cabinet2) Streamer or Banner HeadlinesAn important story may rate a st

26、reamer headline across the top of the front page or the sports page. This headline, in large type, extends completely across all columns. It must therefore be written to an exact unit count. For example: 12th Party Congress Opens3) Other Styles or Patterns of Headlinesa. Drop Form ( 阶梯下坠形)Many New Y

27、ork Clubs And Office BuildingsViolate the Fire Law b. Inverted Pyramid Form (倒金字塔形)Heavy Losses Are Reported in Fighting in South Lebanonand along the Coastc. Jump Head （转页标题）Pentagon Plans U.S. Plans WeaponSystem to Fight Against SatellitesSoviet Satellites ( 原标题) ( 转页标题)Many New York Clubs Power b

28、ills And Office Buildings sparkText Tree The Compositions of a Newspaper StoryEach news story must answer the questions which are called a reporters “five (really six) faithful servants”who? What? When? Where? How or Why? In writing a news story, a reporter will try to answer each of these questions

29、 in the first two paragraphs. These paragraphs are called the lead (pronounced leed). The lead is the most important facts. In the body of the story, the reporter must document or support these facts. As a result, the structure of a news story resembles an upside-down triangle, and stories written i

30、n this manner are said to follow the “inverted pyramid” style3. The lead summarize the main facts, and each succeeding paragraph fleshes out the story by adding other facts in descending order of importance4. The diagram below illustrates a typical story structure. WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE LEAD PARAGR

31、APHS HOW OR WHY NEXT MOST IMPORTANT SUPPORTING FACTS LESS IMPORTANT SUPPORTING FACTS LEAST IMPORTANT FACTSCan you find the five Ws in the lead in the following news story? Use these questions to help you: What happened? When did it happen? How did it happen? Who was involved? Where did it happen?Three convicts from the city jail who escaped yesterday by hiding in a laundry truck may still be in the area, the sheriffs Office announced today. You do not have to read further in this story unless you want to know more details. The lead satisfied all the questions you would generally want to