英文段落组织方式.docx

1、英文段落组织方式英语短文段落写作方法段落是扩展中心思想的一组意义密切相关的句子, 它是介于句子和篇章之间的一个写作单位, 是连句成篇的一个必经阶段。一、段落的结构一个段落一般由三部分组成: 主题句(Topic Sentence), 扩展句(Development Sentence)和结论句(Concluding Sentence)。例如：（主题句）Reasons for the growing popularity of fast-food chains appear obvious enough. （扩展句）For one thing, the food is generally cheap

2、. A hamburger at McDonalds, for example, costs about one-half as much as a similar meal at a regular sit down restaurant. （扩展句）Another advantage of the chains is their convenience. For busy working couples who dont want to spend the time or effort cooking, fast-food restaurants offer an attractive a

3、lternative. （结论句）And, judging by the fact that customers return in increasing numbers, many Americans like the taste of the food.从上面的例子来看，快餐连锁店日益普遍的原因非常明显，这是段落的主题句。原因主要反映在快餐的廉价、方便两个方面，这是段落的两个扩展句。结论句起到与主题句相呼应，小结全段文字的作用。(1) 主题句。主题句是英文段落的典型特点, 顾名思义, 主题句就是提出段落主题的句子。它是一个段落的中心，要求全段其他所有的文字都围绕它展开。它指出了这段内容的主

4、导思想。主题句既可以用在段落的开始或中间, 也可以用在段落的末尾, 但是对于考试来说, 我们应该尽量把主题句放置于一个段落的开始, 这既有助于组织材料, 也可以使文章结构清楚。主题句是一篇文章的灵魂, 文章的所有材料和论述都是围绕主题句展开的, 因此, 写好段落的主题句是写好作文的关键, 一个好的主题句首先应该紧扣文章的中心思想, 把该段落的内容限定在文章的中心内容之内。例如:Physical ExerciseMore and more people today are realizing the importance of regular physical exercises. In the

5、 past, most people were involved in manual labor out in the fresh air of the fields. Nowadays a lot of people work in offices, spending most of their time indoors. In the evenings they usually sit watching TV or reading newspapers. Their daily lives dont provide them with the exercises needed to kee

6、p them healthy. Therefore, they must devote part of their time to doing regular physical exercise.There are many different forms of physical exercises suiting different tastes. Some people enjoy competitive sports and find others to share their interest. For example, they play table tennis or footba

7、ll together. Others prefer to exercise alone. They do some running or practice qigong in parks in the morning. Clearly, different people are fond of different forms of physical exercise to improve their health.As for me, I like running in the morning. And I have benefited a lot from it. It does a lo

8、t of good to my health. So I will persist in doing it in the future.上文的标题“Physical Exercise”是一个比较大的题目, 一篇100多字的短文根本不可能容纳它的全部内容, 但是, 聪明的作者通过各个段落的主题句把内容限定在一定的范围之内, 各段的主题句都是该段落的第一句。我们不难看出, 上文中三个段落的主题句都紧扣文章的标题, 并很好地限定了段落的内容。其次, 好的段落主题句必须完整，即能表达一个完整的思想, 该段落将围绕这一主题句逐步展开, 或定义, 或论述, 或分类, 或解释, 或举例说明。因此, 段落主题

9、句中必须包含段落的主旨, 必须包含一个等待发展的思想。例如在上面我们所例举的“Physical Exercise” 一文中的第二段的主题句为“There are many different forms of exercises suiting different tastes”, 其主导思想为“different forms of physical exercise”, 下面该段的内容也是围绕这一主导思想而展开的。另外, 一个好的段落主题句应该具有一定的限定性, 它应该限定该段落的内容不至于偏离全文的中心内容, 而且, 一个段落的容量是很有限的, 如果主题句限定的范围太宽, 主题句的内容就无

10、法在该段落内得以阐述清楚。 例如以Cheating on the Campus为题的作文为例, 用Cheating is popular, 或者Cheating is bad或者Cheating is understandable就过于笼统了, Cheating指的是什么? 即便是在大学校园里, cheating可以表现在考试, 爱情, 图书馆等各个方面, 不确定具体的范围, 主题句就形同虚设, 等于还是停留在题目上。因此, 一个好的主题句, 不仅要表达作者的态度, 还需要根据内容和字数方面的要求, 对题目的范围进行控制和确定, 例如:例1. Whatever pressures, acade

11、mic or professional, experienced by students, cheating on the exam is not allowed.例2. Academic and professional pressures make it understandable that cheating on the exam is widespread on the campus today.例3. Cheating on the exam is popular on the campus today because of academic and professional pr

12、essures.当然, 主题句也不能太具体, 如果主题句太具体, 作者就无法在文字上加以展开。例如:American food is tasteless and greasy because Americans use too many canned, frozen, and prepackaged foods and because everything is fried in oil or butter.上述句子作主题句显然不合适, 因为它讲述得太具体了, 最好应改为:American food is tasteless and greasy.另外, 我们在设计主题句时还应该注意不要把太多

13、不相关的观点包括在一个主题句中, 否则, 整个段落就会缺乏统一性。例如:Shanghai is famous for its temperate climate, its large population, and its rapid industrial development.上句包括了三个方面的内容, 难以在一个段落中同时讲述, 因此, 最好只是取其中之一, 三个观点放在三个段落中论述。(2) 发展句。段落主题句给出段落的主题思想, 发展句则用来发展、证明或支持这一主题思想。发展句必须切题, 明确, 层次分明, 例如:(1) Women are generally believed to

14、 be less intelligent than men. (2) For thousands of years they have been thought to be inferior to men. (3) Those who believe in this idea argue that few women have made remarkable achievements in the history. (4) Even now, there are still far less women professors, women scientists and women doctor

15、s. (5) All these factors show that women cant compete with men.上面一段共有五个句子, 其中句(1)是该短的主题句, 句(2), (3), (4) 为发展句, 它们从各自不同的角度对段落主题句的主题思想进行说明。发展句是对主题句进一步的引申与发展，然而引申与发展的方法是多种多样的，下面我们讲一种最为实用的方法，即设问解答法 (WhyBecause), 按照这种方法就是要在句子展开之前先加以设问，也就是提出一个问题，然后再针对这一问题进行解答，例如：主题句：To most visitors, New York is both a fa

16、scinating and a frightening city.设 问： Why do we say New York is both a fascinating and a frightening city?解 答： Because: It is a city of great wealth and of great poverty. There are many rich people, but there are many poor people too. There are many luxury apartment buildings and there are slum tene

17、ments.Because: There is a great deal of beauty and a great deal of ugliness. The parks and the shops are beautiful, but the dirty streets and subways are ugly.Because: Most things are expensive, but some things are free. The cost of entertainment is generally high, but there are usually many free le

18、ctures, concerts, and art exhibits.Because: There are people who work all day and people who work all night.上述设问解答法为我们提供一种考虑问题的方法，我们把上面的思考的结果加以整理，就得到了下面一个段落：To most visitors, New York is both a fascinating and a frightening city. It is a city of great wealth and of great poverty. There are many rich

19、 people, but there are many poor people too. There are many luxury apartment buildings and there are slum tenements. There is a great deal of beauty and a great deal of ugliness. The parks and the shops are beautiful, but the dirty streets and subways are ugly. There is a great deal of beauty and a

20、great deal of ugliness. The parks and the shops are beautiful, but the dirty streets and subways are ugly. There are people who work all day and people who work all night.(3) 结论句。结论句位于全段的末尾, 是对全段的内容进行总结、归纳或提出结论性观点的句子。结论句不仅仅是重复主题句提出的段落主题, 更为重要的是,它可以进一步强调段落的中心思想, 以引起读者的重视和注意。在撰写结论句时我们应该注意, 结论句的结构形式没有必

21、要与主题句保持一致, 但结论句所表达的内容必须要和主题句的内容保持一致, 不能相互矛盾。当然, 并非每个段落都需要结论句, 对于一些描述性段落也可以不使用结论句。例如, 在下面这一段中, 由于该段的内容具有很强的描述性, 作者就没有使用结论句:In fact, there are lots of better things to do in our leisure time. Going to concerts or theater is pleasant experience. Visiting parks or art exhibition brings us great joy. And

22、 there are more entertainment in interesting books or pleasant music than in everyday TV programs.下面我们再通过两个文章的三个段落从整体上说明段落的组成:例1. Wherever one lives, in the city or the country, there are some good reasons for owing a car. (主题句) First, cars provide the most convenient form of transportation. (发展句) S

23、econd, a car is a comfortable way to travel, especially in winter time. (发展句) Finally, a driver is usually safe in his car when he is out at night. (发展句) Therefore, many people favour owing a car. (结论句)例2. Computer is a wonder of this era. (主题句) Because of it our work and life have changed dramatica

24、lly. (发展句) At the moment it plays an extremely important role in our life. (发展句) Computers are able to do a great variety of jobs. (发展句) They are widely used in offices, laboratories, banks, airports, etc. (发展句) Businessmen use them to make more money; policemen use them to find criminals; scientist

25、s use them to make new discoveries. ( 发展句 ) Many modern families are equipped with it. (发展句) It has become so important in our life that we cant imagine what life would be like without it. ( 结论句)例3. In the future, the computer will be more powerful. (主题句) Students may receive their education through

26、 it. (发展句) There will be more intelligent robots to relieve us from arduous work and even to look after children or nurse the sick. (发展句) In a word, we can expect to see the development of the computer for more purposes in the future. (结论句)一般四级考试中, 考生应在30-40分钟之内写出一篇150-200词的短文, 如果短文由34段组成, 那么每个段落也只有

27、4050词左右, 所以一般来说, 一个段落只要有45句也就足够了, 考生如果按照主题句, 发展句和结论句的结构安排, 只要有一个主题句, 23个发展句, 再加上一个结论句也就没有什么问题了, 因此, 作文由此看来也并不难写。二、段落的过渡作文必须表达清楚, 语义连贯, 要做到这一点, 必须学会过渡词的使用。过渡词(Transitional Words)是一种关系指引词, 它是连接句与句, 段与段之间的纽带, 过渡词一般为副词或起副词作用的短语, 另外, 代词、 连词、上下文的同义词也可以起到过渡的作用。 在传统的汉语写作中, 人们讲究文章的起、承、 转、 合, 我们认为英语写作也应该如此, 而

28、过渡词的作用正在于使文章更好地做到这一点。例如:例1. Smoking results in a series of negative effects. To begin with, it has been proved that poisonous nicotine contained in cigarettes can reduce your fitness. And what is worse, it can even cause lung cancer if you smoke constantly. That is why such warning as “smoking is ha

29、rmful to our health” must be printed on the cover of the cigarette case in western countries. Furthermore, passive smoking occurs in your family members and other people as a result of your smoking at home or in public places. Consequently, their health will be unfavourably influenced. In addition,

30、smoking adds to your financial difficulty if you happen to be short of money. Even if you are rich, you are encouraged to spend your money on valuable books, nutritious food, high-quality TV sets, etc., not on meaningless smoking. Therefore, giving up smoking is a good way to make you and your famil

31、y happy.根据在文章中的作用, 过渡词大致可以分为以下四类:(1) 表达“启”的常用词语: 用于引导主题句, 或用于主题句的后面, 引导第一个发展句。first(ly), at first, first of all, in the beginning, in the first place, at present, to begin with, currently, to start with, lately, for one thing, now, recently, on the one hand, in general, generally speaking, at presen

32、t, in recent years, comparatively ( speaking) , nowadays, in general, in a sense, in a way, in my opinion, obviously, undoubtedly, 等。(2) 表达“承”的过渡词语: 用于承接主题句或第一个(或前一个)发展句。second(ly), third(ly), also/too, besides, in addition, furthermore, moreover, what is more, for another, for example, for instance, as an example, as another example, namely, then, in other words, in particular, in the same way, after that, afterwards, after a few days, after a while, from now on, later, just as, similarly, meanwhile, at the same time, by this time, soon, consequently, of course, for this p