应用文(Practical Writing)
应用文是人们日常生活和工作中广泛使用的文体。考试中的应用文写作,除了遵守一般作文的要求外,还应注意以下几个问题:
(1)选材要切题,选最能说明主题的材料,做到有话可说,要充分利用自己的生活经验。
(2)一定要看清题目要求,把题目要求全部渗透到文章中去。
(3)要用自己熟悉的句型结构和词语。
(4)遇到一时想不起来的词语要用同义或近义词语代替。做到一路有阻另僻它径。
(5)因时间所限,因此要快速列出提纲。条理要清楚,文章要一气呵成。
(6)最后复查全文,检查格式是否正确,修改病句和错词,看是否满足了题目的各项要求。
1.书信(Letters)
书信一般为私人信函(Personal/Informal letters)和正式信函即公文信函(Bussiness/Formal letters)。英文书信从信封到正文,其格式与汉语有很多不同。书信通常由下面几个部分构成:
1)信头(Heading) 指寄信人的地址和写信日期,通常写在信纸的右上角。地址的书写顺序与汉语相反,即由小到大。第一行写门牌和路(街)名;第二行写县、市名及邮政编码。若寄往国外,则应写清国名(如果县、市、省和国名写在同一行,彼此应用逗号隔开);第三行写日期,日期有两种写法,如 3 May, 2000(英式)或May 3rd,2000(美式)。亲友之间通信可省去地址,但必须写日期。
信头的排列有两种:
并列式
No.1 Middle School
23 Xiaogoutou
Lanzhou, Gansu, 730030, China
August 10, 2000
斜列式
No.1 Middle School
23 Xiaogoutou
Lanzhou, Gansu, 730030, China
August 10, 2000
2)信内地址(Inside address)用于公文信函。将收信人的姓名、地址写在左上方,位置比信头低一至二行,其顺序与寄信人地址顺序相同。私人信件一般不写信内地址。
3)称呼(Greeting/Salutation) 一般顶格写在上一项下面空一两行的左上角。一般要有用“Dear…”开头,如 Dear Tom, Dear Daddy,My dear Peter 等用于很熟悉的亲友。对相识的,知道姓氏的人,根据性别可称:Dear Mr…(姓),Dear Miss…(姓),Dear Mrs…(夫姓)。有头衔的可称:Dear Professor…,Dear Doctor…,对不大熟悉或不知姓名的男子可用Dear Sir,对女子可用Dear Madam。称呼语后一般用逗号,正式信函后用冒号。
4)正文(Body)这部分是书信的主要内容,可同写文章一样,分成若干段落,每一段有一层意思。大致可归纳为7个原则,即:明了(clearness),简洁(conciseness),礼貌(courtesy),完整(completeness),正确(correctness),坦率(candour),个性(character)。
5)结尾的谦称(Ending/Closing)在正文下方一至二行的地方,从中间写起,如 Yours,Yours truly等。首字母要大写,末尾用逗号。
6)签名(Signature) 应低于谦称下一至二行。如打字,则空出签名部分的位置:亲笔签名。也可先用打字机打出姓名,然后再签名。
附一 常用结尾谦称语
1)对父母或家人:Yours affectionately; Yours, Your loving son; Love; Affectionally yours等。
2)对年长者、老师或上级:Yours repectfully; Yours obediently.
3)对同学、朋友: Yours sincerely; Your friend; Yours;Sincerely 等。
4)公文信函或对不相识的人: Yours truly; Very truly yours;Yours respectfully; Sincerely yours 等。
【范例】 假定你的名子叫王英,女,17岁。是高三即将毕业的同学,爱好集邮、打乒乓球、旅游、学习英语等等。请你给 BBC English杂志用英语写一封信,请求该杂志为你找一位笔友(penpal),条件是年龄、爱好(hobby)与你相仿。要求:100词左右
“BBC”通讯地址:“BBC English Magazine”, BBC English by Radio and Television, PO Box 76, Bush House London.
你的通讯地址为:中国天津河西区(District)广东路26号。
26, Guangdong Road
Hexi District
Tianjin, China
Dec. 16, 1999
参考答案
BBC English Magazine
PO Box 76, Bush House
London, England
Dear Sir,
I'm very glad to read your magazine“BBC English”. I have found it both interesting and rewarding. The part I'm most interested in is the one about finding pen-pals for English learners all over the world. My name is Wang Ying,a girl of seventeen. I am spending my last year in school. My hobbies are collecting stamps, playing table tennis, sightseeing and learning English. Would you be kind enough to put my name on the list for the selection of pen-pals whose hobbies and age are hopefully the same as mine? Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Wang Ying
【解题要点与技巧】
1)首先要考虑写信的格式——中英的差异,注意开头和结尾。
2)向对方介绍自己的爱好时,至少要有4种爱好。
3)注意同义表达:be interested in…=show
interest in…=take delight in…, spend
one's last year in school= finish school=
leave school= graduate from school
4)语言必须简练、通顺,行文要连贯、自然,表达要清楚。
2.日记(Diary)
日记是把自己在当天生活中经历的有意义的事以及见闻感受记录下来的书面形式。文体自由,不拘一格。通常用第一人称记写。
英语日记的格式与汉语相同。在正文上方自左起顶格写上日期、星期几和天气情况。正文另起一行,内容应有所选择,记有意义、感受最深的事,切忌流水账。有话则长,无话则短,甚至三言两语亦可。通常采用一般过去时或可灵活运用。日记的写作格式如下:
1)
Sept 23, 1991, Wednesday Cloudy
It is three months since I began this diary…
2)
Friday, May I Fine
Today is May Day…
月份除May, June, July外,其余可用缩写形式。常用来表示天气的词有Fine, Cloudy, Rainy, Windy, Snow等。
【范例】 
Oct 3, 1999, Sunday Rainy
It was raining outside when I got up early in the morning. It's too bad, I had to go to school by bus. I said to myself. It was almost seven o'clock before I left home. I put on my raincoat and ran to the bus stop in a hurry, for I thought a lot of people might be waiting there. Hardly had I got there when a bus was coming. I got on the bus immediately, hoping it was possible for me to take a seat. I saw an empty seat and took it. But I found an old lady standing behind me. I stood up at once and was about to ask her to take the seat when a young girl in a modern skirt made a dive for it. I could hardly believe it. I glared at her, thinking“What bad manners! She cares for nobody but herself. Won't she grow old in the future?”
【解题要点与技巧】
1)注意日记的格式。应用第一人称来写。
2)多数句子为过去时,因为事情发生在过去。
3)日记必须根据所给的两个提示和十个词语来写。
4)语言要通顺、简练,表达要清楚、准确。
3.通知(Notice)
通知有两种,一种是书信式,寄出或发送,通知有关人员;另一种是布告式,张贴通知。究竟采用哪种形式,应视实际情况而定。一般说来,被通知对象为少量的分散人员,宜用书信的通知方式,其写法与普通书信的写法和要求相同;如被通知的对象为集中的较大范围内的人员,例如对象为学生、教师、工人、读者和观众等,则宜采用布告的通知方式。在本节中,我们只讲述后一种。
这种英语通知一般在上方居中处写上Notice 或NOTICE一词作为标志,在正文的下面靠右处写出通知的单位名称或人名。但也可放在正文上面。有时,出通知的单位名称写在正文的开头,这样就不需要另外注明。出通知的日期放在正文的左下角。如有单位负责人署名,写在右下角(相当于英语书信署名的地方)。出通知的单位以及被通知的对象一般都用第三人称,有时也用第一人称复数we或单数I。如果正文前用了称呼用语,则用第二人称表示对象。
【范例1】 校长办公室定于5月19日下午两点在我校会议室召开高三年级全体教师讨论会。请该年级的全体教师准时出席。请用英语为校长办公室写一个会议通知。(词数:40个左右)
参考答案
Notice
All the teachers of the Senior Grade Three are requested to meet in the meeting-room of our school to have a meeting to discuss the problems of the Senior Grade Three on Friday, at 2:00 p. m. (下午).
The Headmasters' Office
May 17, 2000, Wednesday
【解题要点与技巧】
1)首先断定这是一种张贴通知。2)注意通知的格式。3)利用五步法。
【范例2】 东方中学工会组织教师明天去北戴河旅游,要求会员务必于2000年10月16日星期一上午九点准时在校门口集合。请用英语为工会写一个通知。(词数:40个左右)
参考答案
Notice
All the members who will take part in the tour to Beidaihe tomorrow are requested to gather together at the school gate on Monday, October 16 at 9:00 a.m.
The Trade Union
Dongfang Middle School
Oct. 14, 2000, Sunday
【解题要点与技巧】
请参考上面范例1的解题技巧。
4.便条(Note)
便条实际上就是简单形式的书信。常用的便条有请假条和留言条两种。其特点是格式简单,内容简短,便条上一般只需一、两句话,因此,写便条时要求做到:内容简单扼要,文字简明紧凑和明确无误。但无论便条如何简短扼要,也一定要讲清楚这么几点,即写给谁的、什么事、谁写的以及什么时候写的。
虽说便条是简单形式的书信,但由于便条大都是临时通知、询问,或在某一场合下的直接留言,谈的大多是一两天之内的事情,故写便条时往往是开门见山,而且格式也没有普通书信那样严格。譬如留言条,日期可以写上年、月、日,也可以写星期几上、下午,或者只写几日、几点钟也行。日期多写在正文右上角,也可以写在末尾,即署名的下一行,但并没有一个严格限制。便条多用于熟人之间,因此,便条上的写条人地址、结束语等都可以省略;甚至称呼里的Dear一词也可以省去。在熟悉的同事或朋友之间,便条上可以不具全名,例如,只有Wang,Lao Zhang, Ming-ming或Xiao Yu 等彼此熟悉的称呼,称呼后用逗号或冒号均可。
下面就常用的两种便条——请假条和留言条的具体写法与要求分别进行浅述。
1)请假条(Written Request for Leave)
这里所讲的请假条包括病假条、事假条和续假条等。写请假条要注意把请假原因和请假时间写清楚,而且请假的理由要充分。如果有证明请假原因的证据,譬如医生证明或信件等,最好要随条附上。
【范例1】 假如你是张海,刚收到一封母亲病重,催你立即回家的信。为此你想从10月9日起请假三天。请你用英语给王老师写一张事假条,请求批准。(词数:50个左右)
参考答案
Oct. 8
Dear Mr. Wang,
A letter has just come to hand saying that my mother is seriously ill and urging me to go home at once. Owing to this I should very much like to have a leave of three days beginning on Oct. 9. I hope that you can allow me to go.
Zhang Hai
Enclose; a letter from my home
【解题要点与技巧】
1)假条的格式要正式,语言简练。2)要点突出,控制好词数。3)利用好五步法。4)勿将上面汉语逐条译为英语。2)留言条(Notes Left)
留言条的使用范围甚广,多数是本人在某一场合下的直接的、简短的留言,并且多用于亲朋好友及熟悉的同志之间。留言条的书写格式以及用词乃至称呼语气上,较请假条来说,还要简单、随便。如一般情况下,不必写出年、月、日,可直接用星期几的上午或下午;或者写月、日和点钟代之。如用于十分熟悉的人,仅称呼其名或姓、置上自己的名或姓即可。
【范例2】 朱丽刚从上海来叶红这里,准备在此逗留两三天。叶红邀邱明相聚。请你为叶红写一个留言条,时间是星期一上午九点。
参考答案
9:00 a.m. Monday
Qiu Ming,
Zhu Li has just arrived from Shanghai on business and is going to stay with us for two or three days. It would be nice if you could come over and see her.
Ye Hong
【解题要点与技巧】
1)首先弄清三个人(朱丽、叶红、邱明)的关系,留条者是叶红。
2)注意格式要求。
3)要点突出,语言简练。
4)切勿逐条英译。
5.成语解释 (Explanation of Proverb)
成语解释是将汉语中的一些成语用英语解释出来。写作时要注意准确,句子要尽量流畅。首先要把成语的含义吃透。然后再把成语故事的大意进行义译。不要按照汉语的意思进行对号入座的直译。要按英语的表达方式表达句义。注意同义表达,使用最有把握的句子。
【范例】 请用英语解释一下“刻舟求剑”这个成语故事。故事大意为:楚国有一个人过江时,把剑掉在水里,他在船帮上剑落的地方刻上记号,等船停下,从刻记号的地方下水找剑,结果自然找不到。(字数要求70个左右。)
参考答案
A man of Chu State was once taking a boat across a river when he carelessly dropped his sword into the river. He made a mark on the side of the boat where he dropped the sword, hoping to find it again later on. When the boat reached the other side of the river, he got off and went into the water from where he made the mark, in search of the sword. Naturally he couldn't find it in the end.
【解题要点与技巧】
1)抓住大意,掌握故事的情节。
2)正确运用时态。
3)对所给的情景(提示)要求意合,不要硬译。
4)严格控制词数,应尽量用非谓语动词或状语从句。
6.语言问题(Language Problem)
语言问题是指日常交际语言中主方在交流时所遇到的实际困难,由主方向对方解释说明后,对方才明白。写作形式可采用说明文的形式,语言要注意简炼、明了、实用。
【范例】 小红和小华每个星期日都去“人民公园”,参加那里的星期日“英语角”(English Corner)活动。这天她们碰到了两位美国学生,双方都谈起了各自的业余体育爱好,可是当小华谈起踢毽时,她不会用英语说“毽”一词,于是小华开始用英语解释‘毽”这个词。请用英语记述一下,包括小华是如何用英语解释“毽”一词的。
参考答案
Xiao Hua and Xiao Hong attend “the English Corner”in the People's Park regularly every Sunday.
Last week, they happened to meet two American students. They started talking about sports they do in their spare time, but when Xiao Hua spoke of “Jian”, she didn't know the English word for “Jian.”Anyway she made her explanation like this: “Jian”is made of such materials as copper coins or metal coins wrapped up with a piece of cloth with feathers of cock in it, it can be kicked in various ways and struck to and from across a net in a game. If, in case, you drop the“Jian” onto the ground, you'll fail. “Jian is very popular among the Chinese people both as recreation and sports.
【解题要点及技巧】
1)首先弄清这是一篇记叙文。
2)该文的难度是首先要有“毽”的知识以及与“毽”有关词语的表达。
3)踢毽与体育的联系。
4)要具有从“毽”字上挖掘、创造及运用语言知识的能力。
7.致词(Farewell Wpeech)
致词通常有两种:欢迎词和欢送词,在某些正式场合接待客人时总要说些热情友好的话,以示欢迎,使客人感到宾至如归,温暖如春,这种话就叫欢迎词。
客人在某处逗留一段时间之后,准备离开时,主人要设宴欢送,宾主又欢聚一堂,互相祝愿,此时主人说的话叫欢送词。写致词应从以下两方面入手:
(1)抓住情景要求或提示
写欢迎词或欢送词同写其他文章一样一般都有情景、要求或提示。抓住了这些是写致词的关键。例如是欢迎客人还是欢送客人,客人的活动内容、时间、地点,致词的要求内容、词数等这些都是必不可少的。
(2)掌握致词习惯表达
写好致词除了掌握好要求、提示,把必要的东西交待清楚之外,还要掌握致词的一些习惯表达法,如:Comrades,Friends,Ladies and Gentlemen 等,然后是开场白,……
【范例】 
Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to our class and to our evening party. We feel greatly honoured to have a good chance to be with you.
First of all, let me say a few words about our class. There are 45 students (pupils) in our class, 30 of us are boys, the rest are girls. Most of us are studying English, and we usually spend much time on it. We often read English magazines, newspapers and watch English programs on TV in our spare time.We are determined to learn English well so as to serve the people in the future.
In our program tonight, there are cross talks, short plays, group singing,popular songs and so on.
I hope you will emjoy them and have a good time. Thank you.
【解题要点及技巧】
1)注意致词的格式及类型——欢迎词。2)正确运用所给6个词语。3)写出提纲,构思情节及短文的段落。4)根据所给的三个提示应考虑的问题是班里的情况:共多少学生,男女生。学英语的情况:喜欢学英语,花时间,学习方法及决心。主要节目:相声、小品、合唱等。
5)语言通顺,行文连贯,表述清楚。
8.报道(Reporting)
报道是把所获得的信息快而准地用书面形式进行传递的一种形式。报道的写法应注意以下几个问题:
1)文章短小、条理清楚,语言简炼、突出重点。2)牢记多用简单句和省略句。3)过去时和将来时使用较多。4)把握要点或提示,表达要准确,勿加叙多议。
【范例】 为落实天津实验中学的一项英语训练计划,澳大利亚墨尔本市的十名教师将来天津(墨尔本的姊妹城)。客人们将同该校的教师工作50天以帮助教师们提高英语水平。该计划由澳大利亚公司赞助(sponsored)。
参考答案
Australian Teachers
Ten people from Australia will soon arrive in Tianjin, Melbourne's sister city, for an English training programme for the city's middle school teachers.The Australian guests will spend six weeks working with Tianjin Experiement Middle School teachers to help increase their English Language proficiency. The programme is sponsored by some Australian companies.
【解题要点与技巧】
1)必须遵循报道的写作特点:简而明。2)充分利用所给的4个拟用词语。3)灵活利用写作步法。
9.缩写与改写 (Precis and Rewriting)
A.缩写
缩写就是要求学生认真领会所读文章的中心思想或主要内容,经过集中思维概括提炼之后,用几句话加以总结成一篇短文。缩写应注意以下几个问题:
1)利用原文中所给的语言材料,用自己的话来写。2)概括要全面,删去细节,只要主要事实。3)语言要简练。缩写后的句子的词数必须少于原文句子中的词数,如:I remember that I saw the film a few days ago. → I remember seeing the film the other day. He was so young that he could not lift the heavy box. → He was too young to lift the heavy box.4)缩写后的文章意思要通顺,行文要连贯。阅读短文,然后进行缩写。
【范例】 The poorer countries are called“the developing countries.”They have special problems. Sometimes the land is too poor to grow anything on. The land can be improved but a lot of things must be done first. New farming methods(耕作方法)must be introduced.The people must be educated. Water must be found.
Many of these problems are too big for one country to solve alone. Help should be given by the richer countries, but it must be the right sort of help. Money is not enough. The developing countries must be helped to help themselves.
要求:缩写成 25个词左右。
参考答案
The poor developing countries have many special problems which can be solved with the right help from the richer countries.
【解题要点与技巧】
1)快速阅读短文3遍,抓住文章的大意。
2)表达一个完整的意思,由于字数的限制,用一个主从复合句要比用2—3个简单句理想。
3)缩写后的句子必须概括原文意思。
B.改写
改写是用不同形式表达同一个意思的写作方式。改写的过程是重新构思、重新裁剪的过程,使之成为与原文内容相同而表达形式不同的作品。文章形式的改写主要有以下两种:
1)人称(或数)的改写。把原文的人称(或数),变换叙述角度,其他则不需要变动。通过这种训练可以帮助学生掌握人称(或数)与动词及所有格的搭配。根据叙述的角度准确灵活地运用各种人称(或数),以防止人称混乱而造成的杂乱无章,影响对文章主旨的表达。改写可以就课文进行改写,例如把新编高中第一册Lesson 6“Look Carefully and Learn”中的第三人称 My friend Paul改为第一人称叙述,也可以利用其他文章进行改写。
【范例】 用第三人称改写下面文字:
I'm Dick, a boy of thirteen. I study in a middle school. I live with my grandparents, for my parents work in a factory far away and they live in the factory. They come to see us only on holidays.
I have a friend named Tom, who is a black boy. We often go to school together in the morning. Sometimes I go to Tom's home and do my homework together with him. In this way we can help and learn from each other.
提示:保留原文字数,把原文中的主语I改为he。
参考答案
He's Dick, a boy of thirteen. He studies in a middle school. He lives with his grandparents, for his parents work in a factory far away and they live in the factory. They come to see their parents and child only on holidays.
He has a friend named Tom, who is a black boy. They often go to school together in the morning. Sometimes he goes to Tom's home and does his homework together with him. In this way they can help and learn from each other.
【解题要点与技巧】
(1)主语的改动牵涉到与之相应的谓语动词的变化。如:I am…→ He is
(2)主语人称的变化涉及到人称所有格的变化,如:My brother→ his/her brother,又如,文中的 to see us→ to see their parents and child
(3)人称的变化不但涉及到单数,也涉及到复数,如 they→we
2)体裁改写
体裁改写就是改变原文的表达方式,但原文的意思不变。最常见的改写形式是把对话或短剧改为故事,或把故事改为对话或短剧。这种改写比以上改写难度大。在人称、句式、语法等方面都要做较大的变动。
【解题要求与技巧】
1)首先要把书面语改为口语。
2)注意时态的应用。
3)人称、句式、语法都要起变化。
4)对话的内容必须与原文的内容要点相同。
5)严格控制词数。
注意:改写除以上所述两种外,在教学实践中还有:时态和语态改写,引语改写(直接引语变间接引语,间接引语变直接引语),反义改写(如 A good teacher改为A terrible teacher)这些都是考查学生写作能力的有效措施。
10.看图作文 (Writing through Pictures)

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