英语说明文写作技巧指导

英语说明文写作技巧指导

就“说明对象”来说，英语说明文 可分为对“客观具体事物”的

说明和对“主观抽象观点”的说明两大类，比如：对“LA SER（激

光）”、“Computer Problem of Year 2000 （计算机

2000

年问题）”

等等的说 明都是对客观或者具体事物的说明，而“The Successful

Interview

（谈成功的面试）”、“How to Write Good English

Composition

（如何才能写好英语作文）” 等是对 主观抽象观点的说

明。对我们中学生朋友来说，在汉语说明文的教学中似乎比较侧重前< /p>

者，即解释客观具体事物的说明文。但在英语说明文中，阐述和说明

“主观抽象观点”的说明文占了很大的比重，其中有些类似汉语中的

议论文。但是无论是对“客观具体事物”的说明还是对“主观抽象观

点”的阐述 ，英语说明文从结构上看大致可分为三个部分：第一部分

一般是文章的第一段，提出文章 的主题，也就是说，文章想要阐述、

说明的主要内容；第二部分是文章的主体，可由若干 个段落组成，对

文章的主题实行展开说明；第三部分是结尾段，对文章的主题作归纳

总结。从英语说明文的结构能够看出，要写好英语说明文的关键在于

第二部分如何对文章主题实行展开说明。在英语中，常见的用来展开

文章主题的方法有下 列几种：

1.

罗列法（

listing

）

在文章开始 时提出需要说明的东西和观点，然后常用

first

，

second

，…and finally

加以 罗列说明。罗列法广泛地使用于各类指导

性的说明文之中，下面这篇学生作文就是用罗列 法写成的：

Early Rising

Early rising

（早起）

is helpful in more than one way.

First

，

it helps to keep us fit

（健康）。

We all need fresh

air. But air is never so fresh as early in the morning.

Besides

，

we can do good to our health from doing morning

exercise

（做早操）。

Secondly

，

early rising helps us in our studies. We learn

more quickly in the morning

，

and find it easier to remember

what we learn in the morning.

Thirdly

，

early rising enables

（使能够）

us to plan the

work of the day. We cannot work well without a good plan.

Just as the plan for the year should be made in the spring

，

so the plan for the day should be made in the morning.

Fourthly

，

early rising gives us enough time to get ready

for our work

，

such as to wash our faces and hands and eat

our breakfast properly.

Late risers may find it very difficult to form the habit

of early rising. They ought to make special efforts to do so.

As the English proverb says

，“Early to bed and early to rise，

makes a man healthy

，

wealthy and wise.”

罗列法经常用下列句式展开段落，我们能够注意模仿学习：

There are several good reasons why we should learn a

foreign language. First of all

，

…Secondly，

…And

finally

，

…

We should try our best to plant more trees for several

good reasons First of all

，

…Secondly，

…And finally，

必须指出的是，有时罗列法并不一定有明确的

first

，

second…

等词，但文章 还是以罗列论据展开的。

2.

举例法（

examples

）

举例法是用具体的例子来说明我们要表达的意思，常用

for

example

，

for instance

，

still another example is…等词语引出。

下面这篇学生作文就是用举例法写成的：

Recreation

It is impossible to keep in good health unless we take

enough recreation

（娱乐）。

The mind

，

too

，

needs change to

make it fresh and vigorous

（有活力的）

There is much truth

in the old saying

，

All work and no play makes Jack a dull

boy.“

There are many games which boys and girls can play after

their school work is done

，

for instance

，

football

，

tennis

，

and kite- flying. Other examples of recreation are boating

，

fishing

，

gardening

，

cycling

，

walking

，

chess- playing

，

and

reading. Persons who sit much at their business should take a

kind of recreation that will supply their muscles

（肌肉）

with exercise. Those who spend most of their time in the open

air and do manual work

（体力活）

should adopt

（采纳）

reading or some other quiet form of recreation.

Cycling is said to be an important means of recreation

，

but many persons foolishly tire out themselves by cycling too

much. The same may be said in regard to football. Tennis is a

pleasant form of recreation. Many persons take great delight

in boating. Fishing requires much patience

，

and there is

much danger of taking cold by sitting still on a cold day too

long. A good brisk

（轻松）

walk is one of the finest forms

of exercise. For persons engaged in outdoor labor

，

chess-

playing is another excellent form of recreation.

能够看出，举例法和罗列法有时能够结合使用：即用罗列法来列

出例子，用例子充实罗列的说明。

3.

比较法（

comparison and contrast

）

比较法 是对两个对象实行比较，从而实行说明的写作手法。比较

法又可细分为比较相同点（

comparison

）和比较不同点（

c ontrast

）

两种方法，比如：

From Paragraph to Essay

Although they are different in length

（长度），

the

paragraph and the essay are quite similar in structure

（结

构）。

For example

，

the paragraph starts with either a topic

sentence

（主题句）

or a topic introducer followed by a topic

sentence. In the essay

，

the first paragraph sets up the

topic focus

（主题所在）

Next

，

the sentences in the body of

a paragraph develop the topic sentence. Similarly

，

the body

of an essay consists of a number of paragraphs that discuss

and support the ideas given in the introductory

（引导的）

paragraph. Finally

，

a concluding sentence

（结束句）

——

whether a restatement

，

conclusion

，

or observation

——

ends

the paragraph. The essay

，

too

，

has a concluding paragraph

which ends the essay logically and satisfactorily. Although

there are some exceptions

（例外），

most well written

expository

（说明文的）

paragraphs and essays are similar in

structure.

能够看出，在比较相同点的时候，常用到

similarly

，

also

，

too

，

in the same case

，

in spite of the difference

等这样的词语。

European Football and American Football

Although European football is the parent of American

football

，

the two games show several major differences.

European football

，

sometimes called association football or

soccer

，

is played in 80 countries

，

making it the most

widely played sport in the world. American football

，

on the