英文说明文写作方法总纲

英文说明文写作方法总纲

分类法

分类就是按照事物的不同特点将它们划成多个类别。事物可以按照不同的标准进行分类，标准则取决于分类的成因。例如，在分析某系学生的构成情况时，如果想了解他们的学习情况，可以将他们根据考试成绩划分为若干组；如果想研究是否有可能组织一场足球比赛或是篮球比赛，可以根据对足球和篮球的爱好程度把学生划分成若干组。 不管分类的目的是什么，分类的标准必须具有普适性和排他性，也就是说分类标准必须覆盖分类样本集中的所有样本元素，而且样本集中的任一元素只能隶属于分类标准项次中的唯一一项。例如，把学生分成男生、女生和运动员是不合适的，这一标准违反了排他性原则，因为某个学生可能是男生的同时又是运动员，他占据了两个分类项次。再如，把学生分成中学生和大学生在有些情况下也不一定合适，该标准违反了普适性原则，即有些学生既不是中学生也不是大学生（如小学生）。

表示分类的名词：

种：kind, sort, type

类：group, classification, category

组成成员：member

分部/分支：division/branch

纲：class 目：order 科：family属：genus种：species

表示分类的动词和动词短语：

将 ?? 按??分类（排序）：class, classify, divide, categorize, group, place, arrange 属于某一类：belong to, fall into, be classed with

包括若干类：there be, contain, consist of, comprise, include, be composed of, be comprised of

组成 ?? 类：make up, constitute, compose ? Exercises

1. Read the following passages and discuss whether they follow the classification criterion of exclusiveness and inclusiveness.

Passage 1:

generation of electricity to meet the power and light needs of cities and industries. The other covers the application of small amounts of power for communication and various other purposes.

Passage 2:

We usually think of bees as being sociable insects which live in communities, but this is not always true. One way of classifying bees is by “social” and “solitary” species, and there are many of the latter. Bumble bees（野蜂）and honey bees are social species. Among solitary bees there are primitive wasplike bees, medium-sized solitary mining bees, so-called sweat bees, carpenter bees and cuckoo bees.

2. Read the following passage, and fill in the blanks with appropriate words.

In Britain, state schools can be classified according to the age range of the pupils and the type of education provided. Basically, there are two types of schools: primary and secondary. Primary schools cater to（满足需要）children age 5-11 and secondary schools ages 11-16 (and up to 19). Primary schools can be sub-divided into infant schools (for age 5-7) and junior schools (for age 7-11). Secondary schools may be one type for all abilities, viz.（即）comprehensive schools; most secondary schools are of this kind. Alternatively, pupils may be grouped according to their ability and selected by means of an examination at age 11 (known as the“11-plus exam”). Thus, grammar schools cater to those with academic ability; modern schools for those with less academic ability; and technical schools for those with more practical skills.

1) Schools _________________________________________ the pupils’ ages and the types of education.

2) There are ________________________________________ schools: primary and secondary.

3) Primary schools ___________________________________________ into infant and junior schools.

4) Secondary scho ……此处隐藏1978个字…… in Nanhua Street. It lies to the north of a beautiful park, with a hospital, a school, a shop and a post office all within walking distance, which makes it convenient for life. Inside the flat, there is a sitting-room on the right hand side of the door, opposite to which is a dining-room and a kitchen. Two bed-rooms lie on the east of the sitting-room and the dining-room, with a bathroom in between.

It’s a nice flat with all furniture and appliances. I hope you’ll be satisfied with it.

Yours,

Li Hua

【如何说明一件事物的特点或优势】

写作要点

近两年高考英语书面表达中出现过要求学生介绍一个新开业的宾馆或一幅图画内容的说明文，这类说明文属于事物性说明文，其说明对象是具体事物，说明目的是使读者了解、认识这个事物的特点或优势。该类文章还可包括产品介绍、人物介绍、地点或景物介绍、图片说明、现象说明等。

事物类说明文多以提纲要点式和提纲表格式出现。考生在动笔前一定先要仔细审题，了解介绍和说明的目的。文章是写给什么人的？他关心的内容是什么？需要说明的主要对象是什么？应该以什么样的语气来写？头脑中有个大概认识之后再来看需要介绍的具体内容。

给文字提示的说明文，考生最容易写成逐句翻译，这样会严重影响得分。为避免这种现

象发生，考生需要将所给要点根据一定的中心重新分类，用“同类合并”的方法把全文划分为几个相对独立的部分，并进而概括出每部分的大意，再用过渡词把每部分的大意连缀起来，就能比较清楚地显示出全文的说明顺序。比如介绍一个地点时，可以从它的位置规模人口、气候植被、旅游景点特产、工农业及重要性四个方面进行概括；介绍一件产品时，可以从物体的形状、规格大小、颜色和功能几个方来介绍；介绍一个人物时，可以从他的外貌年龄、学习工作经历、性格特点、行为举止四方面来说明。

在明确各段说明要点之后，使用什么说明顺序，还要看说明的对象。一般来说，说明事物的演变发展的，用时间顺序；说明建筑物，用空间顺序；介绍高科技产品或说明事物间的联系的，用逻辑顺序。

事物类说明文适合以定义法开头。比如在介绍手提电脑的这种产品时，可以这样写：Laptop is a portable computer that can be carried easily and used conveniently whenever and wherever you are. 在说明的过程中，要借助举例法和细节描述法使被介绍的内容清晰丰满。在结尾段要突出题目要求，重申说明目的，使文章完整。

在语言使用方面，应尽量使语言显得客观公正，不要使用太多夸张的修饰词和表达个人观点的语句，因为你是在客观说明而不是发表议论。为达到这一效果，推荐考生多用被动句，句子不要太复杂，最好长短句结合，另外还要记住尽量使用第三人称。

好词好句推荐

1．过渡词

表顺序：first, second, third, in the first place, above all, at first, in the beginning, to begin with, besides, what’s more, in addition, furthermore, moreover, another, also, especially, in particular 表时间：first, then, next, after that, next, finally now, at present, recently, after, afterwards, after that, after a while, in a few days, form now on, from then on, at the same time, meanwhile, till, not…until, before, after, when, while, as during,

表示解释说明：for example, for instance, in this case, such as…, take… for example，in fact, actually

2. 常用句式：

1) …is a new kind of …produced by…, which is …

2) Made of …, it is light, small, and easy to carry.

3) …containing much top and new technique is famous for its excellent quality and reasonable

price.

4) China is a large country with rich history and much population.

5) …, the capital of …, lies in the middle of …

6) It has an area of 160,000 square kilometers with a population of over 90 million.

7) It is rich in natural sources such as coal and gold and has mild weather.

8) …is located at the foot of/ by the side of …, to the east of…and to the north of…

9) … is provided for the convenience of customers/ visitors.

10） Built in the16th century, the castle has witnessed too much coming and going in history.

实战演练

07 年全国卷

一家宾馆新开业，为吸引外国宾客，希望在互联网上进行宣传，请你用英语为其写一篇文字介绍。主要内容应包括：

1．地点：距白山入口处500米。