一、平時缺乏訓(xùn)練、沒有掌握寫作能力。許多考生的寫作仍停留在句子水平上,還沒有上升到語篇水平上,因此寫出的文章不流暢很生硬。還有一些學(xué)生的語言基礎(chǔ)薄弱,中學(xué)所學(xué)的語言基礎(chǔ)知識在大學(xué)里沒能夠得到鞏固。
(磚家點(diǎn)評:請考生朋友注意 1)我們作文寫作的段落要符合英文段落的寫法,即要有主題句和拓展句——具體請參考我們前面探討過的“中英文思維、語言、語篇的差異”。2)大學(xué)英語四六級作文,包括以后可能大家考到“研究生入學(xué)考試公共英語”的作文,只是要求根據(jù)所給提綱寫出三個段話——鄙人稱之為“三股文”;不能算作篇章寫作,只能算段落擴(kuò)寫。這跟專業(yè)英語四級、八級作文考試完全不同——平時監(jiān)考時常發(fā)現(xiàn)有考生朋友把這混淆了,特別是英語專業(yè)的同學(xué)把CET-4/6作文寫成了TEM-4/8,真是傷心太平洋!這兩類作文要求是完全不同的,例子請看:
(一)英語四六級、研究生入學(xué)考試公共英語作文
Part Ⅰ. Writing
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a essay on Spring Festival Gala on CCTV . You should write at Least 120 words following the outline given below:
1.許多人喜歡在除夕觀看春節(jié)晚會.
2.有些人提出取消春節(jié)晚會.
3.我的看法.
(范文)
It has been a hot topic for a long time whether the CCTV Spring Festival Gala should be cancelled or not. Many people advocate that CCTV Spring Festival Gala offers a wonderful opportunity to celebrate this traditional festival, for the Chinese all over the world can share the same happiness and excitement brought by the TV program. In addition, many performances are very impressive, and some can even positively affect our life value.
(本段寫“許多人喜歡在除夕觀看春節(jié)晚會”,拓展段落,給出原因)
However, every coin has two sides. Some people hold that CCTV Spring Festival Gala should be cancelled. One of the most significant reasons may be that this form of celebration force people to spend the eve more passively. What’s more, a great proportion of the programs are not attractive enough.
(本段寫“有些人提出取消春節(jié)晚會”,拓展段落,給出原因)
As to me, my favor goes to the former opinion, because spring CCTV Spring Festival Gala gives us another option to celebrate this important moment. But it is really essential to improve the quality of the programs. And I hope some better forms of celebration will be created in the near future.
(本段寫“我的看法”——贊同哪個觀點(diǎn),莫兩邊倒,拓展段落,給出原因)
(縱觀全文,文章沒有主題段和結(jié)尾段,所以說大學(xué)英語四六級、研究生入學(xué)考試公共英語的作文“不能算篇章寫作,只能算段落擴(kuò)寫”)
(二)專業(yè)英語四、八級作文
Part Ⅵ. Writing
Directions:
Some people consider CCTV Spring Festival Gala to be a wonderful program; some others think that this program should be canceled. What is your opinion? Please write a composition of about 200 words.
You are to write in three parts. In the first part, state specifically what your view is. In the second part, support your view with two or more reasons. In the last part, bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or a summary.
(下文是本人學(xué)生的一篇專四課堂作業(yè)——原版,原文有些錯誤,未作改動)
CCTV Spring Festival Gala has been played on new year’s eve for many years. Many people watch it as an entertainment. With the development of the industry of television, some people think that this program is dull and should be cancled. In my opinion, Spring Festival Gala on CCTV should be remained.
(第一段是主題段,給出個人觀點(diǎn),贊同或反對,作者選其一:“Spring Festival Gala on CCTV should be remained.”)
There are mainly two reasons: to bring us happiness and to broaden our horizons.
(拓展段:說明自己給出這個觀點(diǎn)的理由)
As we know, spring festival is very important in our life. And spring festival Gala, which contains songs, dance, cross talks, magic and so on, is the focus. It serves not only as an entertainment, but also an occasion for the whole family to get together, chat and laugh. Its forms are diverse and it has been improved to draw our attention. There is no doubt that it is a form of celebration of Chinese lunar new years. People are accustomed to enjoy it.
(拓展段:說明自己給出這個觀點(diǎn)的理由)
On the other hand, it can broaden our horizon. Some contents of it may reflect the hot topics of last year. When we watch it, we can learn more about the inside information about the topic. Some programs, for example, Peking opera, is the top-level arts of our country. It can enhance our aesthetic abilities.
(拓展段:說明自己給出這個觀點(diǎn)的理由)
In a word, the Spring Festival Gala is a tradition and treasure of Chinese people. I hope more and more people can enjoy it.
(總結(jié)段:再次表述觀點(diǎn),呼應(yīng)前文)
(縱觀全文,文章緊緊圍繞一個中心去論述,符合英文文體的統(tǒng)一性——unity。這才是一篇完整的英文文章。所以請注意:如果把大學(xué)英語四六級作文寫成了專四專八作文,評卷專家可以給我們很高分,也可以給5—9分,因?yàn)槲覀冎徽撌隽?ldquo;三段論”中的一段——吉祥三寶,共享天倫,缺一不可)
二、對四六級作文的答題方法缺乏了解。四六級考試的題型以寫Argument類型的文章為主,偶爾也會出現(xiàn)圖表作文、信或描述性、說明性的題目。
(磚家點(diǎn)評:四六級作文考試形式中,給出英文題目和中文提綱式的作文占80%,圖表和提綱作文占20%;不管寫什么,不能脫離的是題目所給出的綱要,把題目所給的outline 擴(kuò)寫成段落,大功告成矣)
三、母語干擾的痕跡非常明顯。例如,在1998年1月的作文題目為
“Harmfulness of Fake Commodities”。有一位考生要表達(dá)“別人賺錢有人眼紅”這樣的意思,他不會使用“envy”或“envious”等詞語,而是直接把眼紅翻成了“red eyes”,使人感到費(fèi)解。
(磚家點(diǎn)評:“red eyes”為美國西海岸的導(dǎo)航燈,真正的紅眼病醫(yī)學(xué)術(shù)語叫做結(jié)膜炎,英文是conjunctivitis,口語是pink eyes。其實(shí),在真正考試過程中,不懂“嫉妒”如何寫也不要緊,完全可以用“hate”來替代;要是連“hate”拼寫也不確定,也可以用“dislike”;如過還不行,可以用“don’t like”。
仿《陋室銘》,鄙人也來個“詞不在多,夠用則行;詞不在深,達(dá)意則靈。斯是陋詞,唯吾得分”。
要知道,美國黑社會里黑人交易時詞匯量從來不超過1000;牛津書蟲簡寫本系列所用詞匯量不超過1500,卻能把《飄》、《簡.愛》(簡單戀愛,少花錢)等名著縮寫成惟妙惟肖的讓人看了愛不釋手的濃縮本,可見英文的最高境界之一:用最簡單的詞表達(dá)最深邃的思想。——在此也順便推薦牛津書蟲,不是做商業(yè)廣告,乃因書好,一兩塊錢一本,真正的物美價廉。聽說某名牌大學(xué)外語專業(yè)的新生一入學(xué),他們的老師要求他們做的第一件事是繳費(fèi)注冊,第二件事就是看十來本牛津書蟲簡寫本,一是為了提高英文思維的能力,二是為了清楚要上到自己的宿舍,登堂入室,就象外語學(xué)習(xí)一樣,要跨過《三十九級臺階》)
四、對待作文考試的態(tài)度不夠認(rèn)真,存有碰運(yùn)氣的僥幸心理。一些考生認(rèn)為作文的好壞沒有客觀的標(biāo)準(zhǔn),分?jǐn)?shù)的高低取決于評閱人一時的好惡。這是對作文批閱的誤解。這種心理反映在卷面上就是敷衍了事,不加思索,一揮而就。許多考生拿到作文題目以后沒有認(rèn)真審題、構(gòu)思,而是提筆就寫。在寫作過程中也沒有斟詞酌句,嚴(yán)密地組織句子。在閱卷過程中發(fā)現(xiàn)許多考生字跡潦草,卷面凌亂,大小寫、標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號等都被一概忽略了。
(磚家點(diǎn)評:此外,以前還有考生從閱讀里抄來一段忽悠評卷員的——可惜,現(xiàn)在作文放在第一部分完成,沒機(jī)會了。建議:1、用5分鐘構(gòu)思、列好提綱或拓展句論點(diǎn)——如果不發(fā)草稿紙,可以在試題冊的空白處揮毫,用20分鐘寫作,用5分鐘潤色;2、注意書寫和排版,答題紙上下左右不要寫得太靠邊,要留點(diǎn)空,以展現(xiàn)版面之美,給改卷專家留下甜蜜蜜的印象,以便心曠神怡,改卷水平超常發(fā)揮。)