现象解释型和问题解决型

◆第三章◆　四级作文的语篇

四级考试作文最为常见的是说明文和议论文，其次为应用文，包括建议、投诉、祝贺、拒绝、道歉、感谢、邀请、申请、求职、海报、竞选演说辞、日程安排等生活学习方方面面涉及的信函和公告。应用文涉及一些相对固定的表达方式，平时应该多加积累。偶尔会涉及记叙文，要求考生叙述某个事件发生的经过。

从历次作文考题来看，占绝对主导地位的还是说明文和议论文。因此，掌握这两种文体的语篇类型至关重要。

以下就四种最常见的语篇类型举例说明。

一、说明文：现象解释型和问题解决型

1．现象解释型说明文：对某种现象和变化产生的原因及其影响进行解释说明，阐明自己的观点。

例如：2007年12月英语四级作文

Directions：For this part，you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled What Electives to Choose．You should write at least120 words following the outline given below．

1）各大学开设了各种各样的选修课

2）学生出于各种原因选择不同的选修课

3）以你自己为例……

With the reform of Chinese higher education，more and more colleges and universities put emphasis on nurturing students’abilities．Asa result，elective coursesare available notonly for excellent academic performers but also for students about the average level．

Certainly，students have different reasons to choose their own electives．For some，practical skills are the essence of college education，and therefore，courses on computer science，marketing，and finance are highly preferred．On the other hand，others may hold the idea of liberal education and electives concerning literature，history，and philosophy are the most welcome．

Takeme as an example：being a disciple of free education，I stand for the notion that university is not a place for survival skills，but a palace of knowledge and critical reasoning．Althoughmymajor is chemistry，the electives Iattendmost frequently are English literature，an Introduction to Classic Music，and Different Schools ofWestern Painting．They really widenmy horizon．

从全文来看，该语篇呈现出以下规律：

第一段：（描述现象）描述现象或变化。

第二段：（说明原因）原因一……原因二……原因三……

第三段：（阐述观点）陈述理由……总结全文，提出建议或希望。

2．问题解决型说明文：针对某一问题的危害或重要性进行说明并提出解决方案。

例如：2008年12月大学英语四级作文

Directions：For this part，you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Limiting the Use of Disposable Plastic Bag．You should write at least120 words following the outline given below．

1）一次性塑料袋的使用

2）使用一次性塑料袋带来的问题

3）限制一次性塑料袋的意义

In our daily life，most people use disposable plastic bags for shopping and other purposes．However，the excessive use of disposable plastic bags has resulted in a great damage to our environment．

The problems brought by disposable plastic bags are various，ranging from environment to people’s health．In the first place，it takes years for the plastic products to decompose and be absorbed by the soil．Secondly，the use of disposable plastic bags will indirectly do harm to people’s health．Sometimes people buy hot food packed into disposable plastic bags for saving time to wash their dining utensils．Yet they are not informed of the chemicalmaterial the bags release in high temperature．Therefore，they are also eating the poisonous stuff while enjoying the tasty food．

It’s enlightening and significant that our government has banned the use of disposable plastic bags officially，and people will be charged for the use of such bags．This action is reducing the consumption of bags to a great extent．It is a greatmeasure for the sustainable development of our earth．

从全文来看，语篇呈现出以下规律：

第一段：总述问题。

第二段：陈述表现/危害。

第三段：陈述解决方法。

二、议论文：对比选择型和观点论证型

1．对比选择型议论文：对两种观点或对某一事物的优缺点进行对比分析，然后表达自己的观点。

例如：2005年12月大学英语四级作文

Directions：For this part，you are allowed 30minutes to writea shortessay entitled Should the University Campus Be Open to Tourists？You should writeat least120 words following the outline given below．

1）名校校园正成为旅游新热点

2）校园是否应对游客开放，人们看法不同

3）我认为……

When it comes to whether the university campus should be open to tourists，there is no complete agreement among people．Some people take it for granted that university campus should embrace tourists across the country．However，othersmaintain that the university campus should be closed to tourists．

Those who hold the first opinion believe that refusing tourists contradicts universities’proclaimed spirit of openness．In addition，they point out that no university has the right to reject taxpayers visiting the campus because it is a public place．However，still others think differently．In their opinion，toomany touristswill add a burden to the security department of the university．Besides，they argue that these tourists will destroy the quiet environment and influence students’normal study．

Weighing up these two arguments，I prefer the former one．For one thing，by visiting the university，high school students can experience the campus atmosphere and be stimulated to make a better preparation for the college entrance exam．For another，a university should be an open place and impart the spirit of openness．Considering these，Imay reasonably conclude that the university campus should welcome all tourists．

从全文来看，语篇呈现出以下规律：

第一段：提出问题。

第二段：对比两种观点。

第三段：表明作者观点。

2．观点论证型议论文：用论据论证某种观点的正确性

例如：1997年1月大学英语四级作文

Directions：For this part，you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic Practice Makes Perfect．You should write at least 120 words and you should base your composition on the outline（given in Chinese）below：

1）怎样理解“熟能生巧”？

2）例如：在英语学习中……

3）又如……

The well-known proverb“Practice makes perfect．”means that when we set about a difficult task or begin to learn something new，we need to practice constantly．Getting familiar with something ismerely the first step．Only through constant practice can we get to know how the parts are related and only in thisway can we become skilled in doing the work and in the end have a better command of it．

Many examples can be cited to illustrate this fact．Learning to write English composition is a good case in point．Many students complain thatwriting in English is really a great problem for them．But do you notice how often they practice writing English compositions in their daily life？If they fail to follow what the proverb says，if they don’twrite regularly in English，how can they expect to improve their writing？

Let’s take playing piano as another example．Many want to be famous pianists，but few know the road to success．How can one play the pianowonderfully if he only practices itonce in a while．The road to success is filled with hard work．Only when one persists in practicing hour after hour，day after day can he get to the peak of success．

There are other countless examples in our daily life，but I think the above mentioned are evident enough to illustrate the truth of the proverb．We ought to keep the proverb in mind wheneverwe do something new and difficult．

从全文来看，语篇呈现出以下规律：

第一段：描述或解读某种观点的含义。

第二段：论证观点（常用的论证方法是举例论证和列举原因论证）。

第三段：总结观点。

从传统作文考题来看，以上的语篇类型很容易从给出的中文或英文提纲中识别出来。考生只需要将提纲细化即可。但是如果考题未列出提纲则需要考生认真审题，选择合适的语篇类型搭建文章。

例如：2011年12月四级作文

Directions：You’re allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Nothing Succeeds Without a Strong Will by commenting on the humorous saying，“Quitting smoking is the easiest thing in theworld，I’ve done it hundredsof times”．You’d write at least120 wordsbut nomore than 180 words．

【提示】针对这种考题，考生需要根据题目和给出的材料认真审题，提炼出自己的提纲，并将提纲进行细化，生成introduction，body和conclusion。本篇文章的body部分不外乎两种展开方式：举例和列举。本篇文章用举例论证更易展开。具体来讲，本文要求考生从幽默材料入手，强调“坚强的意志是成功的重要保证”。紧接着展开话题，运用实例阐述主题：只有意志坚定的人才可以走向成功。最后重申主题，呼应开头，并提出希望：新时代的大学生要培养坚强的意志。从语篇类型来看该考题属于观点论证型议论文。

As the saying goes，“Quitting smoking is the easiest thing in the word．I’ve done it hundreds of times”，no success can be achieved without a strong will．There is also a saying：“Where there is a will，there is away．”A determined mind and a strong will give us the power to succeed．In this essay Iwill offermy own view on it．

A strongwill is indispensable to the success ofall things in our life and career．Throughout the history，great achievements are made by people of a strong will．Such examples are seen from countries to countries and from time to time．Famous books likeWar and Peace were not written easily．A strong-willed writer can spend hours and hours changing the original scripts in order to create a satisfying work．Valuable artworks made by Picasso were all done after innumerous changes．

We can see from these examples thatnothing succeedswithouta strongwill．If you have a clear target in mind，focus on it and stay strong-willed．Your will and efforts will bring you the expected result after your continuing hard work。

有关提纲的问题，值得注意的是有许多考生认为30分钟时间非常有限，列提纲耽误时间，没有必要，于是不假思索地动笔就写，想一句写一句。结果最后发现前面写的不理想，出现了诸如文章不连贯、观点不鲜明等问题，想改却为时已晚。因此在认真审题的前提下，花五分钟左右的时间拟一个提纲非常必要。

那么如何列提纲呢？

一般来讲，四级作文包括三个部分（注意不是三个自然段）：introduction（提出问题），body（分析问题），conclusion（解决问题）。列提纲时考生注意要认真分析标题，提炼出introduction，body和conclusion三个部分要写的内容，并且构思出body部分的支撑材料，简要列在提纲中。

例如：

Directions：You’re allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Should Fireworks Be Banned？by commenting on both sidesof arguments．You’d write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words．

【分析】通过审题，从文章标题不难看出本文的主题是写放鞭炮是否应该被禁止，通过审题论述正反两方面观点产生的原因来展开主题，并通过作者的观点得出结论。

拟提纲

Introduction：Should fireworks be banned？Answers to this question vary greatly．

Body 1：

1）some people are in favor of the idea of setting off fireworks

2）always the way to celebrate the new year

3）bring good luck in the coming year

4）add to happy atmosphere

Body 2：

1）others consider it harmful to set off fireworks

2）a threat to people’s life and poverty

3）cause casualties and fire accident

4）pollute the environment

5）noisy

Conclusion：Fireworks should be banned．

Exercise

请完成以下两篇作文：

1．Directions：For this part，you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Education Pays based on the statistics provided in the chart below（Weekly earnings in 2010）．Please give a brief description of the chart first and thenmake commentson it．You should write at least120 words but nomore than 180 words．

Education：AWorthy Investment

Weekly Earnings in 2010（﹩）

2．Directions：For this part，you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay．You should start your essay with a brief description of the picture and then express your views on the importance of doing small thingsbeforeundertaking something big．You should write at least120 words but nomore than 180 words．