英语写作的主题句和段落

Topicsentenceandparagraphs/p44段落的结构“人之立言，因字而成句，积句而成章，积章而成篇。”──刘勰《文心雕龙·章句》一篇文章只有漂亮生动的句子还是不够的，我们还必须注意把文意所衔领的句子按照一定的规律组织起来，成为一个或者数个段落，从而使要表达的各层意思都清晰分明。只有这样构成的文章，才会给人浑然一体但又清晰有致的美感。一、主题句“揭全文之指，或在篇首，或在篇中，或在篇末。在篇首，则后必顾之；在篇末，则前必注之；在篇中，则前注之，后顾之。”这是刘熙载在《艺概》中讲的话，虽然说的是汉语整篇文章的写作，但同样适用于英文段落。在比较正规的英文写作(formalwriting)中，往往就有这样的“揭全段之旨”的句子，它就是主题句(topicsentence)。简单一点说，主题句就是对全段主题的概括性陈述。段落中其他的句子都是对它的扩展、支持或证明。主题句起着统摄全段的作用。在写作者一方，下笔可以力顾着眼点，做到内容醒目突出而且不跑题。而在读者一方，则可以通过主题句迅速地明确作者的主题，读起文章来比较快捷。需要指出的是，英语文章对全文的主旨句和段落主题句的要求是非汉语文章所及的。受两种文化的影响，汉语文章在结构方面往往比英语文章更加随意，作者既可以开门见山立显要旨，也可曲径通幽委婉道来，甚至可以指桑骂槐旁敲侧击。对于主题的揭示很多情况下都采取“春秋笔法”，隐而不说。英语的文章段落则要明白得多，往往需要规矩完整的主旨句和主题句。这一点需要每一个英语作文学习者寄予相当的注意。为加强这方面的意识，我们下面看毛荣贵和DorineS.Houston合编的《中国大学生作文评改》中的两个例子：Inthisworld,weshouldthinkmoreofotherpeoplethanofourselves.Bysodoing,ourworldwillbefullofhappiness.This,ofcourse,ismypersonalview.ButitisalessonIhavedrawnfromoneofmyownexperience.Sonow,Iwouldliketosharethatexperiencewithyou,mydearreader.这是一名中国大学生的作文ApplauseontheBus中的开头。在本书的中国编者看来，这样的开头自然而且不俗，符合汉语写作的习惯。然而美国编者认为：Thisisessentiallyasolidessay.Thewriterusesananecdotetomakeapoint…Nowwejustneedtogiveitagood,strongtopicsentenceusingthewriter’sownideastoformit.她给这个开头段拟了下面的主题句：Alittlegirltaughtme,andabusfulofpeople,animportantlessonabouttheimportanceofthinkingmoreofotherpeoplethanofourselves.OnedayItookaverycrowdedbustoschool…在另外一篇作文PartofMyChildhood中，作者开头是这样写的：Inmychildhood,thereweresomanythingsthatwereworthcallingtomind.Somemademehappy,somemademeexcited,andsomemademesad.Butamongthemwasanunforgettablething,whenIthinkofit,mygoodfriendTongTongwilloccurtome.作为汉语读者来说，首先用抒情的笔法奠定一种氛围，然后引导读者逐渐进入对于往事的回忆，这样的开头是非常自然而且感人的。但是美国编者显然不这样认为：Thisisamovingstoryaboutfriendswhohavequarreled.Itneedsagoodtopicsentencetobringthereaderintothefeelingsandmessagethewriterwantstoconvey.这位美国编者提供了这样的开头：OneofthemostunforgettableexperienceofmychildhoodinvolvesmygoodfriendTongTong.IthappenedwhenIwaseightyearsold…..我们从上面两个例子可以看出，尽管有千篇一律的嫌疑，英语的写作追求的审美效果和汉语写作是大相异趣的。学习英文写作，对这样的差异要时刻牢记。主题句的位置一般说来，主题句既可以是在段落的开始，也可以处于段落的中间或者末尾。1）主题句在段首主题句放在句首是英语段落写作中最常见的一种方法。《中国大学生作文评改》的中国作者毛荣贵说：“笔者曾就美版的Reader’sDigest和Time两本期刊的100篇短文做过调查，发现其中仅有两篇其topicsentence较为模糊，而有68篇的topicsentence均被置于文/段首，其余30篇已经将段落的topicsentence升格为小标题。”根据这种情况，我们建议所有的英语作文初学者将段落的主题句放置于段首。下面是几个相应的例子：JaneandKarenhavemanythingsincommon.Tobeginwith,bothgirlshavethesamebackground.JanewasbornandraisedintheWest,andsowasKaren.Next,bothgirlsareinterestedinthesamekindsofsubjectsinschool.JanelikesFrench,history,andEnglish.Inthesameway,KarenlikesSpanish,historyandEnglish.Furthermore,bothgirlswanttobeteachers.Janeplanstobecomeanelementaryschoolteacher.ButKarenwantstobeahighschoolteacher.Asyoucansee,thetwogirlsarealmostliketwins.Evenwhenweareverycarefulinthethingswedoeachday,theriskoflossandinjuryisalwayswithus.Startingthedaywithashower,weriskslippingandfallingthroughtheglassdoor.Ridingtowork,weriskcollision.Whileweareawayfromourhomes,theriskoffireandburglaryisgreater.Goingtoschool,ourchildrenriskbeinginjured.Wealsolossthroughunintentionalactionsofourownthatmightinjureothers.Sucheventsmayoccurregardlessofhowcarefulwemaytrytobe,andtheycancostusalotofmoney.Ratherthantakingthechanceofbeingwipedoutfinancially,wetransfersomeorourriskstoothers,webuyinsurance.Eatinglunchisoneofmyfavoritepastimes.Becauselunchcomesinthemiddleoftheday,itgivesmeawelcomebreakfromstudying.Atschool,lunchmeansthirtyminutesoutofclassandachancetorestafterthemorning’swork.Whileeating,IcanplanwhatI’mgoingtodointheafternoon.Andbesidesofferingapleasantbreakintheday,lunchisalwaysagoodmeal.2）主题句在段落中间Theofficersofmostdoctorstodayareoverloadedwithpeoplewhoareconvincedthatsomethingdreadfulisabouttohappentothem.Atthefirstsignofpaintheyruntoadoctor,failingtorealizethatpainisrarelyanindicationorpoorhealth.Wearebecominganationofpill-grabbersandhypochondriacswhoregardtheslightestacheasasearingordeal.Insteadofattackingthemostcommoncausesofpainsuchastension,worry,boredom,frustration,insufficientsleep,overeating,poordiets,smoking,orexcessivedrinking,toomanypeoplereachalmostinstinctivelyforthepainkillers---aspirins,barbiturates,codeine,tranquilizers,sleepingpills,anddozensofotherdesensitizingdrugs.CaliforniansandNewEnglandersarebothAmerican.Theyspeakthesamelanguageandabidebythesamefederallaws.Buttheyareverydifferentintheirwaysoflife.Mobility---bothphysicalandpsychological---hasmadeagreatimpressiononthecultureofCalifornians;lackofmobilityisthemarkofthecustomsandmoralityofNewEnglanders.3）主题句在段落末尾Atthebeginningofawritingcourse,manystudentsearnlowgradesbecausetheyareinexperiencedwriters.Theysimplydon’tknowhowtowriteaneffectiveessay,andintheprocessoflearningtodoso,theymakemistakes---andlowgrades.Suchgradesaffectthestudents’confidenceandmorale,makingwritinganunpleasanttaskassociatedwithanxietyandfailure.Asaresult,studentsarediscouraged;insteadofworkingseriouslyontheirwriting,theyspendtimeworryingabouttheeasiestwaytoearnabettergradeonthenextpaper---usuallybywriting“safe”papersthataresimpleandcorrectbutlackinginthought.Therefore,theassigningoftraditi