第一节 记叙文写作
一、概念
记叙文是一种对一系列相关事件或经历的记述,事件或经历可能为真,也可能为虚构。常见的记叙文包括:新闻报道(news report)、人物传记(biography)、日记(diary)、回忆录(memoirs)、游记(travelnote)历史记录(history record)和小说(story)等。
二、六大要素
记叙文的写作要注意六大要素,即时间(time)、地点(place)、人物(character)、事件的原因(cause)、经过(process)和结果(effect)。
记叙文的展开一般都是以时间为主线来组织所要叙述的内容,使读者对文章中的人物或事件有一个比较清晰的了解。记叙文的结构安排通常有两种形式:顺叙(chronological order)、倒叙(flashback)。顺叙是英语叙述文中最常用的一种结构,即以人物出现、事件开始发生的时间点作为记叙的起点,然后按照人物活动的展开、事件发生发展的自然顺序进行叙述。倒叙,是根据表达的需要,把事件的结局或某个最重要、最突出的片段提到文章的前边,然后再从事件的开头按事情先后发展顺序进行叙述。
三、时态
记叙文讲述的大多是过去已经发生的活动或事件,因此用过去时态(一般过去时、过去进行时、过去将来时、过去完成时)的作品比较多。但有时为了使文章显得更加真实、亲切和生动,也可以使用现在时态(一般现在时、现在进行时、现在将来时、现在完成时)。
四、人称
记叙某个人物的经历、活动或某件事情的经过离不开叙述的主体,即“人称”。记叙文中的人称大多采用第一人称或第三人称的形式。第一人称的叙述主观色彩较浓,可以增强文章的真实感,有利于表述细腻的情感和细节的过程;第三人称的叙述可以超越时空的限制,更加真实、客观地表述某一人物活动或事件的全过程。
无论采用第一人称,还是采用第三人称,都要保持全文叙述主体的人称的一致性。注意:句式尽量要多变,不要通篇文章的句子都以人称代词开头,否则文章会显得单调沉闷。例如:
I loved the book first because of its beautiful heroine. Then I found it a romantic love story which greatly moved me. I now find that it is better taken as the growth story of a naive girl into a strong-willed woman. I realize that it is the essence of the book that attracts such big number of faithful readers.
五、措辞与表达
在全国大学英语四级考试的各种作文体裁中,记叙文需要应试者具有更全面的语言技能与篇章组织能力。四级考试中,记叙文的语言以生动、真实、准确为准则。同一个记叙文题目,不同的人会描述不同的人物经历或事件,又很少有固定的表达或句式可供参考,这时作者的综合语言水平就会表现出来,对能否取得高分起到了相当重要的作用。这就要求考生平时要多注意语言的磨练和积累。
四级考试中的记叙文要求考生叙述一个事件发生的经过,如车祸、同学生病或一次难忘的经历等。
其基本结构:首先交代事件发生的背景;然后描述事件的经过;最后谈谈自己的感受或得到的启示。
例子1:
Honor for My Teacher
The once per year’s Teacher’s Day will come soon, which is a quite important day and deserves attention from the whole society. There is no more appropriate time than this for us students to express our special recognition and respect to all our teachers. So on this special occasion, I want to show my esteem and thanks to my dearest teacher, Mr. Wang, for all the work he has done for me.
Now I still remember clearly one lesson on cheating he gave me. It happened on the end of one term, when we were having an exam. I was copying answers from one of my classmates. Just at the moment, Mr.Wang came in and found my cheating behavior. It impressed me most that he didn’t criticize me but talked about the importance of honesty and emphasized that dishonest behavior is very harmful even if it was not in an exam.
Every time I remember this and all other work he has done for me, I feel that I should return his great love with my achievements. I will study hard to become a real talent. Furthermore, I will devote myself to the development of our country as he does. In conclusion, thee nlightenment he gave me will always encourage me in my whole life.
例子2:
An Eye-Witness Account of a Traffic Accident
I'm Li Ming, a student from a local college. A week ago I saw a traffic accident, which is still vivid in my mind.
It was at about 9:00 on Saturday morning, June 15th, when I went out the university to visit a friend of mine at another university. I was walking leisurely on the sidewalk when I heard a loud crash of two vehicles. Two taxis crashed together.
I went up and found that the two taxis were badly damaged. One driver was blooding and another was shut in the taxi. Some people were trying to help the driver get out of the damaged car. One man was calling to the traffic policeman station. A lot of cars were jammed on the road.
Many reasons contributed to this traffic accident. It is clearly seen from the stopping track on the road that the two taxis were driving too fast. But from my viewpoint, it was more because the taxi drivers were eager to take more passengers and make a little more money. On the other hand, both drivers show concern for one another, both of whom wanted to run in front of the other. Therefore, the accident is not inevitable only if the drivers keep it in their mind that a little slower, a little safer.
例子3:
The Day My Classmate Fell Ill
During the SARS period in this spring, oneof my classmates, Li Ming, was struck down by the virus and was immediatelysent to hospital. The news spread quickly on campus.
At first, we were terrified and wondered ifwe were infected too. However, through our government’s publicity on massmedia, we gradually conquered the fear and set out to try our best to help him. Some teachers and students provided many daily necessities and nutrients. And it is impressed me that most some students recorded the class contents for him so that Li Ming would not be left behind. As a result, with our care and concern, Li Ming recovered quickly.
Such an incident teaches us an important moral, that is, our society is full of love and warmth. People, from man to woman, from individual to individual, should lend others a hand. Furthermore,just like a famous song goes, “the world will turn into heaven only if everyone contributes a little love.” In conclusion, I do believe that it is my great honor to live in this love-filled world.