英语说明文的写作方法指导

　　在英语说明文中，阐述和说明主观抽象观念的说明文占了很大的比重，其中有些类似汉语中的议论文。但是无论是对客观具体事物的说明还是对主观抽象观念的阐述，英语说明文从结构上看大致可分为三个部分：第一部分一般是文章的第一段，提出文章的主题，也就是说，文章想要阐述、说明的主要内容;第二部分是文章的主体，可由若干个段落组成，对文章的主题进行展开说明;第三部分是结尾段，对文章的主题作归纳总结。从英语说明文的结构可以看出，要写好英语说明文的关键在于第二部分如何对文章主题进行展开说明。在英语中常见的用来展开文章主题的方法有下列几种：

　　英语说明文的写作方法指导

　　1.举例法(examples)

　　举例法是用具体的例子来说明我们要表达的意思，常用forexample，forinstance，stillanotherexampleis等词语引出。下面这篇学生作文就是用举例法写成的：

　　Recreation

　　Itisimpossibletokeepingoodhealthunlesswetakeenoughrecreation(娱乐)。Themind，too，needschangetomakeitfreshandvigorous(有活力的)Thereismuchtruthintheoldsaying，AllworkandnoplaymakesJackadullboy.

　　Therearemanygameswhichboysandgirlscanplayaftertheirschoolworkisdone，forinstance，football，tennis，andkite-flying.Otherexamplesofrecreationareboating，fishing，gardening，cycling，walking，chess-playing，andreading.Personswhositmuchattheirbusinessshouldtakeakindofrecreationthatwillsupplytheirmuscles(肌肉)withexercise.Thosewhospendmostoftheirtimeintheopenairanddomanualwork(体力活)shouldadopt(采纳)readingorsomeotherquietformofrecreation.

　　Cyclingissaidtobeanimportantmeansofrecreation，butmanypersonsfoolishlytireoutthemselvesbycyclingtoomuch.Thesamemaybesaidinregardtofootball.Tennisisapleasantformofrecreation.Manypersonstakegreatdelightinboating.Fishingrequiresmuchpatience，andthereismuchdangeroftakingcoldbysittingstillonacolddaytoolong.Agoodbrisk(轻松)walkisoneofthefinestformsofexercise.Forpersonsengagedinoutdoorlabor，chess-playingisanotherexcellentformofrecreation.

　　可以看出，举例法和罗列法有时可以结合使用：即用罗列法来列出例子，用例子充实罗列的说明。

　　2.罗列法(listing)

　　在文章开始时提出需要说明的东西和观点，然后常用first，second，andfinally加以罗列说明。罗列法广泛地使用于各类指导性的说明文之中，下面这篇学生作文就是用罗列法写成的：

　　EarlyRising

　　Earlyrising(早起)ishelpfulinmorethanoneway.First，ithelpstokeepusfit(健康)。Weallneedfreshair.Butairisneversofreshasearlyinthemorning.Besides，wecandogoodtoourhealthfromdoingmorningexercise(做早操)。

　　Secondly，earlyrisinghelpsusinourstudies.Welearnmorequicklyinthemorning，andfinditeasiertorememberwhatwelearninthemorning.

　　Thirdly，earlyrisingenables(使能够)ustoplantheworkoftheday.Wecannotworkwellwithoutagoodplan.Justastheplanfortheyearshouldbemadeinthespring，sotheplanforthedayshouldbemadeinthemorning.

　　Fourthly，earlyrisinggivesusenoughtimetogetreadyforourwork，suchastowashourfacesandhandsandeatourbreakfastproperly.

　　Laterisersmayfinditverydifficulttoformthehabitofearlyrising.Theyoughttomakespecialeffortstodoso.AstheEnglishproverbsays，Earlytobedandearlytorise，makesamanhealthy，wealthyandwise.

　　罗列法经常用下列句式展开段落，我们可以注意模仿学习：

　　Thereareseveralgoodreasonswhyweshouldlearnaforeignlanguage.Firstofall，Secondly，Andfinally，

　　WeshouldtryourbesttoplantmoretreesforseveralgoodreasonsFirstofall，Secondly，Andfinally，

　　必须指出的是，有时罗列法并不一定有明确的first，second等词，但文章还是以罗列论据展开的。

　　3.比较法(comparisonandcontrast)

　　比较法是对两个对象进行比较，从而进行说明的写作手法。比较法又可细分为比较相同点(comparison)和比较不同点(contrast)两种方法，比如：

　　FromParagraphtoEssay

　　Althoughtheyaredifferentinlength(长度)，theparagraphandtheessayarequitesimilarinstructure(结构)。Forexample，theparagraphstartswitheitheratopicsentence(主题句)oratopicintroducerfollowedbyatopicsentence.Intheessay，thefirstparagraphsetsupthetopicfocus(主题所在)Next，thesentencesinthebodyofaparagraphdevelopthetopicsentence.Similarly，thebodyofanessayconsistsofanumberofparagraphsthatdiscussandsupporttheideasgivenintheintroductory(引导的)paragraph.Finally，aconcludingsentence(结束句)whetherarestatement，conclusion，orobservationendstheparagraph.Theessay，too，hasaconcludingparagraphwhichendstheessaylogicallyandsatisfactorily.Althoughtherearesomeexceptions(例外)，mostwellwrittenexpository(说明文的)paragraphsandessaysaresimilarinstructure.

　　可以看出，在比较相同点的时候，常用到similarly，also，too，inthesamecase，inspiteofthedifference等这样的词语。

　　EuropeanFootballandAmericanFootball

　　AlthoughEuropeanfootballistheparentofAmericanfootball，thetwogamesshowseveralmajordifferences.Europeanfootball，sometimescalledassociationfootballorsoccer，isplayedin80countries，makingitthemostwidelyplayedsportintheworld.Americanfootball，ontheotherhand，ispopularonlyinNorthAmerica(theUnitedStatesandCanada)。Soccerisplayedbyelevenplayerswitharoundball.Football，alsoplayedbyelevenplayersinsomewhatdifferentpositions(位置)onthefield，isplayedwithanelongated(拉长的)roundball.Soccerhaslittlebodycontact(接触)betweenplayersandthereforeneedsnospecialprotectiveequipment.Football，inwhichplayersmakethegreatestuseofbodycontacttostoparunningball-carrierandhisteammates，needsspecialprotectiveequipment.Insoccer，theballisadvancedtowardthegoalbykickingitorbybutting(顶)itwiththehead.InAmericanfootball，ontheotherhand，theballispassedfromhandtohandorcarriedinthehandsacrosstheopponent's(对手)goal.Thesearejustafewofthefeatureswhichdistinguish(区别)associationandAmericanfootball.

　　这是一篇用比较不同点的手法写的说明文。从文章中可以看出：however，ontheotherhand，incontrast，but，nevertheless等表示转折的词语常用来引导对不同点的比较。