“Popular”
雅思寫作大作文題目都是社會熱點(diǎn)話題,所以考生在作文中經(jīng)常使用 “popular” (流行的)這個詞??墒沁@個詞在考官眼中已經(jīng)俗套了,而且也無法傳達(dá)真實(shí)有效的信息,也不符合Mark Griffins在金牌教程6-7.5分書中所提到的,能夠理解 “detailed reasoning”。那么,傳神達(dá)意又地道準(zhǔn)確的表述是怎樣的?以最近非常火的韓國熱門歌曲“江南style”為例,我們一起來看一下native-speakers所寫的句子。
例1:By now, "Gangnam Style" has become part of the pop culture lexicon. The infectious song by South Korean singer Psy broke the Guinness world record for "most likes" on YouTube。
(‘Gangnam style? Not in N. Korea’, Los Angeles Times, published on 12 Oct 2012)
在這段話中,popular的含義用的一個非常形象的形容詞infectious來表述。一首歌是具有“傳染性”的,就生動的描述其“受歡迎程度”。
例2:It (the video for Psy's track Gangnam Style) is a colourful, over-the-top, hilarious pastiche of commercial pop videos and sees Psy debut his now internationally famous "horse riding dance"。
(‘Gangnam Style the UK's first K-pop number one’, BBC online news “newbeats”, 1 Oct)
與第一個例子不同,這里使用了副詞和形容詞的搭配,“在國際范圍內(nèi)知名的”這種具體的解釋說明,來表述出這首歌是非常受歡迎的。不同詞性搭配的手法在寫作中也是非常好的表達(dá)方式。
例3:Gangnam Style, a novelty song by the South Korean rapper Psy, is the global pop sensation of 2012.
(South Korea: a rough guide to Gangnam style, The Telegraph, 7 Oct)
本例中,使用抽象名詞sensation來表達(dá)這首歌是廣為傳頌的。抽象名詞也是學(xué)術(shù)性文章中必不可少的表達(dá)方式。
“Exposure”
在寫作的媒體類,社會類話題中,經(jīng)常使用的一個表達(dá)是“經(jīng)常使用”。比如,考題中會出現(xiàn)孩子們經(jīng)??措娨暤睦?,經(jīng)常使用因特網(wǎng),以及交通工具排放的廢氣對人體的影響等。中國學(xué)生的作文中經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)的表達(dá)是“watching TV too much”, “the overuse of the Internet”, 以及“excessive use of the Internet”等。然而,exposure做為一個地道表達(dá)很少被提及。學(xué)生多數(shù)熟知字典上對exposure “暴露”這一條釋義,可在寫作中可以做為“接觸”的同義表達(dá)使用。比如例4,就是在一條很好的寫作素材,用于交通能源類,說明每天接觸交通工具產(chǎn)生的噪音對人體的影響。
例4:It found that 2% of Europeans suffer severely disturbed sleep because of noise pollution and 15% can suffer severe annoyance. Chronic exposure to loud traffic noise causes 3% of tinnitus cases, in which people constantly hear a noise in their ears。
例5: Some people may point out that too much exposure to advertising imposes a lot of pressure on children as well as their parents。
例6:The report raises concerns about how this increasing amount of time spent with media is affecting us -- and specifically, how it is affecting youth. Heavy media exposure could have long-term effects on our bodies and brains that we don't realize。
例5和例6都是媒體類的寫作素材,說明過多的接觸廣告等媒體信息對青少年的身心影響。
例7:The American Medical Association’s Council on Scientific Affairs concluded in a 1997 report that given the “particular uncertainty…regarding the long-term health effects of low-dose pesticide exposures,” it is “prudent” for adults and children to limit their exposure and to “consider the use of the least toxic chemical pesticides or non-chemical alternatives。”
例7說明了過多的接觸和使用殺蟲劑等化學(xué)制品,對青少年的影響的確是存在的。政府應(yīng)該通過限制孩子接觸到殺蟲劑的方式,降低化學(xué)制品對孩子的危害。
“embrace”
“embrace”是非常地道的表達(dá),不僅僅是中國學(xué)生熟悉的“擁抱”含義。殊不知還有其他含義。在社會類和教育類題目的寫作中,考生經(jīng)常使用“獲得,有”這個概念。通過接受大學(xué)教育,學(xué)生得到了理論知識和實(shí)踐技能。做免費(fèi)義工,學(xué)生能夠得到人生閱歷。大多的表達(dá)都是停留在“gain theoretical knowledge”或“acquire vast amounts of working experience”。而“embrace”就是很傳神的表達(dá)。
例8:Sales of carbonated sodas have been declining for the last decade, as American consumers have embraced new choices of beverages and, more recently, become more aware of how much sugar they contain。
例8是一個非常好的素材用于健康類話題中,美國人意識到了飲料中的含糖量,且有了更多的選擇,所以碳酸飲料的銷量下降。
例9:Along with theoretical knowledge, today’s working world requires its workforce to embrace practical skills and soft skills as well. It is believed that the Malaysian workforce, locally and overseas, possesses such skills。
在例9中,“要求其勞動力掌握實(shí)踐技能”的表達(dá)中,就用到了embrace。非常簡潔地道。
在寫作實(shí)踐中,embrace還可以表示“accept”的含義。在社會類和教育類話題中常見的表達(dá)“接受改變/現(xiàn)實(shí)/新事物”等,都可以使用。請見下面native speakers的文段。
例10:Graduates of the Westerly High School Class of 2012 are urged to embrace change and share knowledge
例11:Human development has always been driven by knowledge, and by our capacity to impart this knowledge, cumulatively, to succeeding generations. But as the pool of knowledge continually expands, and demand for access to it increases, the traditional means of sharing it are strained. UNESCO estimates that, by 2025, there will be an additional 80 million students seeking higher education. The way things are going, there is simply no way we will be able to give them all an on-campus education. To match this demand, Universities should embrace the move toward online learning。
例11是一段非常好的素材,用于教育類的文章。常見考題因特網(wǎng)的使用和出現(xiàn)能否取代傳統(tǒng)的學(xué)校。傳統(tǒng)的觀點(diǎn)集中在討論學(xué)校的優(yōu)點(diǎn),比如學(xué)習(xí)氛圍好,老師的互動作用和道德教育,性格培養(yǎng)的功能是網(wǎng)絡(luò)不能取代的;以及討論網(wǎng)絡(luò)能夠提供大量信息和隨時隨地學(xué)習(xí)不受空間限制的優(yōu)點(diǎn)??墒潜疚亩螀s提供了另一個思考問題的角度和素材:學(xué)生的數(shù)量太多,傳統(tǒng)的學(xué)校教育已經(jīng)無法滿足學(xué)生的需求,因此要接受在線學(xué)習(xí)的網(wǎng)絡(luò)教育方式。通過本文段的學(xué)習(xí),不僅可以掌握地道表達(dá),還能換個新穎的思考角度,同時有具體可靠的數(shù)據(jù)支持,實(shí)在是難得。
“tight”
在大作文結(jié)尾段的合理化建議部分,以及報(bào)告類題目的解決措施部分,都需要考試針對該討論話題提出建議。傳統(tǒng)的思考角度是從政府著手,政府可以給予經(jīng)濟(jì)援助或扶持;政府也可以加強(qiáng)監(jiān)管和控制;政府大力宣傳教育。在考慮到媒體類和犯罪類題目時,經(jīng)常用到“政府應(yīng)嚴(yán)格控制該行為”的表達(dá)。如“政府應(yīng)嚴(yán)格控制媒體中的暴力色情信息,以達(dá)到降低社會犯罪率的目的”。而考生的表達(dá)多集中于“The government should strictly control/impose stricter control the violence and pornography in the media to reduce crime rates。”這兩種表達(dá)在語法角度而言都無可厚非,可從語言地道的層面來看,就略有差池。請看下面的例子:
例12: All media in North Korea are tightly controlled by the country's propaganda network。
例13:Western Australia's emerging unconventional gas sector, which undertakes a practice known as fracking, will be subject to Australia's toughest disclosure laws and to be more tightly regulated. Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore says it is important to establish strict laws while the industry is still young。
在以上兩個例子中,第一個例子是關(guān)于朝鮮媒體,第二個例子是圍繞西澳的某經(jīng)濟(jì)行為,都傳達(dá)了政府嚴(yán)格控制的含義。
以上僅挑選四個精妙的地道表達(dá)詳細(xì)闡述。另外還有許多容易記憶和使用的地道表達(dá),只要考試平時有留心積累和靈活運(yùn)用,就一定可以提高自己的英文表達(dá)能力。比如恰當(dāng)使用名詞結(jié)構(gòu),對于動詞“知道know”這個含義:The average citizen has no knowledge of YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. 再比如巧妙換詞性和使用地道表達(dá),對于爛俗的名詞結(jié)構(gòu)“the wide use of the Internet”: North Korea is as isolated and backward as South Korea is wired and technologically advanced. “善于積累,慎重思考,靈活運(yùn)用”是提高自己表達(dá)的有效方法,只有多讀多練,見賢思齊,才能在雅思寫作中取得好的成績。