8)当你不知道一个英语单词时,可以先尝试给出一个解释(转述)。比如,当你不知道英语单词notebook时,你可以解释说他就是“我们用于写作的一本空白的本子”。使用模板结构,如“This is a person who…(这是一个… 的人)”或“This is an object we use when(当…时我们使用这个东西)”来解释一些你不知道的英语单词。
举例:【Introductory sentences】On Sunday afternoons I like to spend my time in the garden behind my house. The garden is narrow but long, a corridor of green extending from the back of the house, and I sit on a lawn chair at the far end to read and relax.
【Personal impression】I am in my small peaceful paradise: the shade of the tree, the feel of the grass on my feet, the gentle activity of the fish in the pond beside me.
【Description of an event】My cat crosses the garden nimbly and leaps onto the fence to survey it from above. From his perch he can watch over his little kingdom and keep an eye on the neighbours. He does this until the barking of next door’s dog scares him from his post and he bolts for the cat flap to govern from the safety of the kitchen.
【Analogy】 With that, I am left alone with the fish, whose whole world is the pond by my feet. The fish explore the pond every day as if for the first time, prodding and inspecting every stone. I sometimes feel the same about sitting here in the garden; I know the place better than anyone, but whenever I return I still feel compelled to pay attention to all its details and novelties—a new bird perched in the tree, the growth of the grass, and the movement of the insects it shelters…
【Conclusion】Sitting out in the garden, I feel serene. I feel at home. And yet I always feel there is more to discover. The bounds of my garden may be small, but there is a whole world contained within it, and it is one I will never get tired of inhabiting.
比如我改过一位学生的研究计划,翻译成中文他是这样写的:“汽车产业对于中国和日本都很重要。一方面,日本有很多著名的汽车品牌,另一方面,中国的汽车市场很大。”乍一看好像没啥问题,仔细想就得开始批注了:中心句表达不严谨,应该写明白汽车产业对于日本和中国的哪些方面很重要(是经济发展?工业?交通?人民生活?)根据下文推测,“日本有很多著名的汽车品牌”,作者想说明的应该是“日本汽车工业发达”。“中国汽车市场很大”,是中国人对汽车的需求量很大。但这两点都不能很好地对应中心句,因为中心句说的太模糊了。另外作者原文中on one hand, on the other hand, 用在这里说两国的情况就不太恰当,因为这段说的不是一个问题的两方面,而是两个国家的汽车产业。那不如直接说, In Japan, …; In China,…
第一、多查字典,别乱用词。有不少人在英汉词典里查到一个单词就拿来用,这是写作的大忌。只看汉语意思,是无法理解究竟应该怎么用这个词的,因为写作还涉及语境和词语搭配。英文写作查英英词典才准确——要看英语解释,还有例句,甚至是图例。网上有不少英英字典,比如Macmillan Dictionary | Free English Dictionary and Thesaurus Online,也可买一本权威的纸质英英·英汉双解词典,比如朗文,或者牛津高阶。
另外,中国现有的英语考试制度未必能体现你的英语写作水平。写作这个东西不是谁都能教谁都会改的,哪怕是母语使用者,也不一定都懂写作,另外不同的老师欣赏的风格也不一样。比如我参加英国纽卡斯尔大学INTO测试,作文题目是《如何看待狗仔队侵犯明星的隐私》,我洋洋洒洒写了两页,还举了艳照门的例子,最后写作得了优秀(distinction,接近母语水平) ,但中国老师就不一定欣赏这种写法。英语字幕翻译课汉译英作业,英国老师给我的评语是“Your English is good, better than most of them”, 但也许我写别的就写不好,换了个领域就不一定懂他们的术语。归根结底,还是因为我们没有从小生活在英语母语环境中,所以模仿起来只有比较接近,或者比较拙劣。