-
第一节
英文书信的结构
英文书信一般由以下六部分组成:
信头、信内地址、称呼、正文、结尾、签名
5.1.1
信头(
Heading
)
信头是
指发信人的地址和日期,
通常写在第一页的右上角行首可以齐头写,
也可以逐行缩进
写地址的书写顺序由小到大:门牌号、街道、城市、省(州)
、邮编、国名,最后写发信日期私
人信件一般只写寄信日期即可例如:
123 Tianhe Road
Tianhe District
Guangzhou
510620
Guangdong Province
P. R. C.
March 15, 2002
5.1.2
信内地址(
Inside
Address
)
信内地址要写收信人的姓名和地址
在公务信件中要写明这一项,
在私人信件中,
这一项常常
省略该项写在写信日期下一行的左上角,格式与寄信人地址一样
5.1.3
称呼(
Salutati
on
)
称呼是对收信人的称谓,应与左边线对齐,写在收信人姓名、
地址下面
1-2
行处在称呼后,
英国人
常用逗号,
美国人则常用冒号在私人信件中可直呼收信人的名字,
但公务信件中一定要写
收信人的姓大部分信件在称呼前加“
D
ear
”如:
Dear
Professor/Prof. Bergen:
Dear Dr. Johnson,
对不相识的人可按性别称呼:
Dear Sir:
或
Dear Madam: Dear Ladies
如果不知收信人的性别则可用
Dear Sir or
Madam:
5.1.4
正文(
Body of
Letter
)
正文是书信的主体与中文信件不同
的是,
英文书信的正文的开头不是先写一些问候语,
再阐
明写信的目的,
而是直接说明写信人的身份及写信的目的,
然后提出写信人的情况、
想法或要求,
并加以必要
的解释或说明英文书信陈述目的时,应该直截了当,
意思明确,层次清楚,
言简意赅
书信正文的第一句话或第一段,
通常
被称为起首语一般说来,
人们习惯用一些客套的写法作
为书信正
文的起始,
即先将对方来信的日期、
主题加以简单描述,
以便使对方一看便知该信是回
答哪一封信的如果是第一次给别人写信,
也可用开头语作必要的自我介绍,
并表明自己写信的主
要目的
5.1.5
结尾礼词(
Complimentary
Close
)
公务信件的结尾礼词包含两部分:
发信人的结尾套语与署名结尾套语写在签名上面一行,
第
一个字母要大写,套语结尾后面要加逗号在公务信件中,发信人常用的结尾套语有:
Yours truly, Yours sincerely,
Respectfully yours, Cordially yours, Yours
cordially
等
私人信件中,发信人常用的结尾套语有:
Sincerely yours, Lovely yours, Your
lovely, Your loving
son/daughter
等
5.1.6
签名(
Signature
)
写信人
的签名常位于结尾礼词正下方一二行除非是给很熟悉的人写信,
签名一般须写出全名
p>
签名常常较潦草,不易辨认,因此在签名的正下方须打印出全名下面,我们先来看看
2001
年
6
月四级考
试的作文题:
Directions: For this part,
you are allowed thirty minutes to write a letter.
Suppose you are Zhang
Ying.
Write
a
letter
to
Xiao
Wang,
a
schoolmate
of
yours
who
is
going
to
visit
you
during
the
week-long
holiday.
You
should
write
at
least
120
words
according
to
the
suggestion
given
below
in
Chinese:
1.
表示欢迎
2.
提出对度假安排的建议
3.
提醒应注意的事项
A Letter to a
Schoolmate
June 23, 2001
Dear Xiao Wang,
________________
________________
________________.
Yours,
Zhang Ying
从上面的例子可见,
书信作文不仅给
出正文部分的内容的提纲,
而且还给出书信各部分的结
构的框架
也就是说,我们只要考虑如何表达提纲部分的内容,而不用考虑书信的结构
在写书
信作文时,
首先要把书信正文的提纲内容细化,
扩展成更细的英
文提纲,
然后用简洁、
明了、
礼貌、<
/p>
正确和得体的语言表达出细化了的提纲内容例如前面的那封信就可以列出下面的提
纲:
Topic:
A
Letter
to
a
SchoolmateQuestion:
What
are
the
holiday
arrangements
and
points
for
attention?
Outline:I. Extending my
welcomeII. Holiday schedule1. 1st day
–
campus2. 2nd
day
–
the art
gallery & music hall3. 3rd day
–
mountain
climbing4. next 3 days
–
other places of interest (Swan
Cave,
Golden
Lake
?
)5.
Last
day
--
departureIII.
Points
for
attention1.
Train
number
&
time
of
arrival2.
SunglassesIV
. Looking forward to seeing
uction Body 1Body 2Conclusion
范文:
A
Letter to A Schoolmate
June 23, 2001
Dear Xiao Wang,
I
’
m very glad to
learn that you
’
re going to
visit me during the week-long holiday. My parents
will
also be happy to see you again. I
am sure you will enjoy every minute here.
I
have arranged our schedule for the holiday as
follows. On the first day you arrive,
I
’
ll show you
around our campus. On the second day,
we
’
ll visit the art gallery
and the music hall. Next day,
we
’
ll
climb a
hill in the northeastern part of the city.
O
n the top of the hill, we can have a
wonderful bird’
s
eye view of
the city. During the next three days, we’ll make
some short trips to some places of interest
nearby, such as the Swan Cave, the
Golden Lake, etc. On the last day, I’ll see you
off at the railway
station.
Please remember
to call and tell me your train number and time of
arrival so that I can meet you at
the
railway station. By the way,
it
’
s very hot here and we
have a lot of sunshine, so
don
’
t forget to
wear you sunglasses.
I
’
m looking
forward to seeing you soon.
Yours,
Zhang
Ying
写信日期称呼
正文第一段:表示欢迎正文第
2
段:活动安排第一天的安排第二
天的安排第三天的安排第
4-6
天的安
排第七天:送行正文第三段(注意事项)
:
< br>注意事项一注意
事项二结束语结尾礼词签名
上面举
的是私人信件的例子,下面我们再来看一封投诉信(
Letter of
Complaint
)
投诉信的目的是为了让收信人读信
后同情你的遭遇
,
解决你所遇到的问题所以写投诉信时应
该实事求是地反映情况,
注意措辞,
不使用过
多的讽刺或责备的语言,
也不要因为发泄怒气而离
题,以避免引
起收信人的不信任或反感
一般而言,投诉信包括以下内容:提出要求和理由;解释详细
的情况;把请求具体化以及希
望收信人采取行动的日期等例如:
September 1, 2001
Dear Sir or
Madam:
I
’
m writing to
complain about a typewriter I bought seven months
ago.
In
February
of
2001
I
bought
a
Jones
Typewriter,
Portable
Special
Model,
at
ABC
Store,
I
had
used it only a few days
when the space bar broke.
I took it to a local shop,
they told me it was factory defect and suggest I
take it back to ABC. ABC
accepted the
machine and sent the part in. I waited three
months, and since your company did not send
a replacement , they let me have the
space bar from another typewriter.
Now, six
months later, it has broken again. I
took it back to ABC. They are no longer carrying
your typewriter, but they assured me
that the guarantee is still good and suggested
that I write you for
further
instructions as to what steps to take.
I will
appreciate anything you can do to help us on this
matter.
Respectfully,
(Signature)
James Bergen
写信日期
称呼正文第一段:表明写信
的目的正文第二段:具体说明购买产品的时间、地点
及出现的问题第三段:说明尝试的解
决方法
第四段:说明尝试的解决方案无效,请求帮助结尾
p>
礼词签名打印的姓名
这是一封态度冷静、
措辞有理、
有节的投诉售后服务不周的信由于这类信涉及经销商
(厂家)
和卖方,因此,投诉信中写明了以下详细的情况:
< br>
1
)
购物的时间:
In February of 2001
2
)
购物地点:
at ABC
Store
3
)
产品型号:
Jones Typewriter,
Portable Special Model
4
)
使用时间:
I had used it only a
few days
;
six months later
5
)
主要问题:
The space bar broke
6
)
产生问题的原因:
factory defect
7
)
为什么向你方反映:
They are no
longer carrying your typewriter, but they assured
us that the guarantee is still good
and
suggested that I write you for further
instructions as to what steps to take. (
商店已没有贵公司的
打字机,但他们让我相信,保修卡仍有效,并建议我写信给贵公司
以寻求解决办法
)
此外,写信人还用了礼貌的结束语:
I
will appreciate anything you can do to help us on
this matter. (
贵公司在这件事上给我的任何
帮
助都将令我不胜感激
)
小结:
1
)
英文书信的结构;
2
)书信作文的出题形式;
< br>3
)书信作文的写作要领
下面我们进行写作练习我将给大家
一个作文题,请大家根据这一讲的内容,在
30
分钟内完
成大家在写作的过程中要注意审题,考虑文章的结构、采用的起首语和结束语等
练习五:
Directions: For this part,
you are allowed thirty minutes to write a letter.
Suppose you are Xiao Li.