-
1
.
主题句
主题句(
topic sentence
)是表达段落主题的句子。它用以概括段落
大意,要求全段其他文字都围绕它展开。请
看下例:
My mother
has passed along to me certain rules for getting
along with
others. Don't argue with
parents; they will think you don't love them.
Don't argue with children; they will
think themselves victimized. Don't
argue
with
spouses;
they
will
think
you
are
a
tiresome
mate.
Don't
argue
with strangers; they will think you are not
friendly. My mother's
rules, in fact,
can be summed up in two words: Don't argue.
主题句中提出的
rules
指的是什么?展开句中通过四个
逐一加以交代。从结构来看,这是一个比较典型的
段
落,它包括了主题句,推展句和结论句(即本段中的末句)
。
1
.
1
主题句的位置
主题句通常放在段落的开端,
其特点是开门见山地摆出问题,
然后
加以详细说明。其作用是使文章的结构更清晰,更具说服力,便于
读者迅速地把握主题和想象全段的内容。
主题句可以放在段中起到
承上启下的作用,
或放在段尾起概括全段的作用。
但
初学者比较难
于掌握,
因而在四级考试中,
考生应尽量采用将主题句放在段落开
头的写作手法。
,
p>
例
1:
Our
life
today
depends
very
much
on
energy.
In
towns
and
in
villages, on farms and in factories,
machines have made life easier than
it
used
to
be.
The
machines
use
energy,
and
energy
is
needed
for
heating,
lighting,
communications,
carrying
goods
--
everything.
Factories and
industrial plants use a great deal of energy to
make the
things that we use and buy and
sell.
,
这段文字所讲的主要是能源问题。第一句就概括性地提出
“
我们目
前的生活很大程度上依赖于能源
”
。而随后出现的三句都是具体事
例,
对第一句进行说明和论述
。我们可以断定第一句为该段的主题
句(斜体部分)
。
,
例
2:
(主题句)
No one can avoid being
influenced by advertisements.
(推展句
1
)
Much as we may pride
ourselves on our good taste, we are
no
longer
free
to
choose
the
things
we
want,
for
advertising
exerts
a
subtle influence on us.
p>
(
推展句
2
)
p>
In their efforts to persuade us to buy
this
or
that
product,
advertisers
have
made
a
close
study
of
human
nature and have
classified all our little weakness.
p>
以上这段由三句话组成。
第一句是主题句,直截了当指出无人不受<
/p>
广告影响这个主题,
接着列举两个推展句对其补充和支持,
指出我
们已无法自由选择所需的商品,
理由是
广告商已仔细研究了我们的
心理,并完全掌握了我们的弱点。句子衔接自然,步步紧扣主
题。
1
.
2
如何写好主题句中的关键词
段落的主题句对主题的限定主要是通过句中的关键词来表现的。
关
p>
键词要尽量写得具体些。对
“
具体
”
的要求包括两个方面:一是要具
体到能控制和
限制段落的发展;
二是要具体到能说明段落发展的方
法。
准确地把握关键词是清楚地表达段落主题、写好段落主题句的
重要前提
之一。在上面的例
1
,例
2
中,主题句的关键词分别为:
depends very much on
energy; no one can avoid being influenced.
我
们再看下列例句:
原句
1: He can fix
a bicycle himself.
斜体部分应为主题
句中的关键词。
但它只是限制了段落发展的部分
内容,并没有告
诉读者该用哪种方法展开,是用因果关系法还是用
分类法?
修正:
He can fix a
bicycle himself in several simple steps.
的
修正:
There are several reasons
why he can fix a bicycle himself.
原句
2: She tries to improve
her looks.
斜体部分应为主题句中的关键词。她
试着改变她面容的理由是什
么?或者她采取什么方法来改善呢?我们无法从关键词中清楚
得
知。
修正:
She tries many ways to
improve her looks.
的
修正:
There are
some reasons why she tries to improve her
looks
。
1.3
如何写好主题句的中心思想
主题句由两部分组成,即主题
(to
pic)
和中心思想(
controlling idea
p>
)
。
中心思想的作用是导向
(control)
和制约
(limit)
。
我们前面谈到的关键
词就反映了中心思想。所谓
导向就是规定段落的发展脉络,
所谓制
约就是限制主题的覆盖范
围,两者不可分割。没有导向,内容就会
离题或偏题;
没有制约
,
内容就可能超出一个段落所能容纳的范围。
对于初学写作的人来说,
“
导向
”
的重要性容易理解,但如果由他们
自己来构思一个主题句,就可能忽视
“
制约<
/p>
”
这一面。例如:
There
are
two
ways
in
which
one
can
own
a
book.
The
first
is
the
property right you
establish by paying for it, just as you have made
it a
part
of
yourself
and
the
best
way
to
make
yourself
a
part
of
it
is
by
writing in
it.
本段的主题句如果没有
in
which
引出的定语从句,那么
two
ways
不仅不能起制约作用,而且也不能起导向作用,句子
本身读起来也
就使人觉得欠缺点什么。
Exercise is beneficial to
your heart. A 22-year study was conducted by
doctors
in
California.
They
found
that
people
who
work
at
physical
jobs
experience
fewer
heart
attacks
than
other
people.
These
active
people work all the
time at moderate speeds, their daily routine gives
them an adequate amount of exercise and
helps them stay in shape.
is
beneficial
这是毫无疑义的。但主题句中如不加上
your
heart
来加以
control
和
limit
,那就流于空泛。
因此,紧紧把握主题句中
controlling idea<
/p>
的导向和制约作用,是短
文写作成功关键之一。
< br>
2
.
推展句
2.1
主要推展句
主要推展句
(major supporting state
ment)
的主要特点是:围绕段落主
题句展开的每一个推展句
本身都不要求作进一步的说明或证明,
句
与句之间的关系是相互
独立又是互相连接的。
例
1
:
(
主题句
)
There
are
several
factors
affecting
climate.
(
推展句
1)One factor
is the mount of sunlight received.
(
推展句
2)Altitude, or
the
height
above
sea
level,
also
determines
climate.
(
推展句
3)The
oceans
have
an
effect
on
the
climate
of
adjacent
land.
(
推展句
4)In
addition,
climate
is
influenced
by
the
general
circulation
of
the
atmosphere.
主
题句指出影响气候的几个因素。然后用四个扩展句说明四种因
素。第一种是太阳光的接收
量,第二种是海拔高度,第三句和第四
句分别是海洋和大气环流因素。
< br>
2.2
次要推展句
次要推展句
(minor supporting state
ment)
是指对主要推展句作进一步
的事实分析和举例说明。
它从属于某一个或某几个推展句。
例
2
:
(
主题
句
)I don't teach because teaching is
easy for me. (
主要推展