SUMMARY WRITING
? Definition and characteristics
? Steps in writing a summary
? How to write a summary
? Writing Practice
1. What Is Summary?
? passage.
? Note: You simply report back what the writer has said, without making value judgments.
2. Characteristics of a good summary
? Briefness
Omit unnecessary details like examples, explanations and other unimportant information. (length: 1/4-1/3 of original text)
? Completeness
to include all the main and supporting points delivered in your own words in a condensed manner
? Coherence
rather than an outline listed as key words and phrase, a summary is a paragraph with
? Objectivity
to contain only the ideas or information of the original. Do not include your own ideas or emotions on the topic.
Some Useful Expressions of Transition
On one hand,…….On the other hand,…… is ……Another is ……Still another is ……The final is …… To begin with, ……What?s more,……In addition,……Finally,……
In short,
From what is mentioned above, we can come to the conclusion that ….
3. Steps in Writing a Summary
? Read the article
1). Divide the article into sections of ideas. Each section deals with one aspect of the central theme.
2). Label (classify) each section with a general phrase that captures the subject matter of the section.
3). Highlight or underline the main idea and key points
Topic: _________
Outlines: 1. ________a….. b….. c. ….
2. ________3. ________
? Begin with a proper citation of the title, author, source, date of publication and the main idea of the article summarized.
? Write according to your outlines.
? Use transitions for a smooth and logical flow of ideas.
? Compress supporting details
1). Omit the details
2). Reduce the examples
3). Simplify the descriptions
4). Eliminate all repetitions
5). Compress wordy sentences and change clauses or sentences to phrases and
phrases to words.
6). Use general words instead of specific words
7). Use the shortest possible transitions
8). Avoid figurative (比喻的) language
9). Put the main points of a dialogue in indirect speech
Beginning a Summary
? Begin your summary with
1. The author?s name
2. The article?s or chapter?s name
3. The author?s thesis statement--a general overview (survey概述) of the article
The Opening Sentence: e.g. In the feature (特写；专题) article "Four Kinds of Reading," the author, Donald Hall, explains his opinion about different types of reading.
The Body：
points out that……
, the author suggests…………….
Some other introductory phrases
1. (The author) states in (this article) that...
2. (The author, in (this article) shows that...
3. In (this article), (the author) writes that...
4. As (the author) says in (this article), ...
5. The main idea of (the author's article) is
6. The author (holds; maintains; claims; argues; points out; suggests; 7.
写作提示 How to use transitional words or phrases correctly
In order to organize a good paragraph or composition, you should learn to use transitions（转换词）properly. When a runner in a relay race passes his wand（接力棒）to another team member, his team keeps moving ahead. When a writer uses transitions, he keeps his ideas moving ahead.
Transitions are words or phrases that join one idea to another. They add coherence(连贯性)to writing by joining ideas together. You can write good paragraphs by using transitions correctly.
Transitions placed in sentences within a paragraph make it easier for a reader to follow the movement of an idea from one sentence to the next.
1. 次序：First and foremost, First, Firstly, Second, Secondly, third, thirdly,
then=next=after that=afterwards.
例: Then you come to a traffic light and turn right.
2. 强调：Certainly=Surely=really=truly=indeed, above all=most important
As a matter of fact=in reality=to tell the truth.
例: Above all, do not build an open fire in a forest.
Indeed a dessert is always enjoyable.
I am going there tomorrow, as a matter of fact.
3. 说明：For example, for instance, such, so=thus=in this / that way=like this,
in fact=in truth=really
例: Thus the trip finally began.
Such an earthquake happened last year in China.
So it was that he had his first sight of snow.
For eight years she was in fact spying for the enemy.
4. 对照：whereas=but in contrast=while, On the contrary, instead of, on the other hand.
instead=as an alternative
例: The husband wanted a boy, whereas the wife wanted a girl.
We?ve no coffee. Would you like tea instead?
Let?s play cards instead of watching TV.
5. 比较：like, unlike, as…as, Similarly, Equally important, In the same way,
At the same time=Meanwhile, Compared with…
例: Equally important the car drives thirty miles on a gallon of gas.
I went to college. Meanwhile, all my friends got well-paid jobs.
6. 并列/补充：Besides, Furthermore, Moreover, also, On top of…=In addition=Additionally,
too, as well, What is more, both…and, not only…but also.
例: I did not like the house; moreover, it was too high-priced.
7. 转折(make a statement less general or extreme)：As a matter of fact, However=though,
Nevertheless(fml)=in spite of this=still, Unfortunately, Conversely, Yet, but.
例: We hope, though, that she could change her mind.
Yet there was still a chance that he would win.
8. 让步：although= though, after all, Nevertheless(fml)=in spite of this=still
例: After all, you learn to cook many foods in this job.
Though very intelligent, she is nevertheless rather modest.
Still, a winter vacation can be pleasant / fun.
9. 结果/后果：Hence=for this reason, as a result=Therefore=For that reason=Consequently,
Thus=As a result of this=Accordingly, so…that, otherwise, then=in that case=therefore 例: Consequently, we opened an account at the bank.
Nothing more was heard from him so that we began to wonder if he was dead.
10. 目的：to, in order to (fml)= so as to, so that=in order that
例︰He left early in order that he should/would/might arrive on time.
She works hard so that her husband suspects nothing.
11. 结论/总结: As you can see, As I have said, Obviously, Apparently, To sum / end up,
To conclude, In brief / short / summary / conclusion / a word, By and large=All in all 例: In summary, recreation is big business.
By and large, the company?s been pretty good to me.
Passage One
needed for positions in administration, where it is their job to see that other people do the work, where they have to plan for other people, to organize other people?s work, to begin it and judge it. The specialist understands one field; his educational background is properly technical or professional. The generalist―-and especially the administrator—-deals with people; his concern is with leadership, with planning, and with direction giving. He is an “educated” man; and humanities are his strongest foundation. Very rarely is a specialist capable of being an administrator. And very rarely is a good generalist also a good specialist in a particular field. though different organizations need them in different proportions. Your first job may turn out to be the right job for you ―― but this is pure accident. Certainly you should not change jobs constantly or people will become suspicious of your ability to hold any job. At the same time you must not look upon the first job as the final job; it is primarily a training job, an opportunity to understand your-self and your fitness for being an employee.
1. There is an increasing demand for A. all-round people in their own field
B. people whose job is to organize other people?s work
C. generalists whose educational background is either technical or professional
D. specialists whose chief concern is to provide administrative guidance to others
2. The specialist is A. a man whose job is to train other people
B. a man who has been trained in more than one field
C. a man who can see the forest rather than the trees
D. a man whose concern is mainly with technical or professional matters
3. The administrator is A. a “trained” man who is more a specialist than a generalist
B. a man who sees the trees as well as the forest
C. a man who is very strong in the humanities
D. a man who is an “educated” specialist
4. During your training period, it is important A. to try to be a generalist
B. to choose a profitable job
C. to find an organization which fits you
D. to decide whether you are fit to be a specialist or a generalist
5. A man?s first job A. is never the right job for him
B. should not be regarded as his final job
C. should not be changed or people will become suspicious of his ability to hold any job
D. is primarily an opportunity to fit himself for his final job BDCDB
Passage Two
Successful international marketing doesn?t stop with good translations—other aspects of culture must be researched and understood if marketers are to avoid blunders. When marketers do not understand and appreciate the values, tastes, geography, climate, superstitions, level of literacy, religion, or economic development of a culture, they fail to capture their target market. For example, when a popular American designer tried to introduce a new perfume in the Latin American market, the product aroused little interest and the company lost a lot of money. Ads for the new fragrance highlighted its fresh camellia scent. What marketers had failed to realize was that camellias are traditionally used for funeral in many South American countries.
Procter and Gamble has been successful in marketing its products internationally for many years. Today, overseas markets accounts for over one third of its sales. However, the company?s success in this area didn?t happen overnight. Procter and Gamble initially experienced huge losses because marketing managers did not recognize important cultural differences. For instance, when P& G first entered the Japanese market with its popular Cheer laundry detergent, most Japanese housewives weren?t interested. The promotional campaign that emphasized Cheer as an effective “all temperature” detergent was lost on the Japanese who usually wash clothes in cold water. Although the ad had been quite successful in the United States where clothes are washed in all temperatures, it fell flat in Japan. All of this could have been avoided if P&G marketers had done more preliminary research before launching the campaign. Once P&G changed its strategy and promised superior cleaning in cold water, sales for Cheer picked up dramatically.
The use of numbers can also be a source of problems for international marketers. Since every culture has its own set of lucky and unlucky numbers, companies need to do their homework if they want to avoid marketing blunders. A. U. S. manufacturer of golf balls learned this lesson the hard way when it packaged its product in groups of four for export to Japan. The company couldn?t figure out why the golf balls weren?t selling well until it realized
that in Japanese the word for the number four also means death. In Japan four and nine are very unlucky numbers which should be avoided by marketers.
Even illustrations need to be carefully examined. A picture that is culturally offensive can ruin an advertisement even if the written message is properly translated. McDonnell Douglas Corporation made an unfortunate error in an aircraft brochure for potential customers in India. It included a picture of men wearing turbans, which was not appreciated by the Indians.
A company spokesman reported, “It was politely pointed out to us that turbans were distinctly Pakistani Moslem.” The artist for the ad had used an old National Geographic magazine to copy the picture.
29. Why is the new fragrance not popular in Latin countries?
People are not interested in this fragrance
B. The fragrance suggests funeral in Latin countries
C. People refuse to accept products made in the USA
D. A terrible mistake was made in translation
30. What does the phrase “pick up” mean here?
to take hold of B. to choose C. to become better D. to become worse
31. Which of the following is not true according to the passage?
The word for number four is unlucky in Japan
B. One third of P&G sale is in overseas markets
C. Cheer is not so effective in cold water
D. The picture McDonnell Douglas Corp. used is culturally offensive
32. What is the main topic of the passage?
Cultural oversights can be disastrous B. The lesson Procter and Gamble learned
C. The superstition about number D. What illustrations show
Passage Three
An Asian engineer is assigned to U.S laboratory and almost suffers a nervous breakdown.
A U. S executive tells his staff he?s going to treat them fairly, and creates dissension. A Japanese manager is promoted by his British president, but within six months asks for a transfer.
Each of these real-life cases involved people who were regarded as superior employees, but were ill-equipped to cope with the complexities and dangers of intercultural management.
“Multinational companies have studied everything else, now they?re finally looking at culture,” says Clifford Clarke, founder and president of the California-based IRI International Inc. one of a small but growing number of consulting firms that specialize in teaching business people from differing cultures how to communicate and work with each other.
“Never show the sole of your shoe to an Arab, never arrive on time for a party in Brazil, and in Japan, don?t think ?yes means yes,” advise U. S. consultants Lennie Copland and Lewis Browh Griggs, who have produced a series of films and a book to help managers improve their international business skills. But simply learning the social “dos” and “don?ts” is not the
answer, according to the new culture specialists. The penalties for ignoring different thinking patterns, they point out, can be disastrous.
For example, the American manager who promised to be fair thought he was telling his Japanese staff that their hard work would be rewarded, but when some workers received higher salary increases than others, there were complaints. “You told us you?d be fair, and you lied to us,” accused one salesman, “It took me a year and half” sighed the American, “to realize that ?fair? to my staff, meant being treated equally”.
The Asian engineer who suffered in America was the victim of another mistaken expectation. He was accustomed to the warm group environment so typical in Japan, said his U. S manager. But in our company, we?re all expected to be self-starters, who thrive on working alone. For him, it was emotional starvation. He?s made the adjustment now, but he?d be humiliated if I told you his name. That?s another cultural difference.
The Japanese manager who failed to respond to his promotion couldn?t bring himself to use the more direct language needed to communicate with his London-based superiors. “I used to think all this talk about cultural communication was a lot of baloney,” says Eugene J. Flath, president of Intel Japan Ltd, a subsidiary of the American semiconductor maker. “Now, I can see it?s a real problem.” Miscommunication has slowed our ability to coordinate action with our home office.
That?s why Intel, with the help of consultant Clarke, began an intercultural training program this spring, which Flath expects will dramatically reduce decision-making time now lost in making sure the Americans and the Japanese understand each other.
23. The best title for the passage would be Building Bridges Over the Cultural Rivers B. Multinational training for Businessmen
C. Learning Different Thinking Patterns. D. Communication Problems and Complaints
24. From the context, the word ?baloney? is close in meaning to A. balcony B. feat C. nonsense D. simplicity
25. Why did the Japanese staff complain to the American manager?
The American manager had lied to them
B. The salary increases were insufficient
C. Most staff had not received salary increases
D. There was a misunderstanding of the word ?fair?
26. The cultural communication problems are becoming especially urgent for American managers B. multinational companies
C. Japanese employees D. consulting firms
27. From the passage, the Japanese people seem to be accustomed to being frank and direct B. thriving on working alone
C. the warm team environment D. higher salary than others
28. Why did the promoted Japanese manager ask for a transfer?
He was not competent for the higher position
B. He was not accustomed to working by himself
C. He could not make the adjustment to his new job
D. He lacked adequate communication with his superiors
Passage One
With our nation?s economic competitiveness slackening and our productivity levels not keeping pace with our international competitors, employers and policy makers have called for changes and improvements in how our schools prepare students. In multiple surveys, employers point to inadequacies in academic skills and work readiness among workers, including the lack of integrity and of willingness to assume responsibility and work cooperatively. They also point to the increasing need for workers to be lifelong learners—a need generated by the increasing speed with which skills become obsolete and by the frequent changes in jobs that are typically made by workers during their lifetimes (one in five workers leave their jobs once every five years and younger workers even more often). According to the Committee for Economic Development, “Employers in both large and small businesses decry the lack of preparation for work among the nation?s high school graduates. Too many students lack reading, writing, and appropriate behavior on the job. Nor have they learned how to learn, how to solve problems, make decisions, or set priorities”. This view of young workers contributes to their poor prospects in the labor market as employers seek to hire older, more experienced workers, even for entry-level positions.
Yet students have correctly ascertained that there is little, if any, relationship between how well they do in school and how likely they are to get a high-skill, high-pay job, or even a job that pays good students more than their counterparts who do less well in school. Employers rarely bother to check the academic credentials of young job applicants, nor does the US have an externally graded competency assessment system, which is key to the secondary school curriculum, as do most other industrialized nations. The US Department of Labor Secretary?s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) recently made a start on developing such a system by identifying the five competencies that effective workers can productively use and the three-part foundation of skills and personal qualities that competence requires.
1. Employers and policy makers call for improvements in education because ____________.
A. international competition demands capable and responsible workers
B. economic competitiveness demands students with advanced technology
C. productivity can not be further raised with the present educational level
D. schools overemphasize working skills at the expense of academic skills
2. Lifelong learning is made a necessity by the ____________.
A. failure of schools to produce qualified students
B. need of the workers to constantly renew their skills
C. lack of preparation for work on the part of the students
D. threat impending unemployment imposes on skilled workers
3. Which of the following is mentioned as a result of the employers? disappointment with school graduates?
A. The nation lacks economic competitiveness.
B. Productivity levels cannot be raid substantially.
C. Many job positions are left unfilled.
D. Employers are reluctant to hire school graduates.
4. In face of accusation, school graduates defend themselves by saying ___________.
A. examination results can never reflect the true capability of students
B. good academic achievement is no guarantee for high-pay jobs
C. job performance has nothing to do with how well they do in school
D. high schools never attach much importance to training their hi-tech skills
5. We can speculate that, after the SCANS has developed the assessment system, it is likely that _______.
A. improvements will be made in how schools prepare students
B. workers will certainly increase their competitiveness and productivity
C. the academic foundation of skills will be made more solid
D. more job opportunities will be opened for school graduates
Passage Two
The growth strategy is a corporate-level strategy that seeks to increase the level of the organization?s operations. This includes increasing such popular quantitative measures as sales revenues, number of employees, and market share. Growth can be achieved through direct expansion, vertical integration, horizontal integration, or diversification.
Growth through direct expansion is achieved by internally increasing a firm?s sales, production capacity, or workforce. No other firms are acquired or merged with; instead, the company chooses to grow by itself through its own business operations. For instance, McDonald?s has pursued a growth strategy by way of direct expansion. The company has grown by awarding franchises(经营许可) to people who are willing to be trained in the McDonald?s way and by opening company-owned outlets.
A company might also choose to grow by vertical integration, which is an attempt to gain control of input (backward vertical integration), output (forward vertical integration), or both. In backward vertical integration, the organization attempts to gain control of its inputs by becoming its own supplier. For instance, United Airlines has created its own in-flight food service business. In forward vertical integration, the organization gains control of its outputs (products or services) by becoming its own distributor. For example, Gateway Computer?s retail stores are an example of an organization controlling its distribution.
In horizontal integration, a company grows by combining with other organizations in the same industry ― that is, combining operations with competitors. For instance, H,J, Heinz, Inc., the food-processing company, combined operations with an organic baby food company, Earth?s Best, to help its own Heinz baby foods division become more competitive. Because combining with competitors might decrease the amount of competition in an industry, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission assesses the impact of such proposed growth action and must approve any proposed horizontal integration strategy. Other countries have similar restrictions.
Finally, an organization can grow through diversification, either related or unrelated. Related diversification is when a company grows by merging with or acquiring firms in different but related industries. For example, American Standard Cos. is in a variety of businesses including bathroom fixtures, air-conditioning and heating units, plumbing parts, and brakes for trucks. Unrelated diversification is when a company grows by merging with or acquiring firms in different and unrelated industries. For example, Lancaster Colony
Corporation makes salad dressing, car mats and candles. These industries are different and unrelated.
6. What is this passage mainly about?
A. How McDonald?s has become successful.
B. How companies have become successful.
C. How companies can develop their businesses.
D. How companies compete with each other.
7. What is “direct expansion”?
A. A company develops its own business into a bigger scale.
B. A company acquires another company.
C. A company merges with another company.
D. A company grows without increasing its workforce.
8. Which of the following is not true of “vertical integration”?
A. A company attempts to supply its own inputs.
B. A company attempts to sell its own products.
C. A company attempts to provide service.
D. A company attempts to enter another industry.
9. If a company adopts the method of “horizontal integration”, it attempts to __________ .
A. acquire a very different company B. acquire a similar company
C. acquire a sales company D. acquire a distribution company
10. Which of the following phrases is closest in meaning to the word “diversification”?
A. merging with or acquiring firms
B. either related or unrelated
C. a variety of businesses
D. a company grows
雅思阅读题：
Search begins for 'Earth' beyond solar system
1. A European took off today to the search for another "Earth" among the stars.
2. The Corot space telescope blasted off aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur 3. Corot, short for convection rotation and planetary transits, is the first instrument capable of finding small rocky planets beyond the solar system. Any such planet situated in life, although a leading scientist involved in the project said it was unlikely to find "any little green men".
4. Developed by the French space agency, CNES, and partnered by the European Space Agency (ESA), Austria, Belgium, Germany, Brazil and Spain, Corot will monitor around 120,000 stars with its 27cm telescope from a polar orbit 514 miles above the Earth. Over two and a half years, it will focus on five to six different areas of the sky, measuring the brightness of about 10,000 stars every 512 seconds.
5. "At the present moment we are hoping to find out more about the nature of planets
planets. We are not going to find any little green men," Professor Ian Roxburgh, an ESA programme.
6. Prof Roxburgh said it was hoped Corot would find "rocky planets that could develop an atmosphere and, if they are the right distance from their parent star, they could have water".
an object passes in front of a star, known as a "transit". Although it will take more sophisticated space telescopes planned in the next 10 years to confirm the presence of an Earth-like planet with oxygen and liquid water, Corot will let scientists know where to point their lenses.
Jupiter-like gas planets as well as small rocky ones. It is the rocky planets - that could be no bigger than about twice the size of the Earth - which will cause the most excitement. Scientists expect to find between 10 and 40 of these smaller planets.
9. Corot will also probe into stellar interiors （星球内部）by studying the acoustic waves（声波）that ripple（形成波痕）across the surface of stars, a technique called "asteroseismology"（星震学）.
10. The nature of the ripples allows astronomers to calculate a star's precise mass, age and chemical composition.
11. "A planet passing in front of a star can be detected by the fall in light from that star. Small oscillations （震动振幅）of the star also produce changes in the light emitted, which reveal what the star is made of and how they are structured internally. This data will provide a major boost to our understanding of how stars form and evolve," Prof Roxburgh said.
12. Since the discovery in 1995 of the first "exoplanet" - a planet orbiting a star other 13. Until now the usual method of finding exoplanets has been to detect the "wobble" （摆动摇晃）their gravity imparts on parent stars. But only giant gaseous planets bigger than Jupiter can be found this way, and they are unlikely to harbour life.
14. In the 2010s, ESA plans to launch Darwin, a fleet of four or five interlinked space telescopes that will not only spot small rocky planets, but analyse their atmospheres for signs of biological activity.
15. At around the same time, the US space agency, Nasa, will launch Terrestrial Planet Finder, another space telescope designed to locate Earth-like planets. (615 words) Choose the appropriate letter from A-D for question 1.
1. Corot is an instrument which
(A) can help to search for certain planets
(B) is used to find planets in the orbit
(C) can locate planets with human beings
(D) can spot any planets with water.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage? For questions 2-5 write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this in the passage
2. Scientists are trying to find out about the planets that can be inhabited.
3. BBC Radio 4 recently focuses on the broadcasting of Corot.
4. Passing objects might cause a fall in light.
5. Corot can tell whether there is another Earth-like planet.
Based on your reading of the passage, complete the sentences below with words taken from the passage. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
With measurements, scientists will be able to search for some gaseous and rocky planets. They will be extremely excited if they can discover some small 6. __________, the expected number of which could be up to 7. __________ .
Corot will enable scientists to study the 8. __________ of stars. In this way, a star?s mass, age and chemical composition can be calculated.
According to Prof Roxburgh, changes in light can be caused by passing planets or star 9. __________. The related statistics can gain us a better 10. __________ of the star formation and evolvement.
Observatories have found many exoplanets, which are 11. __________ other stars than the Sun. The common way used in finding exoplanets can only detect huge gas planets, which do not 12. ___________ .
With the launching of Darwin, astronomers will be able to analyse whether those rocky planets have 13. __________ for life.