叙述文Narration

叙述文分两种：一种是事实叙述(Factual narration)，一种是想像叙述(Imaginative narration)。事实叙述写的是真实的事情，包括历史、传记、自传等。想像叙述写的是虚构的故事，包括短篇小说、长篇小说等。

叙述文应注意事件结构与叙事观点以及时间的顺序和对话的语言结构等问题。

故事的结构必须严紧；事件与事件之间需要有密切的因果关系。一般说来，故事的结构有三个步骤；也就是亚里士多德(Aristotle)所说的beginning，middle，and end。故事必须有个开始，然后有一项冲突(conflict)，这个冲突到了顶点，也就是故事的高潮(climax)，然后结束。当然，讲故事的方法很多，这只是个基本概念。

叙事的观点可用第一人称或第三人称叫第三人称又分主观第三人称和客观第三人称。第一人称是[我] (I)或[我们] (We)，以这个人称来讲故事的好处是使故事听来非常亲切，因此也比较容易让人相信。它的缺点是太过狭窄，因为只有故事里面这个『我』所听到、看到、想到的事情读者才能知道，限制要比第三人称所持的观点大得多。第三人称是用『他』 (He)或[她] (She)或『他们』(They)．这个观点的好处是运用起来比较灵活。

时间顺序是指故事里面事件发生的顺序。一般叙述都是采用事情发生的先后顺序，按部就班地，先发生的先讲，后发生后讲。这种顺序英文里称作顿时序 (chronological order)，也有时候作者会采用另外一种方法，把后发生的事先讲，然后再同去交代前面发生过的事情。这种倒叙的方法英文里称作『急转回溯』(flashback)。

叙述通常采用的是简单过去式(simple past tense) ，但也有少数在特殊情形下用现在式(historical present tense)。

讲故事常有对话，对话应注意下列五点：

(a)每一句对话，不论多短，都自成一段。

(b)对话本身必须用引号"……"(中文用[…])。

(c)英文对话本身第一个字的头一个字母必须大写。

(d)与对话本身有关的标点符号都应该放在引号里面。

(e)对话本身假如分好几段，引号应该用在每一段的开始，以及最后结尾时： "．．．．．．．，．

"．．．．．．．．"

中文：[………

[…………

[…………]

(f)引号中如有引用话语时，应用双引号来区别。

<范文> This Was My Mother(1)

My mother, Jane Lampton Clemens, died in her 88th year, a mighty age for one who at 40 was so delicate of body as to be accounted a confirmed invalid, destined to pass soon away. But

the invalid who, forgetful of self, takes a strenous and indestructible interest in(2) everything and everybody, as she did, and to whom a dull moment is an unknown thing, is a formidable adversary for disease.

She had a heart so large that everybody's griefs and joys found welcome in it. One of her neighbor never got over the way she received the news of a local accident. When she had told how a man had been thrown from his horse and killed because a calf had run in his way(3), my mother asked with genuine interest, "What became of(4) the calf?" She was not indifferent to the man's death, she was interested in the calf, too.

She could find something to excuse and as a rule to love in the toughest of human beings or animals--even if she had to invent it. Once we beguiled her into saying a soft word for the devil himself. We started abusing her, one conspirator after another adding her bitter word, until she walked right into the trap. She admitted that the indictment was sound, but had he been treated fairly? luck, and that was enough. She generally had a cat in her lap when she sat down, but she denied indignantly that she liked cats better than children; though there was one advantage to a cat, she'd say. You could always put it down when you were tired of holding it.

I was as much of a nuisance as any small boy and a neighbor asked her once, "Do you ever believe anything that boy says?"

"He is the wellspring of truther". My mother replied, "but you can't bring up the whole well with one bucket. I know his average, so he never deceives me. I discount him 90 percent for embroidery and what is left is perfect and priceless truth, without a flaw."

She had a horror of snakes and bats, which I hid in pockets and sewing baskets; otherwise she was entirely fearless. One day I saw a vicious devil of a Corsican, a common terror in the town(5), chasing his grown daughter with a heavy rope in his hand, threatening to wear it out on her. Cautious male citizens let him pass but my mother spread her door wide to the refugee, and then, instead of closing and locking it after her, stood in it, barring the way. The man swore, cursed, threatened her with his rope; but she only stood, straight and fine, and lashed him, shamed him, derided, and defied him until he asked her pardon, gave her his rope and said with a blasphemous oath that she was the bravest woman he ever saw. He found in her a longfelt want--somebody who was not afraid of him.

She was 82 and living in Keokuk(6) when, unaccountably, she insisted upon attending a convention of old settlers of the Mississippi Valley. All the way there, and it was some distance, she was young again with excitement and eagerness. At the hotel she asked immediately for Dr. Barrett of St. Louis. He had left for home that morning and would not be back, she was told. She turned away, the fire all gone from her, and asked to go home. Once there she sat silent and thinking for many days, then told us that when she was 18 she had loved a young medical student with all her heart. There was a misunderstanding and he left the country; she had immediately married, to show him that she did not care. She had never seen him since and then she had read in a newspaper that he was going to attend the old settlers' convention. "Only three hours before we

reached that hotel he had been there." she mourned.

She had kept that pathetic burden in her heart 64 years without any of us suspecting it. Before the year was out, her memory began to fail. She would write letters to schoolmates who had been dead for 40 years, and wonder why they never answered. Four years later she died.

语汇说明

(1) 本文作者马克吐温(Mark Twain，本名Samuel Langhorne Clemens)生于1835年，卒于19xx年，为美国著名的幽默作家。这篇叙述他母亲的文章仍是以幽默的笔触来表达，非常生动感人。

(2) take interest in：关心

(3) in his way：碍著他的路；挡路

(4) become of=happen to：降临在……身上(通常用於what起首的疑问句中。)

(5) a common terror：意为众所共怕的人或物。 a common terror in the town是a Coriscan的同位语。

Keokuk：在密西西此河上，位于Iowa州东南部。

第二篇：英语记叙文写作方法总结

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英语记叙文写作方法总结

在大学英语教学中,写作已成为一门非常重要的课程。无论是英语专业或非英语专业的学生都必须通过最基本的写作技能训练来达到清晰、完整地表达自己思想的目的。本文主要探讨英语记叙文的写作方法和技巧,旨在帮助学生提高英语写作水平和用英语表达思想的能力。

英语的写作体裁有多种,不同体裁的写作是为了达到不同的目的。传统上英语把写作归为四类:记叙文、描写文、说明文和议论文。虽然目前大学英语教材中的许多文章属于说明文和议论文,甚至大学英语四六级考试作文和英语专四、专八的考试作文体裁也大都是说明文或议论文。但是,值得指出的是:无论是那一篇英语文章的写作都不可能是自始至终的单一体裁的使用,而往往是多种体裁的综合运用。记叙文就常常与描写文、说明文和议论文综合使用。记叙文是写作中比较常用的一种表达方式。在说明文中,可以运用叙述的方法来介绍事物的发展变化,或提供典型的事例,将事物的特征和本质说明的更具体、形象。在议论文中,可运用叙述来概括某些事实,从事实中引出论点,或以事实为依据来论证论点。

因此,记叙文的写作知识是帮助写好英语其他体裁文章的一种不可不学的知识。

一、什么是记叙文。

记叙文是以记人、叙事为主要职能,对社会生活中的人或事物的情态变化和发展进行叙述和描写的一种常见文章样式。它反映作者对某种生活的理解和评价,并以此来启示、教育和感染读者。

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以记人为主的记叙文,人物作为主要记叙的对象。

它一般是通过对人物在事件中的行为、活动的叙述和描写,来表现人物的精神、品质或个性特点。

以叙事为主的记叙文,通常是以社会生活中所发生的典型事件为主要叙述对象。虽然任何事情的发展都离不开人,但在叙事文中,应着重突出事件的社会意义,尽量详细地描绘事件经过,以达到用事件来教育或提醒人们的目的。先请看下面一段文章:

(1)Alfred Nobe,l the Swedish inventor and in-dustrialist, was aman ofmany contrasts. Hewas theson ofa bankrup,t butbecame amillionaire; a scien-tist with a love of literature, an

industrialist whomanaged to remain an idealis.t He made a fortunebut lived a simple life, and although cheerful in com-pany, he was often sad in private. A lover ofman-kind, he never had a wife or family to love him; apatriotic son ofhis native land, he died alone on for-eign soi.l He invented a new explosive, dynamite, toimprove the peacetime industries ofmining and roadbuilding, butsaw itused

asweapon ofwar to killandinjure his fellowmen. During his useful life he oftenfelthewas useless:“Alfred Nobe,l”he once wroteto

himsel,f“ought to have been put to death by akind doctor as soon as, with a cry, he entered life”.

World-famous forhisworks hewas neverpersonallywellknown, for

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throughouthis life he avoided public-ity.“I do not see,”he once said,“that I have de-served any fame and I have no taste for i.t”Butsince his death, hisname hasbrought fame and gloryto others.[1](P. 2”5)。

这是一段记人的文章,作者通过对比诺贝尔事业、生活和性格中的各种矛盾,刻画了他不同凡响的一生,渲染了他的高尚人格,突出了他不求名利,但求贡献的美德。再请看下一篇文章:

(2) It seems thatallwe hear aboutnowadays isthe computer

revolution. There are computers in theelibraries, schools, offices, and even in homes.

Friends ofmine who once feared anything remotelyassociatedwith electronicsnow loudly sing the praisesof word - processing, as if the typewriter were aproductof the StoneAge. Lastweek I grew sowearyof listening to them that I decided to see

formyselfexactlywhat theseswonders of technology could do.

As I cautiously approached my college s' writingcenter, my earswere assaulted by the click-click-click ofkeyboards, and an occasional screech from aprinter. One of the tutors offeredme herassistance inlearning to operate themachine. W ithin amere

twen-ty-five minutes I was typing happily, thinking allthewhile that I should have tried thismuch earlier.

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Just as I began the conclusion ofmy English paper,the entire buildingwas plunged into silent darkness.

Iwas dismayed at the thought ofhaving towaituntilthe following day to see the printou.t Then the tutortoldme the bad news: Ihad lost the entire essay justbecause I failed to click the save button one minuteearlierwhen the electricitywentof.f My draftno lon-ger

existed. W ith poise and grace, I feltmy way tothe exi.t[1](P. 2”1)。 这是一篇叙述作者首次操作电脑的叙事文。

首段起笔于周边朋友对电脑的啧啧称赞,作者决心亲身体验的想法,行文自然、新颖。第二段叙述了作者在学校写作中心学习打印文稿由喜到忧的变化过程,勾勒出作者初识电脑的独特感受,叙述亲切、自然而又独特。

二、如何写记叙文。

(一)记叙文的开头。

就一般情况而言,记叙文通常由三个部分组成:开头、展开和结尾。记叙文的开头通常交代事件的背景,即交代事件发生的时间、地点、有关人物和人与人之间的相互关系等内容。这些方面包含着导致未来变化和发展的因素,可以帮助读者理解事件的本身。例如。介绍某次郊游的文章可以这样开头:

(3)I had an interesting outing during the springholidays.

ItwasSunday. The sunwas shining brigh-tly. The weather was fine and warm. I got up veryearly that day. After an early breakfast I went

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toMountMowithmy classmates by bike. We got thereat aboutnine.[2](P.

81)。

在这几行文字中,作者写明了郊游的时间、地点和人物。在开头的段落中,介绍了对郊游的准备和到达目的地的时间。由于这几点叙述得自然、紧凑,所以这种方式的开头犹如电影的开头画面一样向我们慢慢展开,把我们带到了郊游的目的地。

在记人的文章中,我们首先应该把人物介绍给读者,对人物的一些外貌特征可以在开头部分中加以介绍。例如,在介绍一位老师的文章中可以这样开头:

(4) Itwas in 1981 that I firstmetmy EnglishteacherMr. Wang Xing. He was not tall but verystrong at that time. His eyes shone brightly withknowledge behind a pair of glasses. Ever since thenwe have been good friends.[2](P. 82)。

在此段文字中,作者虽然没有直接交代事情发生的地点,但从所述的人物之间的关系,读者可以领会到此事的发生是在学校。另外,文中的

knowledge一词和句子Eversince thenwe have beengood friends又为下文的展开作了很好的铺垫,容易吸引读者的注意力,激发读者欲读下文的兴趣。

(二)记叙文的展开。

记叙文的展开通常可以从四个方面入手:以人物活动的时间顺序为线索;按空间位置变换组织材料;以事件发生的顺序记叙;以人物的主次性格

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特征为序。前两种方法主要用于叙事的文章中,第四种方法用于记人的文章中,第三种方法即可用于记人又可用于叙事。

1、以人物活动的时间顺序为线索。

前面我们介绍了一次郊游的开头,接下来我们可以按人物活动的时间顺序作如下展开:

(5)We first stayed for an hour on the grasslandat the footof the hil.l Thereweremany people there.

Some of us were singing and dancing while otherswere playing games. Then we began to climb thehil,l talking and laughing.

On the top of the hillwe overlooked the beaut-ifulEastLake and all cried,“Wow!”We were alsoshocked at the beauty of other hills and the fields a-round. Besides playing chess and badminton, wetookmany photographs.

Atnoon we had a picnic. In the afternoon wemet some foreign guests. We talked and playedgames together.[2](P. 83)在这篇文章中,作者和同学活动的时间顺序为: first)then)atnoon)in the afternoon.

2、按空间位置变换组织材料。

按照事物空间位置转换的顺序安排材料,也就是按照地点变换,方位变换写文章。例如:

(6)We enjoyed ourvisit toDr. Hassans' house,perched high up on a hil.l Walking up the longdriveway, we approached the huge bronze

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door. Abutlerwas standing in the open doorway, usheringguests into the house. Going in, we passed the oak-paneled library, and the formal dining room beforewe arrived at the ballroom, where the reception wasbeing held. Under three sparking chandeliers, morethan a hundred people were enjoying champagne,hors do' euvres, and good

conversation.[3](P. 12)空间位置变换的描述若运用表示方位的短语,就比一般的陈述显得更为有趣,具有立体感,可给读者留下深刻的印象。从上一段作者拜访那座位于小丘上的寓所,可体会到空间位置的变化。

“沿着长长的车道,来到巨大的青铜门前,侍者将客人引入屋内,穿过橡木镶嵌的图书室和正规的餐厅,便到了举行招待会的舞厅。在三盏枝形吊灯的照耀下,客人们享受着香槟、餐前小吃、愉快地交谈。”

3、以事件发生的顺序记叙。

(7)This story happened in a garden long ago.

Thereweremany water vats in the garden. A groupofboyswere

playing there. One of them said itwas agood place for playing games. They began at once.

They played happily for a long time. Suddenly some-one shouted“Come! Come! A boy has fallen into ava.t”

All the boys ran away except a small one. Hisname was Si-ma Guang. He was then only eightyears old. He thought he should save the boy 's lie.

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Buthewas too smal,l the vatwas too large, he couldnot see the inside of the va.t At that time, nobodywould help him. He hurried towards the large va,tand broke itwith a big stone. Thewater came outofthe vat at once. When there was no water in i,t hepulled the boy out through the hole. The small boys'

father andmother and otherpeople came and saw thesmall boy talking to Si-ma Guang. They were allpleased very much. They came forward to Si-maGuang, praising him for his quick-wittedness andsaid hewas a cleverboy.[4](P. 26)。

此文是记人的文章,以事件的发生为序。首段交代事件的发生(一个男孩掉进了大水缸),然后在第二段记叙了司马光救小男孩的经过(用砖头砸缸,把小男孩从洞口拖出),最后是小男孩的的父母和其他人对司马光的赞扬。文章第二段还夹有对司马光外貌、年龄、心理的描写,进一步衬托出司马光的机智、聪明,从小就能乐意助人的优秀品质。

4、按人物特征的主次顺序。

例如前面那段记叙Mr. WangXing的文章的开头对该位老师进行了外表描写(次要特征)之后,下面可以这样展开:

(8)Mr. Wang was knowledgeable. He spokeEnglish fluently and gave us lectures in English,which was not common in middle schools. He ex-plained the grammar and language points carefully inclass. After class, whenever I asked him questions,he was pleased to answer them

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and always encour-agedme to raisemore questions.

Hewas also very caring. Iwas the top studentbut Iwas poor. He often offered his table lamp forme to use, saying it was good for my eyesight at nigh.t He sometimes invited me to have dinners inhis family, too.[2](P. 84)。

此文中,作者在开头段描述了述王老师外貌特征,并通过

knowledgeable, also两词平稳地实现了上下文的过渡与衔接。在展开段中,作者不仅叙述了王老师学术水平高、教学工作耐心细致,而且叙述了王老师在学习和生活上无微不至地关爱自己,热情帮助自己的优秀品德。此文就是按照人物的特征由次到主的顺序展开的。

三、记叙文的结尾。

记叙文的结尾不像说明文和论说文的结尾那样复杂。叙事的文章通常是依照事件的发生、发展和结局这样一个自然的顺序来结尾。无须在结构上及方法上有特殊的要求。在记人的文章中,作者通常是有感而发。所以在此类文章结尾时,作者时常发表感慨,陈述自己对某人的观点或态度。在有些“难忘的某事”之类的文章中,作者可用一些议论来结尾。例如,前面所讲到的“郊游”

和“难忘的老师”两篇文章,其结尾可分别是:

(9)We spenta happy day onmountMo. Whenwe arrived home at 7 p.m., we felt exhausted butextremely excited.[2](P. 85)这段文字是按照人物活动的先后自然顺序结尾的,即从早晨出发到晚上回家。

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(1”) In 1982 I entered university, far awayfrom Mr. Wang 's home, but I would never forgethim. Itwas he who made it possible forme to gethigher education.[2](P. 85)此段结尾夹叙夹议,表达了作者对老师的难忘之情。

结语。

如上所述,记叙文是记人、叙事的文章。叙事时,一般按照时间的先后顺序和空间的位置变换来展开;记人时,主要按照人物特征的主次来展开。这是我们在写记叙文时应当掌握的最基本方法。但是,掌握这些基本方法并不意味着就能写出一篇好的记叙文,我们还必须做到以下几点:

1、明确写作目的。

任何一篇写作都有其鲜明的目的:或证明某一理论,或阐明某一概念,或赞美某种美德或谴责某种罪恶等,以确保读者准确无误的领会作者对所叙述的人或事物的意图。

2、认真挑选细节。

记叙文是由细节组成的。读者只有通过足够的细节才能知道发生了什么事情。但细节过多会使读者如堕烟海,兴趣顿消。因此要注意选用与内容有关或能表现主要观点的细节,才能产生预期的效果。

3、注意人称的使用。

叙述的人称(可以是第一人称也可以是第三人称)通常是一贯到底而不是随意变换的。若需要交替使用两种人称,则要在人称替换处交代清楚,要通过适当的过渡提醒读者。

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4、恰当使用时态。

一般来说,在叙述故事、游记时可用一般过去时和过去完成时;在介绍人物、看图作文时,要看具体情况而定,可用一般现在时,也可用一般过去时,当然其间也可穿插其他时态。在确定一个主要时态之后,后面的部分在展开时不至于发生时态混乱。而这一点是确保记叙文语言流畅的一个基本条件。

5、学会穿插其他文体。

任何文章不可能是一种文体贯彻始终。记叙文中有时可有议论,有时也可有人物的描写。通过议论,可抒发作者的主观情感;通过对人物外貌、言行和心理活动的描写,可揭示人物的性格特征和精神面貌。

6、勤于练习。

要写好一篇记叙文,了解和掌握一些有关的写作知识和写作技巧是很有必要的。当然,更为重要的是要勤于练习。首先应“吃透”几篇范文。 从形式到内容,从选题到立意,从遣词造句到布局谋篇,均可从范文中获得教益。此外,要做到“学而时习之”。写同类文章时,有关信息就会浮现,组织加工后,即可跃然纸上。

参考文献:

[1]张柏然.写作[M].上海:华东师范大学出版社, 2001: 201

-205

[2]王秀珍,胡焰初.大学英语四级写作技巧与训练[M].武

昌:武汉大学出版社, 2002: 81-85

[3]姜绍禹,王总.大学英语写作实践指南[M].北京:机械工

业出版社, 1992: 12

[4]宋天锡,袁冬娥.英语等级考试作文指导[].北京:国际工

业出版社, 2003: 26

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