细致的观察是写作的基础。题目所给的图画有一幅与多幅之分，但不论几幅，写作短文时总离不开这几个要旨：1、恰当的观察点；

2、有关背景，环境等情况的清楚交代； 3、明确突出的中心思想； 4、清晰的思想脉络；

成于图表的短文一般可分为三类：叙述类，说明类和议论类。叙述类可包括根据图表写出的日记；说明类可包括个人生平，履历、通知或交代某些注意事项的留言条，根据路线图给人指路和对图表中数字进行客观的分析解释等；议论类则可指分析图表中所给数字，并就这些数字所反映出的事实做出个人评价。

看图画写短文，实际上是要考察考生的综合能力。它要求考生有敏锐的观察力，丰富的想象，严谨的逻辑，冷静的分析，及最终将以上诸方面素质体现出来的良好的表达能力。这里的表达能力就意味着考生应具备一定的写作技巧和知识，能根据画面和不同的题目要求，灵活地运用叙述、描写、议论、说明等方法。那么怎样才能将短文写得精彩呢？

缩写是在保留原文体载、题材、主要内容、结构顺序，人称角度的前提下概括原文内容、压缩篇幅使之成为一篇内容简明、语言简练、中心突出的短文。缩写时须把握的一个原则是：我们要对原文内容高度概括，而不是对原文内容的改写或评论、议论，因此切不可添加自己的主观看法、发表自

议论。如果上一原则不可随意加，那么与此相关的另一原则是不可随意减。缩写时一定要准确完整地把握原文，主干枝叶分清楚，有关主题的主干切不可任意肢解删减，我们要删去或简写的是无关大局的细节，切不可随便摘取其中部分要点了事。

缩写要注意语言。首先，要在准确理解原文的基础上，对原文要点用自己的话进行改写(paraphrase)，不要在原文中生硬摘取连缀成句。如一篇原文中有这样的描写：We

moved out of the city slowly behind a long line of cars, but at last

we came to a quiet country road and after some time, stopped at the

lonely farm这么长的句子说明了一个事实：路上出游的车很多，得过很久才能找到一个安静的地方。我们可用自己的话表达原句：There

were a lot of cars on the road so it took us a long time to find a

quiet place. 或We spent so much time finding a quiet place, for there

were so many cars on the road.

其次，缩写语言要简练。我们可以将多个简单句变成一个紧凑的复合句。如：Newton thought about so many

problems that he was often absentminded. he frequently forgot to

have his meals. 一句可以紧缩为Newton was so absentminded that he often

forgot to have his meals. 使语言简练的另一手段是将小句(clause)变成短语。如：When the

child saw his mother, he cried loudly. 可变为Seeing his mother, the

child cried loudly. 再如，As far as the weather is concerned. 可简化成as

for the weather等等。

改写是在保持原文主体内容的基础上进行的。改的方面可以是体裁、人称、语言、结构等。比较常见的如在短文与对话之间改写。改写应意以下几点。

首先，要保持原文基本内容不变，在些基础上可进行细节添加或删减。例如“看病”这一题材若以对话形式出现就少不了医生对病人说的专业性用语，如：What’s

the matter with you? How are you

feeling?等，而在商店出现的对话就少不了售货员的行业用语，如：What can I do for

you?等，它们在被改写短文时是要被删除的，因为它们只是进入正式活动的引入语。当然同类题材的短文改写成对话时要顾及到它们所起的作用。有些改写需在写作中想象某些情节，这一点常出现在转换人称角度的作文中。添加内容时，一定要注意切题，根据上下文做合情合理的设想。

其次，短文与对话进行改写时要注意语言时态、时间表达等方面的改变。短文可以记叙、说明、议论等，可以记叙过去事，议论现在事，说明一般事实，把它们变成对话时，用的全是直接引语，时态上一般要用一般现在时态，人称上短文中的主要人物成了对话参与者，所以一二人称的使用第三人称多。

对原文进行改写时要注意语言的灵活多变性。例如将对话改写成短文时，要仔细研究原文中句子的功能，然后根据不同的功能选择适当的表达方式，不能笼统地将语言功能分为问(ask)、答(answer)、说(say)。当询问时可以用ask,

inquire, want to know, wonder 等；表示命题、要求时可用ask\request,

demand等；当提出建议时可说suggest, advise, give a piece of

advice等；当表扬或指责时可用praise,

accuse等；当表示承诺时可用promise。这样，语言的灵活使用可使行文自然，流畅。

(1)邀请观看足球赛

[题 材]

把下面的电话记录改写成一篇80词左右的英语短文，不要用直接引语。通话时间是某日上午。

Gary:Hello. Could I speak to Mary, please?

Marry: Yes, it’s Mary here. Is that Gary speaking?

Garry: yes. There’ll be a football game in our university this

afternoon. Will you go to

watch it with me?

Mary:What time will it begin?

Garry:At two o’clock. If you go, I’ll wait for you at the gate of

your company at half past

one. OK?

Marry:I want to go with you very much, Gary, but I’m afraid I

cannot. I’ll be at a

conference then.

Gary:It’s too bad! What about tomorrow morning, Mary? There’ll be

another match

there.

Marry:That’s great! I’ll be free tomorrow.

Gary:Where can I wait for you?

Marry:You’d better come to my home, and then we’ll go to the game

together. All right?

Gary:OK. Good-bye.

Marry:See you tomorrow.

[范 文]

An Invitation to Watch a Football Game

One morning, Gary rang up Mary, inviting her to watch a football

game with him that afternoon. Mary wanted to, but she couldn’t

because she had to attend a conference. Gary was regretful for that.

Then Gary told Mary that there would be another game at the some

place the next morning and asked her if she could go to it with him.

Mary was happy that she would be free that day and could watch the

game with Gary. She told Gary to come to her home and then they

would go to it together.

(2)失 眠

[题 材]

用100个左右的单词缩写下面的故事。要求句子通顺，情节与原文相同。

A businessman who had been working too much found that he could not

sleep at night, but kept on falling asleep in the day. He became so

worried that he went to see his doctor.

“Can you help me, doctor?” he asked anxiously, “I used to sleep

well, but recently I haven’t been able to sleep for more than two

hours a night.”

The doctor examined him carefully, gave him some tests, advised him

to work less hard, and told him to take some medicine to help him.

The doctor was sure that he was not seriously ill, and that he would

soon be better.

But the businessman grew worse instead of better. He slept even less

than before at night, and was continually asleep in his office. He

visited his doctor very often, and it took the doctor a long time to

discover the reason that the businessman’s servant gave him the

sleeping medicine in the morning, and the one to keep him awake at

night.

[范 文]

Sleeplessness

A businessman worked too hard, and he could not get to sleep at

night while he kept falling asleep at daytime. He became so worried

that he had to see his doctor. The doctor examined him carefully and

found out he wasn’t seriously ill. The doctor gave him some medicine

and told him to work less hard.

But the businessman grew even worse. He saw the doctor once again.

At last the doctor discovered that the businessman’s servant gave

him sleeping medicine in the morning and the medicine that kept him

awake in the evening by mistake.

叙事离不开写人，因此叙事记叙文中一定要注意写好人物，表现出人物的性格特征。而语言又是思想的载体，因此，文中适当地用直接引语不仅起着刻画人物性格的作用，而对事件的发展也有一定程度的推动作用。因此在写叙事记叙文时必须注意人物和对话的描写。

另外，在应试作文中还要注意以下几点：1、写好开头。如果第一句话就有问题，必须会影响评卷人的印象分。2、初学者少用复杂句，以免使句子混乱。3、选词要准确，词语搭配要得当。4、内容要完整，应就事论事，不要画蛇添足，节外生枝。

(1)春 游

[题 材]

根据提示，用英语描述一次春游。

内容：1、时间--上星期四； 2、地点--长山； 3、上山的路，行走困难；

4、同学们互相支持； 5、终于登上山顶； 6、返回

[范 文]

A Spring Outing

Last Thursday we went to Changshan for our spring outing. We reached

the foot of the hill at 9 a. m.. After having a short rest, we began

to climb. There was no road but stones and bushes. We had to make a

way by ourselves.

With the help of the grass, we moved on. While walking, the strong

students helped the weak ones. After some time, we were all tried.

How we wanted to have a rest, but we couldn’t stop. We walked on. At

last, we got to the top of the hill.

On the top of the hill, we laughed and jumped. It seemed that we

were the happiest people in the world. We took some photos there,

and then sat down and had something to eat.

At 3 p. m. we began to go down. We wished the spring of our country

would be with us forever.

叙事要根据中心的需要来确定详略，对最能表达中心的要详写，其他的则略写。以“The Merchant of

Venice”为例，作者要着力表现的是Portia的机智勇敢和Shylock的贪婪凶残，因此，作者把叙事的重点放在法庭上，而对其他细节则一笔带过，这样就疏密有致，浓淡相宜，文章和谐匀称，主题突出。

叙述一件事情，就要在文中交代清楚五方面的内容即何时、何地、何人、何事以及发展如何，也就是英语中的when, where, who,

what

以及how，使叙述做到有因有果，有起有落，给人以完整的印象。交代五大要素时，要力求灵活多样，切忌呆板。例如交代时间时，可用时间状语(When

we arrived there….) 也可用介词短语(on arriving there)或用一些时间

(then)副词等，只有灵活地交代要素，文章才能生动。

最简单的叙事顺序是按情节发展的先后次序叙述即“顺叙”。但有时为了更好地突出主题和为情节发展作铺垫，也可以从故事中间或结尾谈起，即可用“插叙”或“倒叙”的方法。具体采用什么样的叙事顺序，取决于记叙的内容以及文章中心的需要，其目的是更好地突出主题，增强记叙效果。例如“The

Necklace”一文，作者先写Jeanne和Mathilde相遇在公园，Mathilde饱经沧桑的容貌使Jeanne不能辨认，文章由Jeanne的问题“Where

have you bee these years?”

和“Have times been hard for

you?”引起话题，引出Mathilde对往事的回忆。故事按借项链-参加晚会-丢项链-辛勤工作以赔偿项链这一顺序展开，叙述中又穿插了在Mathilde和Pierre家中的情节，道出了借项链的原因。全文采用倒叙的方法，为读者设立悬念；起到了扣人心弦的效果，而在倒叙中又运用顺叙和插叙的方法，目的是要更好地为故事情节的发展作铺垫，突出人物性格。

叙事记叙文写作一般可以从第一人称或第三人称两个角度来写，如果用第一人称，叙述生动具体，会使读者产生身临其境的感觉，增强故事真实性。其缺点是只能交代出“我”目光所及和“我”心中所想，叙述范围受到限制。而用第三人称写，则不受上述限制，但要将不同的情节连接起来，却比较困难。写作时，应视具体情况选用恰当的人称角度。

作者应在初步编排素材的基础上，选择生动有趣而又紧扣主题的典型事例，避空洞笼统与主题无关的夸夸其谈或事例堆砌。例如“A Spring

Outing”一文章的作者想反映的是当代中学生热情向上的人生态度和锐意进取、不屈不挠的斗争精神。他没有从唱歌、跳舞、做游戏等方面选材，而是紧紧围绕主题，从山路陡峭，同学们互帮互助，不畏艰险等方面选材，有力地突出了所要表达的中心思想。

我们写文章总是为了反映一个问题，也就是说在写作前就应该知道写作的目的是什么，想反映怎样的主题。并且，每篇文章都有其中心思想。因此在写作时应对文章的中心思想非常明确，情节的描写、人物、对话的叙述，遗词造句都应围绕中心展开。